Page 62

Scarlett

Once Ezra had reassured Scarlett multiple times that he’d rested enough, they barely spent their days at the cabin.

Ezra loved dressing her up and taking her out to the village.

They had breakfast out in the sun nearly every day and just like their first date, he always found a private way to caress her skin.

After he’d usually take her on a trail. The hikes had become shorter, but more physically strenuous.

He was also the one that insisted on keeping Mateo’s workout routine going, letting her practice her self-defence on him.

They currently sat in the living room, with Scarlett curled up under a blanket and in one of Mateo’s hoodies while Ezra laid in her lap. When the phone rang, they both leapt up, Ezra being the one to get to it first.

“Yes?” There was a pause, then Ezra scrambled to his feet and rushed to the table. “Where?” Pencils and markers clattered to the floor as he tugged the map free to find the coordinates he was given. “How certain?”

She stepped up to him and watched as he traced his finger over the mountains.

“Fuck!” he cursed, finally locating the spot.

Scarlett put the pieces together, a knot tightening in her stomach.

They’d found them, and the realisation of it was daunting.

Her men would go out there and hunt a handful of mythical creatures that stood taller than any man and had survived for thousands of years.

The room spun, and Scarlett’s chest tightened.

Her vision blurred and her knees buckled, leaving her scrabbling for something to hold onto.

Warm arms wrapped around her, and a soothing voice lulled her in.

“Scarlett, shh. It’s okay.” The arms tightened and their warmth and pressure rooted her to the earth like an anchor in a brewing storm.

“Breathe, princess. Inhale.” She did, grasping for air and latching onto those arms. “Exhale.” The air burst out of her lungs.

“Good. Inhale.” This time more air filled her lungs, and a little easier. “Exhale.”

With each pass of air through her lungs, the fog slowly dissipated. She focused on the arms around her and their pressure until she realised that she was sitting on the floor. The arms around her belonged to Ezra, and his lips were brushing a path across her cheek.

“Better?” he asked, his tone so worried that it gave her goosebumps.

She nodded and leaned into him, trying to gather her bearings.

“What happened, princess?”

“I thought about you hunting those creatures that survived thousands of years and are much stronger and bigger and more terrifying than you.”

“It scared you.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, just keep breathing.” He reached up to the table and held the phone to her ear.

“Scarlett?”

The sound of Mateo’s voice had her letting out a sigh of relief. “Yes?”

“We are safe. We are miles from the lycans.” With the softest of tones he repeated, “We are safe.”

With another breath, Scarlett accepted his words. “Okay.”

“We are not going near them until we have a plan and Ezra is with us. We are on our way back to you.”

“That helps. Say it again please.”

“We are coming back.”

Then Vince’s rather gruff voice mixed in with Mateo’s. “We are safe.”

“You sound like you haven’t shared a single conversation with Mateo. Not even a word.”

Mateo laughed. “It was rather refreshing after the consistent waterfall out of Ezra’s mouth.”

Ezra grunted rather displeased. “Fuck you too.”

“Be nice,” she reminded Ezra, nuzzling herself into his throat.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“When will we pick you up?”

“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Mateo chuckled lightly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

“I am.”

With her anxieties quelled for the moment, Scarlett handed the phone back to Ezra and let him discuss their next steps.

Once she felt sturdy enough again, she stood up and grabbed herself a snack and a drink, feeling rather exhausted.

When she tried to sit next to Ezra again at the table, he pulled her into his lap and let her listen in as they planned their return.

“Scarlett, love?” Mateo asked once everything was set in stone.

“Mateo?”

“Would you like to go out with me once we are back?”

“I would love to. What will we do?”

“I was hoping you would let me surprise you.”

“That sounds ominous, but I will happily wait to see what you have planned.”

“Perfect.” Then he blew her a kiss through the speaker. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Be safe.” Then she quickly added, “You too, Vince. Don’t leave Mateo in silence this whole time.”

“I’ll be sure to come up with an appropriate conversational topic to keep him occupied.”

“Already sounds boring,” Ezra snorted.

“Be safe you two, okay?”

“We will,” Mateo promised, ending the call.

She sighed and feeling how exhausted she was, Ezra picked her up and carried her to bed. “I’m sorry I overreacted earlier.”

“As someone very beautiful and smart told me once, your feelings are valid no matter how strong.”

“You remember, huh?”

“I lost my shit because you left the room for two minutes—it’s something I’ll never forget.”

She curled up to him and though it was Ezra’s arms holding her tight, Mateo’s hoodie kicked up a waft of his scent to mix with Ezra’s. She missed him—and Vince—and easily dozed off with the thought that they were returning to her.

Sitting on the bed of the truck, she looked out over the trail where Mateo and Vince were supposed to appear from.

They’d arrived three hours ago and though she’d wanted to continue to find them, Ezra had insisted they wait.

He didn’t want her to fall on the trail and get hurt, especially considering all she’d chosen was a dress.

Ezra handed her lunch and cracked open a water bottle for her. “They are coming close. It’s not long anymore.”

“Can you feel them?”

“I can.”

“Are they okay?”

Since she wasn’t doing so herself, Ezra lifted the water bottle to her lips. “They are tired, but excited. I’m sure they are picking up their pace to be able to see you sooner.”

