What is it with the Alpha of the Ironclaw pack snarling all the time?The phone is still at my ears and I feel today might be the longest day of my life, but this is necessary. This is all necessary.I've thought of multiple ways to get the money for Maya's fees but none of them have a one-day feasibility option. I need to make the payment today, and I have to because Maya likes it so much here and she's finally coming out of her shell.I clean the stray tear that drops from my eyes and swallow the lump in my throat. I can't let him hear me cry."Okay."The word sounds unreal to me so I blink and say the one thing that comes to my mind."What?""I said okay. I will lend you the cash you need, and I'll foot the bills of Maya's schooling for as long as she stays with us, but you'll have to keep to your promise. Okay?"Something warm and potent bubbles up in my chest at the warm tone in which I'm being spoken to."Scarlett?""Yes, Alpha Roman?"He pauses and when he speaks this time it's
Scarlett's pov “About the Alpha Conference….”I look at the mirror and let Roman carry on with the task of brushing my hair. The dye is sitting on the table waiting to be applied and I know it’s something he might also offer to help me do.I let my eyes wander and soon they’re traveling up on the length of the mirror.He’s quiet. His brushes are soft, and for such a huge man he’s gentle. My hair is tangly, but he takes his time working the brush through it.He’s lost in thought, which must mean this is something hard for him to do.I let my eyes roam the perfect planes of his face. Alpha Roman of the Ironclaw pack is tall. His arms are well-built and his shoulders are broad. His black button-down stretches across the plain of his chest, and lord have mercy.“Scarlett?”Oh my god.“Yes, Alpha Roman?”“I asked if you’re sure you want to go on with this?”My shame at the possibility of having been caught dissipates and I look directly at him through the mirror.“What wouldn’t I?”Roman
Roman's pov She’s ready to do anything. That isn’t a good sign. “Alpha Roman?”My head snaps towards the door and her daughter is standing there. “Is my mummy in the room?”I think Scarlett’s heart stops because I can’t sense any movement coming from behind the wardrobe door. This is something she’ll have to discuss with her daughter later. “Yeah, she is. She’s changing her dress.”“And you’re also in here?”A wry grin climbs my face despite myself because she’s a very smart girl. “I helped her dye her hair, plus it’s not like I'm going close to her or anything. Your mum has short hands, I might need to help her with the zippers.”I catch the shirt that has been thrown at me and fling it to the side. “Maya, honey? I’ll be out in a minute, do you think you can go wait somewhere else? I and Alpha Roman are discussing something important.”Maya Tyson turns her gaze to me and I can see traces of her father in her. That stubbornness, the slightly cleft chin, the purple flecks in her
I wait until it’s midnight before heading into the woods. My door is firmly locked when I leave the room and I let Fenrir confirm the presence of every wolf in the packhouse. All the wolves in my pack are linked to me in one way or the other. The proximity between us makes it easier to sense them, and since I am the Alpha, accounting for their presence is also my job. The small ripple of power flows out from me and in one brief moment, I see the bonds that link us all together. They stretch out from my heart like strange tentacles, little threads packed at one compact point in my chest and going out into the distance. Each thread has an iron like sheen to it. That is what makes me the Alpha of the Ironclaw pack and them wolves of the Ironclaw pack. This connection that we have, the way I am linked to them, and they are linked to me. Each wolf is accounted for before I slip out through a window in the art room. Scarlett’s scent invades my nostrils and the fact that she’s in here
Adelaide’s pov“Maya?”I shake my daughter.It’s morning now and she’s supposed to be up by now. The sun is streaming in through the windows and it occurs to me that if we don’t get out of bed now then we’re probably going to be late for breakfast.“Maya?”No response again but as I lean over her, something stops me from touching her once more. “Maya?”“Scarlett!”Roman’s voice comes from the door but I can't look at him. I don’t look at him, My hands fly to Maya’s head and my heart races at the temperature I feel.She’s as hot as an oven.“Maya?”No movement.“Maya, wake up, Mummy’s here, we need to go have breakfast.”She doesn’t stir and my heart shatters. I don’t know how I get off the bed but I know I do.My breaths are not calm but I force them to be. Okay, Maya’s not waking up, but she’s burning up.She needs water.“Scarlett?”I turn back to look at Roman and he steps into the room fully. I don’t know why he walks to Maya but he does and even though I want to scream at him to
“What do you think I did?”Scarlett is a ball of fury right now and I'm trying to keep my temper in check too but it’s hard. Why does she always assume the worst of me? How does she assume on a whim that I did something? I look down at the woman who has me backed up against a wall. I let her pull me. I let her put me in this position. I reckoned that there would be no way she would do anything to hurt me but now I'm not so sure. My eyes dart to the tattoo now on the nape of her neck and the anger that flares through me is unnatural. I push her off me and she yelps as she stumbles backward, but before she can regain her footing and scream a thousand and one questions at me, I slip my hand around her waist and steady her. She is still in my arms and we stay like that for a while. Her taking deep breaths and me looking at the crescent moon with roses growing out of it. “I’m sorry for screaming at you Alpha Roman.” The words come out as barely a whisper but I nod all the same bec
Scarlett's pov“What happened to you, mummy?”Maya is stuffing her face full of food and I’m supposed to be eating too but I can’t help myself. I stop and stare at her.Maya begins to tell me how she has to get to school and how she has her first class for the day today. She wants to head over to school and climb that wall again. Her classmates don’t seem to like her too much but she has someone she thinks might like her, he even told her his name.Atreau. He has brown hair just like her but his eyes are darker than hers. He shared his seat with her yesterday and he’s a year older than her.“When am I gonna be nine years old too mummy?”The tears that rush out of my eyes sting as they do and I have to look away so Maya doesn’t see them. I can’t get that image out of my head.She was on the bed and she wasn’t waking up. What if she didn’t wake up anymore? What if she had died in her sleep?A shiver runs down my spine at the thought of that and fierce defiance makes me straighten up.N
Roman's pov“He saw me.”The room is full of people and Scarlett is a small form at my side but she’s been acting nervous since she got here.“Who saw what?”She gives me a cross look and shifts her head awkwardly in what I'll assume is her way of gesturing.“Him, the man you sent to come get me. He saw me.”The frown that lines my face doesn’t do justice to the amount of confusion I feel.“He saw you? He has to see you if he wants to ask you to come meet me, doesn’t he?”Scarlett stares at me for a moment and I see something like indecision in her eyes. There is a struggle there. She doesn’t know if she wants to tell me this thing or not and I'm not sure if she understands what she wants to tell me herself.He saw her? He has to see her. I asked him to get her for me. I frown and watch her critically. “Are you okay, Scarlett?”She hesitates at first but still nods. It’s a nod that hides all the doubts she feels about that question. I can imagine that she doesn’t feel like the strong