SCARLETTI’d seen his handwriting too many times not to know that it was him.Logan had a unique way of using the cursive writing technique, and I’d never thought he’d be using it to write a love letter to me even in my wildest dreams.I let my eyes gloss over the title behind the envelope, taking note of the excitement bursting through me as I received confirmation that Logan was in love with me. One of the reasons I’d been scared to let myself bond with him was because I thought everything he felt for me was built on lust and nothing more.After watching his engagement with Ashley go up in flames, I was scared of being nothing other than a rebound, or the nearest warm hole to find solace.Now that I knew that he’d only let her go because he fell in love with me somewhere along the line, it seemed like a worthy sacrifice and I was suddenly eager to learn about when it happened. Smiling, I quickly opened the envelope and unfolded the letter I found inside.It’s Logan,I knew that alre
BLAKEWas this what it felt like to fall off the wheels? I was losing my fucking mind.I thought a week would be enough to find an alternative to handing over the only woman I’ve ever loved to my pack, but it wasn't. Every waking moment was spent scourging through ancient books in search of a precious stone or magical creature alive that could take her place, but the harsh truth I learned was that she was truly one of a kind.There was no one who could take her place, who could bring my pack the redemption that ran through her veins. No one.Knowing that she was unique in every sense of the word made me stupidly fall even deeper in love with her which in turn made it much harder to betray her. The week’s deadline I was given to hand her over had elapsed four days ago and now I was staring at a summoning email from the overall head of the operation—Lucas Shahato.I was parked outside the gate of my pack’s hideout, wondering why the weight crushing down on my chest wasn't getting any li
LOGANI looked over the schedule for the thousandth time to make sure everything was in place.The itinerary for an entire day of dates with Scarlett was staring back at me as I nervously paced from one end of my office to another. I hoped that everything would be to her taste and that we’d find something meaningful to bond over.But first, I had to figure out how to ask her out on a date without scaring her off.“Scarlett, would you do me the honor of….” I groaned, pressing a palm against my face as I realized how overly formal that was.“Uh, hey there,” I wore on a practiced smile, “how about an entire day of dates together this weekend? You down?”I cringed at the poor delivery and the fact that it seemed nonchalant and lacking in the enthusiasm that I’d have loved it to convey.“If you’re free tomorrow, how about we spend the day together?” I sighed, unsure what was still missing asides how I was stuttering like an idiot.“Scarlett, can we maybe sp—”“A simple ‘wanna hang?’ text w
SCARLETTI knew he wanted to, what I couldn’t figure out was why he hadn’t.“Fuck me, Logan,” I vocally encouraged him, hoping that it would be enough to show him that I wanted it just as much as he did.Surprisingly, he shook his head at me while smiling, then pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead before spinning me so my back was facing him. That made me expectant, that the next thing that would follow would be my dress being pushed up before he filled and stretched me.“We can’t,” his response shocked me as he undid my zip, “I’m just going to help you into your dress so we can get out of here,” he added instead of offering a proper explanation.Stung by his rejection, I turned to face him and demanded a viable reason, “We can’t? What does that even mean?”He cupped my face with one hand and grabbed my other hand before placing it over his still rock hard erection. My fingers were itching to reach into his pants and let it spring free, but I held because it seemed like he was trying
SCARLETTMy heart was in my throat, beating erratically as Hyacinth, the family’s sorceress examined Logan’s unconscious body closely.Alex equally looked unsettled, pacing back and forth with worry lines etched into his forehead as we patiently waited for Hyacinth’s feedback on the matter. It was somewhat soothing to have someone who shared in my worry, but I couldn’t appreciate it enough when Logan’s absence was causing the mate bond to stir dread in the pit of my stomach.Finally, Hyacinth moved away from him and cleared her throat, causing mine and Alex’s ears to peak with curiosity.“Yes? What’s wrong with him?” Alex beat me to the question when she stayed silent for a hot minute.“Whatever was shot into his system was poisonous, and if it was just any type of poison, I’d have whipped up a potion and fed it to him and he’d be hale and hearty in a minute,” she had a dreadful expression that worsened my fears.“But?” I urged, eager to get to the crust of the matter.“But this poiso
SCARLETTThe car ride home with Alex and Logan was quiet, disturbingly so.When we finally arrived, even the house seemed eerily quiet, as though another dreadful experience was awaiting me, hanging in the air.“I’ll head in first, goodnight,” Alex threw a little salute and hopped out of the car first, then speed walked into the house like he was desperately trying to leave the awkwardness behind.I made a mental note to thank him for his support and the comfort he’d provided tonight as u watched him go. I wonder how much more of a mess I’d have been if he wasn't there with me, he was my knight in shining armor as long as tonight was concerned.“After you, milady,” Logan reached around me and opened the door, a small smile playing on his enticing lips.I walked out, enjoying the midnight breeze that sifted through my hair as Logan took my hand and began to lead us towards the house.“Today was really an adventure, huh?” I laughed as I looked down at my bloodstained dinner dress, espec
