Scarlett’s POV
The air in the tiny safe room was hot and suffocating, but I didn’t dare move. Through the small peephole, I watched the three masked n move like shadows through my bedroom. They didn’t talk much; they only moved with a hauntingly precise rhythm.
"Search the bathroom," the leader whispered. His voice was deep and cold.
One of the n kicked the bathroom door open. I heard the shower curtain being ripped back and the sound of cabinets being pulled open. A few seconds later, he walked back into the bedroom, shaking his head.
"She’s not there," he grunted. He stopped near my bed and sniffed the air loudly. "I can sll her scent. It’s fresh. It ans she was just here, and it hasn’t been long since she left. Damn it!"
"Maybe she heard us coming and ran out the back?" the second man suggested, gripping his gun tighter.
"We should wait," the third one said. "She has to co back eventually."
"No," the leader snapped. "It’s too risky to stay inside. The neighbors might have heard the door. Let’s go wait outside and hide in our car. She will co back soon, and when she does, we take her."
I watched, my heart thumping against my ribs, as they turned and walked out of my bedroom. I heard the front door click shut. I waited, counting to sixty in my head, making sure they were truly gone from the apartnt.
With shaking fingers, I pulled my phone from my pocket. I didn’t call my parents. I didn’t call the police. I dialed Ethan.
He picked up on the first ring. "Scarlett?"
"Ethan... help ," I whispered, my voice trembling so much I could barely speak. "Three masked gunn were just in my room. They are waiting outside for right now. They think I left and that I’m coming back."
"Where are you?" His voice was suddenly sharp and full of Alpha authority.
"In the safe room. The one you built behind the wardrobe."
"Stay there. Do not move. Do not make a sound," he commanded. "I am sending help right now. Just breathe, Scarlett. I’ve got you."
The call ended. I hugged my knees to my chest. Zoe was pacing in my head, her claws taphorically digging into my mind.
"Shift, Scarlett," she urged. "Let out. If they co back, I can fight them. I can tear their throats out."
No, I told her. Those n are werewolves, Zoe. They are trained assassins, and there are three of them with guns. Fighting them is a suicide mission. We wait.
Minutes felt like hours. Then, the silence of the night was shattered by the loud pop-pop-pop of gunshots coming from the street below. I jumped, hitting my head against the back of the wardrobe. I covered my mouth to keep from screaming.
My phone vibrated again. It was Ethan.
"My people are there," he said quickly. "They are friends of mine who live in Paris. They are coming into your apartnt now. They are safe, Scarlett. Trust them."
I heard the front door burst open again. This ti, there was no sneaking. I heard heavy footsteps and n calling out my na.
"Scarlett? It’s okay. We’re friends of Ethan. You can co out."
I pressed the hidden button. The wardrobe door swung open, and I practically fell out, panting for air. Three n stood there. They weren’t wearing masks, and they looked like professional soldiers.
"Are you okay?" the tallest one asked, helping up.
"The n... the ones with the guns..." I gasped.
"All three are dead," he said firmly. "Unfortunately, none of them stayed alive long enough to be questioned. We need to move you now. This place isn’t safe."
I didn’t argue. I grabbed my bag and followed them out of the apartnt. They moved quickly down the stairs and into a black SUV with tinted windows. As soon as the door closed, my phone rang again.
"I’m in the car," I said as soon as I answered. "Ethan, who were they? Who sent people to kill ?"
Ethan was silent for a long mont. I could hear him pacing on the other end of the line. "I am not 100% sure yet, Scarlett... but I suspect the triplets’ parents."
Tears ran down my cheeks. It made a horrible kind of sense. "Because of the prophecy? Because they want to make sure I never appear in the triplets’ lives again?"
"They will do anything to preserve their sons’ lives," Ethan said, his voice full of anger. "If you are dead, the prophecy dies with you. They don’t want to risk you ever coming back."
I leaned my head against the cool glass of the car window. My own pack. The people I grew up with. They didn’t just want gone... they wanted erased completely, like I never existed.
"Scarlett, listen to ," Ethan said. "You are leaving France tonight. And not just that—you will not communicate with anyone but . Not your friends, not even your parents. Not until I find out exactly who sent those n and I can guarantee your safety."
"Where will I go?" I asked, feeling smaller than I ever had before.
"I would love for you to co to my pack," Ethan sighed. "But it’s too risky. They will look for you in the neighboring packs first. I’m sending you sowhere far away. Sowhere they would never think to look for you."
"Where?"
"Nigeria, in Africa," he said. "I have a very old friend there. He is an Alpha of a hidden pack near the mountains. You will stay with his family in the packhouse. No one there knows your history. To them, you will just be a guest."
I looked out at the lights of Paris as the SUV sped toward the airport. I was leaving the only life I knew to go to a continent I had only seen in books. I was truly a ghost now.
"Okay," I whispered. "I’ll go."
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