Cha

"Where the fuck did you run off to last night, Liv?!" August nearly screams as I push my way into the kitchen.

I woke up this morning feeling sore in my muscles, especially the one between my legs. Kind of like I got aggressively fucked last night, and the sweet scent of honey is stuck to my skin.

Well, that could be a probability because all I remember from last night was that my friends and I decided to give into a dare to stay out in the woods till after midnight.

Not just any part of the woods, but the part that was marked out as forbidden from trespassing.

There's an abandoned cabin out there that was burned down some twenty years ago, and it's believed that it's occupants died in the flames.

A few weeks after that incident, a hunter who happened to be stuck in a storm out in that area took shelter in its ruined remains.

He claimed that he was attacked by the ghosts of the cabins' occupants. A man with hair so long and skin so smooth, you won't tell it's a man until he spoke to you, and a woman with obsidian endless pools for eyes.

Many that went to that part of the woods that period reported the same sightings and three people went mysteriously missing.

Our town mayor forbade people from venturing that far into the woods after that, but trust teenagers and college students like us.

Young blood, all for the thrill.

The cabin has become an attractive sight for Halloween pranks and everyone wants to prove their fearlessness by staying in, until after midnight.

Just like my friends and I.

Wait, I was against the idea and I only followed them just in case something went wrong, because they're both idiots.

I also remember that August got so scared, she began eating her moral support brownies. By moral support, I mean brownies baked with...you know what.

Ethan and I had to snag some from her before she over dosed herself and well, my memory is hazy after that.

"Ethan and I were so fucking worried when we noticed you weren't with us anymore."

"Which was when exactly? When your emotional support wore off?" I snap, feeling irritable already.

"No, we weren't too far gone like you," she throws back with an eye roll.

"Oh, I'm sorry for eating your brownies just so I could prevent you from an over dose."

I hustle out a bowl and begin shuffling through the shelves to find the cereal box.

August and I have been roommates since our first year in college. And even before then, we've been friends since our childhood.

Ethan is a little older than us and we only got to be close to him when my brother died when they were in sophomore year and August and I were in our last year of junior high.

Even though I was adopted, my brother Luke, and I were pretty close and he was overprotective of me so much that the only friend of his I could speak to was Ethan, his best friend.

Which is why Ethan took me as his minion when Luke died, and I guess August was part of the package for him.

"You didn't have to eat that much," she mutters as she opens a shelf and grabs the cereal she knows I'm looking for, then hands it over to me.

"You're welcome," I grin sarcastically.

"Olivia!" She groans. "We were scared okay? After what we heard out there and we were high as shit, we run back to town and we don't find you with us...I admit, I was too scared to go back in to look for you, but Ethan went back and he didn't find you."

I pause pouring milk into my bowl and look up at her. "What we heard? What did we hear?"

She looks at me like I've grown two heads, then amusement clouds her features and she bursts into an amused laughing fit.

"Oh...my...gosh. Just how high were you?"

"High enough to make it back in one piece I guess," I shrug as I continue with my milk.

An image flashes through my head, but it's gone before I can even identify what it is. A familiar feeling begins to rouse in my body, like the feeling of hands touching me delicately.

It's nice, but it leaves me with a confusing sense of longing. And I don't know what I'm longing for, or who. Just that I'm slowly becoming aroused and there's this warmth inside of me.

"Livy, God, you sure were baked," August, who is still laughing, says. "Well we heard a wolf, remember? We were in the cabin and we heard a wolf howl? Ethan said they usually move around in packs and we had to leave before they closed in on us. That was scary, honestly. I'm never going into the woods again."

At the mention of a wolf, something tickles my inner senses and blurry images begin to pass in my memory.

Kind of like a dream I can't quite remember.

"So when we didn't see you last night, we feared the worst and would have gone to the sheriff to file a missing person report today. I already called Ethan when I found you asleep in your room this morning."

"So let me get this straight. I was so high, I can't remember hearing the wolf out last night and I someway somehow, made my way through the woods and back here at some point in the night?"

"Yeah."

"As high as I was?"

"There's no other explanation, Liv," she shrugs. "Unless..." Her eyes trail over my body and rests on my neck, then she frowns. "Olivia, what the fuck is that??"

