Page 12

Scarlett

The clouds of darkness dissipated, giving way to the aches and pains settling into Scarlett’s body.

She felt as if she was on fire. Her eyes shot open, terrified that she’d be surrounded by flames.

But she only found herself looking out of an open trunk.

Regaining her strength, she turned and screamed when her gaze fell on a battered corpse.

Blood was everywhere and she tried to look away, only to find another equally mangled body.

She was in a large hall, with no one else in sight.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, only for it to burn through her veins. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze fell on a phone. Careful not to step on the blood or whatever else was pooling out of the body, she climbed out of the trunk and snatched the device from the ground.

Scarlett dialled her father’s number, walking away from the car only to flinch away from a third corpse lying on the concrete. Fearful that someone could be hiding in the shadows, her eyes searched the darkness.

“If you touch my daughter…” her father growled, his wolf so near it made goosebumps pebble her skin.

“It’s me,” she whispered.

“Scarlett—”

“They’re all dead. I don’t know where I am, but everyone’s dead.”

“Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart. Are you hurt?”

“My head is pounding, and I feel like I’m on fire.”

“Does the phone have GPS?”

She looked down on the screen and went through the apps to find the one she needed. Scarlett rattled off the coordinates, then let herself slide to the floor against a steel support beam.

“We’re on our way already. What do you see?”

“It looks like an old warehouse. There’s a car and three bodies, but I don’t see anyone else. I’m burning inside and it’s cold and I don’t feel good.”

“We’re coming.”

She closed her eyes, only able to see Kurt’s bleeding body. “Kurt? Where’s Kurt? He was bleeding. Someone shot him.”

“He’s being treated for his injuries.”

“And Paul and Daniel th—they were…”

“They are all being treated. You need to find somewhere to hide.”

“I can’t move.”

Flames licked through her veins, and Scarlett let her head fall back and her eyes shut.

“Scarlett, stay with me.”

The only sound she could offer was a pained grunt. Talking hurt and it was as if her blood had been replaced by lava. She heard her father speaking to her, telling her to stay strong, that they were on their way, but it felt as if her body was shutting down.

Her eyes shot open when metal slammed and motors revved.

She watched through blurry vision as her father stormed towards her, Maximilian on his heels.

Warriors spread out into the large space, while Killian, the pack doc, knelt next to her.

He wrapped her upper arm in a cuff and placed something on her finger.

“It looks like she was given some kind of IV.” The blood pressure cuff pumped up and its squeezing only made her feel worse. She winced, tears filling her eyes. “I’m sorry, Scarlett. It’s already going down.”

“It was silver,” Maximilian growled, holding up something she couldn’t see.

“That explains the burning. I will give her a sedative, to take her pain, but we must rush back to cleanse her blood.”

“Not yet.” Her father’s voice was stern as his mind pushed into hers. She saw the crash flash before her eyes again, felt the collision with the tree as Kurt lost control of the car, then saw her own reaction as she found what she thought was Kurt’s body.

Her father searched her memories before pulling out of her mind, letting Killian do his work. Maximilian stayed by her side while her father went on to sweep through the warehouse trying to figure out what had happened.

“Kurt,” she breathed her eyes searching for Killian’s reaction.

“He’s being treated.”

“Shot…” But she couldn’t finish the sentence, her throat tightening.

“We know. He’s back at the clinic as we speak.” When something pricked the back of her hand, she hissed and tried to pull away. “It’s just the IV for your sedative.”

“Max?”

“I’m here,” he hummed. A moment later she felt warmth spread through her body. Her brother picked her up and she let herself fall into his chest, succumbing to the darkness once more.

She woke up in a warm bed with someone holding her hand, brushing their thumb over her knuckles.

She opened her eyes to see Maximilian sitting next to her, his head on the mattress.

She was in the pack’s clinic with her IV hooked up to a machine that seemed to be taking her blood and pumping it back into her body.

She lifted her head to see better, the movement jolting Maximilian awake. “Oh Scarlett,” he sighed and sat up straight. He gently brushed her hair away from her face. “You’re up.”

She nodded, her mouth too dry to speak. Without another word, Maximilian reached for a glass and offered her the straw.

