Page 48 of Ruined Wolf

“Well, that went better than expected,” Ethan remarked in a jovial tone as he leaned back in the armchair and put his hands behind his head.

I looked at him with hatred and despair burning inside me. My wolf growled and snarled, urging me to attack, but he’d kill me in a heartbeat.

He simply smiled at me. “Now then, Nova. What shall I do with you?”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

NOVA

The clouds were growing darker outside, and the tops of the colossal trees swayed violently in the wind. I watched it all as I sat on the carpet by the tall window in Ethan’s dining room, my arms wrapped around my knees. It wasn’t particularly warm in here, and I was still only wearing Lucas’s T-shirt and sweatpants, as well as some trainers Ethan had allowed me to grab before we left the cabin.

I could feel the swell of my belly pressing against my thighs and realised it wouldn’t be long before I couldn’t sit in this position anymore. I felt the strange sensation again as the baby moved lazily inside me, and I sighed. I was booked in at the hospital to have my first scan next week. I had felt both apprehensive and excited at the thought, and at the time I’d made the appointment, Maverick had said he’d come with me. The thought of him holding my hand as we both looked at my baby had filled me with such happiness, it was hard to believe that that future had been ripped away in one day.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to me. Everything they had said to me was true. I’d lied to them for weeks, even when we’d grown close, and no matter how I’d felt at the time, it had been so wrong. I’d hurt them all badly, and I would never forgive myself for it. They’d never forgive me either. I’d seen their faces when they walked away, and I didn’t blame them in the slightest.

I wished I could talk to them though, and I wished they’d listen to me about Ethan. He’d twisted my lies so they would no longer believe anything I said, but somehow, I had to show them that he was lying too, and that he’d known about Jaxon and was working with my father on something. I had the strongest suspicion it had to do with the logging company Jaxon had gone to work for, and I suspected that Ethan was going to sell some of the pack lands to the company for a large amount and split the proceeds with Caleb. But why? Why did he need Caleb when he could have done all this by himself and kept the whole amount? I didn’t get that part.

And what did the Spanish treasure have to do with it? Jaxon was as focused on that as he had been on the logging company—more so by the looks of the information he’d left. His journal had been with my things in the hospital, and that had also been missing from the bag I’d brought home. The guys who’d abducted me had taken that too, and the only way they could have known it was valuable was if Ethan had told Caleb that he needed it, meaning Caleb knew about the treasure as well and had my kidnappers pass over the evidence to Ethan before they tried to get me off the island. That meant he had the journal and the printouts. I needed to get my hands on them to prove to the guys that they needed to look into what Ethan was up to, and that he wasn’t as innocent as he was making out.

I heard the key turn in the lock, and the door swung open as Ethan stepped into the room.

“You can’t hide from me,” he said as he walked around the table and looked down at me. “Don’t worry, Nova, I won’t inflict my company on you much longer, I’m simply waiting to get the boat organised to take you home.”

“Home?” My panic must have been evident on my face, because he gave me a cold smile.

“Oh, yes. As much as you’ve been a thorn in my side, there’s someone who has much more of a vendetta against you, and to be honest, as long as I know you’re dead and out of my way, I don’t really care who kills you. Caleb, on the other hand, well, he was not pleased when he found out you were the one who managed to snag Maverick out from under your sister. You really fucked up his plans, Nova, and Daddy isn’t happy with you.”

My blood turned cold as I thought of what that would mean. I would never survive. We would never survive.

“No, please, Ethan. I’ll leave, I’ll go far away. You’ll never see me again. Just don’t hand me over to Caleb,” I begged.

He cocked his head to one side. “Hmm, and why would I do that? I want you out of the way for good, and he’s happy to take care of it. Very happy.”

“Please, I’m begging you,” I implored.

“Get on your knees and beg me,” Ethan demanded, his face twisting into a sneer.

I swallowed, still hearing Maverick’s voice in my head. Never submit to anyone ever again, Nova. Promise me.

I bit my lip. What was one more broken promise if I could save my baby’s life? I struggled up onto my knees, bowing my head in front of the alpha. My wolf snarled and fought me, but I pushed her down, my internal battle with my more dominant side causing pain to shoot through my head.

“Well?”

I took a deep breath. “I’m begging you, Ethan. I’m at your mercy. Please spare my life and let me leave the island. I won’t come back. You have my word.”

I kept my head bowed, as my father would have wanted, not daring to look up as I continued to fight my wolf, who wanted to challenge Ethan and attack him.

Ethan’s chilling laughter cut through to my bones. “Stupid girl. As nice as it is to see you in your proper place, I’m afraid I shall have to turn you down. My business relationship with your father is worth more than your pathetic little life.”

I glared up at him, my wolf snarling and my anger rising. “And what about my child? He’s your blood, Ethan, Jaxon’s son. Will you condemn him to death as well?”

Ethan shook his head and smiled. “He wouldn’t be the first of my blood that I condemned to death, so don’t rely on that to save you, Nova. No, you’re going home, and soon. The boat is leaving in an hour to get you back to the mainland before the storm hits. It’s going to be a big one, I think.” He grinned down at me. “If it’s any consolation, my nephews will be way too busy dealing with the fallout over the next couple of weeks to miss you at all.” He turned and left, locking the door behind him.

I sank back down onto the carpet, fighting my frustration and tears. Despair flooded me. Ethan was sending me back to my father, where I’d probably be tortured and killed, and the men I loved hated me, and rightly so. I’d done nothing to deserve their love. There was no way any of them were going to come to my rescue. If I wanted to get out of this, I was going to have to do it myself, but I had nothing left. The damage from the car accident had left my body exhausted from healing over the last couple of days, and adding in the lack of sleep and the emotional wringer I’d been through this morning, I was done. Right now, in this moment, I could barely think. I felt a fog descending over me as I curled up on the carpet, pulling my knees up and bending my head down. It was an old position from my past, one I’d assumed many times before and after beatings and hunts—a position of defeat. There were no more tears now, I’d cried them all, so instead, I simply let the fog take over my mind and lay there, staring out into the grey afternoon.

Ethan was as good as his word. It wasn’t long before the door opened again, but he wasn’t there. Instead, two men I didn’t recognise stalked into the room, grabbed my arms, and pulled me roughly to my feet.

I was hauled along the corridor, down the stairs, and out into the cold afternoon. The day had darkened, and I could smell the coming rain. The skies were grey and heavy, much like my heart. The men half dragged, half carried me down the path and out to the car, throwing me in the back seat like a sack of potatoes. The one who drove turned to look at me.