Ethan (Moonlight Wolves Book 5)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Hazel rolled her eyes, making sure he saw her frustration. She wouldn’t let him make her drop the ball. She was on a mission for Ethan and Hann. And she would make sure that she did what was right for the pack. And for Camilla.

  She still couldn’t believe a kid like Camilla was murdered. In Jerome. It just didn’t make sense.

  “I was just in town and everyone is going crazy,” Hazel said. She decided to settle on a somewhat true excuse. It wasn’t like she could just come out and say that she was a wolf shifter working for her alpha, Hann Bellova, could she? “Do you know how many people stopped me and asked if I knew anything just as I was waiting for my coffee? I want to know something. I want to know that we have some type of clue that will lead us to the bastard that did this.”

  “You’re lucky I know you.” Matthew sighed and tapped his fingers against his desk. Hazel felt a bit better now that his arms weren’t crossed over his chest and his intense stare had yielded some. “You’re lucky I know that you’re a good person and actually care about this community. Because if you were anyone else and you kept on pestering me like this, I would’ve kicked you out of my office long ago.”

  “I know.” Hazel did know this. Matthew was a no BS kind of guy, and when he was working on a case, he didn’t want to deal with any crap. Hazel knew that he was being patient with her, though, she didn’t realize what his endgame was just yet. Why, exactly, was he being so patient with her? Was it because of their past relationship? Or was it something else?

  Hazel realized that there could be more to their back and forth than she realized. Maybe Matthew was looking for some intel from her, just like she was looking for some intel from him. But they were both after the same thing–trying to figure out who killed Camilla Phillips.

  “If Annaleigh did this, she would’ve been gone by now.” Matthew leaned back in his chair again.

  Hazel laughed and rolled her eyes for what felt like the fifth time in the last five minutes. She didn’t know if that last statement was true. “Well, considering she’s probably the next to be in your bed, I highly doubt that.”

  Annaleigh was definitely beautiful, and Hazel had always noticed the way Matthew looked at her. That was something they constantly used to fight about when they were together, though Matthew never acted on his lust. They wouldn’t be that friendly with each other presently if he had.

  “You think you’re funny, huh?” Matthew stared at her with a blank expression, no twitching face muscles to hint that he thought her little joke was anything but dumb.

  “I think I’m hysterical. And under better circumstances, you would be laughing at that.” It was true. He would at least roll his eyes or give her some type of emotion other than a blank face. This case was already killing him, and they weren’t even twenty-four hours into investigating. Hazel felt bad, and she wished that he had a better department that had more resources. The police department in Jerome was somewhat functional, on a good day. On a day when there was a murder? Well, Hazel could already see that they were all breaking at the seams.

  The only person in the department she could rely on was Matthew, who was currently carrying all of the burden. No matter what they had been through, Hazel wished she could help him in some way. He was still a good guy, even if she was annoyed with him lately.

  “I want you to do something for me,” he told her as he leaned forward and pulled a cigarette case out of his top desk drawer. Hazel laughed silently to herself as he lit one up. She knew the smoke was from him. “Like the old times.”

  Hazel’s humor was gone as she realized what he just said. There was absolutely no way he was suggesting sexual favors. Hazel would not stand for that.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” she questioned him, standing up and turning to leave the office in rage. How dare he?

  “Not like that. I didn’t mean it like that.” Matthew held up a hand, and Hazel sat back down in front of him. “Do you remember when we used to work together? When you were my personal assistant? You would go keep watch or try to find out info that I couldn’t, for obvious reasons. People tend to like you a bit more than me. They’re more willing to spill the beans. I want to reaffirm that working relationship. Because I need help, and the dumbass officers we have here aren’t giving it to me.”

  Hazel stared at him, questions in her eyes that she wanted to voice. “What do you need?”

  “I want you to find out just who Camilla was hanging out with. Rumor has it she was fancying a boy that tended to hang out in the woods at night. A kid that wasn’t exactly someone her parents would approve of.”

