Chapter 111

Charles

Ethan Darrow wasn’t what I expected. I’d seen Kalen on the news and very briefly in person before, but Ethan was nothing like his father. He had a bit more bulk to him than the average werewolf. He looked older than Ethan by at least a few years. But more than that, his eyes were too expressive, too real in that they lacked that fanatical light I had always seen in Kalen’s eyes. He was calm.

Too calm.

“Something’s off,” Blake said, eyeing Ethan.

I nodded, but I didn’t have any idea about what it was. He’d surrendered easily. He hadn’t spewed bullshit.

Eason Wolfe, he’d said, his eyes steady and meaningful. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know if you bring him to see me.

“I say we should have just punched his face in.”

I shook my head and took the seat across from Ethan. “We only punch assholes in the face...”

As I sat across from Ethan Darrow, I could smell his unease. His fingers twitched, but otherwise, he looked completely calm. His eyes weren’t surprised or fearful, thoughtful... Resigned.

“What if he doesn’t know a damn thing?”

“The WSU is known to be affiliated with Blood Moon, but even they aren’t so crazy to blow up the leader’s son.”

Ethan’s lips twitched, something wry at the corner of his mouth. Apparently, I was wrong, which meant it was even more likely that Ethan actually had something of use to say.

When Grace entered the room, I couldn’t help but sense the tension in her. Her jaw was tense as she walked in with a deceptive amount of calm. I almost sighed, thinking back to Eason’s warning. Where was she in her stages of grief, I wondered.

“Where’s Eason?” I asked.

“Ask him.” Grace slipped into the seat beside me, glaring at Ethan. “Was I supposed to be scared?”

Ethan looked at her, her gaze glancing over her almost dismissively.

“You’re not what I expected...” Ethan said. “When he talked about his sister... Science Queen...”

Grace tilted her head. “It must be nice to waste people’s time.”

“You’re the one wasting time,” Ethan said. “I asked to see Eason.”

“Your friends have already picked him up,” Grace said, her jaw trembling.

I could see the doubt and fear and the stubborn refusal to acknowledge what she knew. I felt my gut churning.

"What?" Ethan gasped.

“Grace..." I looked at her. "Where is Eason?”

She scoffed, flippant, even as her voice shook. “He’s gone. He got into the other car, shoved me out, and they zoomed off. They’re probably halfway out of the city by now.”

My heart lurched. I went still as George came in behind us, and Ethan’s eyes bulged.

“What?”

“You heard me,” Grace snarled. “Looks like Ethan ditched you. Maybe he knows something you don’t--”

“Are you fucking insane?” Ethan asked. All the color drained out of his face. “What the fuck--”

He snarled. “I knew it. I knew we should have just run. I should have just taken him and run--”

“Seems like--”

“Shut up,” Ethan hissed, growling at her. “You had one fucking job: bring Eason here, and you couldn’t even do that? And now, instead of trying to figure out where he is, you’re on some bullshit high horse? We’ll see how you feel if you survive, and you have to pick the colors for his fucking casket!”

Grace slammed her hands on the table. “You don’t fool or scare me. And honestly, you should be more worried about the colors for yours and the rest of the crazy people who have come into Mooncrest and plan to kill us.”

Ethan shook his head. Pale, his eyes brimming with tears. He was pale as a sheet, disbelief etched across his face.

“You’re absolutely certifiable. You’re supposed to be his older sister. He’s your munchkin, and you let him be taken. You’re not even trying to find him...” He shook his head, looking down. “I...”

His eyes flickered back and forth. He clenched his jaw. He murmured. His breathing picked up. There was a flicker of something coming from him: power that I recognized.

Not lycan, but something else.

“You’re not all werewolf.” Ethan’s head jerked up. I tilted my head. “Your father doesn’t know.”

His lips twitched. “He knows... It was... part of the plan.”