The alarm in her voice sends a mild wave of panic through me and I bring my hand up to my neck. I feel around it until I come across a bumpy area that is so sensitive.

The moment I touch it, something stirs in me, and the feeling of satisfaction creeps through me.

"Why are you smiling? Who bit you?"

August is on me in a second and she's examining my neck.

"Do you remember running into someone last night?"

"Uh...no? I was baked, remember? Even if I did, I don't remember."

She looks panicked as she runs her eyes over me again. "What...what are you...?"

She picks the hem of the oversized hoodie I'm wearing and her panic grows. "This isn't yours."

I look down at the outfit, noticing for the first time that it actually isn't mine, and it doesn't belong to anyone I know well enough to wear their shit.

I want to panic and take it off, but is smells so comforting and addicting, that I know I would feel lost if I take it off.

But I'm a logical person, and so I'm wondering, how the fuck did I get this on? What happened to my clothes? Why am I naked underneath?

August is already on the phone with Ethan, beckoning him to come over as something seriously terrible must have happened to me out in the woods.

Even with all the panic in the air, there's this feeling that whatever happened to me out there was completely what I wanted to happen.

August turns to me again, this time there's tears in her eyes. "Take it off," she commands.

"Huh?"

"Take that fucking thing off, Olivia. I want to see your body."

Weird, but okay.

I zip the hoodie down and I pull it off my body, though not completely. I'm not about to part with the scent of it.

She scans my body and she gasps. "Oh...my..."

I look down at myself and even I am surprised at what I see. Scratch marks that look to be healing decorate my body. They're pink, but they look like they might have been red and swollen at some point.

"Someone had you last night, do you remember who it was?"

The image of a man floats into my head, but it's out before I can even grasp his features. At the memory of him though, my stomach does a flip, and there's this burning sensation on my neck.

It's a good way.

Suddenly, the scent of the hoodie means so much more than the sweet and comforting honey. I just know that it has something to do with the man that I just can't seem to pinpoint.

And I know that whatever happened between us last night was purely consensual. But what happened?

I mean, we had sex. That's pretty much obvious as it makes sense that I woke up feeling sore, and I am in fact still sore.

The marks on my body... including the bite mark on my neck, is also related to him.

Huh. Didn't pin myself for the rough sex type, but oh well, I was high and things happen when you're high.

What I can't wrap my head around, however, is the fact that I might have just had sex with a total and complete stranger, and I don't feel irked about it.

Just what happened?

Was it the influence of the brownies or did something more than that happen? Why don't I remember anything?

The only thing I am certain about is that whatever happened between me and the mystery guy was definitely what I wanted, and I wasn't taken advantage of in anyway.

But August doesn't know that and any minute now, Ethan would be in our dorm, freaking out as much as August is.

Urghhhhh!

I hate when my business has to be out in the open like this. Especially one as embarrassing as the one I'm in now.

Olivia the logical pessimist, just had a one night stand with a random stranger in the woods? Hell nah.

"Mate."

A strong voice in my head suddenly barks out. It's loud, convincing and very possessive. It's almost like I imagined it, especially as my head goes silent after that.

I brush it aside and pull the hoodie back on my body.

"Look, there's no reason to panic okay?" I tell August as she tries to pry the hoodie off me once again and I resist.

"What do you–"

"Yes, I was with someone last night and he brought me back here."

She frowns, then her brows quirk up in that way that I know she doesn't buy what I'm saying for a bit.

Of course she wouldn't. I have never made mention of a guy since after my last break up in our second year. What guy do I mean now?

"Who?"

"Zeke," the voice in my head speaks again, and I say it out without even thinking.

"Zeke? As in the freshman from the biochemistry department?"

There is a Zeke in the biochemistry department??

"No...no, God no. He's not from around here," I clarify, and somehow, it doesn't feel like a lie. There's a satisfied grunt in my head, and I take it that me and my mind are agreeing with that.

"Oh...so he's from...?"

"Out of town, I think. He's a–"

"Mate," my mind interrupts.

"Mate," I repeat out loud, only then realizing how stupid that sounds.

"Mate? He's an Aussie?"

"No," the voice in my head growls. "He's mate."

