Chapter 3: Ethan

I blinked my eyes, too shocked since Kenneth admitted it. Was it all about that? Sex? “But—”

“Look, Helena, what happened between us is nice, but it’s time to end it.”

I caught Kenneth’s hand and shook my head. “No! We can fix it! Please give me more chances.” I was to shocked to hear what he said. How could he say that?

“Helena, do you want to sleep with me?” Kenneth asked.

I couldn’t say anything. After a while, I shook my head. “I-I can’t.” I stammered

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I ….” 

“Then there’s no other way than to end this. Goodbye, Helena.” 

Kenneth walked away, but I grabbed his hand. “Please, don’t do this to me, to us.” 

“There is no us anymore. I only had fun with you.”

“You lie!” I gripped his hand and didn't want to let it go because if I did, he would no longer be mine.

“No, I don’t!”

“Ken! Why are you so mean to me?” My tears were flowing down my cheeks. “I love you ….”

“I’m sorry, babe, but I don’t.” 

Kenneth pulled his hand harder, but I gripped it, and when he used full strength to pull his hand while I pulled in the opposite direction, my body was suddenly thrown to the barrier fence. Unfortunately, the barrier had a gap there. My body went straight through the opening, fell over the bridge, and went directly to the Moon River below. 

I was gasping and moving my hands to get some air. “Help! I can’t swim! Ken, help me!”

Kenneth screamed, “Oh, no! Helena! I can’t swim either! What can I do?” 

***

~ Ethan ~

I saw a woman drown, and the guy on the bridge only saw that and did nothing. He said he couldn’t swim. Though he couldn’t swim, at least he should do something to save her. What a coward!

I removed my shirt immediately, threw it to the floor, then jumped straight to the Moon River. Then I swam right through the woman, swept away already by the current. Since the water flow was strong, her body was almost drowning. Fortunately, the Moon River’s water was clean, so I could see her better. I swam faster and finally caught her on time. Unfortunately, she drank a lot of water and couldn’t breathe.

“I got you!” I said, then swam to the riverside and pulled her body. She was unconscious, and her face was pale. I patted her chest. “Breathe!”

Since she didn’t react, I patted her back too. There was no movement at all, so I did CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to save her. First, I placed my hands interlocked on her chest, then pressed her chest. Later, I opened her mouth and breathed into it. I smelled her fragrance. 

The wolf inside me screamed loudly in my mind, “Mate!” 

I should have recognized her as my mate faster if I weren’t worried about her safety. Also, the river’s water wrapped her body, and the smell covered it well. 

“Come on! Breathe! I won’t let you die like this, mate.”

She remained on the ground, unmoving. So, I continued doing CPR. When I opened her mouth again and breathed into her mouth, she weakly opened her eyes. Finally, she choked, letting out some swallowed water.

“Finally!” I closed my eyes and shook my head as I immediately felt something different when I stared at Helena’s face. My heartbeat was so fast since I knew it was the first time I had met my mate. A jolt in my heart was new. I had never felt it before. 

When the woman opened her eyes, she coughed a few times. Then she stared at me, blushing to see my sturdy body with six-pack abs in front of her. Later, she widened her eyes and reached out her hand. “Thank you for saving me.” 

I could hear her heartbeat racing, and she couldn’t look away. She wondered why she felt so different about me, the man she had just met. Her mind also said I might be his future spouse.

“Don’t think about that!” I said.

She gasped, too shocked with my tone. “What do you mean? Don’t think about what?”

I sighed as I realized how harsh my tone was. “Never mind. Forget it. What’s your name?”

“Helena Starr. What’s your name?”

“Ethan Cross.” 

“Ethan,” Helena repeated my name. “Suitable name for a strong man like you.”

“Thank you.” I raised my hand, wanting to stroke Helena’s hair, but I stopped midway. “Are you alright now?”

“I’m okay.” But when Helena stood, she winced. “Aw!”

“What’s wrong?”

“My feet and waist are in pain. I hit the barrier fence before falling into the river.” Helena lowered her stare and endured the pain. “Don’t worry. I’ll call my mother, and she’ll pick me up.”

I scooped Helena into my arms as if I only carried a lightweight thing. She was too skinny. “No need. Let me tend to you first. My place isn’t too far from here.” 

Helena stared at me, and I couldn’t help but smile because I could read her mind. Helena liked me and thought I was such a handsome guy. Yet she hid other thoughts about me.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Helena blushed and sighed. 

Though Helena wasn’t a short woman at approximately 5’7”, my 6’3” height made her tiny in my arms. When I reread her mind, she thought how nice my body was and wanted to touch me. I took a deep breath. “Stop it!” 

Helena raised her head to meet my hot stares. “Did I say something?”

“No, but your eyes said what’s inside your head.” I sighed. I could read Helena’s mind since I was her mate and a werewolf. We could read our mates and connected with each other’s mind.

“Oh? What was I thinking back then?”

I sighed and shook my head. “Are you sure you want me to say it out loud?”

“You don’t have to say it aloud, but you can whisper it in my ear.”

So I did what she asked. I whispered in her ear, “You want me, don’t you?”

She gasped because of my direct statement. “What?!”