Ethan’s face twisted with anger as he grabbed my hand roughly, his fingers digging into my
wrist.
“How long do you want to keep making trouble?” he demanded, his voice rising with frustration. “We are destined partners, Emma. You can’t leave me at all.”
His grip tightened painfully as he stared into my eyes, searching for any sign that I would back down.
“You haven’t marked me yet,” I said calmly, meeting his desperate gaze. “We don’t even have mate bond. So what if we’re supposedly destined?”
The truth of my words hit him like a physical blow. His confident expression wavered.
Scarlett immediately stepped forward, sensing an opportunity to manipulate the situation
further.
“Who would want you if you leave my brother?” she asked with fake concern, her voice dripping with false sympathy. “Emma, you’re just playing hard to get. Ethan, don’t let her manipulate you
like this.”
I found her words absolutely hilarious. The irony was so thick I could taste it.
Scarlett always provoked Ethan exactly like this. Every single time I had a real problem, she convinced him it was just manipulation.
When I was sick with fever, burning up and barely conscious, Scarlett whispered in his ear that I was faking it for attention.
When I was surrounded by.rogue wolves during a territory patrol, injured and calling for help, she told him I was being dramatic and trying to make him worry.
Even when the silver poison was literally killing me, when I could barely breathe from the pain, Scarlett convinced him it was all an elaborate trick to get his sympathy.
“Emma’s just trying to control you,” she would say with that innocent expression. “Don’t indulge her attention–seeking behavior.”
And Ethan always listened to her. Every single time.
Over the years, he genuinely came to believe that I was constantly manipulating him. That every illness, every crisis, every moment of genuine need was just a calculated move to get his
attention.
But this time was different. Ethan didn’t listen to Scarlett’s poisonous words.
Instead, he held my hand even tighter, his knuckles white with the force of his grip. His voice trembled with something that sounded almost like panic.
“Let’s not quarrel anymore, okay?” he pleaded, his Alpha authority completely abandoned. “Scarlett will only stay at home for a few days. I promise I’ll make her move out when she
recovers.”
His desperation was almost pathetic to witness.
“No,” I said with a sweet smile. “Let her live here permanently. Maybe she is your future Luna. It’s just right for her to live here.”
Ethan’s reaction was immediate and explosive.
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“No!” he shouted, his voice echoing off the surrounding trees. “I told you, you are my only Luna!”
His denial was so vehement that’spittle flew from his lips.
But I was more interested in Scarlett’s reaction. I caught a flash of pure jealousy and hatred crossing her face before she quickly masked it with false innocence.
How fascinating. She really did want to be Luna,
“Really?” I asked with mock surprise. “I think Scarlett would also be suitable to be your Luna. She’s so devoted to you, after all.”
Ethan denied it without even thinking, his words tumbling out in a rush.
“I have always regarded Scarlett as my sister,” he insisted desperately. “It’s impossible for Scarlett to become the pack’s Luna. The whole pack would never agree to such a thing.”
I watched Scarlett’s face go absolutely pale at his words. Her carefully constructed composure cracked for just a moment, revealing the raw ambition and hurt underneath.
It was almost funny how transparent she was once you knew what to look for.
“But she loves you so much,” I continued innocently. “Surely that devotion should be rewarded.” Scarlett’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. She was struggling to maintain her innocent facade.
But I was done wasting time on this ridiculous farce. I had better things to do than watch these two dance around their twisted relationship.
Just as I turned to leave, Scarlett spoke up in that soft, manipulative voice she had perfected
over the years.
“Sister–in–law, you have always misunderstood me and my brother,” she said with perfectly crafted vulnerability. “Nothing has ever happened between us. We’re just family.”
The lie rolled off her tongue so smoothly, so convincingly. She had clearly practiced this speech.
Ethan looked at her with obvious appreciation, his expression softening with gratitude for her supposed loyalty.
“You see?” he said to me, his voice taking on that familiar condescending tone. “You should calm down and stop letting jealousy cloud your judgment.”
He reached toward me again, his expression shifting to what he probably thought was charming
persuasion.
“Put down your things,” he said with renewed confidence. “I’ll take you shopping tonight. You can have whatever you want. We’ll go to that boutique you like, buy you some new dresses.”
His voice grew warmer as he spoke, as if expensive gifts could somehow erase years of betrayal and neglect.
“We can get dinner at that restaurant with the view of the lake. Just the two of us, like old times.” He was already planning our reconciliation in his head, probably imagining me falling gratefully into his arms.
The sheer audacity of his assumptions made my anger flare white–hot.
Without thinking, I slapped his reaching hand away with enough force to make the sound echo
through the air.
Chapter 15
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7:39 pm DDDD
“I just want you to disappear from my sight,” I said.