I believe I'm still a little too high, so I ignore it and agree with August.

"Something like that," I shrug, facing my bowl of now soggy cereals.

I stuff my face with it anyway, turning away from the scrutiny of her gaze.

"And when exactly were you going to tell me about this...Zeke?"

I make a sound and pair it up with a shrug, shoving another spoon of soggy cereals down my throat.

"You know I can tell you're lying, right?"

"I'm not, really."

Another image flashes through my head, and this time it stays.

It's the memory of a man with a lopsided grin. He's staring at me from behind a cage and his beautiful red hair frames his face.

His captivating green eyes are playful and I can tell he's very naked. He's tattooed on his arm and all the way to his neck.

Is that the man I was with last night?

Zeke?

"Ezekiel. Alpha Ezekiel," my mind tells me. "Mate."

The bite mark on my neck flares up again and I suddenly feel sick.

"Uh, are you okay? You're pale all of a sudden," August comments when I turn back to meet her gaze.

"I'm good, Gus. I just need to take a nap."

"Yeah, I can only imagine after you had a really wild night with a Zeke that's from out of town." Her voice is mocking, but there's a curiosity behind it.

"And possibly Aussie" I add.

"Uh huh."

I dump my now empty cereal bowl into the sink and begin heading back to my room. Just as I grab my door handle, the front door to our dorm opens and I hear August talking to someone.

"Livy?" It's Ethan's voice.

I can hear August whispering to him about how I was baked more than they thought last night, and very clearly, might I add. It's almost like I'm in their presence.

I resist the urge to ignore his call, because knowing him, he'd come after me anyway.

Dang it.

"I'm alive, Ethan. Don't sweat it," I say as I turn away from my room door and head out to the little living room.

He has this smile on his face like he's less concerned about how I made it back to town and wants to know something else.

"Zeke, huh?" He teases and I groan, turning full three sixty and heading back to my room.

I hear him bark out a laugh behind me, with August trying to chide him and telling him it's not something to joke about, and that I might have been potentially assaulted.

Oh, God.

How am I even supposed to talk to them about someone I don't even fully remember?

By the time I drag myself to my first lecture, I've convinced myself of three things.

One, whatever happened in the woods on Halloween night doesn't matter anymore.

Two, the bite mark on my neck is just a hickey that will fade the same way all hickies do.

And three, I will never, ever touch August's brownies again.

My neck still tingles, though. Like a phantom reminder of a teeth being sunk into my neck. Somehow that sends a jolt of pleasure through my body.

How odd.

I'm beginning to enjoy being bitten now? I never would have taken myself for the type to enjoy a rough rider.

Or...maybe the tingle in my neck is just a rash. Rashes kinda have that sweet feeling to them, you know?

Yeah, that makes more sense. I'll go with the rash.

"It's very demeaning to tag our mates' mark as a rash, don't you think?" That voice in my head pokes up.

I maybe going crazy, but my mind has never for once used a voice that wasn't mine, when I wasn't thinking in another person's voice on purpose.

No, this voice in my head doesn't sound like me or anyone I know for that matter. It sounds... feral.

"You catch a bug or two from a wild night out in the woods with a stranger," it says, and I imagine it to shrug.

Great. Now even my brain is mocking me.

"I'm not your brain, goddess no, it's dark and empty up there," it corrects. "I'm what you would want to call your other... consciousness. I can't say more than that until...well, you're ready, I guess."

I roll my eyes so hard I might sprain them. "Fantastic. First schizophrenia, then failing statistics. Exactly how I imagined my twenties," I mutter under my breath, ignoring the side glance from a girl sitting two rows over.

"Schizophrenia is a big word, Liv!" It coos. "But sadly, no. You're not schizophrenic. You're just different, and the sooner you learn to embrace it, the better for you, hun."

"Embrace talking to myself?" I scoff out loud and the boy to my left hisses.

"This is not the time or the place to lose your senses. Unlike you, we're trying to embrace these fucking equations. So can you kindly not embrace talking to yourself...here?"

I turn to glare at him and he shies away under the intensity of my gaze.

"I'm sorry," I say with a tight smile, and he gulps in return.

"You can talk to me without talking to the world. I'm inside of you, I hear your thoughts," it bites back a laugh.

