Page 25

Scarlett

Soft, gentle strokes along her jaw awoke her sometime later.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself drowning in two swirling black pools—Ezra.

Damn, his eyes were gorgeous. This was the first time she’d let herself look past his scary demeanour.

The hard, chiselled lines of his jaw and the stern set of his face were powerless against his eyes.

They gave way to something deeper within.

“You have slept all day, little r—princess.”

She couldn’t help but smile to herself at the self-correction.

Before she could think, her hand reached for his face and her fingertips gently traced his rigid jawline.

His eyes shut, and he curled into her touch.

He hummed, a nearly inaudible sound that vibrated against Scarlett’s palm as it cupped around his cheek.

It was then that she realised that he was nothing more than a broken soul seeking someone who would love him for who he was. He was well aware of himself, so maybe part of his reticence had come from past rejections.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Don’t ever apologise.”

“Why? Because you think they are for the weak?”

Ezra didn’t need to answer, the genuine smile brightening his face told it all.

“Maybe you should try it sometime.”

She pulled away from him and for a second, she could see him frown.

Then he stood tall and looked down at her, his arrogance once again masking the soft spot she’d just discovered.

Stretching her arms and looking around, she sat up and realised someone had covered her with a blanket.

Mateo smiled at her from the kitchen, the fridge door standing open while he piled ingredients on the counter.

“Do you always cook?”

“Forces us to eat together too, the fucking cunt.”

“You don’t have to sit with the cool kids.” Mateo shrugged. “You and I both know that deep down you enjoy the food—and our company.”

“Such a dirty mouth, no wonder your family didn’t let you inherit a dime,” Ezra harshly countered.

“Bastard.”

Ezra fell onto the couch next to her. “So, little princess. When will you start cooking for me?”

“She doesn’t have to lift a finger if she doesn’t want to. She’s not your slave.”

“I’ll cook for you if you help me,” Scarlett said, seeming to surprise both of them.

Slowly—very slowly—he turned his gaze towards her. “I’ll consider it.”

“More than I’ve ever gotten,” Mateo grumbled from the kitchen. “Fucker never even considered helping me .”

Scarlett looked around for Vince but before she could ask, Ezra indicated the front door. “He’s been hiding in the workshop all day.”

“Scarlett?” She turned to face Mateo again. “You don’t need permission to go anywhere in this house or property.”

“What about your bedrooms?”

Was he… blushing ? “Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that if you want to come in, you’re always welcome to.”

She stood and slipped into her sneakers, still feeling odd leaving the house without someone guarding her or getting official permission to do so.

The fading evening sun bathed the sky in deep tones of pink and orange as it slowly sank behind the horizon.

Scarlett timidly approached the barn and with the doors wide open, she could already see Vince inside.

He shaved away at a chunk of wood with a small tool she’d never seen before.

Flakes of wood and ashes of sawdust littered the floor at his feet.

He didn’t look up when she stepped in, and she suddenly felt as if she’d done something wrong. Maybe this was his safe space. “I’m sorry.”

His eyes shot up to her, his movements halting as if someone had pressed pause on a movie.

“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. I just didn’t know what to do to stop them.” Scarlett looked down at her hands, picking at her fingers. “I’m sorry for not saving you sooner.”

Vince straightened to his full height, but Scarlett didn’t dare lift her gaze. “Look at me.” His tone was rough, and Scarlett was too frightened to do as asked. Not of Vince, but what her memories would fill in if she did.

“Scarlett, look at me,” he repeated.

With a racing heart she did and found his face full of regret.

“Why are you apologising?”

“You got hurt because of me. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“That’s not your fault.” Vince let out a heavy breath, as if he’d been holding it for a while, and scrubbed his hand over his face.

“Why are you upset then?”

“Because you chose me.” Before Scarlett could speak, Vince continued, “You weren’t supposed to choose me. You weren’t supposed to leave your family yet.”

“It’s okay.”

