Scarlett’s POVI held Enzo’s hand so tight it had to be hurting him, but he didn’t complain. I drifted out into the hall in a weird, dream-like state, waves of joy battering me on one side and a swirling whirlpool of guilt trying to drown me on the other. Marla was waiting outside. I stopped dead at the sight of her. Seeing Enzo again was one thing, but my old friend? She didn’t have a mate bond making what I’d done seem less heinous. She would be able to see me clearly, short hair and nose ring and oh, yeah, a little bit of murder and all.But her warm face broke into a broad grin when she saw me. “Scar!” she chirped, and then a second later I was wrapped in her strong arms. Dark curls of hair curtained my vision. “It’s really you. Thank God.”“It’s me,” I muttered, half frozen in shock. She must’ve been with Enzo in that alleyway, right? She had to know. So why was she hugging me?“Marls,” Enzo tutted, “give her some room to breathe.”“Sorry.” She ducked away, twiddling the end of
Enzo’s POV“Scar?” Panic. That was all I felt. It didn’t matter that seconds ago I’d been on the verge of tears, having realised that my Scarlett, my mate, had moved on from me, had made a life for herself here and left me behind. As her eyes rolled back and her whole body sagged, it only mattered that I had to protect her. I had to keep her safe. I couldn’t break my vow so immediately.I caught her, swinging her up into my arms bridal style. “Scar? Can you hear me?”Her head lolled backwards. Carefully, I tucked it up against my shoulder and held her close. My heart thundered in my chest at the feel of her. I closed my eyes against the fresh onslaught of tears. It had been so long.I’d missed her every day. Every damn day. And she’d been here, going to bloody night classes and working a job? I clenched my jaw. Even if she didn’t want me anymore, I couldn’t just leave her here on the street. I’d get her safe, be it just for tonight or until the Ryker threat was neutralised. If there
Scarlett’s POVThey were dead. Suze. Luna. Ollie. And it was all my fault.There was something in me. Something dark and scary. It swelled to a crescendo, beating out a rhythm in time with the thought of each of their names. Suze. Luna. Ollie. It grew and grew, a hurricane swirling around and around and around – Something dragged my arm up. It yanked my bones, forcing my muscles to follow. My fingers splayed of their own accord. Suze. Luna. Ollie. I knew distantly that I was sobbing, but the hot tears spilling down frozen cheeks didn’t feel like they belonged to me. I was a cold and callous being, controlled by the air whooshing through my veins. I was a marionette. My limbs were dragged into place by invisible strings. Air slammed out of my palm and into an unsuspecting lamp. It flew off the bedside table and smashed on the hardwood floor.Still being propelled by the same wind that had broken the lamp, I stood. My knees jerked. “Scar?” Enzo stood too, his hands hovering worriedl
Enzo’s POVWe boarded the earliest flight we could. I’d asked Scarlett if she wanted to say goodbye to her roommate and co-workers – and what a headfuck asking that had been – but her eyes had clouded with tears, like fog rolling in over the ocean, and she’d shaken her head, unable to voice the no that had surely been coming.This was all wrong. It was like doing a paint by numbers in unorthodox colours, making a mountain purple and the lake orange. It was the complete opposite of being black and white; nothing made sense, nothing was drawn out plainly to see, and there were no reasonable conclusions I could draw.Scarlett was asleep beside me, her head tipped back, her lips parted. With her eyes closed, at a quick glance she could have been anyone. Her nose ring glinted in the low light. The weirdest part was that I really liked the changes to her appearance – she looked badass – but I didn’t like that I didn’t know how or when they’d happened. The hair made sense if she was on the r
Scarlett’s POVThere wasn’t a big enough word to describe how downright odd it felt to be back at Moose Creek. Strange only skimmed the surface, and bizarre felt too fun, too flamboyant, too… kooky. Being back with Enzo should’ve been fun. Parts of it were – holding his hand still sent bolts of lightning tingling upwards from the point of contact, and his idle chatter about British television shows still made me laugh. There was something intrinsically different about us both, though, which I came to realise only truly once we’d made it back to his home.We’d both been thrown into the fire. It had forged me, but it had melted him.Of course, I was far from unbroken. But I felt stronger inside than I ever had before, my conviction to do the right thing by my human friends and my determination to not harm anyone with my wild new powers holding me steady. I knew what I wanted to do and what I needed to do. That was enough to keep me upright on the days when everything became too much.E
Enzo’s POVShe didn’t have to tell me twice.I cradled her, a beautiful, precious thing, and felt the earth shatter around us as I pressed my lips to hers. Her shaky breaths warmed my face as I leant in, such a delicate part of her to be shared only with me. The gaping wound of my heart began to stitch itself back together at last as she wound her hands into my hair, tugged lightly, and swept her tongue into my mouth.Groaning, I nudged her back until she was flush with the fridge. Nails scraped over my scalp, making me shiver. “Scar,” I moaned, my throat thick with lust. “Enzo.” My name on her lips? She may as well have shot ecstasy straight into my veins. My dick twitched, growing hard against her hip. She sucked my lip into her mouth and bit down. “Fuck,” I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut. “You’re perfect.”“So are you.” Her breaths were coming shorter and faster. Her trembling fingers trailed downwards, curving around the edge of my ear and tugging at my earlobe before going f
Scarlett’s POVThings between Enzo and I weren’t fixed, not exactly, but they were definitely patched up. We both knew where we stood, now. He hadn’t moved on from me, and, as it turned out, I hadn’t moved on from him. Not one damned bit. Being with him was electric – which was good, because I didn’t want to talk to anyone else. Not yet.We lay tangled on the bed, my head on his chest, his strong arms wrapped around me. “We’re okay, aren’t we?” he murmured, punctuating his words with a kiss to my temple.“Of course we are,” I breathed. “I hated thinking that you – that you…”His throat bobbed. “Yeah, I know. Me, too. I’m so sorry for getting angry.”“No, don’t be. I know how frustrating I can be.” I burrowed further into the hollow of his neck. “It’s just been a weird time. I still can’t believe any of it. A few months ago, I was Ryker’s slave. I couldn’t shift into a wolf; I was worse than an Omega. And now…”“Now?”“Now, I’ve found my mate – an Alpha, by the way, did you know?” I te
Enzo’s POVI tapped my foot. I chewed the inside of my cheek. I sighed.Waiting, I decided, was its own special brand of torture. I’d told Scar two things: that I trusted her, and that I didn’t trust Samael. The problem was, even though Scar could now hold her own, her powers were largely unknown and entirely unpredictable. If she needed to use them, would she be able to?I started to pace, the warm tones of the hallway and the wintry light spilling in through the windows contrasting starkly. I checked my watch. Tick, tock. I scratched at my stubble. How long had she been in there? Five minutes, ten, twenty?I should’ve checked the time when she’d gone in. I could still feel where she’d squeezed my hand, my palm tingling from the long-gone contact. She’d slipped back into my heart effortlessly, but I knew removing her from it now would be impossible. Even if the mate bond didn’t exist, I knew that I would have found her and loved her. Scarlett was woven into my very soul. A jolt of s