Page 7 of Shades of Scars

Apollo and Lark are going to lose their absolute shit.

I can see the indecision warring in her eyes while they bounce back and forth between Caito and I. “Y-you’re letting me go?” Disbelief colors her words, and I shrug, even though the otherwise indifferent gesture fucking annihilates me. It’s hard to feign indifference, when all I want to do is gather her up in my arms, and sink my teeth and cock inside of her. It’s enough to nearly bring me to my knees.

If she walks away from me, I’ll never recover.

Shit. I’ve barely gotten the scent of her, and I already know I’ll never be able to stay away. I have it just as bad as Caito, and if I know my other pack brothers as well as I think I do, Apollo and Lark won’t be any different.

Finally, Caito speaks, and hearing his voice causes me to startle slightly. Our omega notices. “He’s giving you a choice,mo chroí. We may be your alphas, but we will not be the ones to chain you.” His words shock the hell out of me, leaving me gaping. Seconds ago, he’d been ready to beat the life out of anyone that stood between him and our omega.

Now he’s offering her a lifeline?

Jesus fucking Christ. I can’t handle the whiplash of emotions being tossed around right now.

“You’re notmyalphas. I don’t need or want alphas.” She straightens up then from where she’d been cowering in the corner between my personal bar and a bookcase, finally taking a single step forward. Such a brave little thing. I want to praise her for the slightly upward tilt of chin and the fire crackling in her dark eyes, but I wisely keep my mouth shut.

Caito–in another turn of shocking events–takes a step back instead of forward. However, his next words strum a chord within her all the same, making her expression shudder slightly. “We’re letting you walk away now,mo chroí, but make no mistake. You belong tous. We know it, and you know it.” Even though he’s across the room, he leans in as her eyes flare wide for a split second, before narrowing on him fully in agitation. “But do try to run. I’m anexcellenthuntsman.”

He practically purrs those last words, but she bares her teeth at him in a challenge. Little does she know that it’ll only egg him on more. Caito’s a fucking animal when he catches the scent of something he wants.

And boy does he want this fiery little omega.

Shit. So do I, dammit.

“I’m leaving now.” She says instead of challenging him in a way I can clearly tell she’d do. Caito just grins like a fucking psycho, and takes another step back, clearing a path for her so she can make her way around us to the open doorway. It’s a taunt if I’ve ever witnessed one in my life.

“Please, will you allow one of my security team personnel to escort you back home?” I cut in before she can take so much as a handful of steps away from us towards the exit. With each foot of distance she puts between us, my heart constricts painfully in my chest until it feels like I can’t take a proper breath of air.

She pauses, chewing on her bottom lip.She wants to argue. I can see it in her eyes, but I can also see her contemplating it. Maybe she thinks if she allows one of my guys to get her home safely, then there will be less of a possibility that one of us stalks her home.

Fat fucking chance, Sweetheart.

“How do I know he won’t just report back to you where I live?” She narrows her eyes on me, ignoring Caito practically salivating at the mouth where he stands a few feet away from her. It’s probably too close for comfort if she has anything to say about it, but she doesn’t.

“You’ll just have to trust us.” I shrug, showing that casual dismissal again that makes me feel like I’m swallowing shards of glass.

She hesitates, but only for a few more seconds, before she dips her head. “One escort home.” She concedes, and I feel myself deflate like a balloon.

She doesn’t need to know that Caito will be trailing them the entire way. It’s best if she doesn’t realize just how truly psychotic we can get when it comes to keeping her safe.

And it’s about to get a hell of a lot worse.

Her small frame hesitates by the door when she reaches it, and I already have my phone out to text Gus in the hallway to take her home. When our eyes meet again, my breath hitches in my throat at the raw longing in her expression, gone so quick the next second that I almost doubt if it had even been there.

Then she’s gone. Leaving behind devastation in her wake.

I wait for all of a handful of heartbeats before I say, “Follow her. Keep her safe. Report back once she’s home.” I trust Gus to an extent, but everyone who isn’t pack in this city are virtually strangers to us.

“I’m going to have to gut Gus later if he comes around me smelling like her.” Caito warns in a low rumble, and the sentiment is mutual between us. Hopefully he does the right thing and keeps his distance from her while he delivers her back home.

Caito leaves before I can so much as utter another word, shutting the door behind him in his wake with enough force it makes me shudder.

With the scent of smokey jasmine and citrus utterly wrecking all of my senses, I settle back in my desk chair and free my cock from the restrictive confines of my slacks.

I make myself come in record time, gasping on her essence clogging my office.I’m such a fucking goner.

5

Scarlett

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