002 | A WOLFLESS WEREWOLF

Enzo’s POV

I looked down at my watch. I rocked back on my heels. I sighed. “Are you ready yet?” 

There was a tremble in my mate’s voice – Scarlett’s voice, I corrected, though even thinking the word mate sent a flush of heat roaring through me – as she replied. “Nearly, Alpha Enzo. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I said, my eyebrows pinching together. Why would she be sorry? What did she have to be sorry for?

I frowned at the closed door. She’d not let me follow her into her room, though she’d given me no explanation as to why – but her pretty face had reddened and her upturned, blue-green eyes had glittered. She’d turned away quickly, her auburn hair whipping through the space between us, creating a physical barrier that had made me wonder if she truly wanted me to claim her.

She was mine, after all. Despite my impatience, a smile pushed at my lips. I’d waited four years for this and, though I knew nothing about her, about my Scarlett, I knew that she was perfect for me. I scrubbed a hand over my stubble, embarrassed to feel my own face heating. My heart was thumping hard in my chest, and the call of the mate bond was so strong, so violent, that it took everything I had to respect her wishes and remain out here, in this dank and dingy hallway.

“Okay.” She inhaled shakily. “I’m sor– ah.”

I stepped closer to the door, my keen ears picking up every sound from within the room. The slight echo to her footsteps made me think it was small and mostly empty which, I hoped, meant that she really was almost ready to leave. I just wanted to be near her, with her, holding her…

I pressed my palm flat to her bedroom door. The wood grain felt rough and slightly warm. “You don’t have to be nervous around me, you know.” I tried to keep my tone light. I knew what sort of reputation I had and what she probably thought of me, but she was my mate. I was hardwired to adore her.

“I’m not nervous,” she said, but the tremor in her lilting voice, sweet as syrup but with a spine of steel, gave her away. 

My lips twitched. “Then why can’t I come in?”

Her tone hardened in an instant. “You just can’t,” she said, but her remorse was just as immediate: “I’m sorry, Alpha Enzo. I didn’t mean to be rude.” Her throat sounded thick, her voice wet with unshed tears. 

I bit back a growl. She was hurting. My mate was hurting.

“Please, Scarlett,” I murmured, pressing closer still to the damn block of wood that was keeping us apart, “let me in.” My hands curled into fists.

“No need.” She flung the door open, shoved out her case, and shut it again so fast that I couldn’t react quickly enough to see inside. 

I stepped back smoothly, my brow pulling taut. The air suddenly felt too thin; oxygen alone was no longer enough to keep me alive. I needed her, now: the beautiful woman before me, her waist-length hair pulled back into a loose braid, her full lips pursed, her small nose dashed with freckles and her cheeks sun-kissed. Round eyes met mine hesitantly, but she ducked her head before I could let myself drown in their depths.

I cleared my throat and offered her the crook of my arm. “You’ve not packed much,” I commented, lifting her case with my other hand. 

Her hand slid off my elbow and she fixed her gaze on the floor. “I don’t have much.” 

I brushed it off and took her hand in mine, squeezing it until she looked at me. Fuck, she was beautiful – hard-muscled but soft, too, her lips flushed and slightly parted, calling to me…

I put her case down and wrapped my arms around her. She froze for a second, her back stiffening, before she accepted the touch. She held herself rigidly in my arms; I brought my fingers to her tense shoulders and started to rub soothing circles into them. A shiver rolled through her.

“Nobody has ever…” she began, only to trail off.

“Ever what?” I murmured. Even though we were in the middle of the hallway, and anyone could walk past at any moment, we felt separate from the rest of the world in a way I’d never experienced before. A war could have broken out two feet from us and I doubted that I would’ve noticed.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

I brushed my fingertips down her cheek. “You can tell me anything.” I inhaled sharply. “I – I want you to tell me everything. I want to know more about you.”

She smiled slightly. Stars exploded in my soul at that tiny quirk of her lips. “This,” she paused, gesturing broadly between us, “the… mate bond.”

I grinned down at her. “What about it?”

“It’s… strange, isn’t it? I never expected to feel it.”

I snorted. “Yeah, me either. Have you been waiting a long time too, then?”

Her eyes turned distant. “I – I suppose I have.” A tiny pucker appeared between her thick eyebrows. I cupped her cheek, my fingertips brushing a curl of red-brown hair just in front of her ear. Her mouth… I wanted to kiss her. “Though it feels longer than it was.”

“I’m only twenty-two.” Perhaps if I offered up the first bit of information, she’d bite and reveal something about herself. “But those four years felt more like ten.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I can imagine.”

I bit back a sigh. Nothing. Her gaze darted anxiously down the corridor, and I wondered if she’d open up to me once we were out of Alpha Ryker’s territory. “Come on. Let’s go to the portal.”

Instantly she brightened, boldly taking my hand in hers and towing me away from her room. She grabbed her case and rolled it along behind us; gently, I pried it from her curled fingers, wanting to do even this one small thing for her.

“Thank you." She swallowed noisily before saying, "I’ve never used the portal before."

“Really?”

