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    1. Chapter 14 Hitter Waters


    I tried wrenching my arm away again, suddenly disgusted by his touch. After watching him with Victoria, his fingers on my skin felt like betrayal.


    This time he released me, either sensing my revulsion or anticipating what came next a violent wave of nausea that had me doubling over.


    I stumbled to a nearby stone bench, copsing onto it while trying desperately to keep the contents of my stomach where they belonged. The cool night air helped slightly, but my head still spun like a carousel.


    I fumbled for my phone, determined to call James. He woulde for me, no questions asked.


    As I struggled with the screen, I noticed Ethan pull out his own device. He tapped at it for a few moments before sliding it back into his pocket


    Secondster, my phone buzzed with a notification. Opening it, I found a bank alert that made my eyes widen


    in shock.


    The string of zeros seemed to stretch forever. It was a transfer from Ethan Stone


    a sum so substantial it made my head spin worse than the wine.


    "What is this?" I asked, looking up at him in confusion.


    "Double the prize money for first ce in the Pack Healer''s Crystal Competition," he replied matter-of-factly. as if discussing the weather.


    Understanding hit me like a p. He was paying me off. Buying my silence about Victoria''s behavior and her purchased victory.


    A bitterugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. "So that''s why you''re here. Not to check if I''m okay, but


    to make sure I keep quiet."


    His expression remained impressively impassive. Take it however you want."


    I stared at the number on my screen again, the irony cutting deep into my heart. This single transfer was more than he had provided for Lily and me during our entire five years together.


    "Do you know what this tells me, Ethan?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, it tells me exactly how fa you''ll go for Victoria. You never spared a fraction of this for your own daughter''s medical bills, but for Victoria''s reputation? No expense spared."


    A muscle in his jaw twitched violently, but he remained silent as stone.


    Despite my disgust, I didn''t reject the transfer. I needed that money for Lily''s burial site at Sacred Moonlight Cemetery. My pride wasn''t worth denying my daughter her final rest.


    "I''ll take you home." Ethan said after a moment, his tone making it clear this wasn''t a request but an Alpha


    "No," I refused, standing up shakily. "Im not getting in a car with you."


    The thought of being trapped in an enclosed space with him after everything made my skin crawl. I''d rather


    crawl home on my hands and knees.


    I took a determined step forward, still dizzy from Victoria''s wine attack. My foot caught on an u


    stone, and I began to fall.


    paving


    Ethan moved with inhuman speed, his hand catching my elbow before I could hit the ground. His touch was


    gentle but firm, instinctively protective despite everything between ut


    Irecoiled violently, pushing him away with all my strength. "Don''t touch me


    The sudden movement threw mepletely off bnce. I stumbled backward, falling widy as tred


    to find something to grabi


    Instead of solid ground, my feet suddenly met nothing but air fell backward with a started ory plunging directly into the Moonlit Reflection Pool adjacent to Amber Crest Restaurant


    The shock of icy water hit me like a physical blow I gasped involuntarly, the cold prating my dothes instantly. The freezing temperature seemed to cut straight to my bones as I struggled to pull myself so


    Strong hands gripped my arms before I could manage it, hauling me from the water with effortless trenge Ethan''s face showed a mix of concern and frustration as he quickly pulled my soaked coat away from my


    body.


    I shivered uncontrobly, my teeth chattering loudly as the night air hit my wet clothes. Without hesitatio


    Ethan removed his ck Alpha Overcoat and wrapped it around my shoulders


    me-pine,


    His scent immediately surrounded me - pine, amber and something uniquely Ethan. I tried to struggle


    against it, to push the coat away despite my freezing state.


    He stopped me with a single stern look, his eyes shing with unmistakable Alphamand


    *Still causing trouble?" he asked, his voice cutting through my protests like a knife.


    The authority in his voice temporarily silenced me as I stood there, pathetically dripping and shivering. wrapped in his coat like a child.