Page 28

Scarlett

By dinnertime, the remaining two men retreated, leaving Scarlett alone with all her reminders of the life she’d sacrificed for them.

She stared at the pictures decorating the dresser until her eyes began to burn.

She didn’t want to cry, didn’t want to mourn the loss of her family—and her only friend. At least, not yet.

Scarlett stood, craving the company of her mates already.

As she walked past Ezra’s closed bedroom door, something stung at the back of her mind that felt awfully close to regret.

She didn’t like how Ezra couldn’t control his temper.

He’d even called her rogue again after she’d asked him not to do it.

With a deep breath, Scarlett knocked and turned the knob.

When Ezra didn’t protest, she pushed the door open.

Dim candlelight flickered across the walls.

Ezra’s taste of furniture was not different from that of his clothes: dark and gloomy.

Nothing in his room screamed colour, yet it felt oddly… calm.

Ezra was sitting in a large leather chair by the window, shrouded in darkness by the closed blackout curtains. He had a book in his hands with a candle shining light on the pages he was reading. It seemed old, the pages stained and bound with worn-looking leather.

“You called me rogue.”

“I did.”

“I asked you not to do that.”

“You did.”

There was a part of her that loved his honesty, the way he never excused his behaviour and what he’d done. “Why did you do it?”

“To show him the severity of what he’s done.”

She’d thought as much. Unsure of what to say, she took in the space around her.

Her gaze fell on the built-in shelves across one wall of the room, and she found herself curiously drifting towards it.

There were jars filled with things that made her stomach churn.

The first thing her gaze caught on was a heart.

Next to it was a jar filled with what seemed to be silver dust. She remembered what Ezra had done to Kurt, and couldn’t help but let it spoil her mood.

There were herbs, bones, and even a skull.

For all she knew, they were all real. Most of the shelves displayed knives, some made from metal and silver while others seemed to be carved from bone.

Following the shelves along, she lingered on a collection of potions.

They were all neatly labelled with the one for luck sparking a special interest in her.

“Do they truly work?”

“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” When she looked over her shoulder and crocked her brow, he set the book aside. “I didn’t grow up a hunter. So, when I started, I made myself luck potions.”

“You don’t use them anymore?”

“Luck doesn’t work against experience and knowledge.”

“So, they were there to keep you alive until you had enough skill to do so yourself?”

“That’s precisely what they were for.”

Scarlett continued gazing around the room and froze on his bed. Her eyes widened at the gold-accented leather cuffs attached to the thick, wooden posts.

“Those aren’t for you.”

Feeling his eyes on her, Scarlett pulled her attention away from the bed and met his gaze. Ezra’s deep, black irises were much softer than before. Suddenly she saw nothing but drowning comfort in them.

“They are not for you,” he repeated slowly, hesitantly. Then it dawned on her: he was insecure.

Scarlett’s lips parted, but her mind had not formed a sentence yet so she simply paused. “You want me to tie you up?” she finally asked.

“I enjoy being tied up, yes.”

Hesitant, she stepped up to the bed, grabbing the cuff closest to her. “That wasn’t what I asked, Ezra. Do you want me to tie you up?”

Ezra cleared his throat, dropping his gaze to the floor. “Yes, I would like you to do that.”

Unable to look at him, Scarlett focused on the restraints. The smooth leather slid through her fingers, the faint candlelight flickering off the golden accents . This made her feel rather uncomfortable—more than the heart, bones and silver behind her.

“Scarlett.” Had he ever called her by her name before? She couldn’t remember.

“What else do you enjoy?” she asked by way of a response.

“Many things you’d probably hate.”

Maybe she would, but she could see that he was trying to please her, so she wanted to be more open minded too. “Please tell me.”

“Why burden yourself, little princess?”

“Because I want to understand you.”

“I’m theirs. Once I’m tied up, they can do whatever they please with me. I would be entirely at your mercy.”

Scarlett wouldn’t let her mind wander to what may have happened in this bed before she came along. Instead, she pictured Ezra lying across the bed, arms and legs restrained while she tickled him into submission. Had she heard him laugh yet? That’s what she wanted: a genuine laugh.

The leather aching under his movement made her look up as he crossed the space between them, crawling over the black satin sheets on all fours.

There it was again, his sleek and precise movements as he tracked his prey.

He was gorgeous, dangerous but so beautiful .

