by Sarah Makela
Chapter Fourteen
Mia
Greg yapped all the way from my porch to the front door of my parents’ house like some small dog. He didn’t let me get a word in edgewise. If he had, I might’ve struck up the courage to tell him to go away, but for now, the undeniable need to avoid conflict won again.
Fear: three points, Mia: zero.
My mom had taken me aside when we got there, asking if everything was okay. I put on my brave face, apologized for last time, and helped with the final touches of dinner.
Now I sat across the table from Ethan once again. He hadn’t come in until late last night. I’d been eating popcorn and watching some true crime show with Nolan. The blast of power from him was stronger than what I’d felt from Mr. Way-Too-Sexy Werewolf at Jessa’s shop. Ethan’s werewolf side was developing fast.
I shifted in my seat at the thought, and my foot nudged Ethan’s. He glanced in my direction before returning his gaze to my mom. He smiled at her. “All this food smells delicious, Mrs. Brooks.”
My mom waved him off. “Oh, listen to you. You say that every time I fix dinner. You’re such a good young man. How does it feel to be home for Christmas this year? We missed you so much last year.”
Ethan took a deep breath. “Where do I begin?” He flicked his gaze to me, before refocusing his attention on Mom. “I’m happy. It is great catching up on even the little things, like sports.”
“Yeah, we stayed up pretty late his first night back talking,” Nolan said. He looked on edge. Sitting in front of Greg, I knew why. The two of them hated each other.
My thoughts drifted back to the thing haunting me. When I’d tried calling Jessa, she hadn’t answered. I needed the ingredients for the crazy werewolf’s potion, like yesterday. Those things weren’t what I commonly kept stocked. They weren’t herbs or spices I could get from the grocery store.
Besides, it was better not to keep too much on hand for a long time if you wanted a fresher, more potent product. If she didn’t answer her phone today, then I had no idea what I’d do. The werewolf promised to kill her.
Why couldn’t he just take me instead?
I glanced at Ethan, sipping on the mulled spice wine my father made every year.
Greg slid his hand along my leg, drawing my skirt up a little. I moved my knee, but he held it in place. “Getting a little quiet there, Mia.”
I fixed a smile on my face and shrugged. “Everyone else is talking, and I refuse to barge into conversations.” Unlike some people. The idea of going back to his place later soured my stomach. The more time I spent with Ethan, regardless of the love potion, the more I really wanted him.
Fear wouldn’t hold me down anymore. It was time I broke free. Stopped doing what everyone else wanted me to do. Christmas Eve was the perfect time to start.
“You wouldn’t be barging into a conversation, Mia. Speak up, kiddo.” My dad watched me from the end of the table. His expression had fallen, from the merry guy on his third cup of spiced wine to concerned.
My bravado fled once again, and if I’d been a puppy, I’d have put my tail between my legs. This celebration wasn’t about me. It was the holidays. Once we left, I’d tell Greg my feelings, whether he wanted to hear them or not. This break-up would be the stuff of horror stories, or maybe cheesy romantic comedies. At least, I hoped it was more like the latter.
I looked at Ethan. Worry etched itself in the corners of his eyes.
“You keep staring at Mr. Marine over there, huh?” Greg grabbed my leg under the table, squeezing hard.
I tried not to wince, but I must’ve shown discomfort.
“I’m not a Marine.” Ethan leaned forward, giving Greg a harsh stare. He knew something was up.
Shit. There goes dinner.
Greg scoffed. “Whatever. You know what I mean. Besides, I was talking to my girlfriend, not you. Got a problem with that? What, you want to take her for a ride?” He smirked, and I wanted to slap it right off his face. “Too bad. She’s mine.”
“Greg!” I couldn’t believe the way he was talking.
My parents stared in horror, and redness formed in my father’s cheeks. If things didn’t settle down, he’d get involved, and none of us would want that.
Greg squeezed my leg harder as if to silence me, but I wouldn’t sit by and let him abuse me like that. “Let go of me.”
That might’ve been the worst thing to say because Nolan jerked to his feet. “If you don’t let my sister go, I’ll break your fingers.”
“Nolan!” my mom cried out.
Ethan stood up with him. “Mia, come over here with your brother. Greg and I need to talk outside.” He turned to my parents. “I’m sorry about this, Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. It’ll just take a moment.” When he stared at Greg again, blatant hostility and power oozed from his every pore, nearly choking me.
Greg let me go, but I wasn’t going to sit this out. Besides, my jerk boyfriend remained planted on his seat. Maybe he knew if the two of them went outside, he might get his ass kicked. Good for Ethan.
I stood. “Nolan...Ethan, please go back to eating. I’ll talk to Greg.” I took him by the wrist. “Let’s go.”
Greg huffed, but he followed me out to the gazebo in the backyard. It was far enough away for us to have some privacy in case our discussion became heated.
“What the hell is your problem?” I couldn’t contain my outrage at how he had acted. He’d never been this rude in front of my parents. Ethan and he didn’t have a good first meeting, but this went beyond the Greg I knew.
Oh no. What if this was my karma going to hell? The love potion’s magic might be burning my relationship while it built up what I had with Ethan. I wanted to punch my pillow. Multiple times.
