EROS

I watched that dickhead open the door for her before settling in behind the wheels. I was not sure whether this has been the stupidest idea I have ever made or if I was being really smart.

"What's your deal?" asked Sebastian inside my head once the car has driven away.

I turned my gaze away from its taillight to the red wolf standing a few meters from me. "I don't know what you're on about, Seb." I shrugged before crossing my arms against my chest. "I was just telling her what she needs to know."

"Yeah, right," said Seb before the red wolf turned into a naked human. Nudity was not that uncommon amongst werewolves. Young Seb has probably seen me naked a dozen times since we always paired up during patrol. "You damn well know I was not talking about that."

I frowned. "Then what in the hell were you on about?"

"Your feelings for Xyrra obviously," answered Seb, rolling his eyes.

My lips turned to a tight line. This was not a conversation that I wanted to have with anyone in the pack. Especially with Young Seb.

"You like her," Seb said again.

I took a deep calming breath while wondering how on Earth he could see it. Craving the one person you could never have sucks ass, but there was nothing to be done about it. Xyrra was my best friend and there was no way I would lose her just to pursue my own feelings. I heaved out a sigh. I had spent most of my childhood at Ashcroft's house. For as long as I could remember, I've always had a soft spot for Xyrra. I had watched out for her when we had been in elementary, middle, and then high school. Somewhere along the way, my feelings had changed, morphing into something different. Something stronger. I had started to notice things about her that I probably shouldn't have. Then my eighteenth birthday arrived and when I returned to my pack, I found my mate, Crystal. Not many people, including Xyrra, knew that the name Crystal was actually derived from the Ancient Greek word meaning 'carrier of Christ' — which suited best for my cover at that time because no one outside my pack would suspect that I was a werewolf.

"It's Crystal, isn't it?"

His words had me straightening up as if someone just rammed a stick up my ass. "What?" I asked because there was no damn way I had heard him correctly.

Seb's bored gaze flickered in my direction before refocusing on the pathway ahead of us. "Oh, come on, Eros. You heard me. Do I really have to repeat myself? You did not go for Xyrra because of Crystal, right? Because Crystal is your mate."

I shook my head and attempt to force down the thick lump lodged in the middle of my throat, making it impossible to breathe. "I did not want to go for Xyrra, what are you even—"

He scrunched his face disapprovingly, looking like the perfect mimic of Sebastianos Sr., Young Seb's father. It would have been comical if he did not hit right on the mark.

"Man, it's me, not Thanos. You don't need to fucking deny it. I am your friend."

My eyes widened as I moistened my lips and tried to make a second attempt. "Look, I don't know what you think you know but I like Crystal, she is the one I want and Xyrra is just—"

With a snort, Young Seb shook his head. "Just own up to it for goodness's sake! Your dick goes hard whenever you see that girl."

"It is not like that."

I learned that it was really such a difficult thing to push the words through stiff lips. I did not want anyone talking about Xyrra like that. In fact, I was so close to beating the shit out of my so-called friend for even suggesting it.

"Okay, fine. She is not messing with your dick, but with both your head and heart, confusing the hell out of you." One corner of his mouth hitched as he gave me a sly smile. "Was that so difficult to admit?"

"I did not say or admit anything," I growled annoyingly although deep down I wished there was a way to backtrack from this uncomfortable conversation.

"All right, so do us both a favor and deny it." Interest lit up his face as he watched me with a raised brow. "Tell me that you do not like Xyrra, that you love Crystal with all of your heart."

I could only stare at him. My wolf, Ares, scoffed. Even he knew that given the choice, I would choose Xyrra over Crystal—hell, over any girl. Fuck.

"So what are you going to do about it?" asked Young Seb curiously, eyeing me out of the corner of his eye.

"Nothing." The way I saw this, I have gone this long without giving in. Surely I could continue being her best friend, a big brother when she needed one. Moreover, she was with Ryker now. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

"I think you're making a huge mistake," said Young Seb out of nowhere.

My head jerked up so fast that my neck hurt. "Why do you say that? You know that each of us has our mates and we should be loyal to them."

"True. But it is so obvious that these feelings you are having for Xyrra did not come overnight. You've had these feelings for a while."

I blinked. I was so sure that I had kept my feelings under wrap. Not even Crystal knew this. "How the hell would you know?"