His muscles flexed and his throat bobbed, making the raven across his throat seem alive.

And his eyes… Scarlett couldn’t help but swoon to herself.

Once, they’d been the centre of her nightmares, but now they swirled with tenderness and insecurities.

He didn’t hide his sadistic tendencies. Maybe that was what attracted women to him.

“That smile tells me you have something in mind,” he purred, coming to a stop in front of her. He sat back on his heels and laid his hands in his lap, waiting to hear all about the deep, dark fantasies he assumed she had.

Scarlett grinned at him, face aching as she reached out to cup his cheek with her free hand. She still held tightly onto the cuff, almost as if she needed it to hold on to this surreal moment.

His eyes closed and his head leaned into her palm as she scratched behind his ear. “The second you say the word, I’m yours, princess.”

Why was this moment so heartbreaking? He was giving himself to her, but she could also see how he still struggled to accept the bond.

One moment he diminished her, the next he would give himself to her—even if that meant she would hurt him.

Clearly whatever he’d agreed to in the past had to have been painful.

Her fingers travelled down his neck and over his shoulders to his bare arms. His skin was riddled with scars, and she hated to feel them beneath her fingers.

“Did they do that to you?”

“Some of them.”

“And you wanted that?”

“I did.”

Scarlett’s fingers danced over his skin, her eyes trailing over the sleeve of tattoos that covered his arm. The edge of a forest preceded a dark, stormy sky. Skeletons laid beneath the roots of the trees.

“I know what you’re thinking, princess.”

“What’s that, Ezra?”

“How to fix me.”

Damn it, he’d caught her. Yes, she wanted to help him. She didn’t like how he was destroying his body and from what she understood, he wasn’t very kind to his mind either. With each new scar she discovered, the need to help him became overwhelming.

“I don’t want to be fixed. I don’t need your help.”

Her thumb rubbed over a healed scar that left a jagged white line through his tattoo.

“I’m fucked up, Scarlett. I’ve tried to fit in, tried to be like everyone else.

I caged my feelings, my needs—the things that bring me peace—and cursed every breath I took during that time.

I know that people don’t understand—that you won’t understand.

Not even the people I share part of my mind with get it. But this is who I am.”

“Do you hate yourself?”

“I used to. But I learned to accept myself and what I need.”

“What if I can’t give you that?”

“I will not force you to do anything you don’t want.”

“I can’t hurt you, Ezra. I can’t give you what you clearly want. Will you seek other women?”

“I can’t.” Tough act be damned, Ezra’s voice cracked. “The moment I laid eyes on you, the bond had me in a chokehold.”

“And you dislike that.”

“I do, but if you are being honest with yourself, you dislike us as your mates too. Wouldn’t your life be much prettier if a handsome alpha had been chosen for you?”

Scarlett choked out a laugh. “Yes.” She’d reached his wrist and took his hand in hers, her thumb running over the skull etched into his knuckles. “You want my acceptance. That I won’t try to change you.”

“Yes,” Ezra breathed, almost a sigh of relief.

Scarlett took a deep breath in, weaving her fingers with his and finally dropping the cuff. That hand came up to trace along his cheek. “I don’t know how well I can do that.”

“You’re not saying no.”

She soaked in his touch, the warmth that trickled past her skin, through her veins, and straight to her heart. “Anything, huh?”

“Yes,” Ezra agreed, voice thick with desire. “Will you tell me what you have on your naughty mind?”

Instead of a verbal response, Scarlett climbed on the bed with him and straddled his lap. Ezra’s arms were around her instantly, her head falling to his shoulder as she returned the embrace. “You used to wear silver jewellery.”

“I did.”

“Thank you.” Scarlett knew she didn’t have to explain what she was thanking him for.

“Vince started it. He performed an exorcism on the house and cleansed it of most of the silver. Though most of the guns still have silver bullets.”

“So, there are guns hidden everywhere?”

“Of course.”

“My room?”

“No. None in your room.”

He held her and she let her fingers travel down his back and pushed her hands under his shirt. Even there his skin was ridged. It made her terrified to see him naked. She knew without a doubt that she would shed tears if she ever knew the extent of his self harm.

They stayed there, tangled in each other until Mateo called for them. Dinner was a quiet affair and once everyone had finished their plates, she retreated into her room again. She curled up in bed, utterly exhausted, and easily drifted off to sleep.