Ethan (Moonlight Wolves Book 5)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Then again, Hazel was learning that there was more to Camilla than just the persona she’d had for the town and her parents. That still didn’t mean she deserved the death that the universe gave her, though.

  “I have a question to ask you,” Matthew said, causing Hazel to look up in surprise. She instantly got nervous. Matthew was studying the file, not at all looking like he even said something to her a second ago. Hazel noticed that he had a newly lit cigarette in hand.

  “Shoot,” Hazel told him, a bit nervous but pleased to find that she didn’t sound it.

  “Since you reek of sexual activity, does that mean I can now sleep with Annaleigh and you won’t be upset?”

  Hazel stared at him in disbelief. How? How did he find out? How did he know? Matthew continued to read the file in front of him, not at all realizing the shock that Hazel was going through.

  She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what she could say. She just couldn’t believe that he had noticed what she had been up to before she met up with him.

  She shouldn’t be as shocked though–he was a detective, after all. It was his job to observe people.

  “You’re a pig, you know that?” She didn’t have anything else to say other than that.

  “I’m glad we’re friends again,” he replied. Hazel looked up at him to see a little smirk on his face, which made her laugh.

  She was glad, too. Even if he was a dysfunctional pig.

  Hazel couldn’t wait to get home to Ethan. It was about four in the morning by the time she left the department, and she would have to be back there at ten when the first wave of interviewees came in.

  That meant she had six hours of sleep. Or six hours with Ethan. She couldn’t decide which one she would choose.

  When she got home, her house was quiet; though, Ethan’s car was still parked in the front. She smiled as she made her way upstairs, feeling his presence in her room. Walking into her bedroom, she realized that he was right where she left him, fast asleep with her blanket barely covering his naked body. He had said he was going to leave earlier as she got ready to meet up with Matthew, but she told him to stay and wait until she got back.

  She was glad he stayed.

  Reluctantly deciding on sleep, though she really could’ve gone another round with him, she peeled off her clothes until she was just in her underwear. Sliding into bed, she pulled the covers around them both. She caressed his face with her hand as he slept. She shivered in delight that he was in her bed. The guy made her crazy and bold–and she loved that. She’d never been as forward as she had been with Ethan. He made her want to be like that, though, and he obviously enjoyed it as much as her.

  Ethan stirred in his sleep and gently blinked his eyes open to find her staring at him.

  “Hey, you,” she whispered to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek as he pulled her to him. He turned so that he was laying with his back on the mattress, letting her rest her head on his chest. When he kissed the top of her head, her heart fluttered and felt like it was going to explode.

  “When did you get back?” he sleepily asked as he ran his fingers up and down her arm absentmindedly.

  “Just now.”

  “I want to hear about it,” he said, though sleep was beginning to overtake him again.

  “I’ll tell you about it in the morning,” she whispered to him, shushing him as he fell back asleep quickly.

  Hazel closed her eyes as she felt the exhaustion she had been keeping at bay overtake her while she lay in Ethan’s strong arms.

  Chapter 8

  “And that’s all she knows right now, though she’s been at work all morning,” Ethan explained to Hann and Ross. He was at Hann’s house in the living room, informing them of everything Hazel told him that morning before she left for work. “I’m sure she’ll know more today.”

  “But they won’t be back here today?” Ross asked, reassuring himself and making sure that the police wouldn’t be in pack territory anymore.

  “She said unless any other evidence pops up, they’ll be out of the forest for now,” Ethan told the two. “They didn’t find anything during their search yesterday, and she says that they’re trying to keep their options open and question everything that comes their way. That means they might call you in for more questioning, Hann.”

  “And I’d be delighted to help them out in any way,” Hann replied. The alpha’s normal smile was gone. Ethan knew that the alpha hated what happened to Camilla, and so Hann wanted to do anything he could to help find her killer. “That poor girl’s murderer must be caught and held accountable.”

  Ethan felt the same, and Ross did, as well. When Hazel told Ethan the specifics of the murder, including the amount of stab wounds and bruises that covered Camilla’s body, Ethan felt sick to his stomach. No matter what had happened, and no matter what Camilla could have done to anger her murderer, nothing should’ve resulted in that. Camilla didn’t deserve that. Ethan could see the pain and anger in Hazel’s eyes as she told him everything about the murder. The whole case was messed up, and Ethan hoped that Matthew and Hazel would find the killer soon. It wasn’t good to have a murderer with that much rage walking around town as if nothing happened.

  And that was the weird thing. No one had fled the area. No one was acting weird. Everyone in town was shocked and disgusted by what happened, but no one was freaking out or trying to run away. Ethan expected someone, especially if it was another kid who did it, to panic and bolt.

  But that hadn’t happened yet. And that wasn’t good. That could potentially mean that the murderer didn’t feel panic or unease about what he did and was just living his or her life as if nothing truly happened.

  It made Ethan sick to his stomach.

  “She’s off early today, so I’ll fill you all in later if there’s anything new,” Ethan told the others as he got up to leave.

  “We really do appreciate this, Ethan,” Hann said, smiling at him now. “You’ve been doing well.”

