Chapter 153: Should I Not Get Married?
“My lady?” Ethan called quietly when the silence stretched between them.
His eyes moved over her with quiet, guarded intensity.
Ruri suddenly became conscious of his gaze and shifted slightly in her seat. She had barely eaten properly in days, and she knew she looked thinner. The faint, delicate line of her collarbones stood out beneath the collar of her dress, far more pronounced than before.
She wondered if he had noticed.
Was he worried about her?
Her heart gave a small, foolish flutter at the thought.
Ruri cleared her throat, trying to pull her composure together. “Your break was over yesterday. Why did you not return immediately?” She kept her tone deliberately light, almost careless.
Ethan lowered his head respectfully. “Apologies, my lady. I should have sent word.”
The moment the words left his mouth, a spike of regret pierced Ruri’s chest. It had only been a single day. Something urgent could have easily kept him away. She opened her mouth to take it back, to apologize for sounding so harsh, but her pride caught in her throat.
She cleared her throat again instead. “Get my shoes. My parents are arriving at the pack house today, and I need to prepare to meet them.” She gestured toward the tall mahogany wardrobe across the room.
Ethan glanced toward the wardrobe, bowing his head slightly as he crossed the room. “Did they come to discuss the wedding?” The question came low and soft.
A heavy beat passed.
“Yes,” Ruri replied, her fingers digging into the fabric of her dress. She glanced at his back.
“I might be getting married to Alpha Hades.”
Ethan turned back toward her instantly.
“You’ve decided to marry him?”
Ruri’s eyes snapped to his face. She searched every line of his features, desperately hunting for something—surprise, anger, jealousy… anything that would prove he cared, to prove that the news shattered him.
But there was nothing.
His face remained an unreadable mask of soldierly calm.
Her heart sank, her fingers tightening into fists in her lap. “No,” she said bitterly. “But if I cannot convince my father to cancel it, I have no choice.”
Silence settled heavily over the room.
Ethan turned back toward the wardrobe without another word. The heavy doors clicked open, followed by the soft rustle of storage boxes inside before closing again.
Ruri remained perfectly still on the couch.
Then she heard his steady footsteps approaching, each dull thud against the rug making her pulse jump in her throat. Ethan stopped directly in front of her and lowered himself into a quiet squat. He placed the simple silk ballet flats carefully on the floor before her.
Ruri’s fingers gripped the edge of the cushion.
Ethan lingered on his knees for a second before reaching his hand out toward her foot.
“Allow me, my lady.”
Ruri stared down at him. From above, she could see the absolute stillness in his posture, the quiet focus in his dark eyes, and the careful way his palm hovered, treating her as if she were a rare treasure that required permission to touch.
She bit her lower lip until it hurt. Then, slowly, she lifted her foot and placed it in his open palm.
Ethan’s warm hand closed gently around her ankle.
His movements were agonizingly slow as he guided her foot into the flat, smoothing the silk heel over her skin with carefulness. His touch was impossibly tender, yet his face remained detached, as if this intimate gesture were nothing more than duty.
He shifted to her other foot, repeating the motion with the same blank face.
Ruri’s vision began to blur with unshed tears. She stared down at the dark crown of his hair, her chest tightening so hard she could barely draw air. The question she had been choking on for days finally broke past her lips.
“Should I not get married?”
Ethan’s hands froze over her ankle.
For a long, agonizing second, neither of them moved. The room went dead silent.
Then, slowly, Ethan let go of her foot and stood up.
“The preparations for the Hunt are underway,” he said, his voice flat and perfectly controlled. “The Lycans have been summoned to the barracks. Myself included.” He took a step back, maintaining his formal distance. “I will take my leave now, if that is all, my lady.”
Ruri shut her eyes tightly, taking in a sharp, shuddering breath that burned her throat.
“You may leave,” she whispered. “That will be all.”
Ethan remained still for a fraction of a second, as if waiting for something more. When nothing came, he bowed, turned on his heel, and walked out.
The heavy door clicked shut behind him.
Ruri sat alone in the quiet, staring at the empty space where he had stood, her throat tight and dry. Then her eyes snapped open, a fierce resolve cutting through the pain that consumed her.
She had to find Seven. Right now.
Thirty minutes later, Ruri was pacing along the cobblestone pathway that led to the Vermont barracks.
The road was far busier than usual, filled with Lycan warriors moving in small groups toward the training grounds as preparations for the Hunt ramped up. She kept her arms crossed tightly over her chest, scanning every passing face, her patience fraying with every minute that ticked by.
“Have you seen the Beta?” she called out to a soldier walking past.
The man paused, shook his head respectfully, and kept moving.
Ruri nodded curtly and resumed her pacing.
Where on earth is he?
She had been standing out here in the cold for nearly half an hour. He should have passed through by now. Her eyes darted toward the high archway leading into the main barracks yard.
Should I just go in and look for him?
No. No, bad idea.
What if she ran into Ethan and he thought she was stalking him?
It was already pathetic that he had rejected her. She didn’t need to make herself look even more desperate.
No. She had to stay right here. Wherever Seven was coming from, this pathway was the only direct route to the barracks.
Ruri folded her arms tighter, shifting her weight impatiently from one foot to the other.
Then, as though summoned by her frustration, light, familiar footsteps echoed down the stone corridor behind her.
Ruri spun around.
Coming from the direction of the east pack house, Seven was walking alongside a squad of high-ranking Lycan guards.
His brow was pulled into a deep, stressed furrow as he listened intently to the man speaking beside him, his expression grim.
Ruri straightened up, stepping into the center of the path to block his way.
He hadn’t noticed her yet.