“I’m glad we’re doing this.”
I shrugged in reply. I couldn’t return his sentiment just yet. They should’ve been glad I didn’t immediately race for the door.
While they cooked, I watched Maya and Ethan from the corner of my eye. They’d only been mates for a short while, but they had a dynamic that was kind of sweet to watch.
They teased each other relentlessly, working seamlessly together. So while I still felt uncomfortable and there was an ache in my chest I couldn’t explain, I was at least happy for my friend that she’d found what I’d spent most of my life-especially the last ten years- missing.
When they were done, they laid out grilled salmon, sweet potatoes, and a tossed salad, and we settled to eat.
I waited for ten minutes to pass, for our plates to be filled and the first couple of forkfuls to be consumed before I spoke.
“You wanted to talk?” I said coolly, folding my napkin into a tighter and tighter square in my lap.
Ethan cleared his throat and nodded once. “I wanted to apologize.”
I arched an eyebrow. “For what?”
He sighed heavily. “Everything. For shunning you all these years, treating you as less than.
For being a bad brother”
I stared, shocked at how…easy the apology had come.
There was no tremor in his voice. No guilt. Just calm, measured speech, like this was everyday conversation.
Like his ‘being a bad brother’ hadn’t been pivotal in ruining my life.
“Right,” I mumbled, turning back to my plate.
“Do you forgive me?”
I snorted into my glass of wine.
Maya shifted beside me. “Sera-“
“No, it’s okay,” Ethan cut in. “She deserves to feel as wronged as she wants. I didn’t come here expecting forgiveness so quickly.”
“Good,” I muttered.
He studied me for a beat. Then, his next words cut through the remaining warmth in the room.
“Celeste tried to kill herself earlier today.”
Maya went still beside me. My stomach bottomed out. That was why Kieran had run out like his ass was on fire.
Ethan continued, tone deliberately measured. “She drank bleach. Thankfully, she was already in the hospital and was quickly stabilized, but the doctors say her wolf is rapidly deteriorating. She’s in an extremely fragile state right now.”
I blinked, waiting for the right emotions to spread through me-shock, guilt, panic, grief, even. But all I could feel was a distant, surreal numbness. Like I was finding out news about someone I didn’t know.’
Maya reached for my hand under the table, but I didn’t squeeze back.
“I’m not asking you to care about her,” Ethan said. “But I am asking you to stop.”
I turned my head slowly. “Stop what, exactly?”
“Stop going after Kieran.”
I laughed. Bitter and low. “You think I went after him, that I’m going after him?”
“Celeste thinks he loves you, or at least that you two still have some kind of connection. It tears her apart, and she’s slowly unraveling every day.”
“That’s not my fault,” I said. “She should talk to Kieran about it. There’s nothing going on between us, and he should do a better job of assuring her.”
“But can you blame her?” Ethan said softly. “You and Kieran hurt her all those years ago and-“
“I seem to recall you being at the garden the night of the gala.” My voice was tight. “Are you not curious about the message she sent me? About the possibility that Celeste had something to do with my being in that hotel room that night?”
Ethan sighed. “Speculation aside-“
My fork clanged against my plate, and I felt Maya’wince. “Speculation?” I said incredulously.
Ethan didn’t flinch. “I’m not asking for much, Sera. I know the rift between you two won’t be so easily sealed, just…stop feeding it. Don’t hurt her any more than she already is. Don’t be the reason she attempts to give up again.”
The silence in the kitchen felt like broken glass. I stared at Ethan for a long time, struggling to arrange my tumbling thoughts and emotions.
I stood.
Maya stood too. “Sera, please.”
“This is why you brought me here?” I said, eyes burning. “So your mate could guilt-trip me?”
“It’s not like that-“
“No,” I snapped. “He said his piece. And so will I.”
I turned to Ethan, who had his jaw clenched. “Celeste made her choices. She tried to end her life because she lost control of a narrative she manipulated ten years ago. That’s not my fault. That’s not on me. I will not shoulder the blame for her unraveling”
I blinked away treacherous tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes. “And the fact that you gave that half-assed apology, went through this entire fucking ruse just so you could once again plead Celeste’s case, once again prove that you have and will always be on her side, is the reason why I will never forgive you, Ethan.”
He blanched. “Sera-“
“Update your family tree,” I hissed. “You have only one sister.”
“Sera-” Maya reached for me, but I yanked my arm from her grasp and strode out of the kitchen.
MAYA’S POV
The slamming door echoed through my ribcage.
Ethan stayed sitting, his expression unreadable.
I turned to him slowly. “What the hell was that, Ethan?”
He sighed. “It needed to be said.”
“Did it?”
He met my eyes. “She needed to hear it. Celeste’s on the edge, Maya. She could’ve died.”
“And you thought ambushing Sera and accusing her of chasing after Kieran was going to fix that?”
“I think saving my sister’s life is more important than anything else.”
“Sera is your sister, too!”
His eyes flickered. “She’s not the one tethering over the edge.”
“She’s been tethering over the fucking edge for decades, and you never once noticed!”
“I-” He shook his head. “You don’t understand.”
I nodded, stepping around the table, eyes burning. “Maybe I don’t get the full extent of your relationship, but I understand that tonight, you used me to get to her.”
His eyes narrowed. “I didn’t use you.”
“Bullshit. You knew she wouldn’t come if you asked her. You asked me to do it because you knew she trusted me.”
He stood now too, towering slightly over me. “And was that so wrong, helping me?”
LU DIL between my best friend and my mate and listen to that fucking shitshow?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “I didn’t expect it to go like this.”
“Of course you didn’t. You thought she’d cry and give in and play the part you all need her to play-again.”
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