Soul of the Wolves

Okay, calm yourself, Sookie. Nothing wrong is going to happen as long as you stick to the script. He has amnesia. You have to convince him that you are really his wife. Vegas fling. What happened there didn’t always stay in Vegas. The two of you met at a casino, had one too many and raced to bed without your clothes. Only when they sobered up the next day did they both realize that they were married.

A simple scenario.

A plausible scenario.

In the afternoon, Ethan hastily headed to Chicago, flying his own plane. The rest of the story left a bad taste in her mouth.

During her confinement in Cain’s safehouse, one day after she and her brother were caught in the cemetery, she overheard Cain learn that Ethan survived the assassination. Cain was furious. Thankfully he didn’t lash out at her. But Cain must have changed his plan. Originally, she was to play a distraught widow at Ethan’s funeral. And when the succession was done, Cain was going to give her brother the antidote and set them free.

Ethan’s survival had wrecked Cain’s grand plan.

Now instead of masquerading herself as a widow, she was forced to play a concerned wife. When she asked Cain how long she must continue faking as Ethan wife, Cain said as long as she needed. She had no doubt that Cain would try to have Ethan killed again. Sometime in the near future. Right now, Cain wanted her to play her part and keep a low profile.

Sookie put the designer purse that Cain had bought on her lap and gripped it tightly. She had to make this work. She had to. There was no other choice. She hoped her brother would stay strong until she was able to obtain his cure.

Then…

No, she shook her thoughts. One crisis at a time.

She startled from her deep thoughts when the doors were opened and Ethan Hunter strode in. She instinctively squelched her urge to flee. She felt as if she had been forcefully shoved into a dangerous animal cage, left to fend for herself. From now on, her future depended on her wits.

Sookie stood up, smoothing her gown. “Ethan…” Her word trailed off quietly. Her stomach knotted. Her anxiety bred a nausea in the pit of her stomach. What should I say to him? Should I ask about his accident? What if he doesn’t want to discuss it? Oh please God, don’t let him hurt me. Ethan looked like he could snap her neck with very little effort.

Unexpectedly, Ethan was genial. “Sorry for the wait,” he said in a pleasant tone. “I was held up by a few guests.”

Sookie swallowed an invisible lump in her throat. “I don’t mind.”

He closed their distance with two long strides. She unconsciously stepped back.

“What’s wrong? Did I scare you?” he asked.

Yes. You fucking scared me. It’s a miracle that I haven’t wet myself yet. Sookie forced a smile. “N-no. It just that everything happened so fast, I barely could wrap my mind around this.”

“My accident?” he asked solicitously.

“The marriage. And the accident too.”

Ethan tugged her chin up to meet his face. “Change your mind? Buyer’s remorse?”

“No, not that. It’s just—”

“That I’m a shifter?”

Yeah, that makes sense. Cain didn’t tell her if she should remain oblivious about Ethan’s true nature. Damn. She needed her cheat sheet really, really bad. “I, uhm …”

“Did I forget to tell you when we got married?”

Where’s the freaking cheat sheet? “Uhm, to be honest that night was kinda hazy.”

“Didn’t Cain explain to you when he picked you up in Vegas?”

She didn’t go anywhere near Vegas. In fact, she had never left Illinois in her life. “C-Cain told me.”

“And?”

“I was surprised.”

Ethan caressed her jawline dotingly. “Hmm. We usually dispose of humans who discover our secret. Luckily, you married me.”