Scarlett’s POVI flung my head back and laughed loudly, revelling in the feel of a hundred feet all pounding the floor, making the music physical as it reverberated up through my bones. Enzo’s hands were warm in mine, and his cheeks were just as flushed as mine surely were.His masquerade mask was the spring to my autumn: dried wildflowers wound around his eyes and over the bridge of his nose, stopping short of his devious smirk. A beat later he was spinning me again, my skirts flying, my heart lifting so high in the moment that I thought it might never come down.“I didn’t know it could feel like this!” I laughed, letting my grip on my champagne glass go limp. I pressed closer to Enzo, his body heat radiating out through his black velvet suit, the heather in his lapel askew. It tickled my chin.“What, dancing?” He beamed down at me, his face alight with the same joy that burned in me. “Living!”Someone tugged my champagne flute free; another hand pressed a full glass into my grip, w
Enzo’s POVI blinked myself into awareness. The room was vaguely familiar, all squeaky linoleum floors and starchy white bed sheets. Disinfectant, scented with pine and lemon, filled the air and made the flooring gleam wetly. The curtains were drawn, but no daylight pierced through them.Davin was perched on the edge of my bed, his face drawn and weary. He brushed a strand of curly hair behind his ear, his masquerade mask long since discarded. I narrowed my eyes at him, needing to fix my vision onto something to stop it from rolling and spinning. My stomach revolted; I surged upwards, bent double, and vomited all over the squeaky-clean floor.Davin slid a bucket under my mouth wordlessly, a few seconds too late. Still, it was better than nothing.“That’s a good sign. A very good sign indeed,” said a familiar voice, feminine and soft but with a hard edge to it. I knew it, but was too focused on spewing my guts up to put a face to the sound. “If he’s got the energy to sit up and vomit,
Scarlett’s POVFuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. It was all I could think, a pounding rhythm hammering against my skull. I had the wherewithal to open my eyes, now, but I didn’t want to. Not one bit.Because I could smell where I was. The air was dry here, tinged with eucalyptus and wattle. It made my stomach revolt, but I swallowed harshly. I wouldn’t throw up. I couldn’t show weakness. Not here.Saliva filled my mouth. My nostrils flared. I opened my eyes. And the world spun. I lunged forward, stumbling out of the bed and falling to my knees. I heaved all over the floor before rocking back on my heels, wiping my mouth with a grimace. Now I couldn’t smell the dry air, the eucalyptus, or the wattle trees. I could just smell sick.It took me a few long moments to gather myself. I breathed sharply, in through my nose and out through my mouth. My stomach tightened, and I vomited again. And again. And again. Through the agonising pain in my throat and chest, searing and sore, flashes of fuzzy me
Enzo’s POVI pushed my glasses up my nose, settling back on my bed. It creaked as I shifted my weight. “It’s all here. There isn’t anything missing – not even her favourite sweatshirt.”“Of course it’s all here,” said Marla, pausing her pacing to arch an eyebrow at me. She flicked her dark curls over her shoulder before starting up again. “Scarlett wouldn’t have run, and she sure as Hell wouldn’t have poisoned you.”“Emila’s insistence makes her almost seem guilty,” mused Davin. He was hovering in the doorway, one hand braced on the frame. Rubbing a hand over his tired eyes, he nodded at the damp grey dawn visible through the window. “I don’t think we’ll find any answers in here. We need to start speaking to people, Alpha.”“You’re right.” I folded up Scar’s sweatshirt with shaking hands and laid it flat on the bed, smoothing out creases and folds. It smelt like her, more than any of her other clothes, but for once the scent of pine and wild berries didn’t manage to soothe me. My hear
Scarlett’s POVHad I dreamt the last month? No, seriously, had I?It felt like I had. My lip curling, I rolled up my sleeves and dunked my sponge into the bucket of soapy water. After cleaning up my own sick, which had been gross enough, thank you very much, Alpha Ryker had ordered me to scrub every inch of the downstairs hallway that ran past the dining hall.Exhaustion dragged at my limbs, but I knew what would happen if I disobeyed his orders. The bruises purpling my neck and the laceration across my chest had been warnings, he’d said, before he’d kicked me in the ribs and locked me back in his bedroom. Too weary to hunt for any way out, I’d dozed fitfully on the floor until he’d awoken me – by dumping a bucket of ice-cold water over my head. Prick.I sat back on my heels, breathing heavily through clenched teeth. The hallway was dimly lit, but pretty: wildflowers and strands of ivy filled vases on neat side tables and decorated shelves, all of which bent under the weight of the tr
Enzo’s POVI scrubbed a hand through my hair and sighed. My back ached and my chest felt tight, like a man was sitting on it – and not in a fun way. I ran my dry tongue over the back of my teeth. My leg bounced beneath the table. We’d been sat in the meeting room all morning. I’d stared at every inch of every wall over the last few hours, watching them grow steadily lighter as the sun had risen, going from a deep, burnished gold to the washed-out white-grey it was now. Floor to ceiling windows faced out to the forest, painted a rich green under a cover of cloud and fog; the dismal outdoors contrasted with the warm tones of the room, with its crackling log fire in the wide, stone hearth and the burgundy and terracotta throws covering the back of the worn sofa in the corner. Beside it was a small coffee table that held two mugs of coffee, which had long since gone cold, and a vase full of wilting flowers on it. I wished I’d set up this particular meeting on the sofa rather than at this
Scarlett’s POVMy shoulder throbbed. My chest pulsed. Oh, screw it – all of me hurt. My body, my soul. Even my thoughts were tinged red with pain. What did a little bit of death matter when I felt like that?I waited for the blow to come. I waited – and I kept waiting. I opened one eye, peering up at Naomi. She in turn was looking at Ryker, her wolfish face somehow managing to look confused. I couldn’t place why, exactly, and I didn’t spare the brain power to try to work it out. I scrambled backwards, no longer caring about whatever pride I’d stupidly thought I’d had for less than half a second. “Not so fast,” said Ryker. His hand snapped out, pinning me to the wall.“What?” I squirmed. “You said it yourself. I’m just here for your amusement.”“No.” Jaw clenching, his grip tightened. I cried out as his fingertips pressed against the hole in my chest. “I – no.” Ryker shook his head. “I don’t have to answer to you.”Well, I thought, consider my curiosity well and truly piqued. Naomi s
Enzo’s POVScarlett was in danger. I don’t know how I knew; I just did. It was her agony searing my skin; her agony pooling in my chest; her agony setting my shoulder alight. Her agony, not mine.And it didn’t fade. In fact, it only grew worse – my throat tightened as if squeezed, and my lungs burned desperately for air they already held. Whoever had kidnapped her was hurting her. Not just hurting her. It felt like they were trying to kill her.Something snapped in me at that realisation. I grunted, doubling over, bracing my hands on my knees as the back of my head hit a wall that was not there. “I won’t let you die,” I ground out, my vision blurring. “I swear it, Scar. I’ll find you, whatever it takes, and I’ll bring you home.”Home. Chest heaving, I pulled myself upright. The pain dissipated slowly, like waves being pulled back from the shore. As the tide went out, I thought through every meeting I’d been in, every pack member I’d spoken to. I had nothing definitive to go on. But I