The Latent Sentinel

CAUGHT RED HANDED 1

Ethan POV

After the darkness consumed the light of my life, and I was left with just pure pain from my memories, I decided to walk away from the one place that gave me everything I wanted in life and then snatched it away. I got up from the ground and moved towards the cave entrance. This is our cave. A cave that gave me a moment of happiness before it ripped everything away from me. I am wallowing in self-pity and crying in pain. I lost everything before I had the chance to ever experience it.

I was so lost that I didn’t notice anything around me. I didn’t even notice the two shadows standing there. I would be happy if those rogues came back and killed me. It would resolve everything; Ella would get her freedom, and I would get some peace. Maybe I will be with her in death. When I looked up, I noticed the two people who shouldn’t be here.

“Stacey. Luke. What are you doing here?” I said before I could stop myself. There is a dreadful silence from their end.

I am awkwardly standing there looking at them. Nothing makes sense. I am still disoriented from the pain I felt earlier. I am groggy and disoriented from the aftereffects of the memory potion. Every time I take the potion I feel everything, the happiness and the pain. The pain of rejection kills me. Reliving painful memories makes me weak. I lose a part of me every time I do this. My senses have become dull, and I have lost a part of my physical strength because of this pain.

Stacey and Luke are standing there looking at me. They both have blank expressions, but their eyes seem to say a lot. I have no idea how much they know. Or if they know anything at all. Why are they here? Did they follow me? Before I can come up with a convincing lie, Stacey stops me with a raised hand.

“Shut it, Ethan.” She says, looking straight at me. Her pointed fingers made me halt. She looks furious; this can’t be good. She is the most terrifying person I know when she gets angry.

“Whatever lies you come up with won’t work for us. You should drop it while you are still ahead.” She adds, shaking in anger. Luke looks pretty disappointed himself. He just shakes his head.

“Stacey, Luke. Why are you here? What are you guys doing here?”

This time it is Luke who responds, “Don’t you think we should ask you that question? What are you doing here, away from the pack? Should I be concerned?”

I haven’t seen Luke getting this worked up before. Something must have happened for him to be this annoyed. I just put my head down, not knowing what to say, when I think about the situation. I look guilty. I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but it gets worse.

“Why do I smell a magical potion on you, Ethan? You realize that if you are up to something you will risk the pack. I will have to inform the Alphas and trust me. They will be pissed. In particular, Blake, you know the threats against Hope and Ritz have been increasing. And here you are hiding in some deserted cave doing god knows what. You are leaving the pack to go to some abandoned cave with magical potions. How can you explain this situation?” Stacey saw the bottle in my hand, and she knew what that must be. But she is keeping it quiet, giving me a chance to explain.

I have no option but to tell them everything that happened in the past year. From meeting my mate to rejection and my worst coping mechanism. When I am done, I look away waiting for a tongue-lashing or an unknown punishment. Luke comes close to me and hugs me tightly. I was startled and shocked by his behavior. I didn’t expect this reaction.

“Ethan, this is way too much for anyone to bear alone. Why haven’t you taken some time off or talked to someone? You know that this is not healthy. How are you being so irresponsible? You are hurting all alone. You will kill yourself. Or worse, you will hurt someone.” He says, looking at me.

“Will you forgive yourself if you ever hurt someone in your foggy mind?” He asks gently.

I have no clue what to say or feel, so I keep quiet. I cried hard leaning on him. His shoulders are shaking feeling my pain. Hot tears are escaping my eyes. I have held everything close to my heart, but now that they know, I don’t know what to do. Telling them made it real somehow. I couldn’t ignore everything anymore. It’s been a heavy burden to bear alone. It feels good telling someone what actually happened, but it feels horrible at the same time. I thought I could handle it and help myself, but I was wrong. Everyone needs help sometimes. I never accepted it but I needed help.

After a while, I let go of Luke. And for the first time, I looked at both of them about what they plan to do with this information. Stacey seems to be thinking something while Luke looks like he is in pain. He might understand my situation better. I know he and Oliver went through a rough phase at the beginning of their relationship. We stood there in an awkward and uncertain silence. I am not worried that they will inform the Alphas, but I am worried they will ask Ella to move away from there. I know everyone knows about her presence, but they are leaving her alone for some reason. Blaze and Connor are our alpha males and Lunes, they will want to know everything about this. They are the ones who are responsible for the safety and well-being of the pack. They might pressure me about talking to Ella. I can’t force her. What if she moves away after they try talking to her? I would never get her back. I am terrified about all the situations that might arise due to this. And every one of them is bad.

I am sweating thinking about all the ways I will lose Ella. She had already rejected me and severed the thread of connection we had. But what will happen if I can't see her ever again? The thought alone stabs me like a double-edged knife.