Chapter 26
My stomach betrayed me with a loud growl, and I bit my lip, embarrassed. Reluctantly, I muttered, “Alright, since you’re so sincere.”
I picked up my chopsticks and took a tentative bite. The flavors were subtle, well–balanced, each
ach bite a reminder of simpler times. Ethan wasn’t just a good cook; he was brilliant. My wolf hummed with approval, and despite myself, I found I couldn’t stop. I ate
enthusiastically, savoring every bite, only to glance up and catch him watching me intently.
I felt my cheeks warm. “Don’t you eat?”
Ethan shook his head slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. His voice was soft, almost a whisper. “I still can’t believe I’m seeing you again. It’s… really good to see you.”
The quiet admission made my chest tighten, and I had to look away, my cheeks heating up again. Desperate to change the subject, I pulled out the manila envelope, flipping through the documents as I read, frowning at the details of my “death” investigation.
I became so absorbed that I didn’t even notice Ethan placing a glass of water beside me.
“Why did you keep requesting more tests when you knew the report was accurate?” I asked abruptly, my tone sharper than I’d intended. “Don’t you realize that each reexamination means cutting her body open over and over? I was lucky to have survived, but what about that girl’s body? What did you do to her?”
Ethan’s face darkened. He looked away, his jaw tight. “That girl volunteered,” he said after a long pause. “She wanted to help. She thought… she believed in the research.”
The file described an omega similar to me in age and build, a girl who’d volunteered for an experimental treatment during a werewolf plague. She’d trusted the process, and it had cost. her life.
Her body had been found in a river, bloated and decayed after prolonged exposure, her limbs mutilated by passing boat engines. The report’s images were horrific, her face unrecognizable, her dignity erased by the brutality of her end. I felt a pang of grief just reading about it.
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Forsaken Mate: Alpha’s Second Chance at Love
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Chapter 26
“So tragic…” I whispered, unable to look at the pictures again. I couldn’t imagine what her family would feel if they ever saw this.
A strange thought struck me, and I felt a chill creep over me. I kept my eyes on the report,
afraid to look up at Ethan.
As if sensing my thoughts, he said, his voice laced with a raw, almost desperate edge, “So
you understand my pain…”
A
Startled, I looked up, meeting his gaze. There was something in his eyes, something I didn’t understand but felt in the depths of my soul.
I shook my head, trying to focus. “Right… I mean, how could I have just wandered to the river, undressed, and left traces of… urine? That sounds more like something a drugged–up
werewolf would do.”
Ethan’s gaze remained steady, though his jaw clenched. “I checked everything. Every missing person, every report. In the end, all evidence pointed to you.”
His words hung in the air between us, a heavy silence settling. For a moment, all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat, loud and insistent.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, “but we were required to keep the experiment confidential. No one knew where I’d gone, not even Mark.”
Ethan’s face softened slightly, though his eyes still held a hint of something–longing, perhaps, or sorrow. He hesitated, then asked, almost hesitantly, “Why aren’t you two together now?”
I hesitated, my voice catching as I responded to Ethan’s probing question. “We split shortly after the experiment ended.” My gaze flicked back to the files in my hand, desperate to
avoid meeting his eyes.
Ethan, undeterred, leaned forward, his blue eyes lighting up with that unshakeable, all–too–knowing glint. “I told you, only a mate–bond lasts forever,” he murmured with a smug smile.
I sighed and picked up my fork again, stabbing the last bite of cake on my plate. “This cake is incredible! It’s like it was made just for my taste buds!” I said, deliberately shifting the
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conversation
I didn’t want to think about past bonds, especially not with him sitting this close. I glanced down at the files, forcing my focus back to the words. But the lines started blurring, as if the ink itself were melting into the page.
I blinked, struggling to keep my eyes open. A heavy drowsiness wrapped around me like a blanket. My eyelids drooped, “I should head home..” I mumbled, hearing my own voice slur as sleepiness swept over me, threatening to pull me under.
Then, Ethan’s hand slipped the files from my grasp. I felt him watching me intently. “What really happened the day you left for the drug trial?” he asked, his tone low, his eyes unreadable,
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