  “That doesn’t even seem like her, though? Camilla stayed away from those kids. Everyone knew that.”

  Hazel was stunned, to say the least. Camilla never gave off any type of personality that she was interested in the kids that trespassed into the woods on an almost daily basis. Those kids went to drink, smoke, and do drugs–and that so wasn’t Camilla.

  At least, that wasn’t the Camilla that the town of Jerome knew.

  “You’d be surprised at the number of secrets this little town holds.” Matthew took a drag of his cigarette, and Hazel knew he was right. Hell, Jerome was hiding a bunch of shifters on the brink of their own society war, and the humans didn’t even know about it. This small town in Maine hid a lot. Hazel knew that first hand. “And it seems that the good ones, the ones that do no wrong, tend to do the worst. Tend to hold the most secrets. I don’t want to think that a girl like Camilla Phillips was one of these people, but I have to go through every option available. And this rumor is something that I have to pick up on. So, what do you say? Wanna join the team again, H?”

  Hazel remembered those days as Matthew’s unofficial right-hand man and official assistant. And unofficial sleeping buddy. She didn’t want to go back to that relationship with Matthew, in the sexual terms, but she missed the job. She missed doing something other than sitting behind the front desk and dealing with people who wanted to complain about others in town. She missed that thrill that came with the job, though most of their cases were in the surrounding towns and cities. She missed it. It was that simple.

  And Matthew was basically handing her a way where she would be up to date with the case without having to even ask. There was no better way to get information to Ethan and Hann other than taking the job as his assistant back.

  “Okay. But for Camilla. Not for you.” Hazel wanted to make sure they were on the same page. She didn’t want to lead him on or make him think this would lead to their old, friends with benefits situation.

  “I would never dream it would be for me,” Matthew drawled and took a drag of his cigarette, his eyes never leaving her face. Hazel nodded, realizing that maybe they both were finally, finally, over each other.

  Hazel got up, knowing their conversation was finished and yet not knowing what else to do other than leave. “Enjoy your coffee.”

  “Yes, this lukewarm shit is sure to keep me going,” he droned to her back as she opened the door to leave. “Thank you.”

  Hazel smiled as she realized that she was in. She was in on the case, and she would be able to keep her pack and her alpha out of the police’s greedy hands. And she would be able to bring justice to Camilla in her death.

  She couldn’t wait to tell Ethan.

  The bar wasn’t as packed that night, for obvious reasons. The pack was mourning the human death that had happened in their territory. Everyone felt horrible that it had happened, and they all longed for the police to find out who’d murdered the poor, innocent girl.

  The pack was also on edge. The police had stopped their search in the woods for now, as they had yet to come upon any evidence or clues in the daylight, and the darkness made it impossible to see much. No one knew if they would be back, or if they would increase their search. Police officers in pack territory tended to freak everyone out. And the police were on a mission to notice anything unusual this time. The fear that they would somehow stumble upon shifters and their secret
s were enough to keep most of the pack at home.

  Hazel herself didn’t necessarily want to go out to the bar. But she had told Ethan that she was, and she desperately wanted to see him again. Plus, this time she had good news.

  And she couldn’t wait to tell him.

  Hazel walked into the dimly lit bar, the storm raging behind her as she shut the front door. It had been storming nonstop since that afternoon, making the whole town even more depressing. Hazel nodded and said hello to a few of her friends before noticing that Ethan was sitting at the bar with Finn, his closest friend in Maine.

  Hazel couldn’t help the smile she got as she walked over to him, sliding onto the bar stool next to him, her eyes bright with happiness.

  “I see you made it here, after all,” she told him, ordering a glass of whiskey as she smiled at him.

  “Of course, I did,” Ethan responded, giving her a smirk that made her blood rush to her face. God, he made her body act crazy.

  “I’ll take that as my cue to leave,” Finn, who was sitting next to Ethan, said. He had a smile on his face that showed he knew exactly what they were both hinting at.