"Thank you for telling me that earlier," I think back with an eye roll.

"I didn't think I had to tell you, but like I said, your brain is a dark and empty place."

I let out a sigh and face my notes squarely. Since the professor started lecturing, I hadn't as little as put a dot down. Now he's talking about an assignment I didn't catch, and it's due tomorrow.

Lucky me.

The rest of the morning is a blur of professors droning on, the smell of stale chalk, and me trying not to obsess over phantom hands on my skin and the mocking voice in my head.

Normal day.

By afternoon, I've almost convinced myself that last night's fever dream is behind me, that is until I spot a rare and familiar flaming red head in the crowd.

He's leaning casually against the brick wall outside the library like he belongs on a magazine cover, sunlight catching in his ridiculous red hair.

Green eyes flash when he notices me, and that stupidly lopsided grin appears...the exact one my brain so kindly replayed for me earlier.

Oh. Shit.

My entire body short-circuits. My pulse skyrockets, my legs forget how to function, and suddenly I'm very aware of every nerve ending under my skin.

His scent drifts over and my nose catches every detail of it. It's intoxicating, so much so, that it's like I can taste him.

"Honey," the voice in my head muses. "Our mate smells like sweet honey. And he tastes like honey too, you remember?"

"I would appreciate if you stop saying that word."

"What word? Mate?"

"Precisely so..." My words drift off when he gestures for me to come over.

"But that's precisely what he is to us," it emphasizes on the word 'precisely'.

"He is nothing but a stranger to us, and I believe his name is Zeke, so I appreciate it if you just called him that."

"Right...so he's the stranger that we fucked in the woods, and his name is Ezekiel, otherwise called Zeke."

"Wow, thank you for the brief background check."

"You're welcome." It coos, "now go over to him."

"Nope," I whisper fiercely, frozen in place.

"Yes, he's calling out to us."

"Absolutely not. Stranger danger, remember? This is how people end up on true crime documentaries. You follow a stranger with charm and then you disappear forever."

"You weren't thinking about that when you–"

"Slept with him in the woods? No I wasn't, because I wasn't thinking then. I was high. And please stop bringing that up every two seconds!"

The voice sighs and I feel something warm spread through me. "I'll just take you to him, then."

"Wait... what–"

Before I can sputter out a question, my body begins to move contrary to my rebuttal. It's almost like he's magnetic and I'm caught in his force field, moving closer to him until I'm right in front of him.

He's right here. Real. Solid. Smelling exactly like that addictive, sweet honey that clung to me when I woke up and it makes my knees wobble.

"If it isn't the pretty lady I owe my freedom to," he says smoothly, voice low and warm, like he's greeting an old friend instead of a girl about to pass out in front of him.

I blink at him, brain cells doing their best impression of a traffic jam.

"Uh... hi." Brilliant. Future valedictorian right here.

"What did you do?!" I whisper yell in my head.

"Just tapped into the part of you that wants to be near him for life, otherwise known as the mate bond," the voice purs.

Mate bond? What are we, wolves?

I hear a mental snicker, but I ignore it and focus on the man standing right in front of me.

Zeke tilts his head, eyes gleaming with amusement, and that grin widens. "I was beginning to wonder when we'd run into each other again."

"Why?"

He looks off into the crowd of students moving around us, then his eyes fall back to mine. "Why?"

Again. My stomach flips.

"Unlike a certain person I know, he remembers every detail of your night out in the woods. Of course he does," the voice in my head preens. "He's ours."

I get this urge to bury my face in the crook of his neck, but I fight it off as fiercely as I can. No way I'm making the same mistake twice.

I grit my teeth. "Look, I know what happened between us last night must have been...great, but I was high and I assure you it's not going to happen again. I barely remember anything at all and I would love to keep it that way, okay?"

"Really?" He leans just slightly closer, and my lungs betray me by sucking in a sharp breathe of his scent. "Because your body is saying otherwise, Olivia."

My mouth opens, then closes, then opens again. Nothing comes out. Great. I'm a fish now.

"Relax," he chuckles, clearly enjoying my breakdown. "You look like you're about to bolt. I don't bite."

My hand flies unconsciously to my neck. His gaze flickers there, sharp and knowing, before he smirks again, easy and lighthearted.

