Roman speaks freely and I listen with all my might. His thumb doesn’t stop rubbing the one spot on my hand and I rub his too sometimes.I see the locked-up emotions in him come to the light and then fade away as he talks about them and their effect on him.I hate the way my hate for Elara seems to multiply the more he speaks.She and Hunter might have been the perfect fit for each other. Hunter, a cheat, and her, also a cheat.Roman’s voice fades into the background for a brief second and I say something I wish I could take right back.“Marry me.”Roman stops in the most halting sudden way that a smile tugs the side of my lips but the shock has my face frozen in place. Roman also looks stunned and I spend the moment of silence asking myself “Why did I just blurt that out?”This isn’t how I planned to do this.“Say that again, Scarlett .”Roman’s words have my skin pebbling and when I look at him, his gaze is hot and heavy on me. His thumb rubs the bone of a knuckle and I try to stead
Roman drives us towards the pack in relative silence and I feel like I should worry.His answer had been a kiss on the lips. In front of everyone in the restaurant and amidst cheers and hollers.The smiles of the people my eyes met made me feel on top of the world. But what was better than that was the feeling coming off Roman’s end of the mate bond.I felt happiness from him.I have felt him happy before, but this time that happiness was like a raging fire. I could tell he was happy, I could feel it leaking into my bones. I could tell he was filled with it, and there was no space for anything else.He whisked me into the car immediately after and we’ve been driving in relative silence ever since. The smile on Roman’s face could blind the sun itself, and that smile hasn’t faltered.Me telling him I'm worried would kill the magic of today. It would ruin the mood, so I don’t. I plaster a smile on my face, keep my eyes straight ahead, and try to ignore the odd prickling along the ridge o
Roman’s pov.Scarlett opens her eyes and panic flares through our mate bond. When she turns to look at me her face has turned pale and her breaths come in short heavy bursts.I wheel the car to the side of the road and park there. A traffic officer comes for me immediately but one look at the car has him making his way back. The crest of my pack is there if they know where to look for it, and any officer that sees the Ironclaw crest and still comes for me must be new or foolish.Scarlett has buried her face into her hands and she’s taking deep breaths.My voice is hard when I speak.“Talk to me, Scarlett.” She peeks at me from the corner of her eyes and I see something like doubt glimmer in them. Not just doubt, but fear. It skitters along the bond and sends a chill into my skin. The urge to protect my mate from whatever is bothering her rises in me but I resist and wait for her to speak. I can’t help her if she doesn’t let me know what’s wrong.“Scarlett.” She turns to look at me f
Scarlett's pov Roman drops me off at the pack as he promised and gives me one last kiss before backing out and going to wait for Maya to come out of school. We discussed it in the car. He’ll switch cars with one of his men while passing underneath the bridge that leads to Ironclaw prep. I wouldn’t put it past Hunter to have spies of his own and getting them to follow Roman would be an order he’d be all too happy to give. Slight panic flares in my heart again but I resist that feeling and assure myself it will be okay. Because it will. It will be okay. Despite my self-assurance, I keep my wits about me and my awareness out. There’s nothing Hunter isn’t capable of when he’s angry, and I made him angry. Dangled Vivienne in front of him like a treat and then snatched her away in a not-so-nice way. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. My brain revolts at the thought of it and the look on Hunter’s face comes back to me again. No way that look wasn’t worth the small effort I put in.
Fen brings to light something I've been oblivious to all this while.Maya’s custody.I don’t think I have ever considered what would happen in that aspect, and now that I listen to what could and may happen, my blood runs cold.“I… I can't give Maya to Hunter. That’s impossible.”Fen nods and his expression becomes less stony. He must have heard how bad my voice quaked and I despise myself for that, but I can't give Maya up for anything.“I know it’s hard to take” I swallow and Fen’s expression turns disconcerted, yet he continues “But it is one of the things that might happen when you go public with Roman for the werewolf world to see.”“But Maya is my daughter. She’s mine.”My heart palpitates and I sound like someone trying to convince herself of a fact right now. Fen shatters my whole outlook not a second later.“She’s not just your daughter Scarlett. She’s Hunter’s too, and he has rights to his child.”“That shouldn’t be the case when we divorce. He’ll cut off our mate bond. He’l
I kick the door of Roman’s library open and wince at the way it bangs against the wall. Danis looks up from his table by the side of the window and I'm surprised to see him wearing glasses. They’re almost like mine, but I know they’re medicated. The worry in his expression has me pausing for a moment before I make my way to him as fast as I can.Two piles of books are on the floor and one is larger than the other.“Did Fen tell you?”I nod and Danis looks away. “I’m sorry I didn't say this on time. It’s always been at the back of my mind, I think I simply… forgot.”Somehow the way Danis makes this sound like it’s his fault makes me feel how young he is. He’s only twenty-two or twenty-four, yet he doesn’t act his age at all. I’m pushing twenty-nine, almost close to thirty, and I freaking didn’t consider that my daughter’s custody would be an issue!“If you’re going to allot blame, heap it all on my head. I’ve been a dumb bitch, and a very irresponsible mother.”Danis’s brows crease
“Wow.”Danis drops that word as he saunters past and I open my eyes to see him walking towards the gate.Maya pops her head up from the little sandwich we’ve formed with Roman and cries after him. “You’re meant to train me today Uncle Danis! All we did yesterday was read!”The pout in her tone is evident and Danis stops like someone’s pressed the pause button on him.He turns with a slight frown on his face and he looks at Maya with slightly imploring eyes.“Can’t we do this when I come back? We read yesterday to help you with your concentration, remember?”Maya grumbles and something burns me in one swift motion. I barely have time to stop myself from crying out in pain before dropping my daughter. My heart misses a beat as Maya goes falling, but Roman catches her just in time.A sudden silence descends on the courtyard.The guards who witnessed what happened all look at me warily when I meet their eyes and when I look at Roman and Maya they both share bewildered expressions.I dire
“You didn’t mean to, did you?”Maya’s eyes brim with tears and she shakes her head. “No. I’m sorry mummy.”My instincts have me kneeling so I can be at face level with her and I place my hands on her shoulders as I look into her eyes.“Look at me, Maya.” A tear rolls down her cheek but she does. She’s scared. I can feel it in my bones.“It’s not your fault, okay? You can’t control how you feel in some situations and this was one of those situations. You were upset Uncle Danis wasn’t going to teach you, right?”She nods and I wipe that tear working its way down her cheek. “I wanted to see him do magic again.”Her reply has humor rising in me and I chuckle.“There’s no problem with that. But you’re a special child, baby. You’re not like every other pup, you have some things that make you different, but if you can learn to control them, you can be the most special different pup the world has ever seen.”“Just like Uncle Danis?”I feel like she gave me a punch with those words and a wry s