His features hardened, and Vince returned to the detailed work in front of him. “You clearly weren’t ready.”

She sighed and walked past his workbench to the dresser he seemed to be restoring, repairing some of the flowery details that had withered over time.

“I think if we’d waited for me to be ready, it never would have happened.

” She couldn’t look at him, her eyes fixed on her fingers tracing over the fine lines of the flowers.

“I’ve never known anything but them. Seeing myself with you scared me. It still does.”

“I didn’t mean to rush you.”

“I believe you. If it was Ezra, maybe I wouldn’t. He’d have stayed for the thrill. He doesn’t want me here either, but he would have enjoyed the fact that I came for him.”

“Scarlett…” She looked up to see Vince’s struggling emotions written all over his face. “We want you here.”

“Part of you believes that, just like part of me wants to be here too.”

“We will take care of you.”

“I know.” Scarlett closed the distance between them and gently pushed a strand of his dark, sweaty hair out of his face. She may have been mistaken, but he seemed to shudder in her grip. “Mateo is cooking dinner, and I believe it’s a rule in this house that you all eat together.”

Without another word, she returned to the kitchen and joined Mateo to see where she could help. Thankfully, the onions were already diced so she took over cutting the potatoes into wedges and seasoning them before adding them to a baking tray.

“I’ve put your new clothes in the wash,” Mateo said as he stirred the sauce. “I’m just waiting on the dryer.”

“I don’t mind doing my own if you show me where everything is.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Scarlett caught Mateo giving her a cheeky grin. “No. I think I’ll keep the laundry room a secret.”

Scarlett knew he meant the best, but doing her own chores would be a hard habit to break.

It had been her responsibility to take care of her clothes and her brother’s.

It was custom in the pack, in order to teach her to be a good housewife.

If she couldn’t keep a home, it would be an embarrassment to her mate.

Mateo cut into her internal spiral. “I am aware that you can do it yourself. I just want to spoil you a little.”

The genuine smile he gave her warmed her heart, and she couldn’t help but return the gesture. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Wanting to get comfortable, Scarlett excused herself and went upstairs to change into her trusted leggings and hoodie.

Slipping her feet into her new slippers, she returned to Mateo plating the food and Vince scrubbing his hands at the sink.

They ate on the couches again and while Ezra took seconds, she set her plate aside and mindlessly sipped on her water.

“What is on your mind?” Mateo asked with fused brows.

“I have questions about your bond.”

“Don’t be shy, princess. We won’t rip you apart for asking questions.”

“How deep does it go? I mean you said you can feel each other but is that it?”

“We can feel each other’s emotions. The closer we are, the more intense they get,” Mateo explained, setting his own plate aside. “Each of us can also track the others. We never know exact coordinates, but we can sense where the other is from where we stand.”

“But you can’t hear each other’s thoughts?”

“No. But we have learned to communicate. We can feel a pull or push. So when we hunt, we know when we need each other.”

“Is that why you bonded?”

“Yes, but our clever warlock over there fucked us over.”

Scarlett glanced at Ezra, who seemed unfazed by the harsh words. In fact, he continued stuffing his face as if no one had spoken about him. “What do you mean?”

“The blood curse he used was supposed to give us each other’s location and hopefully give us a way of pulling at each other.

Instead, he melted our minds far more than we ever agreed to.

We spent the first month separated from each other because we couldn’t cope with it.

For me, I felt like I was intruding. On the same hand, I felt like I was being spied on constantly. ”

“What made the three of you come back together?”

“Your fucking golden retriever over there wouldn’t stop pestering us,” Ezra snarled, finally choosing to participate in the conversation.

Mateo shrugged. “I felt like we should at least try to figure this thing out and use it to our advantage. If it didn’t work, we still could’ve walked in different directions.”

“So, with distance the bond weakens?”

“That’s right.”

