Chapter 3

Scarlett POV

The cuts burned, a searing flame on my skin.

Pain and terror coursed through me, a chilling tremor that had me shaking from head to toe.

Lucien's figure had vanished in the chaos, swallowed by the panicked screams.

I lost all sense of time. It was an eternity before the event staff found me and called an ambulance.

By the time I was rushed to the hospital, glass shards of all sizes were still buried in my skin. Every movement, every shallow breath, brought a jolt of fresh pain.

My hands shook, a tremor I couldn't control.

My head turned on its own, a desperate search for Lucien's face.

It took a moment for the cold truth to sink in: he was with Anika.

A nurse with a kind face wheeled a cart over. She prepared her instruments, and I watched her pick up a syringe.

On instinct, I went on high alert.

"What is that for?" I asked, my voice brittle.

"This is an anesthetic," she said gently.

"You'll be in agony without it, with all the bits of glass we need to get out."

"No," I replied, my voice firm. "I don't want it."

She looked at me, surprised. "Are you sure?"

"I'm pregnant," I said, and the words fell from my lips before I could stop them.

"I'm worried about what the drugs might do to the cub."

She understood at once, her nod full of compassion.

"Then you'll need to be strong. I'll be as quick as I can."

The extraction was every bit as painful as I had feared.

I clenched the arms of the chair so hard my knuckles turned white, gritting my teeth through the ordeal.

The pain was so intense even my wolf let out a long, mournful howl.

Another nurse came to help, a friendly woman, trying to distract me with idle chatter.

"There's a couple of lovebirds in the next room, getting cleaned up, too," she said, sighing dramatically.

"Lucky girl. The guy's handsome as hell and completely devoted. She cried the whole time, and he just held her and whispered to her."

My nurse glanced up. "No anesthetic?"

"Of course they gave her some. Didn't matter. She still bawled."

My nurse sniffed. "Spoiled rotten. Look at my patient—no meds, took it like a champ, not a sound."

A bitter laugh caught in my throat. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They fell in a silent, hot stream.

Lucien used to tease me for being oversensitive to pain, yet the moment I so much as scraped a knee, he always panicked more than I did.

He would stop the bleeding, clean the cut, wrap it with steady hands—every step smooth, almost practiced—then pull me against his chest and soothe me until I calmed down.

Even now, He still had that tenderness.

It just wasn't mine anymore.

By the time the nurse finally said, cheerful as if announcing dessert, "All done," I nearly collapsed with relief.

She gave me some instructions.

"Keep the cuts dry. Take some painkillers if it hurts a lot...oh, wait. You can't take those. You're pregnant."

A familiar scent filled the small room, a powerful blend of his natural aura and the sterile air. Lucien had arrived.

"What did you just say? Who's pregnant?" Lucien's voice cut through from behind me, full of an urgency that made my heart leap.

I shot the nurse a warning glance and rushed out the words, "She said I'm not pregnant, so I can take painkillers."

His expression shifted, the tension draining into something like disappointment.

"I thought you were."

"There's nothing like that,"

I murmured, staring at the bandage on my arm, trying to keep the tears from falling.

Lucien looked at the mottled bloodstains on my white dress, his eyes full of both guilt and pity.

"Scarlett, I'm sorry," he said. "Anika was severely injured saving me. She's...more fragile. You're the future Luna. You're strong."

A lump formed in my throat, choking off my words.

I forced a small smile. "I know." That was all I could manage to say.

He frowned and gently brushed his fingers over the stitches.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. "You've always had a low pain tolerance."

My nose stung. I took a deep, shaky breath, fighting back the wave of emotion.

"I'm fine." The words were a struggle to get out.

"I'll give you the Moonlight Gem necklace again at the ceremony. We'll do it right, then."

Before he finished speaking, his phone rang. He listened for a moment, his face growing tense. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I have to go," he said, his voice laced with renewed urgency.

"I need to take Anika home. The shock of what happened...it terrified her."

"I'll have my driver take you. Go home and rest. Don't wait up for me."

He was gone before the words even left his mouth.

I arrived home in the pre-dawn hours.

I collapsed onto the bed, the tears coming in a hot, endless flood until my eyes were raw and swollen.

Lucien was a good man, but he was no longer mine.

No, I didn't need the moonstone necklace any more.

Five days left.

I could leave.