Chapter 77
Scarlett’s POV
“It doesn’t matter!” I screamed, the wind catching my words. I turned on him, my hands balled into fists. “Everyone leaves, Leo! Everyone lies! I thought… I thought I finally found someone who saw me. But I’m just a shadow. I’m a ghost in my own life p>
“Was it Ethan?” he demanded, his voice dropping into that terrifying Alpha tone. “Did he say something? Did he hurt you p>
“I don’t want to talk about him!” I yelled, even though the mental image of Ethan and Elara was screaming in my head. I felt so ashamed. I had fallen for the “perfect” Alpha’s trap, and telling Leo would only make me feel smaller. “Stop asking me! Just stop p>
“I can’t stop!” Leo roared back. He lunged forward, grabbing my wrists. His grip wasn’t painful, but it was like iron. “I’ve spent two years watching you from across the room, hating myself for every breath I took without you. Seeing you break like this… it’s killing my wolf, Scarlett. It’s killing me p>
“You had two years to care!” I sobbed, struggling against him. “You let me scrub those floors! You let the pack treat me like trash p>
“I was a coward!” he shouted, pulling me flush against his chest. Our breath mingled in the cold air, white and ragged. “I was scared of what you’d do to me if I let myself love you. But I’m done being scared p>
He let go of my wrists and cupped my face, his thumbs wiping away the tears with a tenderness that hurt more than his anger. His eyes were no longer green; they were a glowing, molten gold.
“You’re mine,” he whispered, his forehead dropping against mine. “I don’t care about the past. I don’t care about the laws. I just want you to stop crying p>
I looked up at him, my heart thundering. I wanted to kiss him… I wanted him, but I pulled away, my hands flat against his chest, shoving him back with a sudden strength that surprised us both. The cold mountain air rushed between us, and the silence felt like a heavy weight. My heart was thundering, but it wasn’t just from the bond—it was fear. Fear of wanting him.
But inside my head, Zoe was pacing, her fur standing on end. She wasn’t angry at Leo. She was angry at me.
“What are you doing?” she snarled. “He is right there! He is ours! Stop fighting it, Scarlett. I want him. I want to feel him p>
I gripped the edges of my shirt and frowned. “He left us, Zoe,” I argued back silently, my eyes stinging. “He watched me suffer for two years p>
“And he’s regretting it now!” Zoe barked, her golden eyes flashing behind mine. “Look at him! Touch him p>
Leo didn’t move. He stood there with his hands still raised in the air, his fingers twitching as if they were still memorizing the curve of my face. His eyes were wide, and I saw a flicker of genuine, raw agony in them. He looked like a man who had finally found his air after drowning for years.
“Scarlett,” he breathed, his voice trembling. “I’m right here. I’m finally standing right here p>
“You’re two years too late, Leo,” I whispered, though my body was betraying me, leaning toward his heat despite my words.
I turned my back on him, hugging myself as I stared out at the forest below. The wind whipped my hair across my face, stinging my eyes. I was trying to be strong, trying to remember the floors I had scrubbed and the insults I had endured, but Zoe was howling, a mournful, demanding sound that made my bones ache. She wanted to forgive him. She wanted the kiss I had just denied.
I felt him move before I heard him. He didn’t grab me this time. He just stepped up behind me, his chest inches from my back, his warmth acting like a shield against the mountain wind.
“I know,” he rasped, his breath ghosting over the shell of my ear. “I know I don’t deserve to even touch the hem of your shirt. But your wolf is screaming for me, Scarlett. I can hear her. And my wolf… he’s ready to tear the world apart just to get to you p>
I squeezed my eyes shut, a single tear escaping, but I quickly wiped the tear away before it could freeze on my cheek. I wasn’t going to make this easy. Not for him, and not for the part of me that was already begging to turn around.
“I’m climbing the mountain,” I said, and I didn’t wait for his answer. I headed toward the jagged incline of the Eagle’s Nest, the highest point on the ridge. It was a steep, dangerous climb, especially in the wind. I needed to move. I needed my muscles to burn so I could stop feeling the ache in my chest.
Zoe huffed in my head, annoyed that I was moving away from him, but she followed my lead. Behind me, I heard the heavy, steady thud of Leo’s boots. He didn’t complain; he just followed.
By the time we reached the flat rock at the very top, I was breathless. The wind was a roar up here, whipping my hair into a frenzy. I sat on the edge, my legs dangling over the massive drop, and Leo sat down beside me. Not touching, but close enough that I could feel the electricity of the bond snapping between our shoulders.
“I used to watch you,” I whispered, the words finally tumbling out. “Every morning from the kitchen window. I’d watch you and your brothers training. You’d be laughing, looking so happy p>
I looked out over the jagged rocks of the Eagle’s Nest. The wind was howling, trying to tear the words from my throat, but I forced them out anyway.
“Why, Leo?” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Why did you treat me like I didn’t exist for two years? You knew I had nothing to do with what happened. You knew I was just a child when it all went down p>
Leo went silent beside me, his hands clasped between his knees. He stared at the horizon, his jaw so tight I could see the muscles jumping in his neck. For a long time, the only sound was the wind.
“I was scared, Scarlett,” he finally whispered. The admission sounded like it cost him everything.
I let out a harsh, watery laugh. “That’s your excuse?