“I’ve never had a reason to.” She shrugged, and it was only then that I realised she’d changed out of the flowing silk gown she’d worn to the Mating Ball and into a well-worn sage coloured sweatshirt, its sleeves rolled up, and a pair of flared jeans. “I’ve always lived in the Desert Oak pack, even–”

She cut herself off again and bit her lip, hard enough to leave tiny crescents in the soft skin there. “Even?” I prompted, squeezing her hand.

We rounded the hallways in silence for a while. She was gentling me, making me want to give her all the time she needed to work through her thoughts. I revelled in the simple feel of her hand in mine, in the steady beat of her heart and the lulling rhythm of her breaths. I breathed deep, inhaling her scent of pine and crushed wild berries.

We trotted up a set of stairs in unison, though her feet slipped over the steps and I had to steady her more than once. My chest felt too full as she turned her bright smile up at me, surprise and gratitude clear in her wide eyes.

She never answered me, but as we came out into the foyer she broke the silence. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” she said. “I’ve never noticed just how pretty before.”

It was built entirely of glass, with scrubby bushes rounding its front and trailing plants climbing the roof overhead. Red desert stretched for miles outside, broken sporadically by acacia and gum trees. It was still warm here, with spring settling deep into the bones of the earth, and wildflowers in jars and vases bloomed in pastel shades of pink and blue and lilac.

“It is pretty.” I pulled her to a gentle halt and looked deep into her eyes. “But–”

She grinned. “If you say, ‘But not as pretty as you,’ I’m turning right back around and staying here.” She flushed and ducked her head as soon as she’d said it, but I was quick to catch her chin and pull her gaze up to meet mine.

“All right.” I shook my head, unable to stop a grin of my own from lighting my face. “You got me.”

“You’re nothing like I thought you’d be,” she murmured, her eyes wide with wonderment. She placed her hand on my chest, like she wanted to make sure I was real. “I’ve heard such stories about you.”

My expression darkened. “I can assure you, Scarlett, they’re all true.”

Her eyelashes fluttered. “Oh.”

“There you are.” Alpha Ryker’s cold voice cut through the serenity of the foyer. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Omega.”

Scarlett stiffened. “Alpha Ryker,” she said, bowing to him.

I glanced between them. That was weird.

He strode over to her, every step purposeful. “You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, now, were you?” he purred. 

Scarlett shrunk in on herself. “No, Alpha, of course not.”

“I hope you’re being honest with me, Omega.” His voice dropped to a whisper. I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but Scarlett’s hand trembled in mine. I clutched it tighter. “I would hate to think that you’d treat me like that after all I’ve done for you.” 

Ryker is an ugly little thing, I thought, openly glaring at him. His short hair and beard made his head look like a bowling ball, lightened by the Australian sun and made to look lighter still in contrast to the tanned skin beneath. Where Scarlett was sun-kissed, he was leathery.

“Of course not,” she mumbled again.

“As I said before,” I said swiftly, “Scarlett is my mate. That is the purpose of the Mating Ball, is it not, Ryker? I have found my mate and I wish to leave with her. She is under no obligation to say goodbye to you, or anyone else.” I turned to her and spoke softly. “But if there is anyone you want to say goodbye to before you go, you can.” 

My brow furrowed as I realised she’d made no move to speak to anyone before we left for the Moose Creek pack. We’d come straight from the ball to her room, even though there were hours left of dancing and music and feasting. 

“No, that’s okay.” Her throat bobbed. 

I wanted to pry, but not with Ryker leering over her. I turned to him. “Well, you heard her. There’s nobody she wants to say goodbye to. So we’ll be going now.” I levelled my gaze at him, his piggy little eyes squinting back at me as he tried to match my animosity.

“Of course there’s nobody else she wants to say goodbye to.” Ryker barked out a laugh. “She doesn’t have anybody.” He stepped closer, shoving me aside. I stood firm, but her hand fell from mine. “Except for me.”

She stared at his forehead and said, “Goodbye, Alpha Ryker.”

He pushed her. “Say it nicely.”

She swallowed hard before repeating, “Goodbye, Alpha Ryker.”

He balled his fist into the loose fabric of her sweater. His lip curled. “That’s not good enough.”

Scarlett’s jaw clenched, but her lips flapped helplessly. I couldn’t watch this for another second.

I grabbed Ryker by the shoulders and yanked him off her. He stumbled back, his pasty eyes narrowing. Then he laughed, the sound strange coming from such a dark and malevolent expression. “All of this for her?”

“Alpha Ryker, I’m sorry,” she said in a rush. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Please just let us leave, and then you never have to bother with me ever again.”

I put my arm around her. She was trembling; it made my heart ache. What the fuck had he done to her? “What do you mean, ‘All of this for her?’ She’s my mate, Ryker. Of course I want to protect her.”

He levelled his gaze at me. “It’s not me she needs protecting from.”

I scoffed. “We’re leaving.”

“She hasn’t told you, then?”

Scarlett went still in my arms. Too still. “Alpha Ryker,” she begged, “please don’t–”

“I know what you want, Omega.” He smiled sadistically. “You want a ticket out of here. You shouldn’t even be able to find a mate, so God knows what you’ve given Enzo to make him think that you’re his.”

I looked between them. “I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t.” Ryker laughed without humour. “She can’t shift. She doesn’t have a wolf-side, Enzo. She can’t even mindlink. So not only is your mate an Omega, she’s a wolfless one.” He smiled triumphantly. “She’s tricked you.”