"The day dawned with a different weight in the air. The Salvatore School felt charged with electricity, dense and tense. It was full moon day, the first since Ethan had returned, and anyone with werewolf blood could already feel the tingling beneath their skin, the growing pressure in their chest, and primal instincts scratching at the walls of reason.
After a long morning of classes, the cafeteria was bustling. School life moved at a leisurely pace for most students, but inside, Ethan was living in a war zone.
He wasn't angry with Hope for what she had said the night before. On the contrary: he was angry with himself. Her words had been harsh, but the worst part was that she was right. There was something deeply wrong with him, a brutal mismatch between the boy he had been before that place and the relentless beast that had returned from it. And he had no idea how to fix it.
Sitting alone at a corner table, his plate almost untouched, he twirled a fork between his fingers, lost in his own demons.
A familiar figure pulled the chair next to him without ceremony and sat down. Penelope Park, with that refined, cynical smile of someone who loved stirring calm waters.
— Well, big guy. How's that 'thing' going? — she asked, leaning over the table, her voice low enough for no one to hear and clear enough to hit the mark.
She was talking, of course, about his silent revenge against Landon.
Ethan raised his green eyes and met her with a bored coldness. He wasn't easily shaken by Penelope's games.
— It's in progress, Park — he replied dryly, not stopping the fork from spinning.
A few tables away, Lizzie stopped her spoon halfway to her mouth and frowned in disgust.
— What is the Unnamable doing sitting with him? — she muttered, looking at her sister and then, glancing sideways, at Hope.
The three of them were having lunch at the same table. Hope had sat at the edge, a bit apart, pretending to be absorbed in her phone, but with all her senses on high alert, she looked toward Ethan and Penelope.
Hope didn't need super-hearing to notice their proximity, though her supernatural hearing picked up every word Penelope said. Her chest gave an uncomfortable pinch. She couldn't help thinking about last night, him walking away while she was talking, and seeing him surrounded by intrigue only increased the tension.
Across the cafeteria, Ethan absorbed Penelope's provocation for another second and, after thinking it over, decided to put an end to all this damn nonsense once and for all. He would have liked to drag it out just a little longer, though.
He wasn't thinking about the most important thing: how Hope would feel about him after doing this to her 'boyfriend'.
If she started to hate or be disgusted with Ethan after he did this, how was he going to handle that kind of thing? It would be too much of a headache long-term, that wasn't viable, but since he couldn't go back on his word, he had to do it.
In the end, it wasn't worth risking losing Hope for anything in this world just to drag it out too long.
— So you know what, Park? Talking to you has been instructive — he said, standing up with his plate in his hands.
Penelope raised an eyebrow, surprised and intrigued, but just gave a crooked smile and let him go.
Ethan crossed the cafeteria at an unhurried pace and headed straight for the table where Hope, Josie, and Lizzie were sitting. He pulled up the chair diagonal to Hope's without asking, sat down, and broke into a charming, cynical smile.
— Good afternoon, ladies.
The three of them froze. Josie blinked in confusion. Lizzie narrowed her eyes. Hope felt the air leave her lungs as she saw him settling just inches away from her.
— Good afternoon... — they chorused, suspicious.
Lizzie, unable to hold her tongue, pointed with her chin toward the table he had just left.
— What did the Unnamable want with you, Ethan?
— Unnamable? — Ethan frowned, finding the nickname hilarious.
— Her. — Lizzie lowered her voice and looked around as if someone might be listening. — She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
— And why all that nickname? — Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lizzie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
— Because she's a sadistic, narcissistic witch, and she uses an energetic empowerment spell. Basically, the more people talk or think about her name, her magic gets stronger. So we refuse to give her the satisfaction.
Ethan let out a low laugh and shook his head.
— Subtle. So her, to be honest.
Hope turned her face abruptly, narrowing her blue eyes in his direction.
— What do you mean? So her? What, are you guys close now? — Her voice came out a tone harsher than she intended.
Lizzie stalled, spoon in the air, and twisted her neck to stare at Hope. Jealousy? Even Josie, usually calmer, looked a bit surprised at Hope.
