35.Intrigues and feelings

Ethan Greenwood

I used to believe that everything I knew about Mia was nothing compared to who she truly was. As an Alpha, it was my duty to protect my people, especially with a child involved in all of this.

Nick entered the bar with an expression I didn’t like to see. Something heavy was about to be said, I could feel it. I slid the whiskey glass across the table and stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

“Sir... the investigation has given us some answers, but nothing that will make us feel more at ease,” Nick said, looking around as if searching for eyes or ears that could be listening. The tension between us grew.

“Just say it, Nick. What did you find?” My voice was firm, but anxiety was building up inside me.

Nick took a deep breath before continuing. “Mia’s father... he’s an Alpha. Not just any pack, but from the Northern Packs.” He paused, probably waiting for a reaction, but I just kept staring at him, expecting him to get straight to the point.

“Get to the point, Nick. What does this mean for us, and what do they want with Mia?”

He lowered his voice, almost as if afraid to be heard. “He was hiding something, Ethan... Something that many thought was a legend, but it’s real. A potion.”

I almost laughed. “A potion? You want me to believe that?”

Nick nodded, his expression serious. “Yes, sir. And it’s not just any potion. It allows the person who uses it to control their transformation. No more waiting for the full moon.”

That caught me by surprise. The idea of no longer being a slave to the full moon was tempting, but there was a dark undertone to Nick’s words, something that made me hesitate.

“But there’s a price, right? There’s always a price,” I asked, already bracing for what was to come.

Nick nodded slowly. “Yes. Anyone who takes the potion... loses their humanity. Gradually, they become something else... more wild. Unrecognizable. Powerful, yes, but uncontrollable. It’s a burden that consumes anyone who dares to use it.”

My stomach twisted. The last thing I needed was another dangerous power in the world, especially something that could fall into the wrong hands.

“So why is this relevant now, Nick?” My patience was starting to run thin.

“Because they’re after Mia, sir. She’s the only one who can find the potion. They believe she has access to what her father hid. And if they get their hands on it... the consequences will be disastrous.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to process it all. Mia’s father... the potion... and now Mia was at the center of a deadly hunt. My protective instincts screamed at me.

“So, they want to use Mia... to get that damn potion.” I said in a low, dark voice. “What else did you find, Nick?”

“She... might be the only one who can destroy the potion, sir. And that could be the key to ending this pursuit.”

This was bigger than I had ever imagined. Mia was the daughter of an Alpha more powerful than me.

“Then why hasn’t she transformed?” I asked.

“She’s the daughter of a human. From what I’ve investigated, my Alpha, Mia’s mother, fled with her while she was still in the womb. She had to escape before they killed her and the child.” He sighed. “Then she married a man who became her adoptive father and changed their surname.”

Holy hell! How was I supposed to tell Mia all this?

“Alpha. You know that, beyond being your subordinate, we’ve been friends forever,” Nick said as he approached me.

“What are you trying to say? Just spit it out,” I said.

“Do you care for her?” he asked, his gaze filled with self-reflection.

“What do you mean, care for her?” I raised an eyebrow.

“I see the way you look at her. I’ve known you since we were young, Ethan. I know you never cared about anyone, but with her, you do.”

Nick was right, and I was a coward. A coward for denying that I truly wanted to protect Mia Miller from everything and everyone. A coward for facing my own feelings. I had spent so much time alone that now I didn’t know how to make space in my life for a woman who actually had value. And my stupid pride would make me lose her, but maybe it was for the best. I was cruel and cold, I didn’t deserve her.

So lying was easier. It always had been.

“I don’t feel any empathy for Mia, except because she’s the mother of my child,” I said, my face serious.

“If you say so, who am I to refute it?” Nick replied.

I ended the conversation with Nick, but my mind kept spinning. How was I going to tell Mia all of this? She was at the center of something much bigger than she could have imagined. She was the daughter of an Alpha more powerful than me and, on top of that, the only one who could destroy a potion that everyone wanted. What would I do with this information? More importantly, how would she react?

Before I could continue drowning in my own thoughts, I was interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Amber.

“Amber, what are you doing here?” I asked, irritated that she had shown up unannounced.

She flashed me a mischievous smile, the kind that always came with bad intentions. “I thought you might want to know. Mia left in the middle of the night. No one knows where she went.”

My hands clenched involuntarily, and the rage began to rise. Amber was playing dirty, trying to plant seeds of discord. But what angered me the most was the fact that she could be right.

“You’re lying,” I shot back. “Why don’t you go find a dirty laundry to wash, wolf?”

She shrugged, enjoying my reaction. “Sir, no need to be sexist. Believe what you want, Alpha. But I’m just trying to warn you. Mia is not the right woman for you, I am.”

She turned and left the bar, leaving a trail of venom in the air.

My anger grew. How could Mia have left without telling me, knowing the danger surrounding her? I could no longer ignore it. I had to find her.

Without thinking twice, I left the bar, determined to go after her. I let out a growl, and the anger consumed me from within.