Shit.
He called out to her with his mind. Her voice came through to him. Don’t move. I’m heading to the ravine.
You’re what? I’m not there. He responded.
Nothing. He moved as best he could in a cloud covered world. His sense of direction scrambled and his wolf roiled in frustration. The ravine. It wasn’t that far, but which direction?
He closed his eyes and felt for her. One foot in front of the other, he walked to an invisible beacon.
Olivia?
Nothing.
Twenty more steps.
The fog thinned as he moved, and he couldn’t decide if it was a good or bad sign until he heard her.
“Stop. Don’t you come any closer.”
Ethan started to sprint, he could see again. Nothing was perfect, but he could see. Her walls were down enough he could track her.
As he came around a large boulder formation, Olivia came into plain sight. Opposite her was a gray wolf. Kurt.
Ethan charged.
He rammed the wolf with his head, knocking him off balance.
Kurt corrected himself and charged back. They reared up on hind legs as they crashed together, teeth bared, looking for a place to sink in.
Ethan pushed back furiously, knocking Kurt on his back. He went in for the kill and stopped as he heard Olivia scream.
A split second is all it took for Kurt to take control.
Ethan caught site of Gianna leading Olivia somewhere, and from the fear radiating from her it wasn’t good. His wolf shoved at Kurt and sped after them. Olivia wasn’t trying to control the fog any longer, but some still lingered. He shifted as he got closer to them. He needed to talk some sense into them, he needed Olivia safe.
“Gianna, stop. What are you doing?”
She held a knife to Olivia’s throat.
“Put down the knife, Gianna. She’s innocent.”
Gianna laughed. “I don’t care. She’s one more thing distracting Kurt. As long as she’s around, you have one more weakness, and he’ll exploit it. You need to be our Alpha and decide what to do. I can’t live like this anymore. Either take control or die. I can’t live split any longer. None of us can. Kurt is no leader, but at least he’s consistent.”
Ethan slowed as if approaching a scared bird.
“I’m sorry, Gianna. You know the politics. I’m doing the best I can.”
She cackled and continued to pull Olivia towards the border of the ravine. Gianna’s eyes, wild and angry, scared him far more than Kurt.
A freight train of a man rammed Ethan from the side. He sucked in a sharp breath as pain radiated from his ribs.
Biting back the pain, Ethan grappled for dominance. He rolled out of Kurt’s reach and popped up on his feet. He winced at the first painful breath. He backed up, the fog around them growing thick again. A scream, not Olivia’s, broke through the quickly thickening fog.
“I want my pack back Ethan. You took it from me,” said Kurt.
“I didn’t take anything from you. Your alpha killed my father. I avenged him. I never wanted this.”
They circled an invisible center, posturing, remaining low to the ground.
“Because you're weak.”
Ethan roared out at that. “I’m not weak. I’ve been too forgiving, but never weak.”
Ethan lashed out with his foot and tripped Kurt who scrambled up and back.
“I will take you and your pack. I’ll then take your mate and your daughter. You’re weak. You should have killed me when you had the chance. You’re too soft, just like your old man.”
Ethan snarled, looking for the opportunity to strike. They kept moving backward.
“Some alpha you’d make, Kurt. Engage already.”
Kurt curled his upper lip. “Nothing like making you uneasy.”
Olivia’s voice echoed around them within the dense white.
“Kurt. Kurt.”
The words of her disembodied voice within the air had Kurt spinning around.
“What the hell?”
Ethan chuckled. “Full of surprises, isn’t she?”
“You broke pack law. No one will accept her,” Kurt said, still spinning, still ducking an invisible enemy.
“They will accept my mate. My pack will accept change. You’re not what they need to lead them into a new era. Stand down Kurt. Accept you’ve lost.”
Before Ethan could hear anything else, the fog cleared right as Kurt took a step back. Ethan knew that the wide-eyed fear on Kurt’s face as he started the descent to his death would haunt his memories.
Ethan ran to the edge and reached out, but it was too late.
Olivia caught up with him, wrapping her arms around his waist, as he crouched on the edge.
Chapter 15
Something small climbed up on Olivia and settled on her chest. She blinked twice and stared into tiny blue orbs.
“Tea?”
“What?”
Ethan chuckled and then hissed in a breath.
“She wants to know if you want to have a tea party.”
“You must be Amelia?”
“Yes. That me. Come, tea. Grandma made it.”
“Amelia, you’ll have a lot of time to have tea. Can you go bug grandma for a few more minutes? Daddy and Olivia had a really rough night.”
The little girl groaned and slid off the bed. “Fine. I count to ten and then you come.”
Olivia sat up as she watched tiny brown curls bobbing out the door.
”Do we really have to the count of ten?”
“She doesn’t get time yet. She’ll be fine until we come down.”
Olivia yawned. “Honestly, I’m starving.” She looked over at Ethan and winced at the bruising around his ribs.
“That looks worse. You said you healed fast. Or well, we healed fast.”
She liked the way he looked in the early sunlight, even with a gross blue-greenish bruise.
“We do. He broke my ribs last night. A bruise is far less painful than broken ribs.”
Gently, her fingers traced the skin.
“I’m sorry this happened. I never should have left.”
“You shouldn’t have. I never got to tell you that Amelia’s mom is out of the picture. She left.”
Olivia nodded. “I know. And you’re right. My emotions are all over the place. Everything is hyper-aware.”
He slowly pushed himself up and sat. “I think that’s normal. Your body is going crazy with the power. Plus, mating makes us
