Evaline:
No matter how hard I tried to keep a straight face, I was failing. Miserably.
I stood by one of the large windows in the main hall with a flute of untouched sparkling cider in my hand, while my eyes supposedly scanned the elegant crowd gathering for the Alpha Selection Ceremony.
But I wasn't paying attention to the glittering dresses, the too-loud laughter, or the whispers of alliances forming in real time.
I was searching.
Not for someone I wanted to find, but for someone I desperately wanted to avoid.
Ethan.
Every few minutes, my eyes flicked to the crowd, sweeping over the tall men in dark suits, hoping I wouldn't see his face again. But the damage was already done. He was here. Alive. Walking and breathing and behaving as if nothing had happened... as if he wasn't the man who had shattered me into pieces.
I pressed my free hand to my abdomen for a second before lowering it.
The biggest reason behind my fear of meeting Ethan wasn't just our past... but my child.