SCARLETTDespite the constant attention and affection I was getting from the older Vaughn brothers, I was bothered by the lack thereof from the youngest.Blake hadn't picked my calls or responded to my texts in days and whenever I was home, he was always out. He wasn't even sleeping at home so I couldn't ambush him at night, but the fact that I picked up the faint hint of his scent every now and then was proof that he was popping in and out.The Blake I knew and had come to cherish would always keep me updated, he’d never fail to stop by my room and tell me how long he’ll be out and when to expect him, so it became glaring that he was avoiding me and it unsettled me.Had he grown bored of me? Had he realized what a smoking hot catch he was and moved on to another woman? Had he become weary of contesting for my affection with his brothers when he could just find better elsewhere?Call me greedy, selfish, conceited, or whatever word described my endless pining for all three Vaughn broth
BLAKEThat cocky motherfucker, Lucas Shahato. How dare he?Ever since he gave me another week’s extension to deliver Scarlett to our pack, he’s been breathing down my neck in passive aggressive ways that were driving me crazy. He had men tailing me every second of the day, so I had no choice but to keep Scarlett at arm’s length to protect her.I knew fully well that the failsafe plan if I didn’t succeed was to ambush and kidnap her, and I worried that if she was around me as often as usual, they’d take matters into their own hands and proceed with plan B.It sickened me to imagine the traumatic experiences she’d have to endure if she was forced to pass through a blood moon ritual, one that put her life at risk if she bled out before the ritual’s completion.I would immediately follow her to the grave if she suffered such inhumane treatment because I lured her in with a web of lies, and for the rest of the afterlife, I’d be a slave at her mercy to earn her forgiveness.That was a lesse
SCARLETT “How many minutes apart are your contractions?” “Can you feel the pups crowning already?” “Should I get the midwives?” My husbands circled around me like vultures readying their prey, asking me a million and one questions like I was not as clueless about childbirth as they were. They’d read a library worth of childbirth and parenting books from the moment I found out I was pregnant and yet they were as nervous as a completely ignorant parent would be. “Stop hovering over her, please,” Hyacinth sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked into the birthing room, “the birthing process will begin any moment and I’ll need you all to either be quiet and or absent so I can get to work.” They all murmured amongst each other before finally falling quiet. “I’m going to give you a mild anesthetic so you don’t feel a thing and sleep through it, alright?” she turned to me with a kind smile and I nodded. I felt nerves already wrecking my body upon hearing that, I was reminded of the c
LOGANThree long yet amazing months went by and the D-day finally arrived. I couldn’t believe that I was about to be married to Scarlett and it seemed that neither Blake nor Alex could believe it seeing how nervous they were while getting dressed for the ceremony. We’d watched her become the best version of herself in the last three months and judging from all the power and potential she radiated, even three Vaughn men might not be enough of a match for her. Still, I was beyond elated to see what a marriage as unique as ours had in store for us in the coming years. And for the rest of our lives. “I still can’t figure this shit out!” Blake whined as he wrongly knotted his tie for the hundredth time and Alex and I laughed at him. “If you’re too nervous to knot your tie, maybe you should just sit out the wedding ceremony,” Alex teased him. “Yeah, it’s a small wedding anyways. We’ll just add your name to the marriage certificate and crop you into the pictures for the wedding album,” I
SCARLETTWe did it? “Yeah, we fucking did it,” Logan’s excited response made me realize that I’d asked that question out loud instead of in my head as I’d assumed. “And that’s only because you had the balls to put yourself on the line when we weren’t willing to take that risk,” Alex added, flipping a pancake effortlessly with a slight tilt of the pan. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at his stellar skills, wondering how he was able to pull that off when I couldn’t even do it while carefully using a frying spoon. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re no longer focused on our victory over the Shahato and you’re now hating on everyone that can make a proper pancake unlike you,” Blake said through a chuckle. I narrowed my eyes at him, picking a grape off my plate and throwing it at his head for teasing me. “Ow!” he exclaimed when it hit his forehead. “Serves you right,” I grinned before taking a generous bite of my sandwich. That led to back and forth banter, and as much a
