"My head is killing me," Ethan hissed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes closed.

"There are some headache tablets in the bathroom cabinet," I pointed out. "I'll go get you some."

"That's not wise," Alpha Grayson said. "It's best to let everything work out of your system before you take anything."

"I'll take my chance with the tablets."

"I'll go get you some," I said as I got up.

It was hard not to think about the bodies that still littered the living room floor or the condition Lucas had been in. He had single-handedly killed them.

Not only did he know about Lycans, but he also knew how to kill.

My steps faltered when I reached the bathroom. What if Lucas was like Conner? What if he was using me for his own personal gain? I instantly shook the thoughts away and focused on what I said I'd do.

The bathroom door was ajar and I could hear voices coming from inside. Frowning, I took a step closer and tilted my head to the side to listen.

"Get out," Lucas hissed.

"We've been over this." What was Eva doing in the bathroom with him? "I'm not leaving until you tell me why you didn't call me when you found my sister."

"I swear to god, Eva, if you don't get out now I'm going to throw you out myself!"

"I'm not leaving until you answer my question!"

There was a thump followed by a soft gasp that came from Eva before it fell silence which only lasted about two seconds.

"I'll answer your question if you answer mine," Lucas said. "Why didn't you tell me that we're mates?"

My knees weakened as shock washed through me. I could feel the colour draining from my face as he continued speaking.

"When I brought Ariana back to the dorm, we shook hands when you introduced yourself. Do you remember, Eva?" His voice lowered slightly. "You felt it too. Why didn't you say anything?"

My hand shot out to steady myself as I swayed but unfortunately I didn't grip the wall like I wanted to. I ended up pushing the door wide open.

Eva's eyes snapped to mine as Lucas jerked away from her.

"Ari—"

"Is it true?" I questioned her. "Is he your mate?"

Eva jerked away from the wall and grabbed my arm to pull me into the bathroom and slam the door shut all the way.

She hesitated. "Y-yes it's true."

My eyes darted over to Lucas to find him already watching me.

It all made sense now. When I had told him about mates during our bath, he'd put two and two together and got four. It explained his strange reaction.

"Nobody knows," Eva hurried to reassure us. "They don't have to know! I'm not looking for a mate. Not right now anyway. I—"

"So you're going to reject him now and then when you finally had all your fun, you'll run back to him. Is that what you have planned, Eva?" I asked her. "You—"

"Shut up, Ariana!" Eva growled. "You can't talk about something you don't understand."

"Don't understand?" I took a step forward but Lucas's hand gripped my arm to stop me.

"Now is not the time to talk about this," he said softly. "Will both of you get out so I can shower."

I pursed my lips but one glace down his body made my stomach turn. He was still soaked in blood. Turning, I glared at Eva. She rolled her eyes and stormed out of the bathroom.

I blew out a breath before I turned to look up at Lucas. We stared at each other silently for a few seconds. I turned away. It took me a moment to remember why I was in the bathroom in the first place. Walking over to the cabinet, I searched through it until I found the tablets.

As I walked past Lucas back to the door, he grabbed my arm and gently spun me around to face him. One of his hands gripped the back of my neck and the other curled around my hip. My lips parted but the words died down when he lowered his head and kissed me.

"Nothing will change the way I feel about you," he breathed against my lips.

"And nothing will change the fact that you're my sister's mate too."

Lucas sighed. "No, I don't suppose anything will."

He pressed one more kiss to my lips before he took a step back. I lingered a few seconds more and then walked away.

I'd only taken a few steps when I was grabbed and slammed against the wall. I whimpered as pain shot through my body.

"What—"

"If you tell Dad I swear I'll—"

"Your threats don't scare me Eva. You can't do worse than what's already been done to me," I told her. "But if I were you, I'd think carefully before—"

"Don't fucking tell me what to do," she interrupted me. "If I wanted your help I would've asked for it."

"Girls?"

Our eyes snapped to Ethan who hovered a few feet away. His eyes darted between us, dropped to Eva's hands on my shoulders, and then darted up to hers.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Without answering him, Eva stormed past him and disappeared from sight. I swallowed as I straightened. Closing the space between us, I held out the tablets.

"Thank you." He paused. "Are you okay?"

I hesitated. "You told him where we are, didn't you?"

Ethan's eyes dropped. "He was really worried."

"I know." I glanced over my shoulder at the bathroom door. "I didn't want to put my family in danger again."

"Again?" He frowned.

"It happened a long time ago." I shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Not to a stranger anyway. I walked away without another word. Ethan had called Dad like I asked him too but he'd done more and managed to unknowingly place them in danger.

***

Tension hung in the air.

I wasn't exactly sure who it was coming from.

There was tension between Eva and me.

Tension between Dad and Lucas.

And tension between Ethan and Dad.

Alpha Grayson was the only one who was relaxed between the six of us. I wished I had whatever the man was on.

Half an hour ago the rain had started falling again. It was only a light drizzle but it was enough to make me wish that I was back in bed with Lucas. He hadn't said a word to me, but I knew that he was watching me because I could feel his eyes burning into my skin.

I did one thing because I didn't want Dad to worry and it turned out to be the stupidest thing I could've done.

The chair creaked loudly as Dad moved. He sighed, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back all while watching Lucas with narrowed eyes.

"Start talking, boy," he demanded. "Why did you kidnap my daughter?"

"He didn't kidnap me," I hastily jumped in. "Someone else kidnapped me. Lucas saved me and all he has been doing since then is protecting me."

"He should've taken you back to the dorm," Dad growled. "I would've protected you. Me! Your father and not some human boy you barely know."

Ethan cleared his throat, drawing out attention to him. "I'd like to point out the fact that the...human boy did a pretty good job at protecting Ariana from the Hunters tonight."

"That's not the point." Dad glared at him.

"Then what's the point?" Ethan asked.

"It's none of your business," Eva told him before Dad could answer. "This is a family matter and you're—"

"Eva!" Dad hissed. "Watch your mouth, young lady."

She only rolled her eyes and looked away. If there was any place to go, she would've stormed off but Ethan's house was a bit small for four burly men. The living room was still a mess so she couldn't go there.

I should probably be alarmed about the fact that Lucas single-handedly killed all those Hunters but I felt more relieved than anything else—except for a bit of disgust at how he killed them. I now knew that he would be able to protect me no matter what.

"Who taught you to fight like that?" Dad asked Lucas.

Lucas pursed his lips instead of answering.

The tension in the air thickened the longer Lucas ignored his questions.

My eyes darted over to Granddad Devon. Our eyes locked but he quickly looked away. Why couldn't Granddad David have been here instead? He was a lot more understanding.

"Why's Granddad David not here?" I asked Dad.

He looked at me, glanced over at Ethan and then Granddad before he looked back at me. "Your grandmother wanted him to stay with her." He pulled a face. "She wouldn't be able to handle the pack on her own."

I scoffed, making Dad raise an eyebrow. We both knew that Grandma could more than handle the pack on her own. There was another reason but I wasn't going to push him.

I'd call Granddad David later and talk to him.

"Honey bee," Dad called softly.

Sooner or later Dad was going to turn his questioning on me, I knew that but I had hoped that he would've waited until we were back home before he started.

I sighed. "His name is Oliver and he wants to kill me because I'm responsible for his parent's death."