(Alex’s POV)I picked up the phone on my desk and called Scarlett's number in a quiet but firm voice. “I want you to come to my office. Right now.”On the other end, there was a heavy silence. Since she ignored me all morning, I knew she was mad. Not a single time had she looked at me, and I wasn't going to let that defiant silence go. She sighed, which was a soft sign that she didn't want to do it, but after a moment, she did it. She knew what was going to happen, just like I did.When Scarlett walked into the room, she looked determined, but there was a hint of doubt in her eyes. It only took me a few steps to close the gap between us. I pushed her back against the wall and clicked the door shut. As I locked her up and let the weight of our silence speak for itself, she gasped and her breath caught."Why are you ignoring me?" I spoke in a low, demanding tone as I looked her in the eyes.Scarlett looked away quickly and said, "I'm not... ignoring you." Her voice was shaky."Really?"
SCARLETT’S POVMy thoughts were mixed up in the afterglow as I lay next to Alex. My heart was still beating fast from how intense the touch between us was. Even though it was warm, an unpleasant thought kept coming back to me. Why did he insist on keeping us a secret? But was it enough? I could tell he cared by the way he looked at me and touched me. Was I enough to stand beside him openly, for everyone to know?The silence lasted for a while, and I could feel a little stress building up inside me. I bit my lip and looked at him. "Alex..." I started out with a soft voice to see what would happen. "Why do we have to hide the fact that we're mates?Why can’t everyone know we’re together?”When he looked at me, his eyes were pleased and warm, which made my face heat up. He laughed and brushed a hair off my face. "You look cute when you're mad," he said.His careless answer made me a little angry, but I held my tongue and watched his face. He leaned in close and gave my face a soft kiss. T
SCARLETT’S POVWhen I walked into Alex's office the next morning, I could still feel my anger from the night before. Instantly, when he looked up and smiled, my heart stopped beating, even though I was trying to hold on to my anger.His voice was warm and smooth as he said, "Good morning.""Good morning."I forced a tight smile on my face and almost crossed my arms. “Sienna said some... interesting things to me yesterday, I thought you should know.”He raised an eyebrow, and his eyes showed that he was laughing. "Oh?What did she said to you?""Nothing special, just the usual." I said, I tried to keep my tone relaxed, but I could feel a small edge in my voice. "In case you didn't know, she doesn't like it when I'm with you."Alex gave me a soft laugh and reached out to grab my hand, pulling me closer. "Scarlett, you should know that Sienna has worked here before you did. And plus you both don’t like each other much.” He gently squeezed my hand. "Don't let her bother you."I let out a s
SCARLETT’S POVThe room was very quiet. It was the kind of heavy, almost physical quiet that made it hard to breathe. I could feel Alex's anger pushing down on me; his tense vibe was all around me. His normally cool and collected face had turned into something darker and more primal, and everything in me begged me to be careful."What did you do?" Alex asked me. He ordered with a low, steady voice that had a dangerous edge to it. His hold on my wrist got tighter, and I felt a sharp pain go up my arm. I bit my lip because I didn't want him to get pleasure from seeing me cry.I kept my face blank because I was determined to act like I didn't know what he was talking about. I tried to keep my voice calm when I said, "I don't know what you mean," but the small quiver showed that I wasn't really there.Alex didn't move his focused, angry look. His grip got tighter, and he looked at her with a scary look in his eyes. His uncontrolled alpha energy grew thick and heavy around him, smothering
SCARLETT’S POV"So you're not going to listen to me," he said in a whisper, running his hand down my arm and leaving a warm mark.Being in a hurry, I looked around the room quickly to find something to hold on to while my mind tried to come up with an excuse."I-I won’t," I stutter, my voice shaking. The pens moved when Alex slammed his hand on the desk. "You're always being feisty, aren't you?"He pushed me toward the meeting table before I could say anything. He had a strong grip on me that wouldn't let go, and I felt a rush of fear and excitement. "You think you can mess with me and get away with it?"He hissed. His face was so close to mine that I could feel the heat coming from him.I gasped when his teeth dug into the soft skin of my neck. He leaned down on me out of the blue. I got a shock from the sharp sting, which sparked something inside me I didn't know what it was—a strange mix of fear and desire. I had never seen this side of him before, but there was something exciting
ALEX’S POVAs I drove to Scarlett's house, I tightened my hands because every ring of my ignored calls was making fun of me. She was very angry, almost furious. "How could you do this to me?" were her words from earlier, which were full of pain and blame. I think she was right when she said I was cruel. If I had taken her in anger and made her lose her virginity as a punishment, I would feel guilty. But I couldn't stand for her disobedience any longer. Scarlett wasn't supposed to be able to challenge me, but here I was, looking for her like a man who was crazy.It wasn't just anger, though. Something about Scarlett made me lose all the self-control I had worked on over the years. I tried to tell myself that I was just being bossy and that she needed to learn her place. But I knew in my heart that I had crossed a line. I could no longer lie to myself—Scarlett was the one who made me feel something I didn't want to feel. As part of my plan to get back at him, she was meant to be a pawn.
