Scarlett (Second Edition) by Karima Saad Usman novel Chapter 95

Scarlett

Chapter 95

Scarlett’s POV

I looked over at Clay, hoping to find something in his eyes a flicker of understanding, forgiveness, anything But he turned away, unable to even look at me. My heart sank. Then I glanced at Maxwell, and his face was a storm of anger; he turned his gaze from me, too, like I wasn’t worth his attention.

Finally, I looked at Lucian. The silence between us spoke volumes. I guess deep down, I still hoped they’d protect me, that they’d cover for me, because they were my mates. They were supposed to shield me, weren’t they?

But then I looked at the crowd gathered around us, and the fury in their faces was unmistakable. I knew I was done for. If their Alphas weren’t here, they’d kill me. It was in the eyes of the people. They wanted me dead. Why would my desperation to escape warrant so much hatred?

The Guard continued to strip away my clothes, piece by piece, exposing me not just to the cold but to the judgment and wrath of everyone watching. I struggled to hold back the tears, knowing all too well what punishment awaited me. I was trembling, my heart hammering in my chest.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice cracking as the tears slipped out despite my efforts to hold them back. “Let me go. You have everything. The south is yours.

Let me go. I have no wolf no pack, no ally. I won’t be a threat to anyone. Please,” I begged, my voice rising in desperation as I felt the cold bite of the wind

against my bare skin. I was left in nothing but my undergarments, every bit of my vulnerability on display.

I turned to Clay, clinging to one last shred of hope. “Clay, please,” I choked out freezing inside.

But his face twisted in disgust. “Don’t you dare say my name,” he snarled, his voice raw with betrayal.

“I trusted you. I loved you. And this…this is what you do? Maxwell, Lucian, and I–we loved you, Scarlett. We put aside every warning and ignored every red flag. We tried to see you as separate from your father’s crimes, to believe you weren’t like him. But you threw it all back in our faces. You proved us wrong. You showed us you’re exactly like Nickolay Vladislav. His blood runs in your veins, and now we all see it.”

He paused, his voice breaking with an anger and pain that tore into me. “Look around, Scarlett. People died yesterday from the poison you put in the water, and don’t you dare deny it. There are eyewitnesses who saw you coming from the reservoir. Or will you say they are lying, too? That they are conspiring against you? Children died, innocent lives–you took them away. I hope you can live with yourself.”

His words cut me to my core, slicing through whatever was left of my strength. I was in shock. All along I had thought this was all because I tried to escape. I had never meant to hurt anyone, let alone kill. All I’d wanted was to escape. I now realised the gravity of the situation.

I had accidentally killed Lucian’s people. The only reason I was even still breathing was because of the mate bond, and I knew that bond was all that stood between me and my end. Knowing I couldn’t argue this situation, I decided to give up and stop trying. I would never be wanted anywhere.

୮

“Please… kill me,” I begged, my voice trembling as I looked at Lucian Of all three of them, he was the one who might just grant me that wish. I needed him to hear me, to understand the agony tearing me apart from the inside.

“Please,” I repeated, my voice cracking, “I don’t want to live anymore. I am tired. Let me die. Take my life. With everything stripped away from me, at least let me have this.”

Lucian’s face hardened, his jaw clenched, his eyes full of barely restrained fury.

“I can’t put your blood on my hands, Scarlett. None of us can.” His voice was harsh, yet tears rimmed his eyes, betraying the storm of emotions he was struggling to contain. He was a man who could love deeply but could hate just as fiercely.

“Giving you the mercy of death? No, that’s a kindness we’re not willing to grant. We aren’t allowed to grant. The law is the law, and even we can’t override it,” He said, the tears escaping his eyes. He, too was in pain.

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11:28 am

Chapter 95

PP

Lucian turned away from me, wiped away his tears, then looked at me, his gaze distant yet burning with anger.

“Strip her!” he shouted to the guards, his voice a final sentence. He looked back at me, his expression icy. “Let’s see how you survive the bitter cold without a wolf to protect you. If we can’t kill you, maybe the winter will, and it won’t be a quick end, Scarlett. It will be slow. Painful. This is for the people you

murdered, the innocent lives you look and the hearts you shattered in the process, my heart, our hearts”

Tears streamed down my face, no longer restrained. There was no pride left in me, nothing but raw, exposed shame and despair. I had wanted to be free, to

run from it all, but now, here I was, wolfless, left to the mere of an unforgiving winter and a community that saw me as nothing more than a traitor.

The guards tore away what was left of my clothes, leaving me exposed to the sharp bite of the wind. I could feel the cold wrapping itself around me, slicing through my skin, my bones. I shivered violently, feeling my dignity shred away with each gust.

“Clay!” I sobbed, desperate, my voice cracking. “Please, don’t leave me here like this. Maxwell!” But they kept walking, their backs a wall I couldn’t reach. “Please!” I screamed, voice breaking as I watched them leave.

“It wasn’t intentional! I just wanted to get away!” I cried into the cold air, but I knew my words were futile. Nothing could absolve me of what had happened. My actions hadn’t just broken their trust; they had cost lives. People had died, innocents who had no reason to suffer for my mistakes. It was so much bigger than infidelity or betrayal. I was responsible for a tragedy, a weight I would never shake.

I watched the alphas disappear from view, their forms fading like the last sliver of hope. The crowd, too, began to dissipate, their condemnation in every look they cast my way. And then I was alone–bare, shivering, and utterly alone in the empty square.

“Please!” I screamed again, my voice barely a whisper now, lost to the cold. “Please…” My pleas trailed off into the silence. No one was listening. They had all turned away. I looked up at the sky, praying for darkness, for an end to come quickly, to be swallowed by the night. But the cold had its own timeline, and I knew that peace was far off, leaving me to face each passing moment in silent, shivering agony.

Comments

Michele Gremillion

2 Comments >

she is now a merciless wolf. she killed innocent people, the guilt must be heavy on her. she became just as ruthless as her father.

7 days ago

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