"Dude, my parents are very much in love with each other that sometimes it makes me and my sister want to leave the room."

"We know that, Young Seb. We've all known their epic love story." I sighed. Sebastianos and Iris's love story was one of the legends around here. How Sebastianos had been first sent to kill her but ended up falling deeply madly in love with her. Pretty much everyone has heard of it. "What's your point?"

"The way you look at Xyrra is the same way my dad looks at my mom."

"So? I love her. Just not like the way your dad loves your mom. She is my best friend. She's like a little sister to me."

Seb rolled his eyes again. "Sure, sure. I don't know who you are trying to convince. Me or yourself."

"I'm not trying to convince anyone. That is the solid fact right there."

We fell into a comfortable silence as we walked around the perimeter. Right when we finished our patrol duty and were waiting for the next pair to take our place, Young Seb decided to open his mouth again. "Are you sure that's the right move?"

I breathed in and let out a deep sigh. I was not sure I wanted to continue this conversation with him. "What move?"

"Making her go with him instead of telling her to stay here."

"She's better off with The Ethereal, Seb. You know what kind of shit going on around here." Just two days ago, one of our guys ended up in a ditch because of a deal that had gone wrong. And a week before that, some of our guys had caught three members of the Night Walkers pack crossing our border. Even when I had told Xyrra that it was merely a rumor, I knew that highly likely it was the truth. The Night Walkers were truly seeking vengeance, they wanted an eye for an eye. The only reason they had done nothing for the first ten years after Oscar Sinclair had died was that the Night Walkers had followed their alpha's last wish, that whatever happened to him during the duel, Gaia aka Xyrra's mother, must not be harmed, that they would accept the defeat and leave her be.

Then ten years ago, Thanos murdered Gaia, the one thing that prevented a war between Night Walker and Erebus. Leonidas, our Alpha, had no choice but to kick his Beta out of the pack to prevent the war from happening and also to make an example out of him, proving that no matter how big a role a person had, as long as they did a crime worth punishing, they would still be punished.

Together with Xyrra, Thanos had lived amongst humans for the last ten years, and the Night Walkers had not been able to find him. Only a few days after Thanos had left, I had been sent out of the pack to live with a family friend so I could keep an eye on Thanos and little Xyrra. Anyone else older would have been recognized by the Night Walkers. Everything had been great until Thanos lashed out at a coworker two weeks ago with three witnesses present.

He had practically shifted and destroyed his own office. I had been in the club with Xyrra and her friend when Thanos called and asked for help. In the end, I had to kill said coworker along with the witnesses. Killing innocent folks in order to clean up the mess that Thanos had caused, to protect him and Xyrra. And while I had been busy being off the grid, Xyrra's stupid boyfriend had brought her to Ryker's wedding. The rest was a disaster.

Who would have thought that the girl I cared for the most was actually the soulmate of The Ethereal Pack's Alpha? I would have laughed if someone had said this to me a month ago.

Fucking hilarious!

"He can protect her better than I can," I simply told Seb the same thing I had been telling myself. "He's an Alpha. He will order all members of his pack to fight in order to keep her safe if he has to."

Seb shook his head. He clearly failed to understand my logic here. "Have you thought of what might happen? What if she falls for him? Will you be able to live with the regret?"

"She won't," I answered Seb. I swore I could still hear her voice filled with hatred when she had adamantly argued with me over half an hour ago. "Xyrra fucking hates that guy. She can't even stand him. No way she would fall for him."

"Maybe." Seb shrugged then added, "For now. But they are mates, Eros. It will be getting harder and harder for her to resist him and vice versa. Hell, that guy has left his bride on the altar to be with Xy, and we all know how much he loved Alana. He forfeited his right to his family's inheritance to be with her."

He is right, said Ares, taking Seb's side.

"Shut up," I warned both Seb and Ares. My wolf replied to me with a growl along with a set of Italian curse words. He probably called me a dickhead for all I knew. I muted him, not wanting to deal with my wolf right now, then turned to Seb. "We should shift back before Griffin and Evan realize something's off!" I warned Seb as I pulled off my pants. Right before I shifted, I whispered to myself one last time, "She won't."

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A/N: a little sneak-peek on Eros' head from yours truly ;))