  Ethan didn’t know what to do other than smile back at the alpha. Ethan felt bashful and wanted to change the subject. Now that Ethan thought about it, he realized that they hadn’t had a lone rogue attack in quite a while. Which was . . . weird.

  “Have you heard anything from Michael about Gabriel or the rogues?” Ethan asked, realizing that the murder had kept everyone busy and away from thinking about the destruction that Gabriel was trying to rain on the shifter society, with the shifters in Maine being his main focus.

  “Not yet,” Hann sighed, looking exhausted with the whole concept of Gabriel and his evil need to destroy. “He’s still searching and doing his job, but it seems we’ve been a bit unlucky thus far. Gabriel doesn’t want to be found. And he’s managed to keep his plans with his rogues a secret. We’ll hopefully find out more soon enough.”

  Ethan nodded and, after talking a bit more with Hann and Ross, left the alpha’s house to return to Hazel’s. She told him that she would meet up with him after work, when she was done interviewing all of the suspects. Ethan couldn’t wait to see her, which was crazy. They’d seen quite a lot of each other last night, but Ethan still felt like he needed more of her.

  All Ethan knew was that he couldn’t wait to see her. When he was around her, he forgot all about the murder and Gabriel and how he may not become a great alpha like his father was, or like Hann was. He forgot that the world was a horrible place full of destruction, carnage, and greed. For just those few moments that he was with her, Ethan felt like he was in heaven.

  And he felt like she was heaven.

  Ethan got to Hazel’s house in one piece, though the storm outside was even worse than it was earlier in the day. It seemed like the week would be full of a hidden sun and constant rain. He found himself loving the weather, though. He couldn’t help it. He’d always loved the rain, and the atmosphere in Maine was much different from the sticky, muggy rain he got down south.

  As he walked into Hazel’s house, a grin spread across his face as he realized what
he wanted to do. He wanted to run through the rain as his wolf self. His wolf had been begging to be set free for the last few days. He had been on his best behavior and hadn’t switched into his wolf form once since the whole murder investigation started. He was worried a police officer would stumble upon him and begin shooting or something, and Hann had told everyone to try and not roam in their wolf forms.

  But he wanted to. He desperately wanted to run in the rain with Hazel. His wolf had longed to run side-by-side with his girl since she’d pulled him into her heavenly embrace and pleased him like no other. His wolf considered Hazel his girl, and Ethan wasn’t about to correct him. He didn’t know where he and Hazel stood, but she was his. And he would protect her and care for her for a long time to come.

  His wolf howled within his chest as he realized that he would be let out soon–and let out to run with Hazel in the chilly rain.

  Ethan ran into Hazel’s house, the rain soaking him during his trek to the front door from his car. He found Hazel making a salad for them in her kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, making his heart quicken.

  He adored that girl. He wanted to be with her always. He wanted to take her on that kitchen table right then and there. The thought of her moaning in pleasure as he thrust into her brought back his memories of their times together, fueling his desire to shift and run in the rain even more. He needed to shift.

  “Wanna run?” Ethan managed to get out in a guttural sound, his emotions getting the best of him. He could feel his eyes begin to shift into a gold color, which they did during the transformation of human to wolf, and vice versa. Hazel’s eyes began to turn gold as a wicked smile spread across her face, much like the one she wore when she seduced him.

  God, she was something.

  Hazel didn’t need to say anything. They both were on the same page and began undressing, not wanting to lose their clothes in the transformation and magic of becoming a wolf. Ethan began to feel the tingle that he always felt when he shifted into his wolf. He could still remember the utter agony he was in when he was a child and had to shift for the first time. He could still hear his bones breaking and forming into a new formation, leaving him dizzy and full of pain.

  Now that he was a grown shifter, the only thing he felt was the tingle that played up and down his spine before entering his veins and filling his whole body. In an instant, he was on all four paws and seeing the world through his wolf eyes, making everything just a bit brighter. A bit sharper. Ethan turned his head slightly to see Hazel there, her coat thick and beautiful, staring at him with those same wicked eyes.

  He licked his lips before he took off and leapt into the rain outside.

  The rain poured onto his fur in the most delightful way. He howled, the feeling of delight and happiness overtaking him. His wolf didn’t care that there was a murder investigation. His wolf didn’t care that Hann told everyone to just lay low for the time being. No, his wolf wanted to prance and leap in the rain, howling the whole time.

  Ethan took off into the woods, his own sanity reminding him to stay away from the area where Camilla Phillips’s body was found. Hazel ran alongside him, nipping at his back paws whenever he tried to slow down. Ethan yipped at her each time, both of them laughing in their minds as they played around like children in the rain, scared that their parents would find them out at any minute.

  Ethan glanced up at the night sky. The dense forest was thick and hard to see as they ran at full speed, even for a shifter with better eyesight than a regular human. The last few days had been hell for Ethan–and for Hazel and Hann, and really every shifter in Maine. They had been living under scrutiny and been on their best behavior to let the police find the killer once and for all.