"I mean, not unless you ask nicely," he adds with a wink.

"And if I remember clearly, you told him to bite you," my mind coos.

"Aren't I lucky that I'm the only one with no memories of this, whatsoever?"

His smirk slowly falls off and his eyes look more earnest now. He leans even closer to me, but not in a sensual way.

"Nothing you didn't want happened, okay? I know you don't remember and it's probably for the best that you don't, but I want you to know that I only did what you asked me to."

My face heats up at his words as I nod, and the muscles between my legs constrict. His nose perks up slightly and his eyes darken, but he pulls back from me with a small smile before I can read the new emotion behind his darkened gaze.

"Why are you here, Zeke?"

"I just wanted to thank you for last night," he bites the inside of his cheeks, then shakes his head. "With words. I wanted to thank you with words."

"Actions speak better than words, my sweet, and the actions last night said all the appreciations we need," my mind purrs and I feel more heat creep up to my face.

Thank me for what though? I want to dwell on the thought and question him about it but I'm sidetracked by the look in his eyes.

He looks curious, like he came to find something else out, and not to appreciate me like he says.

"That's not really why you're here, is it?" I take a daring step closer to him, just so I can get a closer look into his eyes. "You're not a very good liar."

He chuckles and raises his hands in the air in surrender. "Alright, you caught me. That's not really why I'm here."

"So why are you here?"

He looks at me deeply, runs a hand through his hair–his fingers stopping where his bun begins– then he sighs.

"You really don't remember anything about last night?" He asks quietly.

I shake my head.

"Not even anything we said to each other?"

"Nothing at all. Just your face...your name...and the feel of your hands on my body and that's it. But like I said, I was high so it's normal not to remember anything."

"Oh, you did say that," he muses to himself.

"Now that's clear," I say quickly, backing up a step. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to get away before I melt into a puddle at his feet. "I have... things. Important things. To do. Very far away from here."

He straightens, like he might follow, and I panic. "So, uh... nice meeting you. Again. Or whatever."

Then I whirl and march off before my body can betray me further.

Honey clings to the air around me like invisible smoke. Sweet. Intoxicating. Impossible to escape.

"He's still watching you," the voice in my head coos. "We'll see him again, Liv. Wherever the Luna goes, the Alpha follows."

"Shut up," I hiss, walking faster and ignoring the strange analogy.

But the truth is, I can still feel him. Like heat at my back. Like every part of me is tuned to his presence. My skin tingles, my stomach flips, and deep down, I know that I'll see him again.

I want to see him again.

By the time I get back to my dorm exhausted and drained, all I want is silence, a nap, and maybe for my brain to stop screaming "honey" every time I inhale, and "mate" every time I exhale.

What I do not want? To walk in on my two best friends sucking face on the couch like a they're eating each other's souls.

"Oh for fuck's sake," I blurt before I can even stop myself.

August yelps and practically launches herself off Ethan, but it's too late. His lips are red, her hair is a mess, and their guilty faces scream busted.

"Wow," I drawl, leaning against the doorframe. "So this is what you two do when I'm not around? Interesting."

"We-It's not-" August stammers, her hands flailing like she's trying to erase the last thirty seconds from existence.

Ethan, ever the calm one, just clears his throat and sits up straighter, like maybe if he acts mature, I'll forget I saw him with his tongue halfway down my best friend's throat.

I grin wickedly, suddenly enjoying the moment. "Relax, lovebirds. I'm not judging. Just saying it's going to be really awkward when you break up. And for the record-" I point a finger at Ethan, "-I'm taking his side."

August gasps. "Excuse me?"

"What? He cooks. You don't. I have priorities."

"Olivia!"

"Don't Olivia me. We've been eating cereals for the past month."

"It's not like you were bothered."

Ethan chuckles under his breath, and August glares at both of us like we're conspiring against her.

I move into the space fully, setting my bag down on the couch and then, taking off my shoes.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work, Ethan?"

"Uh...I'm off today."

"Right, the fire department let you off so you can come in and kiss my best friend?"

"Olivia!" August squeals and tosses a pillow at me, which I dodge smoothly as I walk over to the refrigerator.