“Mom and Dad are coming,” he explained

“Kurt,” she finally managed.

“Down the hallway, recovering and asking for you every chance he gets.”

Scarlett opened her mind, relieved to connect with Kurt right away. ‘How are you?’

‘How am I?’ he scolded. ‘You were kidnapped and poisoned with silver and you’re asking how I’m doing? Worried out of my fucking mind.’

‘You were shot.’

‘Do I have to repeat myself? Hunters took you and poisoned you.’

‘You were shot,’ she repeated but through the open link she could feel that he wasn’t in a lot of pain.

‘I was and I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.’

‘You took a bullet for me.’

‘It clearly wasn’t enough.’

‘I’m here, aren’t I?’

Kurt sighed, and Scarlett could feel how disappointed he was with himself. He’d always taken great pride in her safety, but now he felt as if he’s failed her. She didn’t need words to show him that it wasn’t the case. When her parents stepped into her room, she closed off the link to Kurt.

Her mom rushed to her side and set down a tray with porridge and soup. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“Tired.”

“Oh, let’s get some food in you so you can rest.”

“How are Paul and Daniel?”

“Recovering,” her father stated rather plainly. “Do you remember anything new?”

“No, I remember the accident and then waking up in the warehouse.”

“The warehouse was a hunter’s hiding spot—he was one of the ones you found dead. We couldn’t recover any of the security footage to figure out what had happened. The phone you used also belonged to one of them.”

Thankfully, her mother saved her from discussing the matter further. “I don’t believe we need to speak about this now. Scarlett is weak and has gone through a lot. I cannot imagine the nightmares she’ll have from all of this.”

And there it was again, her mother painting her as some weak little girl.

It hadn’t always bothered her so much but lately, the backhanded comments made her feel…

small, and unimportant. She’d always felt that she stood above being belittled, but now it seemed as if something crawled beneath her skin, some primal urge to stand up and scream that she wasn’t a little kid anymore.

She let her mother feed her half the porridge before she lied about feeling sick.

Closing her eyes, she let her mother fuss over her hair and tucked her in.

When Killian stepped in to check on her, Scarlett could barely hold back the relieved sigh as her mother stepped away from her bed.

She watched as Killian shut off the machine that had been cleansing her blood.

Scarlett listened as he explained how the machine worked and asked a few questions here and there, happy to have the attention on anyone but her.

Once she was freed from the machine, he hooked her up to an IV for fluids and vitamins to help her get back on her feet.

Finally, everyone left, shutting off the lights and leaving her to get some rest. Only once she was all alone did she feel her mates’ presence.

She soaked it up and let her exhaustion take over, she didn’t want to think about if they knew—or if they had been the ones to save her.

She couldn’t let those thoughts manifest, terrified of her father searching her brain again.

Killian ordered her on bedrest for two days in which her mother coddled her every step of the way.

She hated it, but kept up her facade and pretended to be the sweet, well-mannered daughter she’d always been.

She wasn’t sure what had changed, but maybe it was her conversations with her mates’ that made her realise how much was out there for her.

Once she was allowed to leave, her first stop was to see Kurt.

He’d also been put on bedrest with Paul and Daniel.

The three of them shared a room and all assured her that they were fine, but she knew better.

Kurt’s pride had taken a big hit, and he was afraid he would lose the spot as her guard.

Though that didn’t matter to Scarlett—he was still her best friend.

She pulled a chair up next to his bed and laid her head on the mattress next to him. Immediately, his fingers combed through her hair. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.”

“Part of the job,” he said. “I don’t want you to feel bad. None of us do.”

“I felt useless,” she admitted.

Kurt sighed softly, knowing exactly what was running through her mind.

She missed her gym sessions with him and had mentioned it a few times, but without her father’s permission, he’d refused to continue to train her.

He was too loyal of a warrior to go against his alpha.

She wasn’t sure for how long, but she dozed off, imagining Kurt’s hand to be one of her mates’.

Their presence was still strong—it had been for the past few days.

Whenever it weakened, she knew that it meant one of them had left the others.

“I thought I’d find you here.” Maximilian softly woke her with a kiss to her head.

“I told her to go rest in her bed,” Kurt scolded.

“And I told you I don’t want to be alone.”