I doubt Scarlett will be able to work the abilities of the mark.
I park in the security outpost the Ironclaw warriors that guard the border reside in. They receive me a bit awkwardly but when I tell them I want to go exploring, they offer to follow. I have to refuse and say I need to do this myself and only then do they let me be. I head off alone, my heart pounding in my chest and my legs now clad in what the warriors call protection. Itâs really just some long pants but they work. The forest is cool and cold when I walk in. Thereâs a clear path, beaten down and worn by the stomping of feet, and as I take careful cautionary steps farther and farther in, I feel the forest begin to come alive. The sunlight peeks through the canopy of leaves overhead, a gentle wind ruffles the trees, but thereâs more. The chirp of small birds, the fast skittering of animals hidden from my sight. Fey yearns to rise to the surface and that surprises me. Sheâs excited, and she never really gets excited but as I let her watch through my eyes, I feel fascinated by wh
Roman's pov.âWhere is it?âThe doctor steps in with the report in his hands, hesitating before walking over and placing the envelope on the table.âWe⌠conducted all the tests you asked us to conduct, and the results all came back the same. The boy is indeed the son of Alpha Hunter of the Nightshade pack. We checked his sample against the one you gave to us, and theyâre a match, but as for the mutation, it shows Axios bears another strand of DNA. We donât know whose it is, butâŚ.âI cock an eyebrow up and lean back in my chair, âBut?âThe doctor walks closer to me and brings his voice down to a whisper, âItâs unusualâŚ.. We donât think itâs a werewolf gene. It might be the reason behind his strange behavior as you said.â I nod, taking that in and letting the doctor take his leave.I stare at the report and let thoughts flow through my mind.I am not a good man. I have said that repeatedly and I would have been committed to that, I wouldnât have been bothered by anything that didnât ha
Scarlettâs pov.I feel so guilty right now.Roman breathes deeply as I curl closer to him and inhale the scent of him. That itch under my skin has disappeared, and now I'm tempted to ask myself if it was really an itch or if I was just agitated and wanted to have sex for no reason.âDoes there have to be a reason for wanting to have sex though?âI jostle Roman with my arm and he chuckles deeply, pulling me closer as I protest cheekily, âStop peering into my mind. Iâll kick you out one of these days.âRomanâs chuckle becomes a full-on low laugh as he responds, âNo you wonât.â And with a sigh, I give in because heâs right. I enjoy his subtle presence in my mind, and yes I don't want us to have a reason before being intimate with each other.I begin my explanation immediately. âI visited the border today.âRoman nods, turning to look at me with a semi-hard gaze as he adds, âAnd you almost fell off a cliff.âInstead of hitting him I simply nod and sigh. âI felt the borders would be a good
âYou werenât abducted that night were you?âElara sits with her arms crossed over her chest and thereâs a bitterness in her gaze as she replies sullenly, âWhat night are we speaking of here?âI can see the tick in Romanâs jaw. I can see how heâs annoyed but trying to hide it, how heâs pissed off but trying not to show it, how he would rather do anything else right now than be here and speak to the woman who betrayed him, but I don't interfere.Believe it or not, I think I might have a shorter fuse than Roman, so as he sighs and specifies, âThe night of the attack. You werenât abducted along with the pack were you?â, I smile softly with pride.Elara jolts immediately yet hides her shock all at once, she looks away, âI donât know what youâre talking about.âRoman chuckles derisively and I give him a look that playfully says donât do that. He raises his hand in surrender and settles into his seat. Elara gives me a look I can't read.âYou know I can smell it when youâre lying right?â Ro
âWhy have you been following me?â Hunter glares at me like I just asked the question of the century and he darts his eyes to Roman, âCan we be left alone?â I refuse immediately, âNo. Roman is my husband and he stays to hear everything. If you have something to say, say it now, to the both of us.â Hunter chortles and looks at me derisively, âYou know me better than this, Scarlett. You know I can barely be coerced once I've set my mind on something. All those years gathering shit against me must have taught you that at least.â I huff lowly as the mark warms on my back and I return Hunterâs derisive stare, sneering âI wouldnât have spent time gathering shit against you if you had given me a reason to love you. You abused me, and as hard as it is speaking to you right now, Iâm doing it so you know Iâve healed from all that shit, Iâve healed from all the trauma you caused me and seeing you here again is threatening to give me PTSD so tell me, why the hell are you here? What the fuck do
Roman and I settle in a closed room to play the recording Mira handed over to me.Roman asks as he plugs the phone into his computer, âHow do you think she got this?âI think about it for a while but nothing comes up so I shake my head and sigh, âNo idea but letâs listen to it and see whatâs so urgent.âMira isnât in the room with us right now but I told her I'd get back to her. Now I might have to question her but I'll decide on that after weâve heard whatâs on here.Roman starts playing the recording and Hunterâs voice floats into my ears immediately,âWhereâs the child?â Hunterâs snarl is a low vicious thing but a female voice replies him immediately, âTell me where he is first before I tell you where the child is.âThereâs a stretch of silence in which no one speaks but Hunterâs grudging voice finally comes up, âIâll bring him to you on the night of the festival, but swear to me Elara that you will tell me where the child is.âThereâs a low chortle and a scoff, âFulfill your prom
