Chapter 38: Ethan's True Role in Sam's Life
The cabin's silence was a weight, pressing down on Sam as he sat on the cot, his hands still trembling from the vision's aftermath. The beginnings of the blood pact—Clara's plea, his father's reluctance, Jake's choice—branded themselves into his mind, a reality that reconfigured all that he'd thought he'd known. The bond wavered, a frail thread now, its snapping a hollow ache that left him exposed, raw. Ethan knelt beside him, green eyes focused but shadowed, his hand on Sam's arm, a wordless lifeline in the storm.
"Okay?" Ethan's voice was soft but rough-edged with worry, his thumb stroking Sam's wrist. "You went somewhere—looked like you were staring at ghosts.".
Sam exhaled shakily, his gaze meeting Ethan's. "Not ghosts. Memories—the pact. I saw it, Ethan—my parents, Jake, how it started. He could've stopped it, but he didn't. He wanted me bound to him." His voice cracked, the betrayal fresh, Jake's "He's mine" echoing with new meaning.
Ethan's jaw tightened, a flicker of something—anger, maybe—across his face. "That's Jake—thinking three steps ahead. But you're free now, Sam. You felt it—the bond's dying. We can kill it."
Sam nodded, but the words were distant, his mind still trapped in the vision's light and blood. Ethan's certainty was a lifeline, but doubt gnawed at him—Jake's choice, the pride in his eyes, the why Sam couldn't grasp. He pulled his arm back, running a hand through his hair, blood flakes dropping from his skin. "How do you know so much about this?" he asked, quieter now, the question slipping out. "The bond, the way it's broken—you've been so sure, every step.
Why?
Ethan subsided, his hand dropping to his side, green eyes glinting with something Sam couldn't pinpoint—guilt, uncertainty, resolve. The lantern in the cabin cast shadows on his face, delineating the lines of tension there. He stood up slowly, moved away, then turned back, his voice low, controlled. "Because I've been watching you, Sam. For years—years before we met at school."
Sam's breath caught, a shiver tracking down his spine. "What?" He pushed off the cot, standing unsteadily, the bond's soft thrum drowned out by the thunder of his heartbeat. "Watching me? What the hell does that mean?
Ethan held his ground, hands raised slightly, palms out. "I knew what you were before you did," he stated, his tone steady but with a hint of urgency beneath it. "Your blood—Clara's blood—it's not only rare, Sam. It's myth in my pack, a tale spun. I was tasked to seek you out, to guard you, years ago—before Jake's bargain ever came into force."
Sam’s chest tightened, betrayal slicing through him like a fresh wound. “Sent?” His voice rose, sharp and trembling. “By who? What are you—some kind of spy? You’ve been stalking me?”
"No—not like that," Ethan snarled, moving in on him, eyes blazing. "I wasn't stalking you—I was watching over you. My pack—they knew Clara's lineage was out here, knew the power it contained. When she died, when Jake took you under his wing, we figured he'd claim you eventually. I was supposed to watch, wait—make sure you weren't devoured by him or the Cobras."
Sam moved backward, his knees knocking against the cot, his head reeling. "So all of this—you showing up at school, rescuing me, the ritual—it's all just part of some mission? You lied to me—everything we—" He stopped, the memory of their kiss, Ethan's tender fingers on his bruises, twisting into something hollow. "Was any of it real?
Ethan's face softened, pain crossing his green eyes, and he moved in, taking Sam's shoulders. "It's real, Sam—every damn second. I wasn't going to care this much—I was meant to observe, report back, that's all. But you—you're not some assignment. I'm trying to save you, not use you."
"Save me?" Sam laughed, bitter and harsh, batting Ethan's hands away. "From Jake? From the Cobras? Or from your pack? You've known who I am—who I was—this entire time, and you never said anything. How's that saving me? How's that different from Jake?"
"It's different because I'm asking you," Ethan replied, voice untamed, stepping in again. "Jake bound you—imprisoned you in that contract without your consent. My pack pressed me to take you, conquer you, but I refused. I stayed, Sam—I fought for you, bled for you. I'm telling you now because you have the right to know—because I want you free, not theirs, not mine."
Sam's claws jerked, his wolf seething, the bond's gentle pulse a reminder of Jake's hand—now mirrored in Ethan's hidden past. "You knew," he whispered, voice breaking. "Before I shifted, before Nick—you knew what I was capable of, what I'd become. And you allowed it.".
Ethan's fists clenched, his eyes dropping for a heartbeat, then snapping up, naked and vulnerable. "I didn't make it happen—I couldn't stop it. The power's in you, Sam—Clara's blood, your blood. I knew it was in there, yeah, but I didn't know when it'd come awake, how it'd hit. When you shifted, when you killed Nick—I saw it, same as Jake did. But I'm not him—I'm not trying to manipulate you like some damn tool."
"What are you doing, then?" Sam demanded, getting into Ethan's space, his voice shaking with hurt and anger. "Why do you know all of this? What aren't you telling me?"
Ethan's breath stopped, his green eyes fastening on Sam's, a storm brewing behind them. His mouth opened, then closed, the silence taut, heavy with what wasn't spoken. "I—" He cut off, jaw tight, and looked away, the lantern's swing lighting the rigidity of his face. "I'm trying to keep you alive, Sam. That's all you need to know—for now."
“For now?” Sam’s growl rumbled low, his hands balling into fists. “That’s not enough, Ethan—not after this. You’ve been watching me for years—years—and you’re still holding back. Why? What’s the rest of it?” Ethan's eyes returned, untamed and imploring, but the words wouldn't follow, his silence a wall Sam couldn't break through. The connection faltered, a faint echo of Jake's suffering, and Sam's heart ached—two men, two lies, two cages pretending to be care. Ethan's touch, his kiss, had been genuine, but this—this truth—tainted it, a shadow he couldn't dismiss.