“My problem?” Disgust curled back Greg’s lip. “You are the one to talk. You sit there ogling the soldier in front of my face. Who exactly is the problem here?”
My jaw dropped. “I’m seated in front of him! What am I supposed to do? Look at the ceiling or my plate the whole time? I can’t help but look at him.” That sounded wrong. I only hoped Greg wouldn’t take the slip out on me.
He shook his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about, so don’t pull that smart-alecky shit on me, Mia. I have the balls in this relationship, and I’m not fucking blind! You watched him with lust in your eyes.” He reached for me, but I smacked his hands away.
I flared my nostrils, not in the mood to take his shit. While I hadn’t wanted to do this in front of my parents, this was fair game. “You know what?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Nolan jogging across the lawn toward us.
“What? Are you trying to start more shit?” Greg jerked me closer, but I slapped him.
“We’re over. That’s what.”
Greg stared at me, his eyebrow cocked high. He chuckled as if I’d told a funny joke. “You’re kidding, right? You’re putting this shit on me now of all times? You’re such a dirty bitch.”
“Name calling won’t get us back together.” I grimaced, unable to believe I’d ever considered settling for him. If Ethan didn’t want me, then I was better off alone. “Far from it.” I walked away, not wanting to be near him any longer.
“You think you can just walk away from me? I’m not done talking.” He jerked my arm, twisting me around so hard.
My foot slipped, and I landed on my ass in the grass.
“Don’t fucking touch my sister, asshole.” Nolan shoved Greg back a few steps.
Strong hands slipped beneath me, and Ethan lifted me into his arms. My heart nearly stopped beating. He returned my gaze, but none of the soft affection I’d seen before was there. Right now, he looked ready for murder. Then again, Greg brought that out in people.
“Get out of here, Greg. I won’t ask again.” Nolan positioned himself between us.
Greg drew himself up to his full height, which was a few inches shy of both men, but he could be a stubborn jerk even on the not-so-bad days, let alone now. “You’ll regret this,
Mia. I was good for you. You think he’ll make you happy,” he said waving his hand at Ethan, “then you’re sorely mistaken. In a few weeks, he’ll have forgotten all about you, and you’ll be just as lonely as when I found you.”
My mouth dropped open. The worst thing about what Greg said was that it might be true. Ethan would be gone soon. Either back to the military or into the clutches of the werewolf Pack, I just didn’t know which.
Closing my mouth, I pulled away from Ethan. I refused to give Greg the satisfaction of an answer. My voice might just reveal my weakness. At least I’d had the power to break up with him.
Fear: four points, Mia: half a point.
“Bitch,” Greg said. The harsh impact of a punch hitting its target had me whirling on my heel.
Ethan towered over a downed Greg, looking pissed. Blood drizzled down Greg’s chin. I could tell Ethan had split my ex’s lip.
I froze, unable to move. Part of me wanted Ethan to beat Greg to a pulp, but that was wrong. I wouldn’t let Greg be beaten, just because he’d been raised without any manners.
“Ethan, please. Just let him go.”
Ethan kept his gaze fixed on Greg. His shoulders shook with restrained violence pouring from him. “Get out of here,” he said his voice gravely and deeper than I’d ever heard it.
Greg tilted his chin upward, even though he remained on the grass. At least he had the sense not to stare down Ethan. “I won’t until—”
Ethan grabbed Greg’s collar. They were half-way across the yard, with Greg dangling from Ethan’s fist before I could react. If he didn’t calm down, he might do something he regretted.
“Ethan, wait.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. His eyes weren’t their usual brilliant blue. They were wolf-amber. I jerked back as if burnt. My jaw hung open, and I couldn’t speak.
Maybe we were wrong. Maybe the werewolves had the upper hand. They could use him against me. My stomach revolted, and I darted away. If I didn’t do something, Mr. Sexy might use Ethan to hurt me.
“Mia! What’s wrong?” Nolan caught up with me at my car. He took my car keys as I fumbled them out of my purse. “Are you okay?”
I couldn’t meet his gaze. What would he see? “I’m fine. I...I’m just not feeling so good. I should probably—”
“Sis, you can’t run from your family just because Greg is a total dick. He’s going home. Ethan took him to his car.” The rumble of an engine startled me, and Greg sped off. I never should’ve tried to replace being alone with being in a horrible relationship. It was better to be in no relationship, than to be in a bad one. At least I would’ve held my self-esteem intact.
“I don’t know. I probably should go. I’m so embarrassed he acted that way.”
Nolan tilted my chin up. “Come on. You know how much time Mom spent on dinner. Are you really going to leave now? It’d be wrong to take off. We’re your family. You shouldn’t be alone on Christmas Eve.”
My gaze drifted over to Ethan. He watched us from the sidewalk. I wondered just how much he was able to hear with his new abilities. “You’re right. I guess I should stick around.”
“That’s the spirit.” Nolan grinned and walked me inside, shoving my keys in his pocket.
Thankfully with Greg gone, the dinner went better, if not a helluva lot more quietly. I’d switched to where Greg had sat, facing Nolan instead. The idea of being across from Ethan was too much for me to bear, but that didn’t stop him from watching me. Every time I looked his way, he averted his gaze.
I only hoped no one else noticed his obvious glances.