Ethan sat back, closing his eyes. “Please... you have to... Do you have a tracker on him? Surveillance? Eason said that Mooncrest had surveillance or something on the streets. Can’t you track the car?”

“You could just tell us where he is,” Grace said. “And stop fucking around--”

He growled. His eyes flashed, and his voice shook the air. The gust of magic that washed over me was familiar and telling. Ethan was at least half-witch. I could only imagine how that happened.

“Listen, bitch. I don’t know what the fuck you think is going on, but if you don’t find Eason--soon-- he’s going to end up dead, and his blood is going to be on your hands.”

“You’re full of shit. I--”

“Grace,” I said, placing a hand on her. She scowled and snatched her hand away, standing again. “Sit down.”

“I--”

“Now.” She flinched at the darkness in my voice as I stared at her. Then, she sank into her seat, never looking away from me.

“I know you’re scared,” I said. “I know this is far more than you imagined it would be, but if you continue on this path, there will be no turning back.”

I took her hand again. “Eason could find it in his heart to forgive you. You can find the moment and strength to apologize, but not if it’s too late.”

Grace’s jaw trembled. I could see the will to protest and deny in her eyes.

“Is it so much easier to think everyone is against you than to accept that you're in out of your depths?”

She clenched her jaw and tore her gaze away, but she said nothing.

I turned back to Ethan, whose eyes were still glowing as he glared at Grace.

“Ethan,” I began, addressing him directly. “I know you’re telling the truth.”

He shook. I could see angry ripples of magic washing off his shoulders and heating the air.

“I know you care about Eason. I might be able to even guess why you wanted to talk to him out of everyone else. He’s a target, isn’t he?”

Ethan nodded stiffly.

Grace growled. “How could you possibly know that?”

“Which part?” I asked, taking in Ethan’s reactions. His anger was smoldering, but beneath that was panic and fear and so much more fury, and it was all directed at Grace. Eason had said they were in love. Had they ever really ended their relationship, or had Eason simply run when the WSU started to come after him?

Then, a scent caught my nose: burning and acrid. I couldn’t name it exactly, but I recognized it.

“How can you possibly know he’s lying?”

“The short answer: it’s written all over his face and in his scent... The long answer is that he’s in bewitched shackles.”

Ethan said nothing.

“So he can’t escape?” Grace asked.

“So, he can’t lie,” I said. “He’s been in them since he surrendered in the forest. Every word out of his mouth is the truth as far as he knows and feels it.”

I sat forward. “Ethan, I need to know everything."

His eyes glossed over with tears. His shoulders slumped.

“You have to find him..." He sniffled. Fuck,” he cursed. “I thought I was fast enough...”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ethan shuddered. “I knew... I knew that the attack on Mooncrest was coming. Mooncrest has been on the docket since their father died, and years went by without anyone else coming up with a Silver Flu vaccine. The plan was always to get it out of the Wolfe Family's hands and into someone they could control, but it's different now. My father wasn't going to risk cutting off the supply of the vaccine and all the other medicine Wolfe Medical makes until.... Until he found out that Eason had come back to Mooncrest."

I sat back, absorbing the information, thinking back to the attack on the house.

“The attack on the house.”

“I heard about it afterward. Alpha Shadow tried to move in first, but it led to confirming that Eason was back in Mooncrest and seemed to be staying. My father agreed to organize the attack: two birds, one stone, he thinks, but he’s deluding himself.” He shuddered. “I was banking on Grace keeping an eye on him until now. I figured he'd move back home and she would protect him. I thought I could get in and try to get him out before this started to take a turn, but it doesn't matter since apparently, she thinks Eason, of all people, is out to get her.”

I frowned. “Eason doesn't know about any of this?"

Ethan shook his head. "I... I couldn't tell him. There wasn't time, and I'm not exactly free to roam about the country."

Grace went still and pale. “I don’t... I don’t understand--”

Ethan looked at her. "You'd better hope my father has him."

"Why?"

Ethan winced. "Because at least Eason will just be dead."