Chapter 83 Ch. 53
Ethan wasn’t sure he had ever felt jealousy burn through his chest until now. He stood by the window of the room in the house he had convinced the owner to rent out only a few days ago, his hands pressed against the frame. The house next door glowed with warm light. Through the open curtains of Zara’s room, he could see them.
Noah fucking King.
God, he wanted to rip them apart.
He had never hated the guy—in fact, as of recent, they were more or less like friends. Track guys never liked the basketball players, but two of them got along fine because Noah was easygoing and carefree. However, seeing Zara lying on his chest so easily, her head tucked against him like it belonged there, made something twist hard in Ethan’s stomach. He wanted to break the glass, walk across the space between their houses, and pull them apart.
He stayed where he was and forced himself to breathe.
His mind kept replaying the argument from earlier. He should never have told Zara the truth about Prunella. He should have let her keep believing it was his father who killed Yvette. It would have been cleaner. He had said too much, and now everything inside him felt like chaos.
His father.
Ethan rubbed his jaw and stared at the dark street. Dylan was right to expose what she was in that moment to protect her from being killed. But then, there was a bigger threat.
Moving into the house next to Zara’s didn’t mean anything. It would not protect her. His father would find a way to get to her if he wanted to. The thought made Ethan’s chest tighten. He didn’t know if he could stand in his father’s way and win.
What if someone else found out about it from the clan? What if another vampire tried something? What if Zara’s stubborn heart pulled her into danger before he even saw it coming?
He pressed his forehead against the cold glass. Maybe tomorrow he should take the blood from her himself and bring it to his uncle. If he handled it, she wouldn’t have to meet Dylan after dark. She wouldn’t be out where his father might watch. The idea settled in his head but gave no calm.
Dylan had bought him time. But time for what exactly? He wasn't sure he knew what to do with whatever little time he had been bought.
He looked back toward her window. Zara shifted closer to Noah. Her hair brushed his shirt. Noah’s hand moved across her back in a slow circle.
Heat shot through Ethan. He hated how Noah’s face softened as she cried, how she let her guard down. It felt like something was being stolen from him, something he didn’t even have the right to claim.
He stepped back from the window and paced the room. The floorboards creaked under his shoes. His thoughts spun and tangled.
This house. What had he expected when he rented it? That living next door would somehow keep her safe? That he could watch every shadow, every stranger, and she would never see the danger coming. He had told himself it was smart. Now it felt useless.
He turned and caught another glimpse of them through the curtains. Noah said something he couldn’t hear, and Zara smiled, a small, tired smile that still reached her eyes.
Ethan pulled his phone from his pocket. His fingers moved before he could think.
Call Zara. Ask if she wants to hang out.
He sent the text to Prunella.
The reply came fast. Why?
Just do it, he wrote back. Tell her you want to visit or something.
Another pause. Fine. Not like I have anything better to do.
Thanks, cuz.
He set the phone down and leaned on the windowsill again, his heart beating fast. Across the way, Zara lifted her head at the sound of her phone buzzing. Noah said something, and she reached for it. Ethan watched the small light from her screen touch her face.
He knew it was petty to ask Prunella to call just to interrupt the moment. But standing there in the dark room, with the danger pressing close and jealousy burning a path in his chest... He was satisfied with being petty.
+++++
"God, I hate Mondays," Zara groaned, rolling her eyes as she dragged herself toward her locker, her back hunched and her backpack hanging sloppily off one shoulder. Prunella stood there already, leaning casually against the metal doors with Noah and Ethan beside her.
"Saturday was fun," Prunella said with a small smile.
"No, thank you for wanting to hang out. God knows I was losing my damn mind," Zara replied, her lips quirking as she pulled her into a hug.
"I feel insulted that I wasn’t invited," Ethan said, pushing his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout, even though he was the one who had set the whole thing up.
"Female privileges," Zara winked, releasing Prunella and stepping back. "You smell nice."
"Noah’s not a female, but sure," Ethan muttered with a smile, his eyes flicking quickly between the girls as if waiting for something. For a moment, Zara thought he was bracing himself for awkwardness, but when she laughed and moved on like nothing was strange, his shoulders dropped a little.
The school doors swung open just then. The sound echoed through the hallway.
A boy walked in.
Heads turned, one after another, and conversations slowed. Zara followed the line of stares without meaning to. He was tall, with messy dark hair that looked like it hadn’t been brushed but still somehow worked on him. His eyes caught the light, a pale color that was easy to notice even from across the hallway. His jaw was clean and defined, his mouth pressed into a line that softened only when he glanced around.
