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Scarlett

The second she heard Kurt was hurt, Scarlett raced to the clinic, where she found Killian cleaning Kurt’s skin.

“What happened?” she gasped, cautiously approaching as she noticed the burns over his arms and face.

“Fucking hunters,” he pressed out between gritted teeth.

“Your skin…” Scarlett trailed off, sitting next to him on the bed and trying to find a spot that wasn’t burned. She settled for a hand on his back.

“Silver dust,” Killian explained. “They’re only superficial burns.”

“But he’ll be okay?”

“Yes.”

“Fucking warlock bastard,” Kurt muttered.

Scarlett’s heart skipped a beat. “W-warlock?”

“That’s the only thing that explains those blacked out eyes. He heard me talking on the phone—not sure how he knew it was you. Maybe he just assumed, and I fell for his trap. Kept calling you ‘little princess.’”

Scarlett’s eyes burned, betrayal and rage coursing through her veins. Ezra had done this. Ezra had done this to her only friend.

“There was another, but I didn’t see him. Strangled me and left when I passed out. I don’t think I was out for long, but they were gone when I came to.”

“Oh, Kurt…”

“Fucking shitfaces keep getting cockier. Maximilian and Felix went to the store, trying to find footage but if I remember correctly, they don’t have cameras.”

Scarlett stayed by Kurt’s side until he’d been properly cleaned and his wounds were dressed. Just as Kurt went to escort her back to the elevators, Maximilian and Felix stepped into the clinic.

“You were right—no cameras.” Then Maximilian saw her. “You’re not leaving this building until they’re dead.”

“You’re going to hunt them?”

“Of course we are. No one fucking threatens you without consequences.”

Scarlett dropped her head and walked past them, unable to look them in the eye. Why would they do this? Why would they hurt the people she loved? The ones that loved and took care of her.

She went straight to her room and laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks. She couldn’t understand what was happening.

Her mates were supposed to love her. Hurting her family hurt her, so why would they do that?

Were they trying to sabotage her life so everyone would figure out they were her mates?

Scarlett couldn’t sleep that night. The tossing and turning only somewhat calmed when she felt them nearby.

No, not them , only one. He stayed the whole night, and well into the next morning.

She kept herself busy by helping out at the school before checking on Kurt.

He sat down on the patio with her to have lunch.

Without anyone home who could chaperone, he wasn’t allowed up in the penthouse.

As it was, she wasn’t allowed to set foot in the warriors’ quarters either.

The burns were healing well, with the ones on his face already well enough to not need the dressing. She could barely look at him, knowing that her mates had done that to him. She wondered which one had strangled him unconscious. Had it been Mateo or Vince? And which one of them was still close?

“I’m sorry about your pencils,” Kurt said, breaking the silence.

“What?”

“I never got your pencils.”

Scarlett simply stared at him, trying to figure out if he was joking. “You’re not serious, are you?”

“I am. I’ll go back for them tomorrow.”

“I don’t care about the stupid pencils. You got hurt; you got hurt because I sent you there.

” With those words, Scarlett’s heart broke.

This was all her fault. Had they followed Kurt?

Did he have a target on his back because they’d been seen together?

Unable to sit still, Scarlett shot up from her seat. “You were hurt because of me.”

“Scarlett, it’s okay.”

“Nothing is okay,” she turned on her heels and stormed back inside, with everyone’s eyes on her.

She finished her day’s work at the school, helping kids with their work and watching over the youngest whose mothers were out for work.

She helped her mother with dinner, but the meal was only filled with tension and she found herself glad when it was over.

No one had talked to her about the next steps, or if they had any leads on who was behind the attack, and honestly, it scared her.

Scarlett knew that the only option was to warn her mates about what awaited them.

She didn’t want them hurt, but they didn’t seem to afford her the same courtesy.

They’d hurt her, and would likely do it again.

She fell on her bed and cried herself to sleep, still feeling one of them nearby. His presence remained constant for three days. He didn’t seem to leave once.

On the fourth day, she ventured into her closet and pulled out the phone they’d given her. There was only one message waiting for her.

It’s just me.

M

Scarlett sighed. Everyone was home at the moment, and she couldn’t risk going downstairs.

She stared at the text, wondering if Mateo’s presence meant that Vince was the strangler.

She stared at the screen, unsure of what to do.

Mateo seemed like the sweetest of the three.

Maybe he was here to make sure she was okay. With a sigh, she started typing.

I can’t come out.

I know.

I can’t talk.

But as soon as she sent the message, her finger was dialling.

“Scarlett,” Mateo hummed, pulling her name out in a soft, sweet melody.

“I know you’re upset. Ezra never should have even gotten close to your friend.

He did nothing wrong and I’m honestly not sure what came over Ezra.

Vince should have intervened before things escalated.

They were both wrong, and they hurt you. ”

With Mateo’s sigh, Scarlett could hear how much their actions upset him, pained him even.

“I’m not here to pressure you or ask you to forgive them. I just…” He took a deep breath. “I needed to be close to you. You calm me and I can’t stand being at home right now. I don’t want you to worry about coming out to see me. I just hope your friend is okay.”

Tears welled in her eyes, but she made sure to keep her breathing calm. If she did, he might not know how much his words meant to her.

“I might leave soon, but not because I’m losing my patience or don’t want to wait on you any longer. Just this conversation has calmed me enough to go home without ripping them apart. Now get some rest, my love. It’s late and I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

He hung up and for a while, Scarlett couldn’t move. She simply sat there on the floor of her closet, staring down at the black screen.

Two days after that phone call, Scarlett was finally left alone.

Her father and Maximilian had dinner with some investors, and her mother went along to charm the other wives.

She waited until it was dark, then made her way down to the fire exit.

Mateo hadn’t left, and she wasn’t sure how he’d managed not to for a whole week.

Considering that she’d texted him half an hour ago, he was already waiting for her. “Scarlett.”

She loved hearing him say her name. It was the sweetest thing. He opened his arms and for the first time, she let herself fall into his chest, her hands deep in her pockets. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled, his arms wrapping her in a warm cocoon.

“How is your friend?”

“Infuriated.”

“Understandable.”

“They want you dead.”

“Also understandable.”

“Maximilian is looking for Ezra. He thinks he threatened me.”

“In a way, that’s true. We are a threat to your family. Not because we want to hurt you, but because we will take you away.”

“He did hurt me.”

“I know he did, but Ezra sees it a different way.”

“Because technically I wasn’t hurt—physically.”

“That’s exactly it.” He sighed and kissed her hair. “He’s difficult to understand.”

“He’s not right.”

“Psychotic even.”

“Why did Vince do it?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe he knew there was no stopping Ezra. Maybe he was jealous too. I haven’t talked much with him.”

“Why would he be jealous?”

“Another man is closer to you than we are. Ezra doesn’t let on to his feelings a lot, but I think it upsets him that you’re not completely ours.” Mateo inhaled again, absorbing her scent. “I was about to head home when I saw your text.”

She didn’t know what to say, so Scarlett just let him hold her.

It felt good in his arms. She even felt the urge to return the embrace.

But she didn’t, afraid that she might not be able to let him go again.

The bond strengthened every day, and she knew sooner rather than later she wouldn’t go back through the fire exit to her family, but rather let him— them —take her home.

Too afraid that it would be this day, she pulled away and Mateo let her slip from his arms. “Go home, you look tired.”

“You get some rest too, okay?”

Scarlett nodded and turned away. “I think there might be a bubble bath waiting for me.”

Then she let the door fall closed behind her, sealing her off from her gentle mate.