Chapter 96 - Rejecting My Contracted Luna

　　Ethan's POV

　　Both Daniel and I watch Ezra run out of the room, and we both let out a sigh of relief. If I have learned anything about Ezra, it is that he doesn't do anything that he doesn't want to do. Unless Emma orders him to do something and then he will begrudgingly follow directions.

　　"He is going to make one hell of an Alpha one day," Daniel says with a little bit of a chuckle.

　　"I feel sorry for his future Beta," I say carefully, trying to judge his reaction to me bringing up the position of Beta.

　　"Nah," Daniel says without so much a blink of an eye. "He will find a good and trustworthy friend to do the job."

　　I begin to scratch the back of my neck awkwardly at the word trustworthy. I had a trustworthy Beta and I took him for granted and now I need to try and get him back.

　　"So," Daniel draws out the word as he rocks back and forth on his heels. "What did you want to talk about?"

　　I cough into my hand uncomfortably. "Right," I mutter under my breath. Apologizing isn't something that comes easily to me so I am not sure how to start. "Do you want to head to Alpha Duncan's office so we won't be disturbed?"

　　"Must be serious," Daniel raises an eyebrow as he looks at me. "But I think we will be okay in here for now."

　　"Okay," I draw out the word. "I think I owe you an apology." The words fly out of my mouth in a jumbled mess.

　　"What was that about an apology?" Daniel asks with a smirk on his face.

　　I shoot him a glare. "I think I owe you an apology," this time the words come out of my mouth more controlled and calm.

　　Daniel grabs his bucket of popcorn and tosses a few kernels in the air, catching them with his mouth. "For what?" Daniel asks and I can tell that he is enjoying this a little too much.

　　"For the way that I treated you back at Crescent Pack after Emma showed up. I was just so scared of losing her and you two were so close... I made mistakes and should have never made you feel like you had to leave." I can barely look him in the eyes as I speak to him.

　　"No need to apologize," Daniel says coolly. "I was in love with her."

　　"What?" I look at him in shock.

　　"I was in love with her," Daniel repeats himself. "Well, my estimation of love at that point in my life. Now that I have Christina I know that I was just infatuated with Emma."

　　This isn't at all how I was expecting this conversation to go. "Did Emma return your feelings?" I ask hesitantly. I am not really sure that I want to know the answer.

　　"No," Daniel says confidently. "She never returned my affections. It has always been you and her."

　　I let out a little sigh of relief and I realize that I probably owe my mate an apology as well. I drop down onto one of the chairs in the movie room and look at Daniel. I used to trust this man with my life. Hell... he was like a brother to me and I let a girl come between us. If only I had trusted Emma a little more, all of this could have been different.

　　"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Daniel interrupts my thoughts.

　　"Actually," I pause and think about how I want to say my next words. "I have a favor to ask of you."

　　"Oh, a favor," Daniel says jokingly. "What ever could the great Alpha Ethan need from me?"

　　"I need a Beta," I spit out. "I need someone that I can trust with my life."

　　The air in the room is suddenly tense and Daniel stiffens in his seat. "What are you trying to say?"

　　"I am saying that I want you to come home and be my Beta once again," I can hear the pleading in my voice.

　　"Oh," Daniel says with a frown on his face. "This is kind of my home now."

　　"Right." I feel deflated. I promised Alpha Duncan that if he said no that I would drop the subject but that is not as easy as I thought it would be. I need a Beta and Daniel is the only person in my life that I would trust with the job. "I understand. Once again I am sorry about the mistakes that I made in the past."

　　I get up to leave the room but Daniel clears his voice awkwardly and it causes me to pause and look at him.

　　"Your mistakes led me to my mate," Daniel says quietly. "I would have never found her if it wasn't for you being an asshole."

　　I chuckle at his words. "I am glad that you found a new home," I tell him honestly as I walk out of the door.

　　"You know," Daniel calls after me. "I would have to talk to Christina about leaving Paxton Pack. This isn't just about me any longer."

　　Spinning around, I practically run back into the movie room. "You mean you are willing to think about it."

　　Daniel crosses his arms and rolls his eyes at me. "Of course," he says with a smirk on his face. "You are just like a brother to me as well. I was waiting for a little bit of begging though."

　　"I would have begged but I promised Alpha Duncan that if you said no I would respect that answer," I tell him the truth.

　　"Damn it, Duncan," Daniel mumbles to himself. "I missed out on the opportunity to see you beg."

　　Daniel and I both share a laugh. "How hard do you think it will be to convince Christina to come?" I ask the question that is plaguing my mind.

　　"She would follow Ezra to the ends of the earth," Daniel says in exasperation. "Sometimes I think she loves him more than she loves me."

　　"Well," I let out a heavy sigh. "We are leaving first thing in the morning."