Girls near the lockers whispered quickly to each other, one nudging the other in the side. A group of guys tilted their heads, curious, sizing him up the way they always did when someone new showed up.
"Who is that?" someone asked.
"Never seen him before."
"Why’s he here now? School’s already halfway through."
The boy kept walking, his steps unhurried, like he didn’t care that nearly everyone’s eyes were on him. "Hey," he said in a deep voice, waving to Ethan.
"Great," Zara muttered under her breath, snapping her locker shut. Now more people were going to want to sit with them during lunch. If not that Ethan was relatively cold and did not give too much room for friendships, a lot of the girls would have been sitting with them even though they did not like Zara.
Noah and Ethan were magnets for girls, and now whoever this person was... This person who knew Ethan... Her thoughts died as he stopped in front of them, his eyes landing on Ethan and then Prunella.
"Hey, Ethan. Prunella, I didn't see you there. Hi!" he said, his voice smooth, like he’d known them for years. "Good to see you both."
Zara froze. Her brows pulled together as her eyes darted between the three of them.
Of course.
She should have guessed that’s why he waved at Ethan first.
Another one.
"Jace," Ethan muttered, his jaw tightening as if the name had a taste he didn’t like.
Noah stepped forward easily, always quick to meet new people. He bumped his fist lightly against Jace’s. "What’s up, man. I'm Noah."
"Jace," the boy replied, his lips twitching into the faintest smile. He turned to Zara and gave a smile. "You must be Zara," he commented, his eyes taking her presence in.
"And you know that because?" She asked, raising her brows, not necessarily sure what to make of the stranger in her front.
"Oh, Ethan's always around you—I mean, he talks about you a lot."
Ethan's face was red. "We haven't seen each other since..." He paused, giving Jace a look only he would understand. He wanted to say "since the motel" but he kept the words to himself. "Yeah, and you talked about her."
"Did I?"
"Nothing to be ashamed of, sweetheart," Jace said, batting his eyelashes mischievously at Ethan. He turned to face Zara then pulled up her hand, kissing the back of it gently. "Pleasure to meet you."
You're awfully like Noah, she wanted to say. But she kept mute.
Jace spoke casually to Noah after that, the kind of easy banter guys used when they were testing each other out. It was simple talk, about sports and classes and where Jace had supposedly transferred from, but Zara didn’t hear most of it. All she knew was that he conveniently had the same schedule as Ethan. Her mind was running in quick circles.
He knew Ethan. He knew Prunella. He had walked right up to them without hesitation.
And he was here now, in the middle of the semester, when no one else was ever admitted late unless something unusual was at play.
She swallowed hard, watching the way the light caught his eyes again.
Compulsion.
It had to be. He must have compelled the school staff because there was no other way anyone was admitting a student now.
Ethan was too quiet, standing a step back, his gaze locked on Jace. His hands were in his pockets, but his whole posture screamed that he wasn’t necessarily comfortable.
Students kept passing by, one after another, each pausing to greet the new boy or at least look at him longer than was normal. A few girls waved. Some guys clapped him on the shoulder as if they had known him for weeks already.
Zara folded her arms across her chest and exhaled slowly.
Another vampire at school.
Perfect.
By the time lunch break rolled around, Ethan and Jace excused themselves after asking Zara and Prunella to keep a seat for them.
She found it suspicious but just said okay.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ethan asked in a harsh whisper once they were out of earshot.
"Just say you're happy to see me," Jace grinned. "Come on, man, it's been a while since we've made trouble."
"I've been trying to stay out of trouble, and with you, there's always trouble. Seriously, did you not hear the news and stuff?"
"Well," Jace rolled his eyes, grinning mischievously. "So, where are we in your life? What have I missed? Other than the fact that you saved your little girlfriend—"
"She's not my girlfriend," Ethan said, a blush forming on his face.
Jace snorted. "Where was I? Oh, the little rogue vampire incident, your father almost killing her only to find out she's what? A catalyst? Is that really true? Do they still exist? And what else? The whole thing with your uncle's girlfriend finding out, she's dying? And he asking your girlfriend for blood to save her. Pretty crazy stuff, what else did I miss in your life?"
"How the fuck did you know all of that?"
Jace smirked and raised Ethan's wrist, pointing to the watch he always wore and most times even forgot on his wrist. "Your birthday gift came with a special listening device."
Ethan glanced at it. "I should have known. You really need to stop invading on my privacy."
"Thanks to my invasion, I killed three people who found out what Zara was on Sunday," Jace said nonchalantly. "If you have nothing else to say, can we go have lunch? I'm starving."