All Chapters of Alpha Ethan: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Chapter 31Liana’s POVMy grip on the silver letter opener is so tight that my knuckles are white.The door is maybe a ten-foot dash from where I am, but I don’t think I can make it.Every story I’ve ever heard about Wolves crashes through my mind; stories about torn flesh, massacred villages, blood and gore and murder.At some point since I was taken, I let myself forget the cold, hard truth.This male can turn into a wolf.Ethan is breathing heavily, and his hands grip the bedsheets on either side of him.“It’s okay.” His voice is as rough as gravel. “You’re safe.”“Your eyes. . .”“I know.”My breathing is fast, and my hand trembles as I brandish the ridiculously small weapon in front of me. “Are you going to turn into a wolf?”His jaw clenches. “No. I can’t. Only on a full moon.”I glance at the window. The candlelight is reflected in the glass. Beyond it, the mountains hide the shape of the moon.“It’s not a full moon,” he says, a hint of amusement in his tone, as if he knows I’m

Liana’s POVI should be glad about that. Yet I’m worried I have offended him in some way. Or perhaps he has just lost interest in me.I ask Fiona about him one day, when she shows me the stables on my lunch break.“Don’t take it personally,” she says. “As the full moon gets closer, the wolf gets stronger. It brings certain... animalistic traits to the surface.”“Like what?”“Like the need to hunt, to kill... to fuck.”My eyes widen and I splutter, “Goodness!”She laughs and gives me a half-shrug. “All I’m saying is, he’s trying to suppress the wolf around you, that’s all.”There is an irony, I suppose, that for so many years, I tried to suppress my emotions and now Ethan is doing the same. I think of that recurring dream I had, where I was a statue in the palace grounds. I haven’t had that dream since I came here.In fact, I no longer feel like stone at all.I feel as if I’m finally waking up.As the days pass, a restlessness grows inside me. It’s wild and dark and aching. It is as if

Liana’s POVThe two Wolves stare at one another across the clearing.The air is charged. It’s as if the forest itself is holding its breath. Watching. Waiting.All I can hear is my pounding heart, and the whispering leaves as they rustle in the breeze.Fight, they seem to be saying. Fight. Fight. Fight.A growl builds behind the bared teeth of the bigger wolf—Ethan. It is so low that I feel it vibrating thought my bones. The shadows seem to cower from him.Ethan would be a terrifying opponent as a man. Tall and broad with muscles that look like they’re carved from rock. Now, he looks as feral as he is strong. His teeth are sharp enough to tear through flesh and his paws send shivers through the ground.His eyes—they glow with the soul of the forest and they are enraged.Blake answers with a snarl of his own. The dark wolf is standing close enough to me that I can feel his body heat. He’s guarding me, I realize. Keeping his prey close. If he moved suddenly, he could rip through my fles

Liana’s POVEthan is quiet as he carries me through the forest.While he was relaxed and easygoing when he awoke, his expression becomes increasingly strained as we get closer to the castle.With every step, his jaw tightens, and his arms harden around me. His hold on my thighs gets firmer, his fingers digging into my skin through the material of my dress. A couple of times, I catch his nose wrinkling as if he smells something bad.I sniff the air and all I can smell is the wet leaves from the forest.I flush, wondering if the problem is me. I got hot last night as I ran from Blake, and I can’t imagine I smell particularly pleasant.“What’s the matter?” I ask.His eyebrows raise and I wonder if he’s surprised I noticed. “I... it’s just...” He shakes his head and gives me a small smile. “It’s just a wolf thing. Don’t worry about it.”When we reach the grassy expanse that leads back to the castle gate, the morning is quiet. A thin layer of mist coats the loch, and the heather and fern a

Liana’s POVI am exposed.Even though my cheeks flame, the bathwater seems suddenly cold. The grey light coming through the window is revealing.I’m not supposed to let any male see me undressed, and there are now two of them in the room.What’s more, Blake is clearly amused by the situation.For a dark moment, I hope Ethan chokes him.After a couple of seconds, he steps back.Blake doesn’t quite manage to conceal the large gulp of air he takes before brushing down his now-crumpled shirt, the collar askew. His hair is ruffled, and his cheeks are slightly pink. He still manages to look smug, though.“Which king?” growls Ethan.Blake leans against the doorframe and lets his expression settle into one of boredom. “Ours.” There’s something almost sarcastic in his tone.“What message?”“You know, you really ought to watch that temper of yours, Ethan.”“And you ought to watch your back.”“Oh, you’re far too honorable a wolf for me to worry about that.”“Goddess, Blake! Are you going to tell