Chapter 43
Scarlett’s POV
I stood in the center of the guest suite, my arms wrapped tightly around my middle as if I could hold the pieces of myself together.
Alpha Ethan stood by the door, already pulling his shirt back on, though he didn’t bother with the buttons yet. He looked at me with an expression that was impossible to read—neither kind nor cruel, just purely calculating.
“I have to check something,” he said, his voice dropping into that authoritative Alpha tone that brooked no argument. “Don’t be scared. Stay here and don’t move around the house. I’ll be back soon p>
I bit my lip, nodding slowly. The thought of wandering these halls alone, potentially running into the triplets or their fathers, made my stomach churn.
“And Scarlett,” he added, pausing with his hand on the handle. He looked back at me, his gray eyes softening just a little. “I’ll tell a maid to arrange another room for you. You won’t be staying in here tonight p>
My breath hitched in a tiny sob of relief. “Thank you,” I whispered. The idea of passing the night here had been troubling me.
He didn’t acknowledge the thanks. He just turned and stepped out.
Finally alone, I sank onto the edge of the plush bed, the silence of the room suffocating me. My mind was a whirlwind of the day’s events. Alpha Ethan had challenged them to claim me, but they didn’t. They wouldn’t even look me in the eye and say the word.
“They are cowards, Zoe,” I whispered to my wolf. She didn’t howl back this time. She just curled into a tight, miserable ball in the back of my mind.
I stood up and paced to the window, looking out over the rain-soaked grounds. I could see the dark silhouettes of guards patrolling the perimeter, their silver spears glinting. This was supposed to be my home, but I felt like an alien who had crashed onto a hostile planet.
Suddenly, a faint sound caught my attention. Not from the hallway, but from the balcony. A soft scuff of a boot against stone.
I froze, my heart leaping into my throat. I backed away from the glass, my eyes wide, searching for anything I could use as a weapon. The French doors creaked open just an inch, letting in a gust of cold night air and a scent that made my knees buckle.
Rain and pine.
“Scarlett p>
The whisper was low and so familiar it made my chest ache. I knew that voice. I knew that scent. The French doors swung open, the heavy velvet curtains dancing in the sudden gust of wind. A shadow stepped into the dim light of the suite—a silhouette so familiar it felt like a ghost had walked into the room.
“Leo?” I breathed, my voice barely audible.
He didn’t answer with words. He moved with a sudden, desperate speed that caught me off guard. Before I could even raise a hand to push him away, he was there, his arms wrapping around me with a crushing intensity. He pulled me into his chest, burying his face in the crook of my neck, and let out a shuddering breath that felt like a sob.
My eyes widened, staring at the wall behind him in total shock. I was speechless. This was the same man who had walked past me in the hallways for two years without a single glance, yet here he was, holding me as if I were his most precious possession.
My wolf, Zoe, was a traitor. The second his scent—that rain-drenched pine—hit my senses, she stopped her moping and let out a soft, pathetic purr of contentment. My own body betrayed me, too; the tension in my body began to melt against his warmth, my heart hammering against his ribs in a rhythm I couldn’t control.
“I’ve been meaning to do this since you came back, Scarlett,” Leo whispered into my skin, his voice cracked and raw. “Scarlett… I was so scared. I thought we wouldn’t be able to save you in time. I thought I’d lost you forever p>
His words should have been the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard. They should have healed the hole in my soul. But as I stood there in his arms, the memory of what happened a few hours ago flashed through my mind—the way he had stood in a line with his brothers and let Alpha Ethan claim me without saying a single word to stop him.
The warmth in my chest turned to anger. With a strength I didn’t know I had, I planted my hands against his chest and shoved.
I pulled away, stumbling back a few steps until the edge of the bed hit the back of my knees. Leo stood there, his hands still reaching out into the empty air, his sea-blue eyes filled with a shattering mix of longing and pain.
“Correction,” I said, my voice cold and trembling. “You guys didn’t save me. Alpha Ethan did p>
The silence that followed was sharp. Leo flinched as if I had slapped him, his hands slowly dropping to his sides.
“We sent him, Scarlett,” he argued desperately, taking a step toward me. “We were locked in! Our fathers… they had guards on our doors. We couldn’t get out, so we called him. We promised to give him back the money. We did everything we could p>
“You did everything except stand up for me!” I snapped, the anger finally boiling over. “You sent a bounty hunter to do a mate’s job, Leo. And when he stood downstairs and told the whole pack I was his woman, you just watched him lead me away. You couldn’t claim me p>
Leo’s face went pale, his jaw working as he tried to find the words. He looked at the locked door, then back at me, his eyes pleading. “It’s not that simple, Scarlett. If I had spoken… if I had claimed you in front of Father p>
“You would have lost your status,” I finished for him, a bitter smile touching my lips. “And we both know that’s always been more important to you than I am p>
“Sca—” Leo tried to speak, his hand reaching for me again, but he froze mid-sentence. His head snapped toward the door, his nostrils flaring as he caught a scent that made his entire posture stiffen.