“They’re going to run themselves into the ground.”

Ezra chuckled and lifted her hand that held the sandwich. “Eat. And unless you are planning on a rigorous exercise with them, they’ll be fine. They can rest in the car.”

“Are they hurt?”

“I can feel pain, but it could be just their bodies aching.”

“So, nothing major?”

“No, princess. They are fine.”

Scarlett looked past him again, not wanting to lose eye contact with the trail’s exit. “How are you feeling? About the hunt.”

“I can’t wait to finally start it. How are you feeling about being alone for all that time?”

“Honestly?”

“I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we always want an honest answer from you.”

“I’m scared, and like I’ll trap myself in the cabin. I set myself a goal to go out at least once alone, but what if that creepy guy shows up again?”

“I have not seen him around.”

Scarlett’s eyes narrowed on his. “What did you do?”

“I did nothing. And I couldn’t have anyway, I barely left your side to piss.” He twirled her loose hair around his finger. “You set your boundary with him and for all we know he’s not local anyway.”

“Do you know if Vince did anything?”

“I don’t believe he has. But knowing you, you’ll ask him anyways.”

She nodded and let her gaze travel to the trail again. Ezra sat down next to her and kept reminding her to take bites from her sandwich, but she was too nervous to eat. Finally, an hour later, she caught sight of them and the tension vanished from her body.

With an excited yelp she jumped off the truck and ran towards them, Ezra calling after her to be careful.

Mateo was closest, so she threw herself into his arms first, wrapping her legs around him as best as she could.

He kissed her, his arms so tight around her that she could barely breathe, but who needed air when the missing pieces of her soul had finally returned.

Tears fell down her cheeks, a salty taste brushing her lips and by the time he pulled back, he’d carried her to the truck, planting her back on the seat she’d been warming for hours.

“Scarlett, sweet, sweet, Scarlett,” Mateo hummed. He stepped back, taking in her dress and his lips curled up into a smile. “Beautiful, sweet soul of mine.” He stole another kiss and then stepped back to drop his backpack and give Vince space to greet her too.

Scarlett clenched a fistful of Vince’s t-shirt, hauling him into a blistering kiss like he wasn’t twice her size. She broke away quickly, locking her legs around him to hold him in place as she inspected every inch of his form.

“I’m fine.” Although Vince had promised her to keep a conversation with Mateo, he sounded raspy as if he hadn’t said a word since their phone call. “And you look breathtaking.”

“Thank you. Ezra chose it because I couldn’t make up my mind.”

“He chose well,” Mateo hummed, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Are you hungry? We brought lots of food.”

“Starving actually,” Mateo admitted. “We can eat on the drive. I’m desperate to get away from here.” When she headed to the passenger seat, he grabbed her wrist and tugged her to the back. “I don’t care what I smell like, you’re sitting with me.”

“I… That’s not why I...”

Mateo laughed and opened the door for her. “I know, I was teasing you.”

After both men devoured every bit of food offered to them, Mateo pulled her into his side and closed his eyes.

Scarlett grabbed his free hand and twisted their fingers together, relishing in the feeling of having all of her mates together once again.

It felt good— right —for all three of them to be by her side.

Vince rested his head back, reaching around the seat to lay his hand on her thigh as he drifted off.

Ezra drove them home and by the time the sun had disappeared behind the mountains, even he had grown tired. She was glad when they finally arrived home, happy to have all her men back under one roof. Just like she’d done with Ezra, she helped Vince and Mateo out of their clothes.

Vince opted to wait, while Scarlett let Mateo drag her to the bathroom. She made him kneel as she massaged the dirt from his scalp and his torso.

“It feels good to be home,” he whispered. “I missed you so much.”

She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “You’re back now.”

“I was such a jerk to Vince because of it.”

“I’m sure he understands.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. If it bothers you that much, the two of you can talk it out tomorrow, once you’ve both rested.”

Mateo sighed and tipped his head back, letting the hard stream of water crash on his face. “I was so jealous that I had insisted on them spending time with you first. I was so hateful towards him.”

“Mateo…” Scarlett stepped around him and sunk into his lap. His arms found their way around her waist, and he rested his forehead against hers. “It is alright to have all those feelings. Vince understands them—he knows that you still love him. Because you can love someone while still being a jerk.”

“They had you for so long. Part of me didn’t want to find the lycans yet so I could have that same time with you too.”

“And I’m sure they understand that. No one is asking you to be the sensible one all the time.

And that’s what you do. You are the selfless one of them, always looking out for others before you look out for yourself.

” She held his face and ran her thumbs over his cheekbones where his tears mixed with the water raining down on him.

“They appreciate everything you do, even if they don’t tell you.

You are allowed to be frustrated. You are not leaving right away and although it might not be much, I will make sure to have time with just the two of us. ”

“I wanted a week. Maybe even two.”

“I know. And once we are home you and I can still go on our own little adventure.”

Mateo closed his eyes again and sighed. “Okay.”

She held him, only tugging him out of the shower to make sure Vince had enough hot water.

Once they were dressed, they ate and then she curled up in bed with him.

Neither Vince nor Ezra protested when Mateo claimed her for himself that night.

Even Ezra restrained himself from snarky comments all evening, only giving her a kiss goodnight before she disappeared into her room.