  But now, as Ethan ran through the rain and the thick trees with Hazel, he felt a sense of lightheartedness that he hadn’t felt in a long time. And when he looked over at Hazel as they ran up to the top of a little hill to look out over the vast forest, he felt chills run up and down his spine from her beauty.

  Standing there together, looking out over her home and Ethan’s new one, they howled together, their voices in perfect unison and harmony.

  Chapter 9

  Meeting with Matthew at two in the morning in the police department seemed to become a constant thing for Hazel, much to Ethan’s dismay. Hazel kept on finding herself reassuring him that things were over between her and Matthew as she left Ethan, always in bed naked and begging her for more.

  And every car ride to the police precinct in the middle of the night left her yearning to go home to Ethan for a repeat of their activities. It seemed she, quite literally, couldn’t get enough of him. She constantly thought about him, which wasn’t great considering she was trying to help solve a murder case of a beloved girl.

  “What do you have?” Matthew asked when she walked into his office, that yellow light even dimmer than before. “Anything that stood out to you today?”

  “No,” Hazel sighed as she flopped into the seat, the depression of getting nowhere with her job hitting her again. Ethan could only distract her from the case for so long. “Everyone was traumatized over what happened to Camilla. They couldn’t believe it. Even the druggy kids were sad. They couldn’t believe that someone as nice as Camilla would be murdered like that.”

  “What did the kids tell you? Did they have a relationship with her?” Hazel knew he was referencing the “bad” kids of Jerome, though calling them bad was a joke to her.

  “Yeah, but not a close one. The head kid of that little group said that she was always nice to him in school, refusing to make fun of him like other kids did. Even went so far as to defend him any time she heard someone saying shit. He admitted that he gave her Addie when she asked, but free of charge. He knew that she was under stress to achieve everything her parents wanted her to, and he didn’t want to add to that. It honestly sounded like he was in love with her. And now, he’s just broken.”

  Matthew nodded as if that made sense to him, lighting up another cigarette in the process. “That’s what I got from him, too. I told him I wasn’t going to arrest him for admitting to selling drugs as long as he stopped. I don’t know if he will forever, but right now he’s too emotional to do anything like that.”

  “The kids here aren’t bad. They’re just rebelling. None of them would ever murder someone, least of all someone like Camilla. She was friends with everyone, including the outcasts.”

  “Any other weird moments or interesting conversations you had?”

  Hazel shook her head. It seemed like Matthew had had the same experience as her. Every single person she talked to had nothing weird or odd to say about the whole thing. Everyone was just so devastated that this had happened to Camilla, of all people. Everyone was more than willing to talk about Camilla, while also saying that she didn’t deserve what she got.

  “Just the same shock and depression the whole town seems to have,” Hazel responded, sighing as she leaned back in her chair, utterly exhausted from the whole day. She wished she was back in Ethan’s arms, where the bad and evil of the world seemed to melt away with his touch. “I noticed that Hudson Schmidt wasn’t here today. Did he not show?”

  Hudson Schmidt was the one person Hazel reminded herself to keep her eye on. She was more than interested in this supposed hidden relationship he had with Camilla. Hazel had never known Camilla to have a serious, older boyfriend, and she couldn’t believe that she had one with Hudson. He just so wasn’t her type. However, when Hudson didn’t show up, Hazel began to question where he was and why he wasn’t with the others being questioned.

  “I didn’t call him in,” Matthew explained to her. “He’s coming tomorrow for questioning.”

  Hazel nodded. That was better than him not showing. That would’ve raised some eyebrows, for sure.

  “Have you obtained or found anything else out?” Hazel asked the detective, hoping that he had some type of clue to go off of. “Any new evidence or new things come to light?” She was feeling a little despe
rate. A little sad that it looked like this case was going to drag out.

  “No,” Matthew sighed, taking a drag of his cigarette and causing Hazel’s hope to dim. “Quite simply, there’s nothing for us to go off of. No fingerprints, no DNA, absolutely nothing at the crime scene. Which is impossible. It makes no sense. This was very obviously a form of a crime of passion. No one stabs someone forty-five times if they’re not incredibly angry. Therefore, most crimes of passion are easily solved because they happen in the moment. DNA is found and the case is closed. That’s not the case this time, which makes it so odd.”

  “And we’ve yet to have one suspect,” Hazel added, feeling that crushing realization that they had absolutely nothing to go off of. They were stuck. It was that plain and simple. And she hated that. Camilla deserved better than this. “Everyone is so upset and eager to give any information they have to us.”

  “Exactly. Things aren’t adding up. That worries me.”

  “Why?” Hazel perked up a bit as she glanced at Matthew, a bit worried about where his mind was taking him.

  “A murder like this that has no explanation? That’s not good. And that’s really not good for Jerome. If we don’t find out who killed Camilla Phillips, the townspeople will riot and turn against each other. It’s already happening. People are locking their doors, which they never did before. People are less likely to stop and chat with just about everyone they meet. Everyone is thinking their neighbor is capable of killing a girl in the most despicable way, and the press is making matters much worse by trying to leak specifics of the case. It’s hell, and it’s only going to get worse if we don’t find the killer. Soon.”