Chapter 1 You’ll Always Be Like a Sister

AURORA

The moment Ethan’s hand wrapped around my throat, my entire body trembled beneath him.

A broken moan slipped from my lips as his mouth moved against my neck slow, hot, and disorienting enough to make my head spin. The room smelled like whiskey, rain, and him. Dangerous. Addictive. Ethan Cole.

My brother’s best friend.

The man I had loved for years without him ever knowing.

Or maybe he knew. Maybe he just never cared.

I should have walked away the second I helped him into his room.

Zane had called me close to midnight, asking me to pick Ethan up because he was too drunk to drive home. I went without hesitation. I always did whenever it was Ethan.

That was my problem.

It had always been Ethan.

Even now, I could still remember the way he looked when we stepped into his mansion tie loose around his neck, dark hair messily pushed back from his face, golden eyes unfocused from alcohol.

I should have left after making sure he was inside safely.

Instead, I stayed.

And staying ruined everything.

My breath caught as Ethan pressed me into the mattress, his forehead resting briefly against mine. His hand slid lower, rough fingers brushing my thigh before pulling me closer.

“Aurora…”

My name left his mouth in a low rasp that almost destroyed what little control I had left.

My wolf stirred inside me.

Wanting him.

Needing him.

I hated how easily my body responded to him. Every touch, every breath against my skin deepened the ache I was trying to ignore.

This was wrong.

So wrong.

But for the first time, Ethan was touching me like I was more than Zane’s little sister.

Like I was a woman.

A soft gasp escaped me when his lips found mine again slower this time, deeper. The kiss felt dangerous, like something neither of us could undo afterward.

And maybe that was why I kissed him back so desperately.

Because I had wanted this for too long.

Years of pretending.

Years of hiding my feelings whenever another woman stood beside him.

Years of loving a man who was never mine.

Tonight, for once, he was.

Even if it was only because he was drunk enough to forget who I was.

The thought should have hurt.

Instead, I buried it and held onto him tighter.

I wanted this memory.

Even if it destroyed me later.

When it was over, silence filled the room. Only our uneven breathing remained.

For a brief second, I let myself believe it meant something. That maybe Ethan finally saw me differently.

Then he pulled away.

The warmth between us vanished instantly as he sat at the edge of the bed, back turned to me.

Too far. Too cold.

A knot tightened in my chest.

I slowly pulled the sheet over myself, suddenly aware of how exposed I felt.

Ethan dragged a hand down his face and exhaled sharply.

“This shouldn’t have happened.”

My stomach dropped.

No. Not this.

I sat up quickly, panic rising. “Ethan—”

“You’re Zane’s sister.”

The words hit harder than a slap.

His voice wasn’t angry. That would’ve been easier.

Instead, he sounded disappointed. In himself. In me. In everything between us.

“I was drunk,” he muttered, still refusing to look at me. “I shouldn’t have crossed that line.”

My chest tightened painfully. “But Ethan, I”

He stood before I could finish.

Finally, he looked at me.

And the regret in his eyes shattered whatever hope I had left.

“You’ll always be like a sister to me, Aurora.”

There it was.

The one thing I had feared hearing for years.

A sister.

Nothing more.

I forced myself not to cry in front of him.

Because while I had given him everything, he looked at me like he wished it had never happened.

“You should rest,” he said quietly. “I’ll take you home in the morning.”

Then he walked out.

The door clicked shut, leaving me alone in his bed with the scent of him still on my skin.

I stared at the empty doorway for a long time.

My chest hurt. Everything hurt.

I pulled the blanket tighter around myself as tears finally burned my eyes.

I never even got the chance to tell him the truth.

That I had loved him long before I understood what love was.

But maybe it was better this way.

Because Ethan Cole would never choose me.

Not really.

I barely slept that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, his voice came back.

You’ll always be like a sister to me.

By sunrise, I couldn’t stay anymore.

Before Ethan woke up, I left his mansion quietly.

A week passed. Nothing changed.

Every corner of the pack reminded me of him the garage he shared with Zane, his bike outside, his voice during meetings.

I was suffocating.

So I made a decision.

I was leaving.

London suddenly felt far enough to forget him. Far enough to breathe again.

Zane didn’t understand why I wanted to leave America, but he didn’t stop me.

And I was grateful for that.

Because I could never tell him the truth.

That I had slept with his best friend… and lost my heart before sunrise.

Some things were better buried.

Even if they destroyed you from the inside.