  “No, don’t,” Ethan started, reassuring his friend that he could stay. Finn was gone by the time he finished his sentence, leaving Hazel and Ethan alone at the bar together.

  The bartender slid a glass of whiskey to her, of which she took a little sip. Her eyes never left Ethan’s. She was glad that Finn had left them alone. She wished she was always alone with Ethan. Preferably in a bedroom with all of their clothes off.

  “Well, how was the rest of your day?” Hazel asked him, deciding to first settle on something basic. She was torn between asking him to go home with her or telling him about the case and how she now had information. The little sips of whiskey that she was taking weren’t exactly helping things, either.

  She didn’t know how Ethan made her so crazy. She barely knew him! She was never like this with guys. She waited for them to make the first move, but Ethan made her crazy. She wanted to touch him, but she sipped her whiskey to try to keep her hands to herself.

  For now, at least.

  “Oh, you know. Full of consistent worrying that the police or the humans are going to find out just what we’re doing up here. A normal stressful day. How’s work? I’m assuming it’s still crazier than normal.” He smiled at her as he sipped his own beer, and she forgot what he was saying for a second as she got lost in those stunning eyes. She blinked, forcing herself to focus on his words.

  “You got that right. More and more journalists and news stations are camping out in front of the police department. There are some coming from around the nation. It’s just going to get worse from here if they don’t find out who did this.” Hazel stopped to smile, prepared to launch into her news that she now had an in at the police department. “I do have good news, though. Matthew, the lead homicide detective, has asked me to help him on the case. I now have unlimited access from him about it. In fact, I’m meeting up with him later, and he’s going to tell me all the leads and thoughts that he has on the case so far.”

  “Oh, that’s good,” Ethan replied, taking a bigger drink from his beer than before.

  Hazel sat there and stared at Ethan, shocked at his lack of enthusiasm. When she saw him earlier in the day, he was stressed and begging for some type of information from her. Now that she was telling him that she had an in, he seemed like he didn’t care about it at all. Did she do something wrong? Was he not into her like she thought?

  “You don’t seem as excited as I thought you would be,” Hazel told him. “This is good news!”

  “No, I’m happy. I am. This is good news.” He tried to smile at her, but his lack of enthusiasm was even clearer to her now. Why was he acting like this? It was such a change from his happy demeanor only a few seconds ago.

  “Well, then what’s the problem?” Hazel asked him, confused beyond belief.

  “Nothing . . . . You used to date the detective, right?”

  Hazel stared at him, shocked from the curveball he threw at her. That was the last thing she expected Ethan to say.

  Suddenly, everything made sense. Or, at least to Hazel it did.

  She refused to think that Ethan wasn’t into her. Especially after that comment. They had been flirting with each other since they met all those weeks ago, and they hadn’t acted on it yet.

  Maybe Ethan was a little jealous that she was getting along with the guy she used to date. How he found out that she and Matthew used to be together was beyond her, but she didn’t care. He needed to realize that she only liked one person currently.

  And she was done with this little dance they were doing. It was time to put her feelings out there in the open and see if he responded accordingly.

  “Yeah. But that’s over now.” Hazel smiled at him, sipping her whiskey again as her eyes sparkled at Ethan.

  Ethan smiled himself, his pearly whites shining in the dim light and making her blush. She realized that he’d scooted a bit closer to her, making her heart beat a bit faster in her chest.

  Yeah, he was responding accordingly.

  “Well, he might not think it is,” Ethan warned her. “You know, he might just think that this is some type of way to get you back.”

  Hazel giggled over his jealousy. She loved it.

  “Trust me, I think that we’re both on the same page for once,” she assured him as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Plus, I'm not into him in any way at all. Not anymore.”

  “Really?” Ethan asked, his voice lowered and a smirk on his face. Her palms were sweating as she stared at him with the most seductive look she had.