Priam is waiting for me in a parking lot a few blocks down the estate where the Ironclaw packhouse is located and thereâs a hard look on his face when our eyes meet.Iâd have thought heâd be smiling or looking jovial but heâs not. He looks slightly tired, pissed off even. My mood isnât any better so I tamp down on whatever his face makes me feel and I open our conversation with one statement, âYou dropped seventeen missed calls on my phone.âHe nods and I huff, âSeventeen? Itâs not an issue but a text would have worked better, like âHey Scarlett, itâs me, Priam.â âAt this a slight smile enters his eyes and I tuck away the fact that Priam has changed since the last time I was actively in his space. He was irritable and grumpy then, but now he just looks wizened and a bit more mature. His apology is a low âIâm sorry I dropped seventeen missed calls. I should have texted.â I shrug and rest on the hood of his car the same way he is, hands folded across his chest and legs crossed. His o
âWhatâs that?âI jump so hard the hot liquid in my hand almost goes tumbling out.Romanâs scent is a wintery thing in my nose as he moves, the action bringing a light gust of wind to caress my cheeks when he stops behind me, steadying the cup in my hands with his and his voice rumbling in my ear when he leans low to ask, âWhatâs wrong?âMy heart is pounding.My pulse is racing but all the same I lean into Roman and ask playfully, âHow do you know anythingâs wrong? I was spooked, that's all.âI turn my head to look at Romanâs reaction and he has an eyebrow cocked up, a very funny, skeptical, questioning eyebrow that makes me chuckle and has him holding me even more while we stand. His question still hangs in the air though and just when I'm about to relent with a sigh weâre interrupted by high-pitched chatter and laughter.The room falls silent the moment the ladies see me and my eyes go wide because theyâre looking at me and Roman!I have a meeting with the Ironclaw females today and
Hi wonderful readers.First of all, Iâd like to say thank you for reading so much and so far. Thank you for the time invested into this book.Without you, nothing would have been possible, so thank you for that.We have come to the end, and while it is a bit abrupt, Iâd like to clarify some things.The book is already at 290 thousand plus words, I was really worried about its readability because anything longer would probably scare readers off. I donât know how everything usually operates because I am a mildly new author on the platform and this is my first completed book, but it felt like Luna Scarlett was getting long, and if I was to go further into settling some other points in the storyâŚ.. Itâd have been way longer.Now to pick up some of the points I left unfilled in the story (Without giving any spoilers of course.) (Okay, maybe one spoiler, or two :)The fact that Hunterâs mother killed Oliver: Iâd say this would have led into a whole other story, and it will, itâs basically
Roman carries me in his arms.Diane is helped along by the mage.Weâre laid on beds and the pain from the contractions almost makes me pass out.âYour bodyâs burning, Scarlett.âI feel water enveloping me and I hear Dianeâs low low grunt as sheâs laid into the pool too.The contractions make everything feel hard and painful. My mind slips in and out of a haze and the water is red, so red, but through it all Roman stays with me.His red eyes are as clear and pure as two scarlet moons.The indoor swimming pool is converted into a labor room the moment the doctors arrive. I open my eyes weakly to see a whole team of them, strange faces in blue overalls, and the smell of the hospital lingering in the air.The contractions hit again, and this time Roman helps me onto a table as I grunt and cry my way through them.This is stronger than anything I've ever felt.I hear one of them tell Roman firmly, âIf you want to be here, wear one of these.âRoman is back at my side in less than a minute,
Scarlettâs pov.Each blast of energy I let out makes me grit my teeth in pain.The doctor and Myrtle watch me with calm eyes and though it rips my heart to see them standing there like that, I don't stop.The shield over me shimmers with each blast of energy I release and I can see the impatience filling them because they canât touch me while this is still going on.Thereâs an impatience to the way Myrtle grits her teeth but I can't bring myself to be happy at thatâŚ. because I'm killing him.Hot heavy tears flow down my cheeks and I burst into a sob because I can hear the sound of his pain each time I release my power.His shield is directly linked to his power, to him.Iâm like a bomb in a can. He is the can.He canât contain me.He canât keep me in.I will go off as many times as I need to. I am a woman. My energy is endless, but while I do it⌠he suffers.Itâs either I stop and get my stomach ripped open, my baby⌠my child will be killed.I would never forgive myself because it wou