(Scarlett's POV)It was very quiet in the office when I got there. Even though I was really hungry, I had to skip breakfast to stay away from Alex. Because of what he did, I wasn't ready to face him. He took something from me that was mine to give away for free, and he said it was as punishment. It was even worse that he didn't feel bad about what he did and instead of saying sorry, just came home to return the file. “Scarlett, dont be stupid and fall for his games or charm,” I scolded myself. Thats what I deserve it.As I poured the hot coffee into my mug, I held on tight to the coffee pot and thought about what had happened. Why did I let it happen? I hated how easily I gave in to his touch and how my body lied to me about how strong I was.I told myself off as I shook my head. I said under my breath, "No more, Scarlett." He was wrong to think he could control me. He did not want our mate bond to be known? Okay. For now, I'd play along with it. But I wasn't going to do nothing and
(Alex's POV)Just outside the door, I felt jealous as I watched Thomas lean too close to Scarlett. His hand touched her cheek, and you could feel how nervous she was. The scene played out like a crazy nightmare, and I couldn't stop it fast enough.Scarlett was my girl.I clenched my hands together and let my wolf snarl to take charge, but I forced myself to stay calm. I had to make sure my feelings didn't get in the way. Not yet. I needed to carefully plan and execute my moves in order to finish a task. Revenge came first."Thomas," I said, and my voice cut through the air like a cold knife. "I think you should leave."As he turned, his grin trailed off for a moment, but he quickly covered it up with a shrug."Alex," he said, acting very politely even though he wasn't. "Just getting to know your gorgeous assistant.""She's not just an assistant," I said in a harsher tone than I meant to. Scarlett looked at me with wide eyes, but I couldn't tell what she was thinking.Thomas's grin got
ALEX’S POVThe guilt was suffocating.I couldnt stop thinking about what happened to scarlet. What has they done to her? I had never imaged they would go so far. When I received the call that she had been found at the river, unconscious and near death, it sent a chill through me. I had never considered that she would be hurt like this, they would go to such lengths to break her.I hate myself even more. WHY DIDN’T I ACT SOONER?I leaned back in my chair, my hands tightening around the armrests as my mind spiraled. The image of her– drenched, abused, helpless,-- was burned into my memory. I never thought i would care like this for her. I have convinced myself i didnt need to protect her, thst she wasn’t my first priority. Revenge was my first priority; my father was more important than her. I had told myself that all she was to me was a pawn in this revenge game, a tool to serve my revenge, But now… Now i realized that i had been lying to myself, or should say fooling my own feelings.
CHAPTER 43 TRAUMASCARLET’S POVI was going under. Not only drowning, but choking and gasping for air that wasn't there. The cold water was pushing in on all sides, pulling me down deeper and deeper. The weight of it made it hard to breathe because it was crushing my chest. All of my limbs felt heavy and useless. I couldn't move or fight back with my body. My heart pounded in my ears, and I had trouble seeing as I fell deeper into the darkness, which swallowed me whole. When I tried to scream, the water in my mouth stopped me. My chest shook with fear, but it was too late. I couldn't get away.I jumped up quickly, gasping for air. My eyes were wide open, and I could feel my throat tightening with a breath. The nightmare kept coming back to me like a tight grip that wouldn't let go, but I forced myself to pay attention to the present. I was awake. I was still living.A soft voice I knew cut through the fog of my fear. “ Scarlet?Are you okay?"I blinked and tried to get my bearings. I f
Scarlet's POVWhen I woke up, I had a terrible headache and my arms and legs hurt from being in one place for what seemed like hours. The smell of mold filled the air, and in the distance, you could just barely make out the sound of water dripping. I had my hands behind my back, and the rough rope hurt my skin. As I tried to figure out what was going on around me while blinking quickly, I realized I was in an empty building.I felt scared and my breathing got shallow as I looked around. The faces of the three guys in the room were hidden by masks. I didn't know who they were or why I was here."Who are you? What do you need from me?" Even though I tried to sound strong, my voice was shaking."Shut up if you want to stay alive," one of them growled in a cold and dangerous voice.My throat was dry, so I swallowed hard. As one of them took out a phone and called a number, they didn't bother to look at me again. It hurt when my heart hit my chest. It couldn't be good that they were callin
Scarlet’s POVThe slap came out of nowhere, and as I fell back, the sharp pain lit up my cheek. My hand went to my face right away, and I stared at Sienna in shock. My chest hurt, and each beat was louder than the last. "What the hell?" I asked Sienna, even though my voice was shaking because I was trying hard not to cry.Her ugly sneer turned into a face. "Shameless,bitch. You know exactly what this is about," she snarled, her voice full of anger.When I blinked, I was hit hard. "I don't," I replied, raising my voice. "What are you talking about?What's wrong with you?""What's wrong with me?" she asked again and again, then laughed. "Scarlet, you're the trouble!You're trying to take something that is mine, and I will not let that happen. Never, never."I felt sick to my gut when she spoke, but I still didn't understand what she meant. "What are you talking about?I didn't take anything from you!" I kept insisting, but her charge made my voice break. "Everything I have is mine and h
Alex's Point of ViewI looked at the message over and over again. I could not get those words out of my head. I kept hearing them. It was a message from my dad. He used code to make sure I stayed on track and to tell me that I needed to get revenge quickly. The walls of his jail cell couldn't stop him; his power still reached far beyond that cell. What was wrong was that the message had been delivered in a way that could be too dangerous if anyone else saw it. If anyone in Scarlet's house to get their hands on it. Everything would be messed up in just one second.My mind was racing as I paced the floor in my office by myself. I made up excuse to Ryan that I will find about the attack, but I don’t know what to lie to him. I just couldn't let this go. My dad warned me. He told me to make things faster, to take revenge sooner. No matter what, the plan had to go through. But something inside me kept niggling at me even as I told myself this. Scarlet. The way things were going between us.
