Roman's pov. “We’re going to let you keep the female and her child.” Scarlett is inconsolable. Erasmus and the other elders of the high council stare at me from their seats with rock-hard faces. There’s not a shred of pity in their eyes. This is how our world is. They were exceptional Alphas in their prime, and now that they’ve grown old they sit at the pinnacle of power. Elders of the Alpha council, and the final voices on what happens in my life and in the life of my mate. “What changed?” I feel my father’s aura prickle me lightly as he stills but Fenrir snarls and rage burns in my heart. Slow and steady. I raise my eyes to look at them, each face aged and weathered face but still brimming with the youth werewolf genes and biology grant them. I stare each elder of the council down, and I ask the question I’ve wanted to ask since they began beating my mate down with their snide laidback remarks. “Was the council really going to order me to return my mate and child to a man
Scarlett's pov.Roman bursts into the room and his scent grounds me in a way I’ve never felt before. Tears are still streaming down my cheeks.My hand still trembles as I cradle my daughter to my chest and there are half a million things I can think to do at this moment, yet I can’t do any of them. I hold Maya so close to me I feel I might be squishing her a bit, then she grumbles in that way of hers…. Like a disgruntled little cat and she murmurs into the crook of my neck.“You’re squishing me like a marshmallow, mummy.”I laugh.The laughter bubbles up right from my heart and it forces more tears out of my eyes, but my baby’s okay. My baby’s fine and hells…“Are you okay, Maya?”Roman crouches and speaks so softly to her I have to stifle my sobs just so I can watch them interact. Maya peeks up to look at him and she gives a small shrug in my arms.“I’m a bit hungry, but I’m fine.”My heart melts when Roman reaches out to cup the curve of her cheek in his palm, and Maya leans into hi
I leave the conjoined hotel of the hall the Alpha conference is being held in with my mate holding one of my hands, and my daughter holding the other. The red diamonds gleam on my finger and Maya can’t stop talking about how the main one is so large and so pretty and now she wants one. I laugh so hard, and so loud, my body can tell that my happiness is full. Those around me can tell it too because I receive looks as we walk out. Looks of scorn from some men and women when they see me hand in hand with my mate and my daughter, and looks of mild happiness and smiles from others. Even they can’t tell what’s happened and how I have managed to do this, but they know I have. They know the Alpha council has allowed me to walk away with my second chance mate and daughter intact. It goes against tradition. It goes against werewolf laws. It goes against all the punishment I should have gotten for thinking I could eat my cake and have it, but that isn’t what happened here. I suffered in m
Scarlett’s pov. A chuckle escapes my lips as I grind lightly against Roman. He chortles, his laughter stuck in his chest and escaping in comical rough squeaks and that just makes me laugh even more. “You know you’re about as hard as a rock right now, don’t you Alpha Roman?” Roman buries his face into the crook of my neck and he chuckles deeply, happiness seeping through our mate bond as it mixes in with his desire. That desire courses so heavily between us that I can barely think straight right now but in between that desire is happiness. I mean look at us. We’re in a very tight storage room, kissing each other silly and groping every inch of flesh we can grope simply because we want to and we can. Roman’s voice is rumbling and soft as he whispers into my ears, “You have undone all my office protocols at this point, Scarlett… and I couldn't be happier.” A sly smile slips onto my lips and quirks at an unusual angle. I whisper my husked words through the mind link and I feel Rom
“Is everything alright Mrs Collins?”I look up and feel the stares of six pairs of eyes on me. The members of Roman’s board seem to be as worried about me as he is, but while Roman trusts me fully, they on the other hand are worried I will make a mistake.I frown as I mull over the proposition that has been brought to the table.“Reducing research and development will be the best thing for the company, Scarlett. Just think about it.” Roman’s long-time associate, Ben stares at me as he says those words, the look in his eyes very convincing, but not quite because I don't agree with him.“Reducing research and development would be good considering that we have to divert resources to other areas, but looking at the long-term effects of that, I don't quite agree. Innovation and product development are critical to any company’s sustainability.”Someone rebuffs me immediately “Ironclaw Corp is doing great right now. There’s no need to be worried about the company’s sustainability.”I nod an
Roman's pov.“Do you think this is a good idea? What if we get caught?”I direct a light glare at the female with me and she shuts up, complying with what I asked her to do and not asking any more questions.We move silently to avoid detection and my mind wanders to what Scarlett would do if she found me like this. Sneaking through the packhouse with another female.“Should we do it here?”I open the door, wait for her to get in, and close it back. “Here. No one must know about this, okay?”The female nods, an excited look in her eyes and I chuckle, “You can begin now.”She darts to the bed, fishes her toys, and pulls out a bag of…. flowers. The omega female comes to a halt in front of me with the basket of roses in her hands and she sets them on the floor, joining them a second later by sitting with her legs crossed and picking up two petals. She looks up at me with barely restrained glee.“Now the secret to making a flower crown is to be very gentle with the flowers. There should b
Scarlett's pov. Roman asks me what’s wrong and I don't know if I can tell him. I didn’t envision today would go the way it currently is, but I'd be a bad person if I didn't tell Roman what I know. I wouldn’t feel worthy of him. “Your father says he’s located someone he thinks you might want to see.” The look on Roman’s face is still happy. He’s still smiling at me, and I wonder if telling him is really the best option at this point. I was in his office when Fen came in with a worried look on his face. He began asking for Roman, and when I said I had no idea where Roman was either, he dropped the news on me. “Your father has been looking into the attack that happened all those years ago.” Roman stills beneath me and I feel his expression freeze over. The smile is frozen on his face and Roman’s emotions leak in through the mate bond. Surprise is like vanilla on my tongue, and amidst that surprise is fear. “What did he find?” I make to push off Roman and sit up but he doesn’t l
Roman goes out to the forest and I don't stop him. He goes out there from time to time, he and the warrior wolves, but today he’s gone alone and I know why. Today’s the day his father comes back with Elara, and I don’t blame him if he doesn’t want to be here for it. Maya bounces into the room with something in her hands and a wide smile on her face. She stops in front of me and stretches it over, rocking on her feet and practically beaming as she croons. “Isn’t it pretty?” I direct my gaze to what she has in her hands and my heart melts the moment I see it. “Awwnnn Maya. It’s so pretty.”It’s a flower crown, and it looks so stunning…. I can't even imagine the amount of work that must have gone into making it. There’s a large jasmine in the middle, the white petals firm and fragrant and the light green pods like stems crafted from a diamond. Every flower has been placed with care and wow… “It’s so beautiful.” I cock my head at her, eyebrows knitted in light confusion, “When did you