Page 100 of Scavenger's Oath

They’re scouts. Searching… for her.

Phoenix turns back to her. “Ivy…”

“It’s them,” she whispers.

My stomach knots.

Them.

The bastards she ran from. The ones who kept her for two fucking years. The ones who shattered her so thoroughly.

I step forward again, instinct kicking hard in my chest. I want to reach for her. Take her into my arms, carry her to my room and bar the door.

But I stop. Because I'm still stuck on what I walked in on. On the way she was looking athim.

My joints stiffen, muscles tightening. Something happened while I was gone.And I hate that I wasn’t here.

I told Phoenix to ‘keep an eye on her’. To look out for her… not fuck her! She’s still bruised. Her body needs rest!

Every damn time I leave, someone makes a fucking move on her.

With every breath, my chest feels tighter. Phoenix hated her at first, and now he’s pinning Ivy to the wall like she’s his high school crush.

My eyes flick to Phoenix. His chest is still rising fast, his hands clenched into fists, like she’shisto protect.

He's not even trying to hide it.

Ivy's arms are wrapped around herself, but she doesn't run to me. Doesn't reach for comfort.

Phoenix reaches out and squeezes her shoulder gently. “Don’t panic, little stray. We’ll handle this.”

Forcing a deep breath through my nose, I tamp down the flare of fire in my chest. I shouldn't be feeling this now. Not with danger on the doorstep.

But I hate that he still calls her that.

“I’ll chuck the meat in the fridge and go do a full perimeter check,” I say roughly, already moving.

Phoenix doesn’t stop me from leaving. But as I’m picking up my game sack from the floor by the front door, I hear his boots behind me again.

“Zane,” he calls. “You only just got home. I’ll go with Myles. We can cover more ground together.”

I nod once. He doesn’t say more than that, just grunts and leaves to find Myles. As if whatever happened between him and Ivy is locked up behind his ribs again.

Within minutes, they’ve left.

Ivy watches them walk down the street from the front window, arms wrapped around herself protectively.

“We can’t be sure it’s them,” I remind her gently. “But we won’t let anyone take you, sweetheart. You know that, right?”

Her mouth opens and closes, she swallows, then nods. But it’s not conviction in her eyes—it’s doubt.

I take another step closer. “It doesn’t matter how many men there are. Or how close they think they are. They won’t get close enough. Not while we’re breathing.”

She forces a smile, but glances toward the door like she’s waiting for someone to burst through it.

“I know you’d protect me,” she says softly. “All of you would. I just—” Her gaze falls to her feet as she shuffles. “I hate that even now… I still feel like they’re stronger. That they could take me again.”

“They won’t,” I say firmly. “They’re not stronger. They’re desperate. And desperation makes men stupid. We’ve got this.We’ve had more training than all of them combined.”