Page 27 of Ruined Wolf

This time, it was Maverick who pulled Lucas’s hand down. “Enough.” He turned to me. “I could have sworn Asher was crushing on you like crazy. I’m struggling to see how he couldn’t want you.”

“I think he does,” I admitted quietly. “He just thinks he can’t compete with you and Lucas. He told me he wouldn’t have picked himself over you two either. I tried to tell him that... Well, that I want him too, but he won’t listen. He doesn’t believe me.”

“He thinks you’re saying it out of pity,” Maverick surmised slowly as realisation dawned.

“See? Twat,” Lucas interjected. “He’s so bloody sensitive, like a fucking drama queen. I’ll bet he’s just scared of coming too early.”

“Lucas, will you fucking take this seriously?” I shouted, my temper rising. “This is your brother. He was vulnerable last night, and you walked in and hurt and humiliated him, and now you can’t even accept what you did was wrong. You need to find him and make it right.”

Lucas’s gaze darkened. “I will do no such thing. Asher is weak. He needs to toughen up, or he’s never going to earn the respect he craves or the pity fuck you so desperately want to give him.”

“Why do you have to be such a... a...” I struggled to find the right word.

“God among men? Just lucky, I guess,” he drawled.

I slapped him across the face. “A dickhead.”

Our eyes met, and a chill ran over me at the coldness I saw there. He was always reserved, but I didn’t know this side of him, not well, and it still scared me.

He leaned forward and whispered, “Slap me again, and you’ll regret it. Sadly, I’m busy today, but don’t worry, I’ll be back later, and I’ll have you strung up in chains in my room so I can punish you.”

His words had a slight effect on me, but I ignored it. “Who’s weak now, Lucas? Using sex to avoid talking about your feelings? I’ve got more respect for Asher than you. He’s earned it. You just demand it through bullying people.”

His eyes narrowed. “I never made out I was a cuddles and hearts kind of guy, Nova. No matter what you want to turn me into, this is me, cold and dark. I am a monster, remember? And I’m not going to change, not even for you.”

He turned on his heel and slammed out the door, leaving me feeling scattered and confused. I couldn’t believe that he was so cold and heartless.

I turned to Maverick. “He doesn’t care,” I murmured quietly.

“Lucas has always been like that. Everyone’s a game to him. He’s never been one to let his emotions get in the way.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I’ll talk to Asher.”

“No, I don’t think you should,” I said. “I think it would humiliate him further if he knew you knew. He hero worships you, you know?”

Maverick sighed. “It used to be Jaxon. He used to follow him around like a puppy. It’s why it broke him so badly when Jaxon just left without a goodbye. I think he might feel like Jaxon just pretended to care for him all those years.”

“Abandonment really does fuck with people’s heads,” I muttered quietly.

“Yeah, I guess it does. Are you okay?”

I looked up into his face, and the concern and love I saw there filled me with warmth. “I’ll do,” I answered honestly. “Can you give me a ride to work?”

Maverick smiled. “It’ll cost you.”

I smiled back and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him, but as he pulled me close, I wondered how much last night was going to cost all of us.

My heart pounded in my chest as I crept around the back of Ethan’s house and made my way up the wooden steps to the back door. I knew the alpha was out that morning. The entire pack council was over at one of the villages on the west side of the island, dealing with various issues there. Maverick had gone with them after he’d dropped me at the tourist centre. It didn’t take much to convince Eleanor that I needed to run a quick errand, and I’d made my way to Ethan’s house with the intention of breaking in and finding out what the hell was going on with him.

The town was a small one, and people didn’t always lock their doors. I was hoping that Ethan was one of them, but I was out of luck. I cursed as the handle bent but wouldn’t open. It was too risky to try the front door. Or was it? I skirted the house and glanced up and down the street. There was no one in sight. Kids were in school, and wolves were at work or otherwise occupied. This might be my only chance as well. I walked around and up the driveway, then made my way casually up the steps and tried the front door. It opened under my hand, and I walked in without hesitating before closing it behind me.

Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I looked around. The house was decorated and furnished in a homely way that surprised me. Ethan didn’t have a mate or children, which was unusual for an alpha, and this house was clearly designed for a family. It would make a lovely home. My heart jumped as I realised that if Maverick were to take over as pack alpha, this would be his house, and as his mate, it would be mine too. For a moment, I allowed myself a dip into the fantasy of living here with Maverick, Lucas, and Asher. The four of us would be a family in the centre of the town, surrounded by a pack, a community. No, not four of us, five. I laid my hand on my stomach and gently pushed. I was rewarded by a small shove back, and I smiled.

The smile faded as I remembered why I was here. Without blackmail material, Ethan could spill my secrets at any point. I knew I needed to tell the guys the truth, but I couldn’t let him do it, and as soon as he realised I really didn’t know what he was up to, he’d have power over me.

Resolutely, I walked through the house, quickly searching each room and trying to leave as little evidence of my presence as possible. The last door was Ethan’s office. I had assumed the evidence would be here, but I wasn’t sure. After all, the council often used the office, and Maverick was in here quite a bit learning about running the pack, so it would be nuts to leave papers lying about that he could find.

Determined to be thorough, I began to search the room. I rifled through his desk drawers and shuffled through piles of paper and books. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, so I moved on to the bookcases next, scanning titles quickly before pulling out one volume after another and leafing through them in search of a clue. I was conscious that I had been here quite a while and the pack could return at any minute. Despite my persistent searching, I hadn’t found anything that seemed suspicious or out of place. I sighed in frustration, wondering if this had all been a waste of time.

There was a small filing cabinet at the other end of the office, and I pulled the drawers open. It was divided into sections, mainly things like power, water, harbour fees, commercial leases, that kind of thing, but right at the back, I found a folder marked “Confidential and Personal.” I removed it from the drawer and carefully opened it up.