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“I’m so thrilled for you both. He couldn’t have found a better mate. You probably could have done better, but c'est la vie.”
Maya chuckles, her laugh deepening when she sees the look of disgust on my face. As he sets her down, he drops a kiss on the top of her head and rumples her hair, already assuming a big brother role, and steps back.
“I was about to say it’s good to have you back, but now I’m not so sure,” I grumble, pulling my mate away from him and folding her up in my arms, feeling possessive after his display of affection, no matter how platonic it was. Ethan’s broad smile wavers and he looks down at the drink in his hand instead of meeting my eye.
“Temporarily. I only stayed until you got back. I leave again in the morning.”
Guilt is written all over his face. He knows this is a shitty time to be disappearing again. Hayley and Cooper are still out of action; Hayley is being watched closely in the hospital. Cooper is camped out there, driving the staff crazy. Leila is about to pop as well, or murder someone., it changes from minute to minute. Which means Marcus, our sheriff, and the only connection to Leon’s clan, is distracted. Kim is in jail. This leaves Rex and Leah to do everything, albeit with help from Maya now, and I’ll muck in after hours as much as I can.
“What the fuck, Ethan? We need you here.”
Narrowing his eyes, I can see the muscles in his jaw working as he holds back whatever it is he’d like to say.
“Nathan!” Maya hisses, now suddenly his best friend. She releases my arm and steps away from me, moving between the two of us as both of our tempers flare.
“I have to,” he says simply, offering no better explanation than that.
NATHAN: Because your mate is part of Anderson’s pack?
ETHAN: No.
NATHAN: Then there is no good reason to just abandon us again!
Ethan shakes his head sadly and retreats, unwilling to get drawn into a debate. Despite his usually carefree attitude, he’s stubborn. If he’s already decided, I won’t be able to change his mind. If we weren’t surrounded by well-wishers all looking for a chance to congratulate us, I’d take this conversation somewhere private. He’s found his mate. He’s not marked. She’s not part of the Anderson pack, yet he’s insisting on going back there. None of it makes sense, and it’s pissing me off. I can’t worry about Ethan on top of everything else.
“Leave him alone,” Maya warns, placing her hand on my arm to stop me from following him out of the room. I suck in a deep breath and try to calm down. She’s right, this isn’t the time or the place.
“Maya! Are you okay? Ethan told us what happened,” Leah says as she wraps Maya in a hug. I have a feeling she’ll be getting lots of those tonight. Maya blushes and sways from foot to foot, looking like she might bolt for the door.
“Did he now?” I force myself to say something since Maya has completely frozen.
“Mm-hmm. About how you created a distraction so he could get close enough to Kim to disarm her. Very clever. All while Nathan was having a little rest, is how he put it. Or maybe he said, sitting on his ass. Go you, Maya.”
Damn him.
As much as I want to be pissed off at him, he’s given the rest of the pack a sanitised version of what happened, for Maya’s benefit, and I couldn’t be more appreciative. No doubt Steel and the council, and Rex and Cooper, know all the sordid details, but that’s more than enough. Maya’s relief floods through me and she sags against me, a relieved smile on her face.
NATHAN: Thank you. I’m still pissed off with you, but thank you for doing that for Maya.
ETHAN: No problem. It’s nobody’s business what happened.
NATHAN: Do what you’ve got to do. Just do it quickly and come home.
ETHAN: I’m trying, Nathan. I promise I’m trying.
His voice is thick with emotion, and it’s so out of character for the happy-go-lucky beta I’ve known my whole life, that now he has me really concerned. I try to mind-link again, but he’s either traveled out of range already or he’s blocking me, probably the latter.
Refocusing on what’s going on around me, I spot Dean watching me intently from where he speaks in hushed tones with Rex. Excusing myself, leaving Maya to catch up with Leah, I wander over to them to see what’s going on. There are no pleasantries with Rex. He just launches straight into business.
“Dean is sending some extra wolves to track down Carla. Or that’s the party line. They’ll also be here to shore up numbers around the packhouse while we’re temporarily down.”
Dean hasn’t taken his eyes off me. I’m sure part of his offer is to ensure Maya is protected now that she is going to be officially living here, and I have no issue with that.
“Thank you,” I say sincerely. I extend a hand and hold my breath, waiting to see if he’ll accept it. It was my idea to take Maya away after all, and it didn’t exactly work out as planned. I didn’t do a good enough job of keeping her safe. He shakes it somewhat reluctantly and nods. I think as far as seals of approval go, that’s as good as it gets from this man. He’ll warm to me eventually, when he sees how well I treat Maya, I’m sure of it.
My stunning mate races over and flings herself at him, reminding me just how close these two are.
“You smell just like I remember,” she mumbles, and he jerks back, looking from me to her and back again. Maya giggles and when I nod, Dean grabs her tightly to himself.
