CHAPTER 16: A DEPT TO REPAY

Ethan is barely standing on the tips of his toes, an alphas fist gripping the collar of his shirt as he holds his other inches away from Ethan’s face. The beta blinks at the sight of an unexpected yet familiar face. Zander stands inside the restaurant, his hands in his jacket pockets and a key chain dangling from the belt loop of his jeans.

Why is he here?

"Wow, I’d say our timing is always perfect. Wouldn’t you agree?" Zander smiles, which only makes Ethan frown. Why does he look so happy about this situation? Zander is a dominant alpha that was jumped by these other two alphas. He ended up bloody and bruised that night. If Zander couldn’t win against them then, Ethan knows he, a mere beta, doesn’t stand a chance against them, but he couldn’t let them walk all over him or his mother.

"What?" Ethan winces as his back flares with pain. He’s going to have a massive bruise, he just knows it.

"Hey, I know you!" The guy who holds Ethan by his shirt snaps his fingers with his free hand. "You’re the dumbass that we beat the shit out of in the back alley."

"Dude, watch the language. My momma’s back there." Ethan mutters half-heartedly.

Zander tries to smother his snort into his hand. He truly is a momma’s boy, isn’t he? He knows his priorities. Then he glances towards the open window where Ethan’s mother watches everything with worried brown eyes. He turns to the lobby of the restaurant, where food and dishes dirty the floor, and the table and chairs are turned over.

"You know," Zander pulls off his jacket off one sleeve at a time before laying it over the nearest chair. "I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see you two again." He steps towards them, his gaze sharp.

"What are you doing here?" Ethan asks with raised eyebrows. And after closing time no less.

"We’ll get to that later." Zander pauses. He glares at the offending hand that still hasn’t let go of Ethan’s shirt. He follows the arm up to meet the eyes of the man’s leering stare. "I have a Dept to repay." Zander rolls up his sleeves. "Do you mind letting the beta go? I don’t want you to take him down with you after I knock your ass out."

"What the fuck-" The other guy lunges forward, fist raised. Zander doesn’t flinch. With swift grace Ethan ever saw in movies, Zander kicks the man in the torso. There’s a loud huff and then Zander slams his fist into his throat. There’s a terrible hacking sound before his limp body falls to the floor.

He didn’t kill him, did he? Ethan stares down at the unconscious alpha. The guy holding up his collar let’s go, and Ethan lands back on the heels of his feet. He clears his throat, his hand flying to his neck.

"The alpha wants to play prince charming?" The rude thug chuckles. He doesn’t look concerned for his friend who lays on the floor beside him. "We already took care of you the first time. Was that not enough?"

Surely this is a false bravado? Ethan is still staring at the man on the floor. He nearly sighs in relief when he sees the movement of breathing in his chest. Thank goodness he’s not dead. He’d rather not have a vengeful ghost haunting the restaurant. It’ll bring even more bad luck, more than it already has.

"That was only beginners luck." Zander shrugs. "I was in a mood back then. I’m not anymore."

"We’ve already been paid for messing up you’re face." The man grins and cracks his knuckles. "This here is between the beta," He flicks his finger between Ethan and himself, a movement that draws Zander’s attention. The dominant alpha frowns. "It’s something personal. So how about you fuck off while I’m letting you."

"You shouldn’t have done that." Zander mutters, a dark edge to his voice that wasn’t there before. "That’s not how this is going to go." Then his voice softens for his next words. "Come here, Ethan." He waves two fingers, and gives a sweet smile.

Ethan glances up at the burly alpha, shoves past him and dodging when the man tries to reach for him. He shifts to Zander’s side, ducking behind his back. Maybe he’d have felt shame if it were anyone else, but after seeing Zander throat punch someone to sleep, he thinks it will be okay just this once.

Why should Ethan get the shit beat out of him when there’s a perfectly strong alpha there to defend him? Work smarter, not harder. "I’m so glad to see you." Then, "Didn’t you already get your ass beat by these two?"

Zander flushes red, but doesn’t look back at him. "Just," He raises his hand and pinches the bridge of his nose. He resists the urge to scratch at his neck. "Stay out of the way."

"You don’t have to tell me twice." Ethan backs away to stand behind the counter. Here, he has a clear view of both his mom and the two - three if you count the one on the floor - alphas.

"I’m going to make you regret coming here." The man bites out at Zander. He swings a punch, but Zander easily blocks it with his forearm. His black hair swishes around his ears as he twists his hips and kicks the man in the face. There’s an audible crack and a gutteral cry.

"You broke my nose!" He screams. Blood drips down his chin and neck, his hand cradling the cracked cartilage. "Fucking mother fu-"

Zander slams his fist into the back of his neck. "Launguage." Zander tisks at him. The man falls limp to the floor and Ethan cringes at the amount of blood pooling. He’s going to hate to have to clean that up. With the two threats knocked out cold, Ethan rushes into the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" He grabs his mother’s shoulders and scans her head to toe. He turns her left and then right, and she laughs.

"I’m fine. I’m more worried about you." She puts her hand on his cheek and scans his neck. There are red marks visible on his skin.