  “Really. I’m into someone else.” Her own voice was lowered, coming out a bit raspy. She grinned at him as his smile widened. She instantly downed the rest of her whiskey in one swallow, brilliantly smiling at him as she finished. “I have to go, but I’ll see you later?”

  Ethan nodded as she gathered her bag and instantly turned her back on him. She made sure to swing her hips slightly as she walked away, and she was grateful that she had made sure to wear the jeans that made her butt look nice.

  She knew that he was watching her every step of the way until she left the bar and vanished into the storm outside.

  Chapter 6

  Ethan couldn’t get Hazel out of his head. Six beers later, he didn’t want to.

  Ethan and Finn were still at the bar, catching up as they hadn’t had a chance to kick back together in a while. Things in the pack had been crazy recently, with the constant rogue attacks and Gabriel’s orders to the rogue leaders that they had still yet to uncover. Ethan couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten tipsy, let alone drunk. While he wasn’t anywhere close to being drunk yet, he welcomed the slight buzz the beer gave him. He hated that it was hard for shifters to become drunk fast. It was times like today that he wished he could just swallow his pain and fall into the embrace of a drunken sleep.

  The murder had left him and the rest of the pack shaken to the core. At least Ethan had thoughts of Hazel to keep his mind active.

  It was almost like him thinking of what she looked like naked was enough for the universe to set things into motion. A ding from his phone notified him that he had a new, unread text from Hazel.

  MATTHEW IS POSTPONING OUR MEETING TONIGHT UNTIL LATER. HE’S STILL WORKING. ARE YOU STILL AT THE BAR?

  Ethan inhaled quickly as he ran through things he could say. He was buzzed enough to take a leap and hope that Hazel went with it. Texting back to her, Ethan wrote, I WAS JUST LEAVING, BUT I’M UP TO HANG.

  Waiting for her to respond was killing him, and he was relieved that Finn was too busy talking to others around them to realize who he was texting. Finn would never let him live it down. He had been saying that Ethan and Hazel were going to get together for a long time now, and Ethan didn’t want him to rub it in any more than he already had.

  Ethan breathed out and chuckled when he read the text Hazel sent him. OKAY. WHY DON’T YOU JUST COM
E OVER TO MY PLACE THEN?

  She took the bait that Ethan was sending her. He didn’t know what to do other than smile and get up from the bar stool, pulling his black leather jacket on over his basic white tee shirt as his heartbeat thrummed in his chest.

  The night had taken a very, very pleasant turn for him.

  “I’m heading out,” he told Finn, who nodded and patted him on the back as he left.

  The whole drive over to her house, which he mapped on his phone when she sent him her address, was hell. His body was longing for hers, and he hadn’t felt lust like that in . . . . Well, in a long time. He couldn’t believe that she went along with his hidden message. He knew that she would understand what he meant when he said that he was leaving the bar, but willing to meet up with her. She wasn’t dumb. And she accepted his little proposal.

  And that was making his whole body heat up in anticipation as he pulled up to her place.

  The storm was still raging, and as he got out of his car, he was instantly soaked. He regretted wearing his favorite leather jacket. He hoped it wouldn’t be too ruined after tonight. He ran up to her front door, knocking loudly to be heard over the howling winds and seemingly constant thunder.

  Hazel opened the door with a smile, and Ethan found that she was soaked to the core as well. He stepped inside, averting his eyes quickly after gazing at her soaking wet white t-shirt that clung to her skin. She wasn’t wearing a bra. And from the way she was smirking at him, Ethan knew that she saw how he gazed at her chest.

  “I had to run to the store really quick,” she filled him in, gesturing to her soaking body as she shut the door behind her, leaning up against it and giving him the most seductive look he had ever seen.

  “What’d you have to get?” Ethan asked, somehow managing to look her in her eyes and not her body. It was the hardest thing he thought he’d ever done. There she was, wearing that see through white t-shirt that clung to her body and those jeans that shaped her ass better than anything he’d ever seen. And yet there he was, trying his hardest to be a gentleman.