“I need to finish this…” I say. I can’t go until I’m done.
Opening my eyes, I look into her pain-filled green eyes. I kissed her lips softly before moving back. I see the slight movement in Fiona’s hand and know what I need to do.
“You’re lucky Scarlett came,” I murmur, before I turn and stop in front of her. Her face is deathly pale, her hair limp and soaking. Her eyes are half-open, as if too lost in the pain she is in to even look at me or comprehend what is being said. “Not that you deserve this, but I’ll make this quick.” Not waiting for a reply or any sign of acknowledgement, I reach forward and snap her neck with a sickening crunch.
Scarlett gasps as Fiona’s head drops forward on her chest and her heart stops beating. “Leave her here until tomorrow,” I tell the guards as I take the gloves off, tossing them to the ground before I take Scarlett’s hand and lead her away.
“Elijah… promise me something…” she says softly, her heart still thudding violently. I look at her, grabbing a towel from the rack near the entrance to the cells and wipe some of the blood off me.
“I’ll promise you if I can, but not blindly. What is it?” I ask quietly, leading her up to the ground floor of the packhouse and towards the entrance hall.
“Stop blaming yourself.” I freeze in my tracks, about to reach for the front door, but now turn to her.
“What do you mean?” I ask, although I know exactly what she means. It’s been the one thing on my mind. The one screaming the loudest. The one thought I don’t want to face or admit.
If I hadn’t been involved with Fiona, all of this could have been avoided.
“Stop acting stupid, you know what I mean,” she says, her voice clipped before she wraps her arms around my bloody and sweat-soaked neck and places a soft kiss on my mate mark, making my breath hitch as delicious pleasure rushes through me. “She was a part of your past; we all have one. What she became was due to her own choices. Whatever happened has happened. It’s not your fault. Let’s move on from this, baby. Please.”
I hold her tightly, my muscular arms tight around her tiny waist. I caress her sides, thinking she is so tiny, yet so strong.
“You’re right,” I say quietly, sighing deeply. Taking a deep whiff of her hair to calm myself, I let her scent fill my senses. Tomorrow is the mass funeral and then we can move on from all of this.
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” she says softly.
“Yeah…”
We leave together, the journey in silence. When we return home, the house is dead quiet and I realise I must have been down in the cells for a few hours. “Shall I run you a bath or do you want a shower?”
“Join me,” I say quietly, not answering her questions.
She looks into my eyes and nods. She has splatters of blood on her now, too. Letting me take her hand, I lead her to the bathroom that we share. We mostly sleep in my room as it is the furthest away.
We step under the shower after stripping, our eyes appreciating the other. Scarlett blushes lightly, seeing my gaze fall on her now bare pussy. My eyes darken as she squeezes her thighs together, as if that could stop me if I so wanted. I switch the water on and pull her close as the cool water becomes warmas it pours over both of us.
“Red…” I begin quietly as we stand under the water. She looks up into my eyes. My gaze is fixed on her breasts as I try to form the words I want to ask. I can’t look her in the eye.
I can sense her concern as she presses her body against mine and tilts her head up to look me in the eye. So much for being taller than her. Even if I look down, she can look me in the eye.
“What’s wrong?” she asks worriedly, cupping my face, forcing me to look her in the eyes.
“When Liam… before he died… he said you were his dream, then you kissed him,” I say, unable to stop the sudden flare of anger. My own emotions confuse me.
It hurts he’s gone. I’m angry I lost so many pack members, frustrated, hurting, I don’t fucking know. My emotions are a tornado of turmoil and they seek an outlet. Most of my emotions are blocked off, but I know she senses my anger as she tenses in my arms for a second. But she doesn’t speak, as if knowing that I am not yet done. “If things had turned out differently or if Liam had turned out to be your mate, would you have chosen him?” I ask the question that makes guilt rush to the forefront of my mind. That storm. I’m jealous of my dead friend. I feel terrible but it will eat up at me if I don’t know. I have to.
The image of them kissing flashes through my mind.
She’s silent for a moment before she sighs heavily.
“I won’t apologise for that kiss. It was all I could give him, at least something to cherish before he passed away,” she says softly, and a flash of anger ripples through me. My grip on her hips tightens possessively. She’s unwavering as she continues. “But if he had been my mate or anyone else had, I still would have chosen you. You’re the one I love. It’s your every touch,every gaze, every word that consumes my body and mind. You are the one I have given myself to. How can I give away something I no longer possess? You hold my heart, Elijah. You, and only you. There was no pleasure in that kiss. From my side, it was just a pure, simple farewell kiss. I loved Liam, but as a friend, nothing more.”
I hold her gaze, knowing she isn’t lying. I understand why she did it, even if I don’t like it. But like always, her words always calm me, dispelling the tirade of emotions that were threatening to consume me. She takes a deep breath before she speaks once more.
“I love you, Elijah, and I always will. Only you.”
There is so much conviction in those words, in her emotions, in those sage green eyes, that there is no space for doubt. I don’t reply, pulling her into a passionate kiss, fuelled by all my emotions. Needing her like the very air one needs to breathe.
As We Move On
