Rejected and Pregnant I Fled The Pack (Evelyn and Damon) novel Chapter 229

Ethan pov

I offered to walk Nadia back toward the guest quarters after she left my father's study, understanding she'd just endured a genuinely difficult confrontation and hoping some small gesture of support might actually mean something, even if she remained cautiously guarded about accepting it.

"You don't have to," she said, though she didn't outright refuse when I fell into step beside her regardless.

"I know," I said simply. "I want to."

We'd barely made it past the courtyard when I noticed them—the same three women, apparently having regrouped after their individual meetings with my father, their expressions carrying identical, hostile determination as they moved to intercept us.

"Nadia," I said quietly, understanding immediately what was about to unfold.

"I see them," she said, her voice carrying careful, measured calm despite the obvious tension building in her posture.

They surrounded us quickly, positioning themselves to block our path forward, and I felt my own protective instincts sharpen immediately, understanding exactly how volatile this particular confrontation might genuinely become given everything that had already unfolded in my father's office.

"Your little talk with the Alpha didn't change anything," the woman who'd screamed at my father said, her voice carrying renewed, venomous fury now that we weren't safely contained within his authority. "You think you can simply walk in here, claim him through some mystical accident, and everyone's just supposed to accept that?"

"I haven't claimed anything," Nadia said, her voice remaining steady despite the obvious hostility surrounding us. "I've made no decisions regarding Ethan whatsoever."

"Doesn't matter," Danielle said, stepping closer now, her earlier grief apparently having curdled into something considerably sharper. "You're standing here, walking beside him like you're already entitled to that position."

"I offered to walk with her," I said firmly, stepping slightly forward, understanding I needed to actually redirect their anger toward myself rather than allowing it to continue building against Nadia specifically. "This isn't Nadia's doing."

"Convenient how you're always so quick to defend her," Sera said, something bitter twisting her expression. "Meanwhile you never bothered offering that same consideration when you were simply discarding the rest of us."

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