(Quinn's perspective)
The drive back to Ethan's place was quiet, a heavy tension hanging between us. It was becoming a habit for us to drive in this uncomfortable silence. I kept replaying the events of the last few days in my mind—the confusion, the constant tug between Ethan and Luca, the strange things happening around me. The Echo. I knew there was something bigger going on, something no one wanted to fully explain.
Ethan glanced over at me, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. I could feel his nerves from where I sat, but he wasn't saying anything, and it was driving me crazy.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.
"Ethan, what's going on? I mean, really going on," I blurted out while turning to face him. "I need to know the truth about you, about Luca, just about… everything."
He clenched his jaw and I knew he really didnt want to discuss everything now but I left him with no choice.
"Okay," he muttered, his eyes fixed on the road. "You deserve to know. I just don't know where to start."
"Well, how about starting where everyone I have met and become friends with is a wolf, including my boyfriend," I said, crossing my arms. "That seems like a good place."
Ethan winced, but he nodded. "Yeah. I'm a wolf. So is Luca. We come from a long line of Alphas. Our family has been leading the pack for centuries."
I bit my lip, trying to process it all. "And Luca's the Alpha now? But why him? Why not you?"
Ethan's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. "The usual tradition is that the firstborn of the Alpha is the next in line, no matter what. But Luca was born to lead. I wasn't."
"But you're older," I pressed
"I know but in this case, age doesn't matter in the pack. It's all about the bond with the clan, with the wolves and Luca… he was born with that connection. He's stronger, more instinctive so the pack listens to him in a way they'll never listen to me. That's just how it is," Ethan said reluctantly as a shadow crossed his face.
I sat there, processing his words. It didn't seem fair. Ethan had been nothing but kind to me since I met him, and Luca—well, Luca had been nothing but a jerk for most of it. And now I was finding out that not only was he Alpha at eighteen, but there was a whole world behind it that I didn't understand.
"That's why you disappeared those days," I said, suddenly realizing. "You weren't avoiding me. You were… helping him?"
Ethan nodded, his eyes softening. "Luca got hurt when racing after the Echo the other night."
"The Echo," I whispered, feeling a chill run down my spine. "You know about it, don't you?"
Ethan let out a long breath. "We've heard of it, yeah. It's been haunting the bloodlines for generations. But we don't know much, not yet. That's why we're meeting with the clan's Seer soon—she's the keeper of our history. She'll have answers."
I felt a pang of guilt twist in my chest. Luca had been injured, and I hadn't even known. Instead, I'd been caught up in all this tension between us, all this anger.
"Is he okay?" I asked softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
"He's healing," Ethan said, his eyes flicking over to me. "You couldn't have known, Quinn. Don't beat yourself up over it."
But I did. I couldn't help it. The bond between Luca and me—whatever it was—had me tied up in knots. And now, knowing he was hurt… knowing that he had been out there protecting his pack, protecting me, even after everything, it made my heart ache in a way I wasn't ready for.
"And you," I said after a long pause. "You've been protecting me this whole time too."
Ethan smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah. It's my job. I've been there since the beginning, Quinn. I'm not going anywhere."
The sincerity in his voice hit me hard. Ethan had been my rock since I came into this crazy world of wolves and Echoes, and even though Luca was the one I was bonded to, Ethan was the one who had stayed by my side, the one who made me laugh when things got too intense, who comforted me when I felt lost.
He gave me a small smile, but there was something sad in his eyes, something that made my chest tighten.
"Can I ask you one more question? But it might make you feel uncomfortable…" I tried to tread carefully because I knew this was a sensitive topic but I had to understand it.
"You want to know about the bond," he stated almost grimacing.
"Well, yeah. Why am I drawn to Luca…like involuntarily?"
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck, clearly not wanting to be the one to explain this to me, but knowing he had to. He took a deep breath and his eyes flickered with something between frustration and sympathy.
"Alright, Quinn, here's the deal," he started, his voice soft but serious. "You've probably figured by now that Luca's... different, right? Like, beyond him just being an insufferable jerk sometimes."
I let out a dry laugh. "That's putting it lightly."
Ethan cracked a small grin but quickly turned serious again. "Look, we—wolves, I mean—we don't choose our mates the way humans do. We don't go on dates, fall in love, or swipe right. It's... it's deeper than that. We're chosen. By the Lunar Goddess."
I stared at him, my heart racing. "Chosen? What, like some kind of cosmic matchmaking?"
"In a way, yeah. It's... well, it's ancient. Wolves are paired by the Lunar Goddess, and when we find our mate, it's like this instant connection. Like nothing else matters. It's primal, it's instinctual. And it's for life. There's no undoing it."
I blinked, trying to take it all in. "And... Luca thinks I'm his mate?"
Ethan shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Not 'thinks,' Quinn. He knows. And now, so do I."