Chapter 39
Leon’s POV
The door of the SUV opened, and Ethan stepped out first, but he didn’t just walk away. He reached back into the car, his hand extending into the car.
When Scarlett’s small, pale hand slid into his, my wolf let out a visceral howl of pure, unadulterated jealousy. I felt my canine teeth lengthen, a low growl vibrating in my chest that I had to physically swallow. Seeing another man—even if he was technically family—touch her like that felt like a blade dragging across my soul.
I watched her step out onto the gravel. She was dressed neatly in expensive-looking clothes, her hair brushed and her face clean. She looked confused, her eyes darting between the three of us and the row of our fathers on the porch, but she didn’t look terrified. She looked… protected. A wave of relief washed over me. She was okay.
Father Lennox was the first to break the silence. He stepped down the first stair, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight of the Obsidian Alpha. “Ethan? You’re here?” His gaze shifted to Scarlett, hardening into a blank, icy stare. “And with her p>
Father Levi stepped up beside him, his voice booming with authority. “Ethan, do you care to explain this p>
Ethan didn’t look intimidated by Father’s aura. He didn’t even let go of Scarlett’s hand. He just looked up at the porch with that same bored, aristocratic expression he always wore.
“I came to spend a few days here,” Ethan said simply.
I frowned, exchanging a quick, panicked glance with Liam and Leo. A few days here?
Technically, Ethan had every right to be here. He was blood. Our grandfather and his father were brothers. This pack land was his ancestral home just as much as ours, and by ancient law, an Alpha of his lineage couldn’t be denied entry to his family’s estate.
But Ethan hated it here. He had only been here once in the last decade, and he had left the second the formal dinner was over. He didn’t do “holidays,” and he certainly didn’t do them at the Full Moon Pack.
“You’re staying?” Leo blurted out, his voice trembling with a mix of suspicion and rage.
Ethan didn’t even bother to answer Leo. He just stared at the porch, his thumb tracing a slow, possessive circle over the back of Scarlett’s hand. The sight of it made my wolf howl, but I kept him at bay.
Father Lennox stepped further down the stairs, his eyes flashing with a mix of confusion and suspicion. “How did you find her, Ethan p>
“You sound disappointed to see her,” Ethan remarked, his eyes filled with suspicion. “Tell me, Uncle… were you the ones who tipped off the rogues? Did you send her out there just so she could be captured and ’disappear’ for good p>
Father Lennox’s face contorted with genuine rage. “Of course not! I would never stoop to such a thing. We sent her away so she could have a better life elsewhere, but it seems the man tasked with leading her out was attacked and left for dead. We only found out an hour ago p>
I frowned at my father, searching for any flicker of a lie. He sounded sincere, but I would still dig further.
Ethan didn’t look convinced. He shrugged one shoulder, pulling Scarlett a little closer to his side. “Well, regardless of how she got there, she is back now. And she will be staying here p>
“She has to leave!” Father Levi declared, his voice high and panicked. He looked at Scarlett as if she were a ticking time bomb. “She cannot stay within these walls p>
“Father, Scarlett is not leaving,” Liam stepped forward, his frown deepening. He looked like he was ready to challenge our fathers right then and there. “She is staying. We won’t let her be thrown out again p>
“No!” Father Lennox roared. “She is leaving this moment! We have plans for her future, and they do not involve this mansion p>
“She has nowhere to go!” Leo yelled, stepping up beside Liam. “You sent her to her death once! We won’t let you do it twice p>
“Are you challenging my authority?” Father Lennox’s voice boomed, his Alpha command rippling through the air. “I’m still the Alpha of this pack, and my word is law. This girl is a traitor’s daughter, and every second she stands on this soil, she taints the memory of your mother p>
“Don’t you dare use our mother to justify your cruelty!” Liam countered, stepping into his father’s space, his chest heaving. “You didn’t even mourn her for more than two months… you went on with your life Liam spat. “And as best as I know, Mother wouldn’t want Scarlett to pay for the sins of her parents… Scarlett was like a daughter to her p>
I went speechless… everyone went speechless p>
Father Levi stepped forward, his eyes darting toward the Obsidian guards who stood like statues. “You boys are being blinded by some misplaced childhood sentiment p>
“No, Father… we are not Leo shouted back.
The air on the driveway was thick with the scent of anger and aggression. My brothers and fathers continue shouting, the Alphas of two generations clashing in anger. I looked at Scarlett and my heart broke. She was trembling, her eyes wide with a terror that made her look small and fragile between these warring giants.
Then, a voice sliced through the raised voices of my brothers and father.
“ENOUGH p>
Ethan’s shout silenced everyone. Even the birds in the nearby trees seemed to stop singing. He stepped up the first two stairs, dragging Scarlett with him so that he was nearly eye-level with our fathers.
“She is going nowhere,” Ethan stated, his voice vibrating with a power that made Scarlett, who was beside him, shiver. He looked at our fathers, then turned a cold, triumphant gaze toward me and my brothers.
“Scarlett is staying here,” he announced, his grip tightening on her waist. “As my woman p>
Silence followed. A silence so heavy it felt like the earth had stopped spinning.