Scarlett (Second Edition) by Karima Saad Usman novel Chapter 113

Chapter 113

Maxwell’s POV

Every day we chased after shadows, hunting down Gregory Olsen, the one responsible for all of this. We’d let him go once to avoid a war with the West, thinking we were saving lives. But in sparing him, we’d sacrificed everything precious to us. While we were away, fighting battles and searching for him, what had Scarlett been enduring here? She had no wolf, no protection, nothing but her own strength. And in the end, it had pushed her to break.

I searched Clay’s face, hoping for news, a miracle even. But he shook his head, and I felt the faint spark of hope flicker and die.

“Quickly!” I barked at the guards, feeling the urge to release my anger on something, someone. “Bring me a silver whip.”

“Alpha, please!” Bianca sobbed, her face streaked with tears. Lucian staggered outside, drawn by her cries. She must have thought he’d come to save her. She didn’t know he despised her just as much as I did, maybe even more.

“She was your Luna!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the cold stone walls. “She showed you kindness! She gave you a chance to serve her, even after everything. And how did you repay her? You lied. You condemned her over a petty grudge. You put your own daughter above her, above all of us!”

I took a step closer, letting my words hit her with full force, my voice a low, dangerous growl. “Now, you’ll answer every question I ask, and you’ll tell me the truth. If not, I’ll peel the skin from your daughter’s bones.”

There was a horrified gasp from the crowd that had gathered, but I didn’t care. Laws and diplomacy meant nothing to me now. I’d lost everything trying to be diplomatic, trying to please everyone else. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Scarlett had left us because we were too weak, too focused on being fair when we should have fought for her. I would give anything to take that back, to be the Alpha she needed.

“Bring everyone responsible for Scarlett’s punishment,” I ordered the guards, my voice unyielding, as cold and unforgiving as the Winter around us. The guards scrambled to obey, their faces pale with fear as they rushed to gather the people I’d summoned.

I would find out who had truly betrayed her. I would make every single one of them answer for what they’d done. And if it was the last thing I ever did, I would prove to Scarlett that we would not abandon her again,

I’ll deal with them first,” I said, my voice tight with rage, “to give you time to tell us the truth about what happened, Bianca. Today, the law doesn’t matter to me.” My voice cracked, raw with a grief I couldn’t contain. “My mate ran away from me because of you and your accomplices. I have nothing left to lose. How can I be an Alpha without my Luna?” Tears blurred my vision, and for a moment, I could see the fear etched on every face around me. They sensed the depth of my loss, the fractured soul within me, and it scared them.

The guards dragged two servants forward, shackled in chains. Their eyes darted around, frantic, as they were tied up to a metal bar. They were a man and a woman, and I was roudly to make them answer for their betrayal.

inion stood beside me, a hollow shell. He was numb, his pain just as deep as mine, but neither of us had the luxury to break down

10:40 Wed, Jun 10 MAA·

Chapter 113

now.

“Yes,” I said, my voice steady but laced with bitterness. “Her attempt to escape…yes, it cost lives. But let’s not forget, it was be of people like these–people who tormented her, who pushed her so far that she had no choice but to flee.” The crowd fell silent, the weight of truth settling over them like a heavy fog. They knew, as I did, that this wasn’t just about Scarlett running. It was about betrayal, about cruelty disguised as duty.

I felt like I was unraveling. Scarlett was gone, lost somewhere I couldn’t reach, and the rage simmering in my veins/was the only thing keeping me together. I needed her; her calm, her gentleness was the only thing that ever soothed me. And now, because these monsters, she’d left, seeing us as nothing more than tyrants. I had heard of the Northerners‘ coldness, their unfeeling traditions, but I never thought I’d see it for myself, not like this.

I approached the servants, now shackled, their arms pulled above their heads, their bodies vulnerable. “Strip them,” I ordered, my voice hollow. Murmurs rose from the crowd, quiet sobs, but I didn’t care. This wasn’t a time for mercy.

“You had one duty,” I said, my voice growing louder, angrier with every word. “One duty while we were away–to care for your Luna

to make sure she was safe while we fought to clear her name. Why didn’t you do your job?” Silence met my question, a guilty,

cowardly silence.

“Why was she underfed?” I roared. “Why was she forced to labour, to go hungry, while you ignored her suffering?” My voice shook. and then Lucian, trembling with his own fury, took the whip from my hand. Without a word, he struck them both, the whip cracking through the air, drawing blood. They cried out in pain, but I felt no pity.

“Why?” I demanded, my voice barely holding back the agony within me. “Answer me!”

The woman, face wet with tears, finally broke down. “Elder Tasha and Elder Timothy ordered it,” she sobbed. “They told us to ignore your orders, Alpha… They told us to make sure she suffered, to force her to carry out her punishment.”

hollow realization settled over me. I’d suspected the Elders‘ interference, their ruthlessness, but hearing it confirmed–hearing that they had undermined our authority and crushed Scarlett’s spirit–made my rage rise to a dangerous peak.

“So, Tasha and Timothy are your Alphas now, are they?” I sneered, stepping closer, my voice dripping with contempt. “Since when did Elders rule? Since when did their word become more powerful than that of the Alphas?”

Comments

Michele Gremillion

wow, maximus is almost on the verge of insanity.

days ago

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