SCARLETTAgain, they’d come to my rescue at the perfect moment.Unlike the last time, I refused to lose faith in them, so seeing them was more than an answered prayer, it was the confirmation of a truth I’d been steadfastly holding unto.I felt relief course through my entire body as the army pounced on the Shahato warriors, shifting to their wolf form and ripping our enemies apart before they had the chance to rejoice over my burnt corpse.Suddenly, the regret I felt when I was thrown into the portal that brought me here washed away and I was pleased with myself for following through with the baiting plan that brought us this far. I had a feeling that after this battle, we’d finally know peace and harmony instead of the chaos and despair we’d had to endure for months now.I was so lost in imagining a time of calm and quiet that I even forgot that fire was slowly creeping towards me as the altar behind me burnt away. It was when I smelt thick fumes suffocating me that I looked behind
LOGANI still felt shitty and stupid for how immature I’d acted when Scarlett disappeared behind that godforsaken portal.Blake didn’t deserve to be choked so heartlessly when all he did was keep me from breaking my foot to pieces—because believe me, that was my intention when I started kicking that rock. Yet, he’d stopped me from hurting myself foolishly and I repaid him like an absolute asshole.I knew I’d apologized, but it didn’t seem enough so I made a mental note in the back of my mind to make it up to him somehow after we rescued Scarlett.“Guys! Over here! Quickly!” Hyacinth called out to me and my brothers and we rushed to where she was bent over on the floor and holding a glass shard.“What did you find? Please give us some good news,” Alex practically begged as he crouched beside her.“Their sorcerer must’ve mistakenly dropped this while closing the portal in a hurry, and now I know exactly where those bastards took her,” she jumped to her feet and Alex followed suit.“Wher
ALEXFan–fucking–tastic!This bloody plan blew up in our faces just like I’d predicted it would. Those cunning bastards just zapped our mate through a portal and I couldn’t feel her through the bond from the moment they disappeared into it.I guessed that neither Blake nor Logan could feel her either because they equally seemed like they were going mad.“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck this!” Logan yelled on the top of his voice while kicking a rock repeatedly until I heard a toe snap and blood started to ooze from his boot.That didn’t stop him though, he kept spitting profanities and angrily kicking the rock until Blake ran towards him and dragged him away from the rock and set him on the floor.“What the hell is wrong with you, Logan? How the hell does that fix shit!?” Blake leaned forward, placing his hands on both knees while screaming right into Logan’s face.Instead od answering, Logan reached out and gripped Blake’s neck and started to twist it with rage burning in his eyes. I immediat
SCARLETTThe morning of the full moon had finally arrived, and just like everyone else, I hoped that things went according to plans.None of us could handle any surprises because the chances of the plan going smoothly hinged on us being in complete control. To ensure that nothing went wrong, Hyacinth got a team of sorcerers to cast truth spells on the army in a bid to uncover any hidden spies from the Shahatos.Once we confirmed that every warrior was loyal to us, we finally let them in on the plan for the first time since we’d hatched it.Afterwards, Blake and Alex guided them through morning drills and helped them memorize the parts of the plan they were instrumental to, Logan and I kept Hyacinth company while she and her group of sorcerers did a location spell.Unlike the former location spells they’d casted to locate me when I was captured, this was much more likely to work because she’d used the blood of the prisoners that were recently executed. She assured us that with a team o
SCARLETTOnce again, Hyacinth had to come to our aid.We rushed Alex home and called her to come by the house as soon as possible. After ten minutes that felt like an eternity, she finally arrived and got to work on speeding up his healing. She explained that he invested wolfsbane and that’s why he wasn’t healing even after Blake and Logan cleaned and bandaged his wounds properly as soon as we got home.Hyacinth fed him some potions, but when they didn’t work, she told us that the wolfsbane had been in his system for far too long so she would need a powerful spell to magically detox him of it so his wolf could heal.While she convened with the powers that be on the required spell for such a crucial procedure, I paced the entire room worriedly while saying prayers to the moon goddess and ignoring the words of comfort being thrown my way from Logan and Blake.For some reason, I still felt fractions of the fear and pain I felt when I thought he was going to take his life just to prove a
SCARLETTAn hour passed and I immediately rallied Logan and Blake into the car to go in search of Alex. The longer we went without being able to contact or find him, the more I regretted listening to Logan and Blake instead of my wolf.And now because of my negligence, we were all worried out of our minds for Alex.It was almost nightfall and neither of us could reach or find him still. And believe me, we’d tried everything we could possibly think of. Logan tried to track his phone but his men found it dumped in a roadside bin and had no other means of tracing where he went from there because the traffic cams in that area were all busted.After that dead end, we’d all gone around the city in search of him but we couldn’t pick up his scent talk less of find his car.Normally, we’d have assumed that he was just somewhere blowing off steam and stayed home to wait on him. But ever since the marking ritual, we had a much stronger bond and could feel each other’s emotions and a while ago we