Scarlett (Second Edition) by Karima Saad Usman novel Chapter 97

11:28 am PP

Scarlett

Chapter 97

Lucian’s POV

After an hour, Clay stopped, his face filled with dread. “Shouldn’t we go back out there?” he asked quietly, as if the suggestion itself hurt.

I met his gaze, my chest aching with the same guilt. “She probably thinks we hate her… that we’re abandoning her to their cruelty,” I murmured. “But it was necessary. If we hadn’t tied her to that post, if we hadn’t made it look like we were condemning her, they would’ve beaten her to death right there. It was brutal, yes… but it was the lesser evil.” Maxwell’s voice was steady, but could hear the strain beneath it, as if he were trying to convince himself as much

as us.

Finally, I couldn’t bear it any longer. I took a deep breath, feeling a sliver of resolve harden within me. “Now,” I said, and Maxwell immediately moved, grabbing a few pieces of clothing for Scarlett. We hurriedly got dressed, our hearts pounding with the urgency of our plan.

When we reached the clearing, dread pooled in my stomach. Scarlett was gone. Her bonds were loosened, and the post stood empty, the ropes dangling. My heart pounded, and I could feel panic clawing at my throat. We searched the area frantically, our eyes scanning every shadow, every corner.

“Someone must have pitied her, set her free,” I whispered, the desperation leaking into my voice. But the fear gnawed at me–who had done this? Was it someone with kindness in their heart, or someone who meant to harm her further? The thought sent a jolt of panic through me. I needed to find her, to know she was safe.

“Please… please be alright,” I whispered to the empty air, hoping, praying that she was somewhere safe, far away from harm.

The only way to track her was by scent, so I shifted, my wolf senses sharpening as I followed the faint trail she’d left behind. Clay and Maxwell did the same, and together we moved, silent and determined, following the faint whispers of her scent through the night. For an hour, we tracked her, following the soft indentations of her footsteps on the ground. Each step seemed heavier than the last, and we found a spot where she had fallen, her outline pressed into the dirt. I swallowed hard, wondering if she had been running naked, or if someone had the decency to give her clothes.

The scent led us to the edge of the road, where the faint trace of burnt rubber filled the air. Scarlett’s scent ended here, suddenly, sharply. I sniffed the air, piecing together what had happened. My heart dropped as realization hit me like a blow–she had hitched a ride.

I fell to my haunches by the side of the road, feeling a helplessness so profound it almost swallowed me whole. She was gone, out of our reach, vanishing into the night. I stared at the empty highway stretching out before me, my chest tightening with a sorrow so deep it felt like drowning.

I let out a low, mournful howl, a plea to the moon, a prayer that wherever she was, she would be safe.

“We need to head back, Tiger,” Neo’s voice was steady, but I could feel the anguish in every word. My wolf, Tiger, growled softly, his spirit mirroring my own pain, torn between the instinct to keep searching and the reality that we had to return. I glanced at Vinn, who looked shattered, his face lined with guilt and grief. We could feel each other’s pain–an ache so deep that it was hard to breathe. I couldn’t blame her for running, for leaving us behind. We had acted so convincingly that she believed we’d abandoned her, that we’d condemned her to die. The guilt was suffocating. We’d wanted her to believe it, to make it look real enough to protect her. But we’d gone too far, and now.. we had lost her.

If we had been just a bit more careful, we might have caught Gregory. We were so close to exposing him, to exonerating Scarlett, to putting everything right. But now, with her gone, would it even matter?

“We need to launch a search for her,” Vinn said, his voice tinged with panic as he shifted back to his human form. I followed, feeling the weight of hopelessness settle in as Maxwell returned to human form as well. Clay was barely holding it together; the strain showed in the lines around his eyes, the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. None of us could hold ourselves steady. We were a mess, broken and desperate.

11:28am PPS

Chapter 97

Comments

Michele Gremillte

f Commen

she caused damage too. however u didn’t believe her, u made her feel like she was alone, u didn’t have to cut her off u could have mindlinked her telling her they were sear.. More

7 days ago

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