Ethan maintained a neutral expression, and didn’t take offense to what Whitney said. He had been among humans long enough to be used to their blatant disrespect and incessant gossip. But, he was getting tired of her attempts to interfere with the fragile peace he was building with Ruby. Inwardly, the calm facade was a conscious effort. His wolf wished it could simply deal with her, to remove this obstacle to his happiness.
Whitney suddenly checked her watch with an exaggerated seriousness, the sparkle in her eyes signaling she had a mile-high stack of gossip. "Would you look at the time," she said brightly. "It's gotten so late." She delivered the line directly to Ruby, but her gaze slid pointedly toward Ethan, an unmistakable attempt to politely or not so politely, dismiss him.
Ethan,