Scarlet’s POVAs I ran up the stairs to my house, my heart was beating fast. Alex was right behind me. Just having him there was a small relief in the middle of my fear. One thing I wasn't used to hearing from my brother was a worried tone in his voice over the phone. It made my nerves tense.I stopped moving when I opened the front door. The living room looked like something else. The cushions were cut open, and the stuffing came out like guts. The coffee table fell over, and glass pieces were all over the floor. Some frames were completely broken, and pictures were hung on the walls upside down."Where the hell did this happen?" Alex said something and stepped in front of me.Ryan, my brother, came out of the kitchen with a pale face. He didn't look like he had slept in days. His shirt was rumpled and his hair was a mess. He would never normally let himself look so messy."What's going on, Ryan?" I begged, and my voice shook.He was clearly upset as he ran his hand through his hair.
38 PROTECTED MEScarlet's Point of ViewThe werewolves were going around us, and my heart was beating fast and steady with fear. I saw evil in their eyes, and I didn't miss the way they looked at each other in silence, like hunters getting ready to attack their prey."Scarlet," Alex's voice came through the fog of my growing fear. He stood between me and the guys and spoke in a strong, almost bossy, voice. "Don't move.Stay closer to me. I can handle this."I took a deep breath and nodded quietly. I didn't want to feel like a woman in trouble, but I was too scared to fight.How did we get here in the first place? These werewolves surrounded us in the next second as we walked back to the pack house. It felt wrong to have them there, like a storm was about to hit."Who sent you ?" Alex posed the question, his voice tense with power. "What do you want?"As he spoke, one of the guys stepped forward with a smirk on his face. His speech was smooth but full of danger as he said, "We brought
Scarlett’s pov What Sienna had said kept going through my mind. It broke my heart that Sienna had been with Alex. Her messed up hair, smudge lipstick, braless, these things only made me doubt about their relationship was more than I knew. I don't know how to explain it. I had to ask him, but the thought of it made my blood boil.I wanted to ignore it and act like it didn't hurt. It did, though. It felt like my heart was slowly being torn apart all the way through. Alex was meant to be. Even when things were hard, I had always thought that. But after hearing that and seeing how my sister looked at me when she told me, I couldn't get rid of the doubt and jealousy that was eating away at me.Was Sienna telling me truth?"Was he two timing with me?" I said something to myself. I didn't want to ask him, though. Not yet. I wasn't when I was so mad.The day went on and on, and I didn't want to go see him at work. I told myself I didn't need to see him, but I really did. I really wanted to t
SIENNA’S POVI was unable to rest. Scarlet's words kept playing over and over in my head, making it impossible for me to think clearly. She stayed with Alex all night. When I thought about her smug tone, my chest got tight. Was it a joke? A confession? Alex, did you even try to fight her?I felt like the questions were acid in my head. What made him want me to leave the car that day? Why did he choose Scarlet instead? How come she was always there, hanging out, happy, and going where she didn't belong?Being betrayed made me feel more than just angry. It made me feel suffocated with jealousy, doubt, and sadness. Alex was supposed to be mine, not just my boyfriend. My chosen Mate. But now, everything felt like a joke, and every reason was a way to break the trust we had built.I was done with the pain of not being able to sleep by the time the first rays of dawn broke through my blinds. I had to know the answers right away.My heart was racing as I drove to Alex's apartment in a nightd