Page 68 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
I can’t shift into a wolf. I can’t see visions of the future. Even with Dr. Olcan’s capabilities — which far exceed those of human doctors — my training injuries heal at a snail’s pace compared to everyone else. I can’t protect anyone, least of all Rhiannon, from the dangers that threaten to destabilize Clarion.
My feet carry me down the corridor without direction. The blackened remnants of extinguished torchlight stains the aged stone. Through a narrow window, the sky looms, indifferent. Come nightfall, its vast darkness will be clotted with stars that have burned in the same positions for millennia. Certainly, no human can change the inevitability of destiny.
Rhiannon is right. About all of it.
The two of us shouldn’t try to rewrite the rules. I don’t belong here. I never did.
Chapter 26 — Ethan
Icome across Thea in the Luna’s garden, sitting on a stone bench with her hands resting on her growing belly. Finding her here wasn’t part of my plan, but her familiar face brings me unexpected relief.
The afternoon sun filters through the leaves overhead, bathing her face in dappled light. She looks peaceful here, insulated from the chaos that seems to follow me everywhere I go.
“May I join you,Luna?” I ask her, emphasizing her formal title playfully, though I’m already settling in beside her before she can answer.
“Of course.” She smiles and shifts to make room, studying my face with her perceptive blue eyes. “You look terrible, Ethan. When’s the last time you slept?”
I rub the back of my neck, realizing that I haven’t, really. The past few days have blurred together in a haze of panic, passion, and pain. “Well, you Lycan sure know how to keep thingsexciting around here. How can you blame a guy for not wanting to miss out on all the action?”
She chuckles, but there’s a hint of worry in it.
“You’re right to be concerned, though,” I say. “I’ve been thinking about Creek Falls a lot lately.”
“Oh?” Interest is inflected in her tone. “What about it?”
“Well, about going back. About the fact that it’s my home.”
Her forehead creases as disappointment mixed with slight surprise crosses her eyes, but she remains silent.
“This place is dangerous,” I say. “People keep getting hurt. First Haron, then Holden, then Rhiannon. . .” Her name feels stuck in my mouth for a second. “She got stabbed because of me.”
Thea shoots me a sideways look, suspicion emanating from her lips as she presses them together in a slight frown. “Is that really why you want to leave?”
I stare at the cobblestone path beneath my feet, watching an ant-like insect carry a flower three times its size. Even the insects in Kortan are stronger than I am. “Some of the guards made it pretty clear what they think of me earlier. Dead weight who can’t protect anyone will only make things worse.”
“They don’t speak for everyone.”
“Maybe not, but.” I let out a harsh sound that barely resembles laughter. “Rhiannon doesn’t want anything to do with me either, even after everything that happened between us.”
Thea tilts her head, and I remember that she doesn’t know. Of course I never told her, but I’m too beaten down right now to not confide in my best friend.
“I slept with Rhiannon. Twice. And I think— I think I might be in love with her.” The words are out before I can give it a second thought.
Thea blinks hard, her hands pressing protectively against her belly like she’s trying to cover the baby’s ears. “Ethan, what the fuck?”
“I know what you’re thinking—”
She turns to face me fully, and her expression blends concern with gentle exasperation. “I specifically warned you not to get involved with any wolves, especially Rhiannon.”
“I remember.”
“And yet you did it anyway.”
“I know.”
“This world has rules. Strict ones, with harsh ramifications. And humans...” She trails off, but I don’t need to hear what she’s left unspoken. I’ve heard it plenty of times already.
“Humans don’t belong here.”
