Chapter 56
Scarlett’s POV
The edge in his voice scraped something raw in me. I’m not sneaking around, Lucien. I’m sure you know that too. And if 1 decide to face him, it will be on my terms, not his
He stepped closer, shadows sharpening the lines of his jaw. His voice dropped to a low growl. “Then let me be there when you do.”
Heat flared in my chest–anger, defiance, and something else I refused to name.
“This isn’t about protecting me from him. It’s about proving to the council that I’m not chained to his shadow”
I saw his eyes burn, the storm inside him pulling at something in me I didn’t want to admit. His voice dropped, quieter but sharper. “I’m reminding you that you don’t have to fight every battle alone, Scarlett.
“You think I don’t know that?” My voice rose. “Every time he corners me, every rumor he and his mistress spread, it isn’t just me they look at–it’s you too. If I lean on you, Lucien, they’ll twist it until I’m nothing more than a woman hiding behind her Alpha! Do you want that? Do you want me painted as weak?”
His jaw tightened. “What I want is to keep him from breaking you.”
I was about to speak when I felt Kaya stir inside me, stopping me from arguing with Lucien.
‘Scarlett, it is not Alexander or anyone else who could break you… but the distance you keep from the one who stands by your side.‘
I paused. Just as one of us was about to press the matter further, there was a sharp knock that interrupted the scene.
I watched him stride forward and yank the door open.
“Speak,” he said coldly, his voice filled with authority.
A pack scout stood there, bowing quickly. “Alpha Lucien, Luna Scarlett. I have urgent news.”
“What is it?” Lucien’s tone was clipped, impatient.
The scout’s gaze flickered nervously between us, as if he had just realized he had interrupted something and had come at the wrong time. “Alexander has been spotted near the northern border. Close to Nightshade Territory.”
The words hit me like stones in my gut. Kaya surged forward in my mind, teeth bared.
‘He’s pushing. He wants you to come to him. That jerk.‘
Lucien glared into my eyes, blade to blaze. “This is just bait.”
“I know.” My voice was steady, though my pulse hammered hard enough to shake me. “The question is… do we ignore the bait, or rip the hook from his hands?”
Lucien stepped closer again, close enough for me to feel his heat. “You’re not going there. Not this time. I won’t allow it.”
I arched a brow, refusing to flinch. “You think you can stop me? Whether I go or not, it’s my decision.”
His jaw flexed, but he didn’t answer. The silence was enough.
1/4
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Kaya just ignored me.
We had barely crossed the ridge when we heard shouting, Male voices–sharp and eating the kind that conti ser drenges stone if anger had weight.
My heart leapt into my throat and I spurred my horse forward. We swept through a row of gines, and there they were Lucien and Alexander, confronting each other like opposing storms
Lucien stood rigid, squared shoulders ready to spring, his voice low and deadly. “You crossed the border nied. That‘ not diplomacy–that’s provocation”
Alexander stood with the cool composure I knew too well, hands clasped behind his back and a douchy posture dur betrayed a practically indifferent nonchalance, as if Lucien’s fury were no more than a passing breeze.
A rolled parchment hung loosely in his hand. “I’m here on diplomatic business. Nothing more!
“Diplomatic?” Lucien barked a laugh devoid of humor. “You’ve stalked these lands for werks, sent letters meant spread your poison through the council, and you dare dress it up as diplomacy?
Alexander’s smile was thin. “It’s not poison if it’s the truth?
2/4
11:01 am 64
Chapter 36
Murmurs followed among the gathered warriors. My guards exchanged glances and dragged. I kne whatever was spoken here would reach the council by the next day, every singer word.
I swung out of the saddle and my boots crunched on the wet ground. “Enough”
Both men turned their eyes to me. Alexander’s gaze lingered, slow and deliberate, as if he wanted row to feel and my bones. Lucien’s was different–sharp, protective, desperate to shield me from a storm I had already walked when
“If you want to talk, Alexander, there are proper channels, I said evenly. “You know the count’s laws as well do
He tilted his head, measuring the distance between us. “And if I told you this matter was personal
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