My eyes darted over to Ariana as Dad and Granddad studied the photos she had given them.

Not only could I see her pain, I could feel it too.

Despite the pain we shared, I couldn't understand why she was so hung up on Lucas. It was oblivious that everything between them had been lies. She didn't mean a thing to him otherwise Lucas wouldn't have gone through with his plans.

Dad had mentioned something about a bond being built though. I frowned as I tried to remember what he had said.

"We need to call David and alert him," Granddad said, snapping my attention back to them.

Dad nodded. "Don't tell him everything but everybody at the pack needs to be on alert. We're leaving as soon as it can be arranged."

"I'll get everything ready."

The moment Granddad was out of the room, Dad straightened and turned to look at Ariana. He stared at her for a few minutes, pursed his lips and then turned away again.

"We—"

"You can forget about staying," he interrupted me. "Oliver may be dead but there's no fucking way I'm going to allow you to stay here with that—" He broke off with a growl.

"College—"

"I don't give a damn about college!" He glared at me. "Everything had been planned from the start. I should've dug deeper into things when. . ." he shook his head. "I think the two of you need some more growing up to do before I allow you out of my sight again."

My eyes dropped in shame. "I wasn't going to ask you to stay," I said softly. "We need to get out stuff from the dorm room."

"I'll make arrangements."

Gathering all the photos, Dad made his way over to the door but he paused and turned to look at me. "Grayson's pack doctor will be here in a few minutes to make sure that you're fine."

He waited for my nod before he left.

I hesitated, feeling uncertain as I stared at Ariana.

Her body language screamed for me to leave her alone but I knew that it wasn't what she really wanted. I sighed as I made my way over to her.

She tensed when I took a seat in front of her. Pursing her lips, she glanced at me before she turned away.

I placed a hand on her arm to stop her from getting up.

"If you want to brag about being right, I—"

"I'm not planning on it," I interrupted her softly.

For a few seconds we silently stared at each other until she looked away. My hand on her arm slid down to grab hold of hers.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I know that he made you happy and I know that you're hurting now that. . ."

She scoffed. "I found my mate and it turns out that he actually has an alternative motive." Her voice cracked on the last word. "H-he said that things changed when we. . ." Ari shook her head and bit down on her bottom lip. "I thought that maybe there's hope."

"Ari. . ."

Tear-filled eyes darted up to mine. "If I really meant anything to him he would've stopped things. He would have chosen us instead. . .instead of going through with his Mother's plans."

I swallowed as the pain in my chest intensified tenfold. It made it hard to breathe normally.

Was this what Dad felt when he lost Mom?

I swallowed a few more times but still couldn't find my voice, so I gave her hand a squeeze instead.

Dad said that there were a lot of ways to form a bond with your mate that didn't include marking, I remembered. Somehow their bond had grown the more time they spend together.

"W-what if I'm pregnant, Eva?" Ariana questioned. "What will I tell my kid when—"

"You're taking things out of proportion," I muttered. "I told you that the chances of you getting pregnant were slim."

"And if it's not?" She buried her face in her hands with a groan. "I don't even know if Dad will still support me after this."

"You're father will always be there for you, no matter what. You know it so why do you doubt him?"

My eyes snapped to the doorway in surprise.

My eyes snapped over to the doorway in surprise.

Ethan hovered there for a few seconds before he made his way over to us. He gave me a small smile when our eyes locked.

"May I?" he questioned as he gestured to the bed.

I glanced at my sister in question but she was already scooting over to make room for him.

He scratched his chin as he stared down at the floor for a moment but then he looked up at me with eyes that were surprisingly filled with concern.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," I muttered and even managed another small smile. "Already healed."

"I'm glad."

"T-thank you."

He nodded. Ethan turned a bit more and reached out to rub a hand over Ariana's messy hair. The gesture was unexpected and so familiar that I frowned.

"It gets better with time," he told her.

She glanced up at him with tear-filled eyes. It was a surprise when she threw herself against his chest and start sobbing. Ethan swallowed but he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her silently as she cried.

My eyes darted over his face. "You called Dad," I blurted out when I realized why his voice sounded so familiar.

His eyes shot up to mine. "Yes."

"Mountain man." My lips twitched. "Now I know why your number is saved on his phone like that."

He rubbed a hand over his thick beard as he smiled at me. "I lived in a cabin for a few years before I moved."

"In the mountains?"

"Yes." He didn't elaborate on his answer.

Even though I was dying to ask him more questions, I remained silent. From the way they talked, I could tell that Dad and Ethan have known each other for years, but what I couldn't understand was why we had never met him before.

My eyes dropped to Ariana's face pressed to his chest and another wave of pain hit me. Moving closer, I reached out to take hold of her hand again and rested my cheek against his shoulder.

Ethan pressed his palm against my other cheek and swiped his thumb across my cheek bone. I swallowed and allowed my eyes to flutter close as I leaned into his touch.

I had felt it last night when he tended to my wound and I felt it again with his palm pressed to my skin. We shared some kind of connection. There was a familiarity about him that I couldn't understand because he was basically a stranger.

My eyes opened and darted up to his to find him silently watching me. He gave me a small smile and then dropped his hand to my knee.

"You'll get through this," he muttered. "It feel like hell at first but gradually things will start to get better."

"I-it won't," Ari croaked, making his eyes drop to her.

"It will, I promise." He glanced at me. "You take one day at a time and eventually you will start living again instead of simply existing."

I sat up when Ariana moved. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand as she tilted her head back to look up at Ethan.

"B-but what if I'm p-pregnant?" she asked him.

His smile was sad. "Then you live for your baby," he said like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. "You're not alone."

He gave my knee a squeeze before he reached up to wipe a tear that escaped from her cheek.

"You have each other"—his eyes darted between us—"and you have a family that will stand behind you and help every step of the way."

"You make it sound so easy."

Pain flashed through his eyes. "Experience is the best teacher."

"W-what happened to your mate?" Ariana asked, completely unaware of his pain.

Ethan's lips parted but someone cleared their throat from the doorway, preventing him from answering. Ethan's expression changed when his eyes darted over to the door. Anger flashed through his eyes but he blinked and it disappeared.

Dad stared at Ethan with narrowed eyes for a few minutes before he glanced at Ariana and then me. His eyes darted back to Ethan.

"I need to talk to you," he growled at him.

Ethan pressed a kiss to Ariana's forehead and muttered something that was too low for me to hear. Giving my knee another squeeze, he pecked my cheek and then stood.

"Call me if you need anything or just to talk."

With a small smile at us, Ethan walked out of the bedroom, immediately followed by Dad.

"I like him," Ari whispered, making me smile.

"Me too."