I'm about to grab myself a can of soda when Ethan stands up from the couch he's sitting on and approaches me slowly.

"So," he says slowly, "about this Zeke guy..." his hands are folded neatly across his chest and his eyes aren't joking anymore.

I pause, my heart beat picking up a pace suddenly. "What about him?"

August perks up, instantly curious. "Yeah, Liv. You never finished telling us. What really happened last night?"

God, I was hoping this was something of the past. Although what did I really expect?

August believes I was possibly taken advantage of, and she would have passed that thought to Ethan.

Ethan is not the kind of guy to let these kind of things slide, especially when it comes to me.

He's older and he's smarter. Yes, he does stupid things like agreeing to go to the woods last night, but it doesn't make him any less wiser.

He won't let this go until he's sure there's no threat, and no one to beat up.

Heat crawls up my neck from the sudden attention on me, and my teeth clenches. "I already told you. Nothing I didn't want to happen."

Ethan frowns, leaning forward. "But you don't remember it, do you? You were baked. So How can you be sure?"

My jaw tightens. "Because I just am, okay?"

"You can tell them instincts?" My mind offers, but I shake it off.

"That's not good enough," he presses in a calm voice, but stubborn. "I need to know you weren't taken advantage of."

The words dig under my skin, sharp and irritating, like splinters. I think back to Zeke, to his genuine stare when he told me everything that happened last night was what I wanted.

"I wasn't, guys. Okay?"

"Olivia..." Ethan draws out.

I'm getting pissed already. I know he means well, but it feels like an interrogation and I feel cornered.

"I wasn't!" I snap. "God, why won't you believe me?"

"Because you don't remember!"

The room goes tense. August bites her lip, glancing between us like a referee in a boxing ring.

"I don't need to remember to know it was consensual," I say more calmly now. "I know what I wanted."

Ethan's jaw works. "Olivia-"

"No. Stop. You're not my brother, Ethan, you can't be forcing answers out of me." The words rip out of me, harsher than I mean them.

The second they leave my mouth, the air freezes. His face falls, the hurt flashing clear in his eyes before he masks it. August inhales sharply like I just punched her.

Shit.

"I didn't mean-" I start, but the damage is already done. My chest feels tight, too tight, and I can't stand their stares another second.

So I storm off to my room, slamming the door like the melodramatic queen I apparently am.

Behind the closed doors, I wallow in self hate. How could I have said that to him?

Yeah, Ethan's not Luke. He'll never be Luke. But he's tried, in his own way, and what did I do? Shoved it in his face.

Brilliant, Olivia. A+ friend material.

All he was trying to do was make sure I was okay, and there I was, shoving it right up his ass?

"Even Judas wouldn't have done that," my mind purrs.

"Oh, you just shut up okay? I don't need you adding more salts to my wounds."

"Your wounds? Last I checked, Ethan was the one you threw under the bus and left for dead."

"Shut–"

"You know, you should probably go back out there and remedy this before it's too late."

I could do that, but I'm too embarrassed to go back out there. However, the guilt eats me at me until I can't take it anymore, and after maybe five minutes of sulking, I fling my door open again.

Just in time to catch August ushering Ethan toward the front door, her hand on his arm like she's begging him not to leave angry.

"Wait," I blurt.

They both turn, surprised. Ethan cocks an eyebrow at me, and his jaw is still tense. My stomach twists, but I force myself to continue.

"Can I uh...can I walk you back?" I ask him. My voice is softer this time, almost apologetic. "We should...talk."

His lips curve downward, but after a beat, he nods. "Alright."

The walk is quiet at first, the evening air cool against my burning cheeks. I shove my hands in my hoodie pocket, staring at the pavement like it holds the secrets of the universe.

It's Zeke's hoodie, and I'm trying my best not to fold under the scent of it.

Ethan is silent too by my side, and he doesn't even spare me a glance. The only sounds between us is our footsteps and the low hum of activity from around us.

Finally, I force the words out. "I'm sorry. For what I said. It wasn't fair."

He sighs, hands in his pockets too. "I don't know what's come over you, but you should know by now that all I want is to make sure you're okay. If I sound imposing, it's because I care. And yes, I'm not Luke, but before he died, he made me promise to be him for you. To be your brother, and that's what I'm always trying to do."