Ethan broke into a slow smile.
— Yeah. She seemed interesting, figured I'd mingle. — He leaned in slightly over the table. — Why? Are you jealous, Little Wolf?
Her cheeks flushed instantly. She turned up her nose and looked away defensively.
— Me? Of course not. Please.
— Too bad — Ethan murmured softly, with amusement. — I'd love to see if you'd look just as gorgeous while you're jealous.
Two tables away, Rafael and Landon were watching everything.
Landon squeezed his fists on the table so hard his knuckles turned white. His breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling out of control.
Rafael wasn't much better. His jaw was clenched, his eyes fixed on Ethan with pure hatred. Until then, he thought the newbie's hostility was just toward Landon. Now there was no doubt: the guy was hitting on Hope, shamelessly, in front of everyone.
At the table, Hope's cheeks were visibly pink. Ethan's intense gaze, full of that undisguised audacity, made her stomach turn flips. She felt the weight of the cafeteria staring, but what terrified her most was Landon's presence just a few feet away.
Under the table, she stretched out her foot and kicked his shin firmly in a silent warning, glaring at him with her blue eyes. Stop it right now.
Ethan felt the kick, and his only reaction was to rest his elbows on the table and lean in even further. His confident smile widened.
— What's wrong, little wolf? — he asked, loud enough to echo. — Did I lie? Your cheeks are red. Want me to grab a glass of water to help you hide it?
Lizzie dropped her jaw in a perfect "O," looking like someone who had known all along.
Josie tried to hide the small smile forming on her lips. Despite Hope's stress, watching Ethan "annoy" her was, at the very least, a little entertaining.
— Ethan, shut up — Hope hissed through clenched teeth, clenching her fists on the table, her breathing speeding up from panic and frustration.
Ethan looked up and saw Landon's back at the table on the other side. He could feel his back moving with anger and ragged breathing, almost standing up. Rafael was advising him not to stand up and start another fight in the cafeteria.
But Ethan didn't seem to care about Landon's fury. The more he suffered, the better.
— Why would I shut up? — he continued, holding her gaze with a velvety, teasing voice. — I'm just being honest. Why would I hide how incredible I think you are? Especially with so many people out there wanting what's mine...
The last phrase was loaded with a cold, territorial possessiveness that made the hairs on Hope's arms stand on end. It wasn't just flirting to annoy Landon. It was staking a claim in broad daylight.
— Ethan, enough! — Hope pushed her chair back and stood up abruptly, her face burning. — I'm going. I have... things to do.
Without waiting for an answer, she turned on her heel and practically bolted from the cafeteria, wanting to escape the circus he had so precisely engineered. She wasn't ready for all of that so soon. If he was going to play that game, it needed to be far from the school's eyes, not right there with everyone staring at her.
Landon, witnessing the scene, yanked his arm out of Rafael's grip and stood up, his face distorted by fury. But Ethan calmly raised his gaze to him, with an arched eyebrow and a deathly cold smirk, and that was enough to freeze the boy in his tracks. For a second, Landon hesitated. Then, determined to get to the bottom of it, he marched off after Hope.
At the table, the mood plummeted. Lizzie was quieter than usual, jaw clenched and knuckles white from gripping her fork, feeling a strange, suffocating knot in her chest, which only tripled her irrational anger toward Hope.
Josie, wiping the smile off her face and realizing the trouble this had caused, sighed, adjusted her sleeve, and decided to cut the problem off at the root.
— Ethan. Do you like Hope? — she asked without beating around the bush.
— I do — he answered instantly, without hesitating.
Lizzie's heart took a painful leap. Irritation exploded into resentment. It was always Hope. It didn't matter who arrived, who transferred, who tried to shake things up: everything ended up orbiting around that girl.
Josie crossed her arms with a serious expression.
— You know you're stepping into dangerous territory, right?
— What do you mean? — Ethan raised an eyebrow, feigning curiosity.
— For starters, she's Landon's girlfriend. — Josie's voice was firm. — And doing this so blatantly, in front of everyone, isn't just provocation. It's characterless.
