Chapter 170

#Chapter 170: Fishing for Information Moana “If you don’t mind me asking, what made Edrick suddenly decide to have a public relationship and announce you as Ella’s biological mother?”

My eyes widened at Ethan’s sudden question. It was rather unexpected and, despite the gentle and curious tone of voice he used and the innocent redness in his soft cheeks, I found his question downright creepy. After everything that had happened with Ethan both leading up to and during the last party when he kissed me without my consent, I didn’t think for a moment that any sort of question like that wasn’t loaded in some way or another. The fact alone that he suddenly showed up at my place of work — and I didn’t even fully know how he knew that I worked here yet — was enough of a cause for concern.

“Um… I mean, I am pregnant with his child,” I responded with a bit of a nervous laugh, and gestured at my belly — which had grown a bit since I last saw Ethan and now couldn’t be hidden terribly well under my dress. “It was the most logical thing to do, I guess.”

Ethan nodded slowly, but didn’t answer right away. He then pushed himself up off of the desk he was leaning on and walked over to a corkboard that I had on the wall, which displayed some of my students’

artwork. He studied it carefully, and seemed to be thinking. I noticed that his eyes landed on something that Ella drew, and I knew that he knew that it was her drawing because her name was on it in big, crooked letters. He continued staring at it for a few moments, which made me oddly uncomfortable, before he turned back to face me and smiled.

“Well, I’m glad that you two figured something out that works for you,” he said. He paused, licking his lips. “It’s just… I don’t know. Edrick was always part of the whole anti-human crowd. So much has changed about him recently. I mean, I was already surprised enough when he wanted you to live with him and keep the baby, but to announce a public relationship with a human and to claim that you’re Ella’s biological mother—”

“What’s your point, Ethan?” I asked, feeling myself getting more agitated. Part of me wanted to snap at him and tell him that I wasn’t even a human, but I didn’t feel comfortable disclosing that information to him.

Ethan shrugged. “Nothing, really. Well… That’s a lie, actually.” He let out a wry chuckle. I folded my arms across my chest, trying to make him aware that I was losing patience without outright telling him off, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I’m only curious because I thought that there was something special about you, Moana. I could sense it on you. Maybe Edrick already knows, or maybe he doesn’t realize it — maybe you yourself don’t even realize it — but I just want to say that if you happen to need any help figuring out your lineage, or anything like that, I’d be happy to help you out with it.”

I tried to hide my shock. Was Ethan being truthful, or was he just pulling my leg? Either way, it felt as though he was fishing for information, and it filled me with discomfort.

“Thanks, but I’m fine,” I replied. “And I’m not sure if you know this, but Kelly did hire Rogues to attack me. Edrick had to save me. So if you’re wondering why we suddenly decided to have a public relationship, then maybe it was because that whole terrible ordeal traumatized both of us so much that it actually brought us closer and made us realize our feelings for each other. And you can tell Kelly that, too.”

Ethan’s eyes went wide for a moment. I couldn’t tell if he already knew about the ordeal in the Rogue district or if that whole experience had been kept a secret, but either way, I didn’t care. At this point, I just wanted him out of my classroom; my lunch break was almost over and I would have a high school class coming in soon that I needed to prepare for. Therefore, when Ethan opened his mouth to speak, I cut him off.

“Thank you for the flowers, but I do need to get back to work,” I said, trying to sound at least somewhat polite without giving the impression that I was even remotely interested in speaking again.

Ethan seemed to get the picture. He nodded slowly and, without a word, turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

Once he was gone, I sank back down into my chair with a sigh and passed my hand over my face.

Even just that ordeal was enough to exhaust me, and now that it was over I felt deflated. I placed my hand over my belly and rubbed it gently, soothing both myself and the little werewolf that was inside of me.

“Mina,” I thought, leaning my head back on my chair and staring up at the ceiling, “I know it’s hard, but I need you to try to get stronger. I’m tired of having to hide my true nature, and I’m tired of feeling helpless when Edrick isn’t around.”

My wolf didn’t respond, but I knew that she heard me. Whether or not she would be able to heed my words was still up for debate; I knew that there was no way to rush her getting stronger and emerging, and I really only said it to make myself feel better.

For the remainder of that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ethan’s strange visit. His flowers sat on my desk, taunting me in their stupid crystal vase as I wondered if I should tell Edrick that Ethan came and asked me all of those questions or if I should just keep it a secret and pretend it never happened. If he found out eventually, would he be mad at me or would he understand?

It wasn’t just that, either. The way that Ethan pried for answers… The way that he stared at Ella’s drawing with such a strange intensity… The way that he somehow knew where I worked when it shouldn’t have been common knowledge yet. All of it felt strange.

A visit that, to Ethan, was apparently supposed to be a chance to reconcile, wound up unsettling me more than anything. Was he watching me? Was he working with Kelly and Michael? Did I need to be worried about myself, the baby, or even Ella?

There was no way of knowing just what Ethan was up to, if anything. And I had been through enough stress already.

That was why, by the end of the day, I decided that it was best to just move on and pretend that it never happened. It was better for everyone if it was swept under the rug, and when I saw Edrick’s smile as I walked to meet him with Ella, I knew that I had made the right decision.

After all, I didn’t want the news of his half-brother’s strange and uncalled for visit to make that smile fade from his face.