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Scarlet
Taylor laughs softly. He sweeps towards me, and I don’t have time to back away before he kisses me. Then he withdraws, leaving me senseless and even more confused, he quirks an eyebrow.
“I thought it was obvious, War. We are here to talk. To apologise, to grovel, whatever you need to hear so that you’ll give us another chance.” He takes my hand and pulls me towards the house.
I walk in, and all I smell is them. He drags me into the lounge and sits down in the armchair, pulling me onto his lap.
“I’d known about you for a while, but I knew you had a pack. When they met Barren and brought him home, I’d been about to start courting you. Your pack be damned. Almost at the same time, Art brought home Merry. I couldn’t approach you while we had so much turmoil in our lives, and then the attack happened,” Taylor murmurs and lifts my hand, kissing my palm. “I bought the manor because you had ties to the town. I knew you’d come home, eventually. I just needed to wait. But Merry found us. I received letters. She threatened you. I brought you into this. I needed to protect you.”
“I can protect myself,” I snap. I close my eyes and moan. “Someone was living in my cottage. I kept finding things and signs of life. Prank phone calls, the letters. She was hunting you guys the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“You broke up with me to keep me safe?” I ask the question very carefully and very clearly.
“Those two were tricky. Elusive. They’d already shown they could take down an entire pack. I knew if I told you, you would be all in. Because that’s who you are. Miss I’m-Going-To-Help-My-Omega-Friend-Missy-Take-Down-A-Sex-Trafficking-Syndicate.”
My cheeks burn, and when I take a glance at the pack, they are all staring at me. I bite my lower lip to hide my smile and shrug.
“So, you said-“ I cut myself off short.
“We lied,” Taylor says calmly, with regret. “We lied to keep you safe. Lying to you is easily the hardest thing I’ve had to do. But to keep both you and Barren safe, it’s what we had to do.”
I seethe, glaring at him.
“But that wasn’t my entire plan.”
I sense the tension in the group, the sudden alertness.
Taylor smiles humourlessly. “You were my backup plan in case I failed again. See, I didn’t trust myself anymore. But I trusted you.”
“You bet on me?” I murmur, staring at him, shocked.
“Yes.” Taylor hisses. “If I failed at protecting Barren, then you might succeed. You’re more intuitive, less inclined to listen to pack politics, you react faster, more violently. You’re devoted to this pack. I thought, maybe, you might save them when I failed.”
I stare at him. This man, this alpha, might actually be insane. I’m going to have so much fun finding out.
“It was a gamble,” Taylor murmurs. “One that might still cost us everything.”
“Do they know what I did?” I ask loudly in challenge.
Jet reaches for my hand and pulls me up off Taylor. “Of course, we know. We just love you more.”
My lungs seize, and I stare at him, desperate to divine the truth. There’s so much feeling in his eyes, so much emotion. It’s real. It’s all real.
“You purred for me.” Barren says quietly. “If they were around or on the run, you wouldn’t have purred.”
Jet moves, drawing my attention again. “You weren’t alone, Scarlet.”
I blink at him, not sure what he means.
“You weren’t alone because Acton followed you in his truck all the way to the city. He stayed with you all this time. Refused to leave you. Said we needed to fix things.”
I find the giant of a man and study him in surprise. “You were here? The flowers, the dress, the presents, that was you?”
“I couldn’t let you go,” He mumbles. “You’re Barren’s alpha. You’re my queen. You’re Jet’s family. You’re the woman Taylor fell in love with at first sight, and you're Gold's soulmate. You can’t be anywhere else but here with us. We were blind with panic, and I don’t know if we were wrong, but I do know I don’t ever want to do it again.”
“Why make me wait?” I challenge angrily, stomping into a space that isn’t occupied. “Why all these weeks of presents and gifts? Where were you?” I scream at them.