Ethan let out a short, humorless laugh. A dangerous glint flashed through his green eyes as he leaned in a little further.
— Who said I care about that?
The phrase echoed through the now tense, silent cafeteria.
Rafael, still trying to contain his own anger, heard every syllable. He clenched his teeth so hard he almost cracked his jaw, and his fists slammed onto the table with a muffled thud.
Josie and Lizzie stared at each other, jaw-dropped. Had he really said that, plain as day, in front of everyone?
Josie let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. She glanced quickly at Lizzie, who kept her eyes glued to the table, trying to mask her discomfort.
— Why do you want her so badly, Ethan? — she asked, trying to sound conciliatory but with genuine perplexity. — There are so many girls at this school into you. Forget about Hope.
Further back, Penelope rested her chin on her hand and watched every second of the spectacle, her eyes shining with amusement. That high-tension soap opera in the middle of the cafeteria was the best thing to happen at Salvatore in months. All she needed was popcorn.
Ethan leaned back in his chair with a terrifying serenity.
— Yeah, I know that — he replied, calm but firm. — But when I want something, I go out and take it. I don't wait for anyone's approval to decide what's mine. — He paused briefly. — Besides, Hope and I have a past.
— What? — Lizzie widened her eyes. — What do you mean, a past?
— Exactly what you heard, Lizzie. Hope and I have a past. I've known her for a little over two years.
— But how...? — Lizzie frowned. — She said she didn't know you.
In the other chair, Rafael grew rigid. So he knew Hope? And why hadn't she told anyone?
— Where do you know Hope from? — Josie asked, her curiosity through the roof.
Ethan needed to lie. For now, he couldn't say he had met her right there at the school. No one would believe it.
— I know her from New Orleans — he replied naturally. — We met back when her mother died, unfortunately because of some crazy vampires.
Josie's face softened. Lizzie squeezed her hands under the table. He really did know Hope. He even knew her sad backstory.
— But then why did she say she didn't know you? — Josie insisted.
— Some things happened along the way, and I had to leave for a while. — Ethan smiled like someone recalling a sad memory. — She told me that if I left, she'd forget me forever. I don't know how she did it, but it seems like she actually forgot my existence. At least until I showed up here at the school again.
Rafael clenched his teeth. Around them, the students listening made "O" shapes with their mouths. It was the gossip of the month.
— I thought about staying quiet, letting things flow — Ethan continued, his voice dropping, firm and grave. — But I'm not leaving Hope again. I'm here to stay. And if by chance I leave here, it'll be with her.
The declaration dropped like a thunderclap. Josie turned pale, and even students at neighboring tables looking sideways froze. The arrogance and predatory authority in his voice left no doubt: Ethan didn't seem to play by anyone else's rules, but rather imposed his own.
Before either of the twins could protest, he tilted his face and flashed a sharp half-smile.
— But she already has a boyfriend, Ethan. Landon — Josie countered.
— Like I said before, Josie, I know that and I don't care — Ethan replied. — And besides, I wouldn't be hitting on her so openly if she wasn't giving every sign that she likes it, right?
The bomb dropped. The silence was almost deafening.
Josie and Lizzie looked at each other in shock. Rafael held his breath, his blood boiling at the insinuation. Ethan had just planted doubt and chaos across the entire school, exactly as he wanted.
He stood up calmly, left his tray on the table, and walked toward the exit without looking back. He had a mechanic assistant shift to fulfill, but the bomb he had left hanging in the air was already starting to detonate the environment.
Across the room, speculations multiplied, spreading rumors and tarnishing the reputation Hope had tried so hard to maintain.
At Rafael's table, he remained motionless, but his chest rose and fell violently. He was furious. In fact, "furious" was too mild a word to describe him.
The deepest, most hidden truth in Rafael's heart was that he also liked Hope. He always had. But out of loyalty to Landon, who considered him a brother, he had buried that feeling as deep as he could, suffering in silence so as not to hurt the one who treated him like family. He had chosen honor.
And then Ethan had arrived.