Now I feel more like shit.

"I'm sorry, I...I really appreciate you being here for me and I don't mind you being imposing, but it's just that..."

"It's just what, Liv?"

"I don't remember, okay? I don't remember what Zeke and I talked about, I don't know what led up to the moment, I don't...I only remember his face and the feeling of him."

Ethan doesn't press me right away, which is weird because normally he'd be lecturing me about making smarter choices, or quoting Luke like some gospel of responsibility.

Instead, he just walks beside me, hands stuffed deep in his jacket pockets, like he's holding back a thousand words.

I almost wish he'd yell at me. At least yelling I can deflect with sarcasm. This quiet, careful Ethan makes my stomach twist worse than any argument.

Finally, he speaks. "Liv... I know you. You don't just hang out with strangers, more so get intimate with them. Don't you think for the slightest that he may have taken advantage of you? Is his name even Zeke or are you making that up? Just so August and I get off your back?"

I snort, trying to cover the fact that his words hit a nerve. "Well, surprise! Olivia finally stepped out of her shell and decided to fuck a stranger."

He doesn't laugh. Figures.

"I'm serious," he says, his voice low.

I want to tell him that there's a certain way my body responds to Zeke. That my mind suddenly became alive after our encounter and it calls him mate. I want to tell him that his scent holds a power over me that none other has ever held.

But I know that's crazy talk and he'd probably think I'm still high as shit. So I tell him instead, "I saw him today. Zeke? I saw him and he assured me that everything that happened last night was what I wanted. He was surprised that I didn't remember and he assured me it was purely consensual."

"What if he's just manipulating you to believe that? How did he even know where to find you? What if he's stalking you?"

"Ethan," I groan out and pick up my pace. He picks up his pace too.

"Honestly, the next time you see him, maybe get his number so we can chat? How about that?"

"Yes, Ethan."

We walk in silence again. The hoodie still carries that honey scent, faint but stubborn, curling into my senses until my body reacts like I'm standing next to Zeke all over again. It's maddening. Like he's everywhere, even now.

"Because he is," the smug voice in my head chimes in. "He's everywhere you go, now."

"Fantastic," I mutter under my breath. "Even my hallucinations have a stalker kink now."

"What?" Ethan glances at me.

"Nothing," I say quickly, forcing a smile that feels more like a grimace. "Just talking to myself. You know me."

"Yeah," he says softly. "I do."

We reach his street faster than I expect, and I stop at the bottom of the steps to his house. For a moment, neither of us moves. The porch light flickers above us, painting the night in a pale glow.

I shove my hands deeper into my pockets, staring at the ground. "Look, Ethan... I really didn't mean what I said earlier. About you not being Luke."

He exhales slowly. "You did. And you're right. I'm not him."

My head snaps up. His expression is unreadable, but his eyes...God, his eyes look tired, and sad.

"I've tried, Liv," he continues. "I've tried to look out for you the way he would have. But I know I can't replace him. I just...I don't want you to feel alone."

My chest aches and the guilt I've been dragging around all day doubles in weight.

"I know," I whisper. "And I appreciate it. More than I say. But I don't want you to carry all my mess. You've got your own life. And now-" I smirk weakly, "-apparently, my best friend's lipstick smeared across your face."

That earns a faint laugh out of him, and relief loosens the knot in my chest.

"Yeah, about that..." he starts, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't," I cut in quickly, holding up a hand. "Save the awkward talk. If you two are official now, fine. Just don't do it on the couch where I eat my popcorn, okay?"

He chuckles again, shaking his head. "You're a mess up there, you know?"

"And yet you keep me around," I shoot back.

The air between us softens, and I'm relieved to see him back to his goofy self.

"Get some rest, Liv," he says finally, stepping up toward his door. "And... if you see this Zeke guy again, promise me you'll be careful."

I roll my eyes, but my chest warms in spite of myself. "Yes, Dad."

"I mean it."

"I know you do."

He disappears inside, leaving me on the sidewalk with nothing but the flickering porch light and the quiet hum of my own racing thoughts.

I hear the snapping of a twig and I look around. Nothing and no one.

I shrug and begin my walk back to my dorm.