The scarlet glow in his eyes grows in strength and all the dots come together in my head.Elara was never abducted. She orchestrated the attack.The strangeness of the wolves that attacked us was because she had infused them with the gene mutation she stole from me, and Ironclaw warriors werenât able to do anything but die at their hands, because they had never met anything like that.They couldnât take over the pack totally, because, like everything thatâs stolen, itâs never stable. The look in Elaraâs eyes makes me chuckle as another truth hits me and I let her get himself to full strength. I let the shift take him over, and in a moment of nostalgia, the scent of jasmine comes carried on a gentle breeze as little lines appear in the wind.They blaze to life with bright but silent lights, each one swaying as if blown by a light breeze. I see the lines extending through the wall behind me, the room where all those in the packhouse are being held currently. I see them in my mind, from
Romanâs pov.The bond between me and Scarlett stretches taut due to the distance and itâs the first time I've felt something like this between us.Feeling her and barely feeling her at the same time.The cars pull up to the gates of the mansion and I can tell my packhouse has been taken over by foreign forces. No one makes themselves visible when the gates come open, everyone is hidden but the moment we drive in, the gates slam shut faster than they ever have.The feeling of arrows already poised at us sends a light tingle down the side of my neck and I send a message to my father through the mate bond, ~Take the children to the safe house. Drive there like itâs what you always meant to doâŚ.Stay safe Father, and keep the children safe.~My father sends a feeling that echoes low on the mindlink, one that tells me he will obey my words to the letter because he is a wolf under my command, and I am his Alpha.But as a father and someone whoâs watched me grow into who I am today, heâs
âScarlett.âA brief silence punctuated by mumbled words and then the word comes again.âScarlett.âThe tone is more insistent this time and my eyes flutter open as a headache burrows itâs way through my head. I groan as i open my eyes fully because my head hurts a lot.Surprise steadily flow s through me when i realise i have been bound. I can barely move my hands or my feet.I try to struggle against the ropes but i canât, and the voice comes again.âPsst, Scarlett.âI raise my head just the slightest bit, unable to see through the large mound of flesh thatâs my belly.I feel my baby moving andd kiclkin, the discomfort stinging me like pins.âNo, no need to raise your head.Itâs me⌠the mage.âMy fuzzy head clears up enough to remember where i am and what happened to me before i blanked out. I feel my body go rigid as shock courses through mel, a healthy dose of shock and fear.No.I struggle against the ropes.NO. NO. NO.Hunter wouldnât dare.Hunter would never!âHunter!âMy heart
Walking through the halls of the Nightshade pack has me feeling⌠not nostalgic.I can remember wallking through here when i came here with Danis once. We delivered wolfsbane to Hunter.Then simply being in the compound had shaken me. It had made images of me back here float around in my mind, and then i knew Hunter would have done something horrible to me and Maya if he had gotten his hands on us.I donât know what must have caused the sudden self proclaimed change in him, but i wouldnât risk myself and anyone i know depending on that.Iâm only here because Hunter knows who i am now. He knows i cannot be hit or hurt by him, without him suffering consequences.âAbout the conversation we had the other day.âI turn to look at Hunter and i see the way he maintains eye contact with me for a second before looking away to stare at something else. His voice comes out more sulky than i imagined he wants it to be.âI only knew Oliver.I didnât have any relationship that was out of the normal w
Scarlettâs pov.Itâs a bloodbath.I feel the tang of blood on my tongue, the smell of death in the air, I smell the power leaking off Roman, and as it leaks off him, it goes into me.âRomanâŚâMy voice is hoarse and croaky. I can barely hear it. Itâs a rasp that leaves my throat feeling sandy and hollowed out yet Roman hears it.His head snaps to me the moment I whisper his name and I realise now why everywhere seems so silent. Thereâs not a sound emanating from the forest, not from the archers in the trees, not from the warriors Roman brought along, not even from the birds - probably already scared away by the violence, or the attendants - scared into silence by Roman, currently dotted in large splatters of blood. Romanâs presence jolts when he comes to me.I feel his aura wrap around me faster than anything i have ever felt before, and when he cradles me in his arms, i feel the shift take over him and his claws retract, the red glow from his eyes fade, the heat radiating from him d
Romanâs pov.The world pauses as I feel Scarlettâs anxiety spike through the mate bond.Itâs a thick and heavy feeling in my gut.My head snaps to her, searching for any traces of what might be happening and for a minute all I can feel is Maya telling her thereâs something wrong with the boy.Thereâs something wrong with Axios.Before anyone can pull another breath, I feel my wife fill herself with power so pure it leaks into me and sets my nerve endings on fire.âEverybody down, Now!âThe blast of wind Scarlett releases makes a boom when it rips out. Screams come from the attendants now on the floor, the shrill whistles of arrows are almost masked by the boom of air but not quite. I see the arrows fly back with the force of a snapped twig and they find targets.Scarlett fills herself with that power again, needing not even a second to fill herself up, already primed for an attack while I'm still trying to make sense of it all.The orders come from my lips not a moment later, âEVERYO