Standing in the middle of the room, her dooming new reality settled in. This would be the last time she’d see this room. The last two hours of living under her parents’ roof, of being trapped in this tower. A very large part of her was scared. The tower was all she’d ever known. She’d never experienced the freedom her mates promised her. The fear of regret was looming dangerously in the back of her mind. But when her eyes fell on the screen in her hands, she knew this was inevitable.
Sweet Scarlett,
We’ll have your back. We know what this means for you, and we promise to always watch over you. From afar or from beside you, we are here and will always protect you.
She inhaled deeply and fell onto the bed, rereading their message, and letting the words give her courage. Scarlett waited, and soon enough she felt them nearby, exactly where they usually were.
She tossed the backpack over her shoulder and then peeked out of her room. She couldn’t hear her mother and when she saw the living room was clear, she rushed into the elevator. With each floor she descended and then with each step she took down to the basement, Scarlett’s heart beat a little bit faster. She dropped her backpack at the bottom of the basement steps and walked down the dim hallway to where Vince was held. The two warriors stepped closer to each other, blocking her path.
“Move,” she hissed, earning herself raised eyebrows in return. She wasn’t known to speak up or give orders.
Shocked, the warriors stepped aside and one of them pushed the door open. Kurt came into view, his wolf raging behind his darkened irises. Sweat beaded along his hairline and blood coated his fist—it wasn’t his own.
Scarlett stepped forward, stomach churning. “Move,” she commanded.
Without waiting for him to follow through, she shoved past him. Like the gentleman he was trained to be, he didn’t lay a hand on her to stop her. He didn’t want to hurt her or smear her with the blood. Vince still dangled from the ropes. He was hardly recognisable, his nose and eyes battered and swollen. Blood oozed from a cut in his lip, soaking into the remains of his shirt that had been torn open, exposing the slashes and bruises over his torso. Scarlett’s first instinct was to run to him, but shestopped herself. Movement from his left caught her attention, and she found Maximilian standing beside him. Upon further inspection of the space, her father and Felix observed from the side of the room.
“Your mother was supposed to keep an eye on you,” her father stated.
Scarlett squared her shoulders, and stared him down. “That’s what I assumed.”
“Do you recognise him?”
“Yes.” Vince flinched and gave a small shake of his head, but Scarlett was determined. He didn’t want her giving up her family, but she’d known that this would come for weeks now. “But he wasn’t the one to take me.”
“You were barely conscious,” Kurt intervened.
For a heartbeat, her eyes rested on Kurt who’d appeared beside Maximilian. “I’m telling you, it wasn’t him.”
“Scarlett,” Maximilian started, though very softly as if he was speaking to a child.Ugh. “I know you don’t want anyone to be hurt, but Kurt told us about the incident at the ice café.”
“Ah, yes, the conclusions are thickening,” she taunted. For a split second, she could see Ezra’s proud smile before her eyes. He’d made it very clear that he enjoyed her fiercer side. He’d love every second of this. But when her eyes drifted to Vince, her heart bled for his pain. “Tell them.”
He stared at her, silent and unmoving.
“It’s okay. Tell them, Vince.” She could feel the air around her thicken with tension, because they’d just figured out thatsheknew his name. “Tell them how you came for me. Tell them how you killed them to save me and how you waited in the shadows for my pack to rescue me. How you only left once I was safe and sound in the arms of my brother.”
Vince stayed silent.
“Because that’s what you’ll always do. You’ll always come for me. You’llalwaysprotect me.”
Her father stepped forward and Vince finally pulled at his restraints.
“Tie him loose,” she demanded, and it felt good to finally stand up to her father, to feel her backbone and not crumble beneath his alpha power. “Tie mymateloose.”
Her father’s chest rattled as her betrayal settled into his soul. His nails turned into claws, eyes glowing with his wolf. “Your mate, you said?”
“Yes.”
And with a dark chuckle, he stepped towards Vince and sent his fist flying into his chest. The sickening crack echoed through the room, making acid creep up Scarlett’s oesophagus. Vince stayed silent, not making even a single whimper as he spat up a mouthful of blood. Her father swung again and for a second, she was afraid it was a lethal blow. But instead, her father cut the ropes with his claws. Vince’s weak limbs unable to brace the impact, he landed facedown on the concrete.
Scarlett rushed to him and grabbed him under his arm. “Get up.” His body shaking, she pulled him to his knees.
“Leave.” The growl made her eyes snap up to her father, and she knew what his next words would cause. “You are no longer welcomed under my roof.”
With that, the bond she’d shared with her family and pack was ripped from her soul. The pain nearly made her weep, but she couldn’t let it break her. She had to get Vince out. Had to get him to Ezra and Mateo, praying that they would be waiting. She tugged Vince to his feet and draped his arm over her shoulders. He dragged alongside her, but he was moving. They made their way into the hallway and to the stairs, blood leaving a trail in their wake.
“Scarlett,” Vince muttered, most likely the first sound he’d made in hours.