Vince spoke up next, curious eyes on her. “What will happen if we bond?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What happens when two mates bond outside of a pack bond?” Mateo pressed further.

“The same as if they were in a pack.”

Ezra’s face hardened as realisation set in. “You’ll hear our thoughts.”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “My bond with you has nothing to do with my severed pack bond.”

Ezra ground his teeth together so harshly that Scarlett could hear them, and the sound made her skin pebble.

“How would we bond? We can’t mark you like a wolf would.”

Scarlett’s gaze lingered briefly on Ezra before she answered Mateo’s question. “It’s a blood vow.”

“Is there a difference between a blood vow and a mark?”

“Only in that a blood vow won’t work for wolves. The animal needs to connect to the bond as much as the human.”

“Why the neck?”

“The jugular is the one vein with a connection to both the mind and the heart. It’s the choice the wolves prefer.”

“Do you know how to bind us?”

“I’ve seen it once. It’s rarer for a woman to find a human mate than a wolf to find a human.”

“But you carry wolf blood. Will your children be wolves too?”

“Yes, they will.” Scarlett met the eyes of each of her mates and with a deep breath, she found the courage to ask, “Do you want the bond with me?”

Mateo was the only one whose eyes sparkled.

The other two were rather hesitant, but that was to be expected from human mates.

Constantly sharing one’s mind with someone else wasn’t something most grew up to achieve.

Unlike werewolves, who lived their entire lives with the sole purpose of mating and continuing the bloodline.

Add in their experience with the blood curse, and Scarlett couldn’t help but understand their hesitation.

“Do you want to solidify the bond with us?” Mateo asked, hope tinting his question.

“Wolves are usually the ones urging to fulfil the bond to its full potential. It’s their instinct to claim what’s theirs and even though they can be patient, they are the ones that can’t hold out a life without marking their mate.

I would be open to a blood vow to fulfil the bond like Isis has intended, but I won’t do anything that makes either of you uncomfortable. ”

“Do you miss your pack bond?”

Scarlett dropped her gaze, fidgeting with the hem of her hoodie.

“I do. Even though only a handful ever linked with me, I miss the sense of belonging and security. In a pack, you’re never alone—no matter what.

It doesn’t matter how weak or sick you are; you’ll always be taken care of.

I never fully understood how deeply embedded the pack bond was until my father broke me free.

” Her next question was directed towards Vince and Ezra.

“What makes you hesitant towards a bond?”

Vince ran his hand over his face and inhaled deeply, but before he could say anything, Ezra spoke through gritted teeth. “Fucker never wanted a woman.”

“And Ezra is afraid to share his mind with you because he knows how fucked up he is,” Mateo countered in Vince’s honour.

Scarlett flinched as Ezra cocked a gun in Mateo’s direction. “Keep talking, and I’ll make sure the only children she ever has are mine.”

“Like you would ever tell her how you feel. Now lower the gun, you are frightening Scarlett.”

Ezra’s dark, stormy eyes found hers and Scarlett tried not to show how truly uncomfortable the gun made her. He shot to his feet, snarling down at Mateo. “Talk another word about me and I’ll fuck you up.” He shoved past him and stormed up the stairs.

Scarlett stared after him, only finding her voice again once he was out of sight. “I didn’t mean to upset him.”

“He already regrets that outburst but he’s too proud to come back,” Vince explained.

“Is it true what Ezra said?” Scarlett prodded.

With guilty eyes, Vince nodded. “I never planned on choosing a woman to spend my life with.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise. You said your goddess knows best. After all, she creates soulmates for everyone for a reason.”

She nodded, pleasantly surprised. The conversation lulled and even though her head was still spinning, she didn’t know how to organize her thoughts to form a coherent question.

After a while, she stood and loaded the empty plates into the dishwasher.

Only after wiping down the counters and tidying up the rest of the kitchen did she realise there was nothing else downstairs to distract her.

With that, she retreated to her bedroom, shutting the door softly behind her.