My fingers tighten around the phone 102

Ethan’s POV
Emma cowered before me, her body folded in on itself as tears cascaded down her flushed cheeks. Each glistening
droplet seemed carefully timed, orchestrated to perfection like every performance she’d ever given. My jaw clenched so
tightly I could feel the muscle twitching beneath my skin.
“Stop it,” I growled, the words scraping against my throat.
She flinched at my tone, pressing herself further against the headboard. Another time, another life, I might have felt a
twinge of remorse at the fear radiating from her. Not today. Not after everything.
My father’s words from the hospital echoed in my mind, sharp and unforgiving: *”If this has anything to do with that
whore of unknown origins you’re keeping, you’d better get rid of her.”* For once, the old man was right. This charade had
to end.
When Emma finally relinquished my phone, her fingers trembling against mine, I immediately noticed the screen was
unlocked. The memory of her voice penetrated the fog of my awakening thoughts—that sugary, triumphant lilt that had
slithered into my consciousness before I’d fully opened my eyes:
“It’s right here on our nightstand where he left it after undressing me. Want proof? Should I ask him to call you when he’s
fully… satisfied me?”
Someone had called. Someone had reached out to me, and Emma—calculating, manipulative Emma—had intercepted
that connection like a vulture swooping down on prey.
With trembling fingers, I pulled up the call log, and my heart nearly stopped. Aria’s name stared back at me from the
screen, timestamp showing just after 7 AM. She had called me. After all the silence, all the distance, she had finally
reached out. A wild, desperate hope surged through my body, leaving my fingertips tingling with electricity.
Then reality crashed back like a thunderbolt. Emma had answered my phone. Emma had spoken to Aria.
The transition happened in an instant—one second I was standing, the next my hand was wrapped around Emma’s
throat, my body moving on instinct before my mind could catch up. I felt her pulse hammering against my palm, rapid as
a hummingbird’s wings.
“Was that Aria?” The words escaped through clenched teeth, barely recognizable as my own voice. “Did she call me this morning?”
Emma’s perfectly manicured nails dug into my wrist, drawing blood in thin red lines. Her eyes bulged, mascara smearing
beneath them, but I remained unmoved. The physical pain was nothing compared to what was tearing through my chest.
“Answer me!” I demanded, leaning closer until I could see the golden flecks in her panicked eyes.
She managed a jerky nod, face flushing a dangerous shade of red. I eased my grip just enough to allow a thin stream of
air into her lungs. She drew in a desperate, whistling breath.
“You answered my phone?” The question came out low and dangerous, each word precise despite the fury boiling
through my veins.
Another tear leaked from the corner of her eye, cutting a path through her foundation. The scent of her fear hit me like a
physical blow—sharp and acrid, pure animal terror. Her lips moved soundlessly before she managed another shaky nod.
My entire body vibrated with contained rage, muscles coiled so tightly they threatened to snap. “What did you tell her?” I
managed to grind out, each word deliberate and slow.
Emma collapsed into a fit of coughing, one hand massaging her throat where my fingertips had left angry red marks.
When Emma’s breathing stabilized but she still didn’t answer, I repeated, “What did you say to her?”
“Nothing! Darling, I thought it was my phone so I just picked it up—”
I tightened my control on her throat again, pulling her face close to mine as I hissed, “Don’t fucking lie to me now. You
think I’m gentle and easy to take advantage of. I could crush you more easily than stepping on an ant.”
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“What are you going to do?” Emma sobbed.
“If you keep lying to me, I’m capable of anything. I’ve had enough of your games.” A sudden smell made me step back
slightly. I smiled darkly; Emma had wet herself and the sheets in fear.
“That’s more like it. Now, let’s try again. What exactly did you say to Aria?”
“I told her we slept together,” Emma whimpered, her voice thin and reedy. “Because we really did.”
Something ancient and primal surged within me—Felix, my wolf, pushing against the boundaries of my human form. My
nostrils flared as he took control, compelling me to lower my face to her neck, then her collarbone, inhaling deeply.
Emma shivered beneath my inspection, a mix of fear and twisted anticipation in her eyes. But I knew what Felix was
searching for—confirmation of what my gut already told me. Even drugged into oblivion, I could never have touched this woman.
No trace of our scent on her. Nothing but her own smell and fear sweat.
“You’re lying,” I growled, my voice barely human, rough with my wolf’s influence. “We never touched. I never touched
you.”
“We did!” Emma wailed, mascara streaming down her cheeks in black rivulets. “I swear we—”
With a disgusted snarl, I hurled her away from me. She bounced against the mattress, scrambling backward like a
cornered animal. My patience had evaporated, but I still needed answers. Before she could retreat further, I lunged
forward, capturing the back of her neck in an iron grip. Her pulse fluttered wildly beneath my fingers as I forced her to meet my gaze.
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“The poison,” I demanded, a new suspicion forming like ice in my veins. “The drug you slipped me last night—is it the
same one Aria was tricked into taking years ago?”
Her eyes widened, a flash of genuine shock rippling across her features—so quick that anyone less observant would have missed it. The confirmation was there before she even spoke.
“I—I don’t know what you’re—”
My fingers tightened instinctively, a warning rumble building in my chest. Emma went completely still, like prey freezing
before a predator. The scent of urine grew stronger.
“Bella,” she whispered, the name falling from her lips like a confession. “Bella bought the drugs. That night… I was just the
bait. I didn’t—” She swallowed hard, eyes darting wildly. “I was scared too. I was just a pawn Bella used to lure Aria there.”
My lip curled back, exposing lengthening canines. “So you admit it. You helped drug Aria. You helped take her wolf from
her.”
Emma’s breathing grew ragged, tears flowing freely now—real ones this time, born of genuine terror. “I didn’t know what
Bella planned to do! I thought it was just to embarrass her, to make her look bad to the pack! I didn’t know it would take
her wolf away!”
Her words dissolved into hoarse sobs as she struggled in my grasp. “Bella wanted to be Marcus’s heir… she was obsessed
with it. Aria was in her way. I just wanted to help my friend—I never thought—”
I released her so suddenly she collapsed forward, gasping. A wave of revulsion washed over me so intense it was almost
dizzying. The image of Aria’s face—proud even in her vulnerability—flashed before my eyes. My chest constricted
painfully. I needed to find her, to explain everything.
Without another word, I gathered my wallet and keys, jammed my feet into my shoes, and stalked toward the elevator,
leaving Emma sobbing on her urine-soaked she