A guy who wasn't even part of the group, an unprincipled newbie who had stated in front of the whole school that he was going to take Hope for himself. But what really blew Rafael's mind wasn't just his audacity.
It was that last sentence.
I wouldn't be hitting on her so openly if she wasn't giving every sign that she likes it.
The words spun in his head like poison. Fury, fueled by werewolf blood and the approaching full moon, was reaching a dangerously boiling point.
Meanwhile, just outside one of the cafeteria doors...
Landon's fury led him in quick steps outside the cafeteria, where Hope was trying to take deep breaths, leaning against a stone pillar with her head in her hands.
When his hurried footsteps echoed, she slowly raised her face. Landon's look wasn't his usual one. There was no shy or lovesick admiration. There was hurt, humiliation, and a blind rage she had rarely seen in him.
— Landon... — Hope began, her voice faltering as she took an involuntary step back.
— Is it true? — he interrupted bluntly. His voice trembled, not from crying, but from fury. — Is it true what that guy is saying in front of the whole school, Hope?
— Landon, please, don't listen to Ethan, he's just trying to provoke... — she said, trying to sound calm, but the blush still insisting on burning her cheeks gave away the turmoil inside.
— Not listen to him?! — Landon let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head, his eyes swimming with indignation. — Everyone in the cafeteria heard! He sat at that table and said, plain as day, that he's hitting on you because you're leading him on! He said you want this! And he said you and him have a past!
Tears pricked her eyes as she closed them, feeling her chest tighten. Ethan's words were continuing to wreak the exact havoc he had planned.
— He's lying to throw you off! — she shot back, trying to step closer and take his hands. — You know how wolves get on full moon days, Landon! He's unhinged, trying to create chaos...
Landon took a step back, refusing her touch. The gesture hurt Hope more than she expected.
— If he were lying, Hope, you would have shut him down in a second — he fired back, his voice rising, cutting. — You're the most powerful girl in this place! If a guy comes up to you, touches you, and disrespects you like that, you throw him across the courtyard with a spell! But you did nothing. You turned red, stood frozen, and ran away!
Silence fell between them like a blade. Hope froze. She opened her mouth to counter, and no words came out. Landon's logic was relentless, and she knew it. The reason she hadn't attacked Ethan had nothing to do with a lack of power. It had to do with what she harbored in her chest—the overwhelming attraction she felt for him.
Landon offered a sad smile at her silence. The implicit confirmation broke his heart.
— I knew it... — he murmured, his voice failing for an instant. — I always felt like something was missing between us. That you were with me, but your head was somewhere else... or with someone else. And now this guy shows up out of nowhere, acts like he owns you, and you just accept it. That says a lot about everything.
— Landon, it's not like that, things are complicated... — Hope pleaded, her voice choked, feeling guilt suffocate her.
— No, Hope. It's not complicated — Landon said, taking another step back and wiping away a quick tear. — It's very simple. If you want him, you should at least not let him walk all over me like that, or you could have at least had the consideration to warn me before making a fool of me in front of the whole school.
— I'm not playing with you! — she protested.
— Then prove it! — Landon challenged, glaring at her, his voice choked. — Go over there right now and tell him to his face, in front of everyone, that you love me and never want to see him again. Tell him he means nothing to you.
Hope paralyzed. The request echoed in her head, but the image of Ethan's green, predatory gaze, the taste of his kiss, and the visceral feeling she had for him locked her tongue. She couldn't lie. Not to Landon, and not to herself.
Seeing the frozen hesitation on her face, Landon let out a shattered sigh and shook his head.
— That's what I thought... — he muttered, his voice dying in his throat, choked by tears he could no longer hide. — It's over between us, Hope.
Without waiting for a reply, Landon turned and walked away in quick, stumbling steps, leaving behind the wreckage of what had once been a relationship. Hope remained motionless in the center of the courtyard. No tears fell. She merely clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms, her face rigid, torn between crushing guilt and an icy frustration burning her chest.
From the thick shadows of the stone columns on the other side of the courtyard, the sound of slow, unbothered footsteps broke the silence. Ethan emerged from the gloom with his hands buried in his jacket pockets and a slow, dangerously satisfied smirk curving his lips. His hearing, heightened by the approaching full moon, had caught every sigh, every word, and every shard of that breakup.
