Page 61 of The Secret Mate Society

I closed my eyes briefly, fighting for control.My wolf was pacing beneath my skin, desperate to defend myself, to eliminate the threat of Jake's influence.But that would only push Ethan further away."Look at me," I said finally, reaching out to cup his face in my hands."I would never hurt you.Never.The thought of anything happening to you..."I swallowed hard."It tears me apart inside."

His expression softened slightly, but the doubt remained."Then why all the secrets?Why don't you just tell me the truth?”

"Because I'm trying to protect you," I said, the truth slipping out before I could stop it.

"From what?"

From monsters.From the Elder Council.From the truth that would change everything between us."From things you're not ready to understand," I said, hating how evasive it sounded."Please, Ethan.Just trust me a little longer."

He pulled back slightly."That’s a lot to ask, Calder.We hardly know each other.And up until now… well, you’ve been doing everything you could to stay away from me.”

“Ethan…” I sighed.“If I were trying to hurt you, why wouldn’t I have done it by now?You’ve been alone with me in my house, in mybed.If I wanted to do something to you, why would I wait?”

“Maybe you like torturing people…” he replied quietly.

“Is that what you think of me?”I asked, more hurt than angry.“That I’m just playing with you until I get what I want?”

“No,” Ethan said, shaking his head.“I… I didn’t mean it like that.I’m just letting my anxiety get the better of me.”

I studied his face, seeing the fear and confusion warring with the trust he was trying to maintain.My heart ached at the thought that Jake's poison had taken root, even slightly.

"You’re not wrong to be cautious," I said carefully."But your fear is pointed in the wrong direction."I brushed my thumb across his neck, feeling him lean into the touch despite his doubts."The real danger isn't me, pup.It's that thing that's been hunting you for years."

Ethan's breath hitched at the endearment, and I caught the subtle shift in his scent, still anxious, but with an undertone of arousal that made my wolf rumble with satisfaction."Then help me understand," he pleaded."Give me something real, Calder.Not more half-truths and evasions."

I was quiet for a long moment, weighing my options.The Council had given me permission to protect him, but revealing supernatural secrets could still get us both killed.Yet seeing the pain in his eyes, the way he was pulling away from me because of Jake's manipulations, made my chest feel hollow.

"The night your father died," I said finally."You said you saw the same creature.Describe it to me.Every detail you can remember."

Ethan blinked, clearly not expecting that request."I...why?"

"Because I think I know what it was.And if I'm right, then everything else will make sense."

He was quiet for several heartbeats, his hands loosening their grip around my waist.When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper."It was massive.Bigger than any person, but it walked upright.Dark fur, yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.Its hands...they weren't hands at all.They were claws.Long, sharp claws that it used to..."He shuddered, unable to finish.

My blood ran cold.The description matched what I already knew, a werewolf in full shift, one old enough and powerful enough to maintain that form for at least short bursts of violence."And the sounds it made?"I prompted gently.

"Like growling, but deeper.More...intelligent.Like it was speaking a language I couldn't understand."Ethan's eyes met mine."You know what it was, don't you?"

I nodded slowly."I have a theory.But Ethan, if I tell you this, there's no going back.Your life will change in ways you can't imagine."

"My life already changed the night it killed my father," he said with quiet determination."I've spent fourteen years being told I was crazy, that I imagined it all.If you know the truth, I need to hear it."

I took a deep breath, knowing I was about to cross a line that could doom us both."What you saw was a… a shapeshifter of some sort, someone who can transform between human and monster form at will."

Ethan stared at me for a long moment, fear in his eyes.“Like… a werewolf?”

“Possibly,” I nodded, trying to keep as far away from the truth as I could.“But I don’t know the details.”

“You know a lot more than I expected,” Ethan replied.He lifted an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side.“How do you know all this?”

“I…” I paused for a moment, wondering if I was finally going to cross the line, to tell him what I was and that an entire world existed within his own that nobody knew about.“I… I’ve read a lot of books,” I found myself saying.“About cryptids and paranormal things.”

Well, the lie was already told, I might as well flesh it out.After all, the Elder Council was having me watched.“When I was a kid I saw something in the woods too, something I couldn’t explain,” I continued.”So I started watching shows and reading and trying to get my hands on anything that seemed similar.By the time I was in high school, I knew everything about the supernatural that could be found in a book.And once I’d consumed all that information, I found myself unable to dismiss it as nothing.”

Ethan's eyes widened, a flicker of hope crossing his features."You believe me," he whispered, not a question but a realization."Youactuallybelieve what I saw was real."

"I do," I said firmly."And I think whatever killed your father is back.It's hunting you now."