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 with an expression that was impossible to read—neither kind nor cruel, just purely calculating.
"I have to check sothing," he said, his voice dropping into that authoritative Alpha tone that brooked no argunt. "Don’t be scared. Stay here and don’t move around the house. I’ll be back soon."
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 , 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."
My breath hitched in a tiny sob of relief. "Thank you," I whispered. The idea of passing the night here had been troubling .
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 . My mind was a whirlwind of the day’s events. Alpha Ethan had challenged them to claim , but they didn’t. They wouldn’t even look in the eye and say the word.
"They are cowards, Zoe," I whispered to my wolf. She didn’t howl back this ti. 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 periter, their silver spears glinting. This was supposed to be my ho, 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?"
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 off guard. Before I could even raise a hand to push him away, he was there, his arms wrapping around with a crushing intensity. He pulled 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 sa man who had walked past in the hallways for two years without a single glance, yet here he was, holding 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 contentnt. My own body betrayed , too; the tension in my body began to lt against his warmth, my heart hamring against his ribs in a rhythm I couldn’t control.
"I’ve been aning to do this since you ca 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 ti. I thought I’d lost you forever."
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 mory 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 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 . Alpha Ethan did."
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 . "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."
"You did everything....except stand up for !" 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 away. You couldn’t claim ."
Leo’s face went pale, his jaw working as he tried to find the words. He looked at the locked door, then back at , his eyes pleading. "It’s not that simple, Scarlett. If I had spoken... if I had claid you in front of Father..."
"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."
"Sca—" Leo tried to speak, his hand reaching for 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.
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