Chapter Nine: The Stranger in the Stairwell
777 Words
The stairwell fell silent except for the distant hum of the school's ventilation system and the pounding of Lily's own heartbeat in her ears. The stranger stood at the top of the steps, blocking the exit with an ease that suggested he wasn't remotely worried about being stopped, his eyes moving between Ethan and Lily with an unreadable, calculating patience.
"Who are you?" Lily asked, when Ethan said nothing.
"Marcus," Ethan answered for him, voice tight, stepping slightly in front of her without seeming to think about it. "My cousin."
"Cousin," Lily repeated, glancing between them, searching for any family resemblance and finding none. Marcus was leaner than Ethan, sharper around the edges, with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Family friend is probably more accurate," Marcus said smoothly, descending a few steps, close enough now that Lily could see something calculating flicker behind his gaze every time it landed on her. "Though I suppose blood only matters so much these days, doesn't it, Ethan?"
"Say what you came to say," Ethan said, low and controlled, though Lily could feel the tension radiating off him like heat off asphalt.
"The elders want a meeting. Tonight." Marcus's eyes flicked to Lily again, lingering this time. "And they've made it very clear they want her there too."
Ethan's entire body went rigid. "No."
"That wasn't a request."
"I don't care what it was." Ethan's voice dropped into something low and dangerous, a tone Lily had never heard from him before, one that made the hair on her arms stand up. "She's not part of this. Not yet."
"That's not up to you anymore." Marcus's smile widened, thin and satisfied, like he'd been waiting for exactly this reaction. "Not after what happened last night. You engaged three rogues on Cole territory, in front of a witness. The elders don't care whether you think she's ready. They care that she already knows too much to be ignored."
Lily's mind spun, trying to keep up, catching fragments she didn't fully understand elders, rogues, territory, words that belonged in some other world entirely, and yet here they were, being spoken in a high school stairwell like they were the most normal thing in the world.
"I'm right here," she said, sharper than she intended, drawing both their attention back to her. "Maybe someone could explain what's actually happening instead of talking around me like I'm not standing three feet away."
Marcus's eyebrows lifted, something like amusement crossing his face. "She's got spirit. I can see why you're having trouble keeping your distance." He glanced at Ethan, smile turning knowing, almost mocking. "Or is it more than that?"
"Marcus." Ethan's voice was a warning now, low and lethal.
"Relax. I'm not going to say anything the elders don't already suspect." Marcus straightened, adjusting his jacket, glancing at his watch like this conversation had already taken up more of his time than he cared to spare. "Eight o'clock. The old Cole property, out past the ridge. Don't be late, cousin. And don't try showing up without her. It won't end well for either of you."
He brushed past them both, close enough that Lily caught a strange, wild scent clinging to him, something like pine and copper that made her nose wrinkle without understanding why. Then he was gone, disappearing up the stairwell and back into the crowded hallway beyond, leaving the two of them alone in the sudden, ringing silence he left behind.
"Ethan," Lily said quietly, once she trusted her voice not to shake. "You need to tell me what's going on. Right now. All of it."
Ethan turned to look at her, and for the first time since she'd met him, every ounce of careful control seemed to drain out of his expression, leaving behind something raw and exhausted and afraid.
"You're not going to like it," he said.
"I don't care. I need to know."
He was quiet for a long moment, gaze fixed on some point past her shoulder, like he was gathering the courage to say something he'd been avoiding since the moment they'd met. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"I'm not human, Lily. Not entirely. And neither is Marcus. Neither are the men who attacked me last night."
"Then what are you?"
His eyes lifted to hers, dark and steady, and something in them made her breath catch before he'd even said the word.
"A wolf," he said. "I'm the Alpha of a pack you didn't know existed until three nights ago. And whether either of us wanted it or not, you're now involved in something that could get you killed."
- Writer