— Well... not exactly the spectacle I had planned, but definitely worth the price of admission — he said, stopping a few feet from her.
Hope didn't even turn around right away; she could smell him and feel the heat radiating from his skin long before he spoke. When she finally faced him, her blue eyes sparked with pure rage.
— Are you satisfied now, Ethan? — she fired, her voice low and sharp as a blade. — Or do you need me to destroy something else around here just to feed your ego?
— To be honest... it wasn't bad at all. I liked it — he replied, taking another step, closing the distance with exasperating calm.
Before he got too close, Hope raised both hands and shoved him firmly in the chest. The impact didn't move him more than a few inches—Ethan was solid rock, and his supernatural strength barely registered the blow.
— Hey, hey... take it easy, little wolf — he murmured, keeping his crooked smile.
— I don't want to talk to you right now, Ethan. Please go away — she pleaded, her breathing heavy, trying to maintain an unshakeable posture. — You've done enough damage for one morning.
Ethan tilted his head slightly, his green eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that seemed to strip away every thought in Hope's mind.
— Deep down, you know you wanted this, don't you? — he asked, taking another step forward, refusing to back down.
— What do you mean by that? — she countered, lifting her chin defensively.
— Breaking up with him. You know better than anyone that whole thing was a mistake from the beginning.
— That's... — Hope stalled. She dropped her gaze for a fraction of a second, pressing her fingers against her own shirt, right over the spot where the wolf necklace rested hidden beneath the fabric.
— He was just a distraction — Ethan continued, his voice dropping to a low, velvety, and relentless tone as his large hand slid across her waist, subtly pulling her close to his warmth. — Someone safe you used to try to forget me... or at least tried to.
Hope took a step back, breaking away from his touch with her chest rising and falling fast.
— And how are you so sure of that? You don't even know me!
— I know enough to know you'd never feel half of what you feel with him compared to when you're near me.
Silence fell between them, dense and electric. Hope opened her mouth to retort, to tell him he was crazy, but no sound came out. Her heart was beating so hard against her ribs she was sure Ethan could hear every unsteadied thud.
He took the final step, completely invading her personal space. Hope didn't back away this time.
— Deep down, you want what anyone with your blood wants, Hope — Ethan whispered, close enough for her to feel his warm breath graze her skin.
— Oh, yeah? — she looked up to face him, her voice almost a defiant breath. — And what do I want?
— You want a love that consumes you — he replied, slowly raising his hand and dragging his fingertips along her jawline, forcing her to hold his gaze. — You want passion, you want adventure... and you even want a little danger. And deep down, you know you'd never find any of that in the arms of a guy like him.
The world around them seemed to vanish. The distant sound of students, the wind rustling through the courtyard trees, the guilt over Landon—everything went mute before that warm touch and those green eyes that seemed to see straight into her soul.
Paralyzed, feeling her skin prickle under his caress, only one question echoed in absolute silence in Hope's mind...
She pulled away from him, broke his touch, and turned her back to walk away.
He and she said nothing more. Ethan stood there watching her walk away, gave a crooked smile, put his hand in his pocket, and left.
The shock of that last phrase still reverberated in Hope's mind. She felt the heat of his fingers on her face and the raw truth of those words threatening to crumble the rest of her defenses. But wounded pride and the urgency to escape that trap spoke louder.
Taking a sharp step back, Hope broke away from Ethan's touch, severing the electricity wrapping around them. Without saying a single word, without looking back to give any opening for new moves, she turned on her heel and marched toward the school corridors, wanting nothing more than to vanish from that place.
Ethan didn't try to follow her.
He stayed right where he was, lifting his chin as he watched every firm, hurried step of hers vanish from sight. A slow, victorious, crooked smile formed on his lips.
Satisfied with the monumental wreckage he had left behind, Ethan shoved his hands deep into his pants pockets, turned around with the same predatory calm, and headed toward the campus exit, ready for his shift at the garage. The first major obstacle on the board had been cleared."