Chapter 2

There Would Always Be An Us

Scarlett’s POV

“We’ll be staying in the Fate Pack for a few more weeks,” Caleb said beside me in the backseat of his flashy car, breaking the silence. “It would be good for us to get your father’s blessing before we marry under the next full moon.”

I sat as far away from him as the seat allowed, staring out the window at nothing in particular. I didn’t want to cry in front of him and look even more pathetic than I already felt—but holding the tears back was nearly impossible.

What happened between us earlier today felt sacred. For once, someone had looked at me like I was more than just an omega. Someone had touched me like I was cherished. Wanted. Loved.

But I should’ve known better. I was never anything more than property. He didn’t choose me–he bought me. Just like the others wanted to.

I bit down hard on my lip and gripped my knee until my nails dug into the skin. I wanted to scream, to last out, but I couldn’t. All I could do was sit there, trembling, silent tears sliding down my cheeks.

I was already broken. Why did he have to be the one to finish me off?

When the car slowed to a stop, my stomach twisted with dread. Caleb stepped out, then opened my door.

A wheelchair stood beside him.

I turned my head away quickly, wiping at my face with the back of my hand.

“Scarlett, we’re home,” he said gently, but his words cut like a knife.

How could he speak so casually, like he hadn’t just stolen my innocence under false pretenses?

It was all an act.

I wanted so badly to believe someone could love me. I should’ve known better. I should’ve seen through it. But I lost myself in hope and let it blind me to the truth.

Caleb placed me in the wheelchair, but I rolled away before he could say anything else.

The mansion my father had gifted us—grand and gleaming—made me sick. Servants bustled through the halls, all smiles and bows. The mansion wasn’t a gift. It was a bribe. A peace offering to Caleb for taking me off his hands. That’s how badly he wanted me gone— he gave one of our best properties just to make sure I never returned.

“Scarlett!” Caleb called, but I didn’t stop. I pushed faster, rolling past the open front door.

Then he was suddenly in front of me, blocking the exit.

“Running from me is impossible now, don’t you think?” he said softly.

I yanked my hands away to keep from crashing into him.

“Get out of my way.”

“This isn’t us—”

“Are you insane?” I blinked up at him, disbelief written all over me. “What us, Caleb? There is no us.”

“Can you just let me talk? Just for a second?”

“I’m not interested in hearing any more lies.”

He gripped the armrests and leaned in, and I had to turn my head away, staring at a framed portrait of dry grass on the wall. I held my breath, praying he would disappear—because my heart didn’t know what to do with itself.

The flutters were still there.

My body still responded to his nearness.

And that truth shattered me all over again.

“Nothing about what I feel for you is a lie, Scarlett.”

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth then?” I whispered brokenly.

“You had just gotten out of a coma. Imagine how disorienting learning the truth at that moment would have been. I planned to tell you when the time was right.”

“After you fucked me and took my virginity?”

Caleb winced like I had just punched him in the gut, and then he took a step back, giving my heart room to breathe.

“We didn’t fuck. We made love.”

“Please stop. You’re making it worse.” I sniffled, shaking my head, pressing my hand over my mouth.

“Is that too hard for you to hear?”

I kept shaking my head. “Stop talking.”

“I shared my favourite music with you. I’m a shitty dancer, but I wanted to keep you entertained in your sleep so I did it every day. I read poetry to you and I fucking hate that. I also loved watching you, the way your skin would shimmer under morning sunlight, the light freckles on your left cheek. Scarlett, don’t you get it? Your peace became mine.” Caleb thrashed his hands in the air, then his voice was barely above a whisper, deep with pain. “I didn’t realize I had fallen for you until I saw what your eyes looked like, how unearthly beautiful everything about you is.”

Fuck. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. He disarmed me. Turned me to melting wax. Healed me again.

It was like he was saying everything I needed to hear.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the deal I made with your father,” Caleb said softly. “But I did it to protect you. After I rescued you, he planned to sell you off at an auction house. I made him promise me one thing in return. That one thing was you.”

I shut my eyes tightly, a fresh ache tearing through me.

I had been angry at the wrong person all along.

“Forgive me—”

He cupped my face gently.

“No, no. It’s okay. What matters now is that you’re here. You’re safe. You’re strong. And you’re happy.”

“Promise me you’ll never break my heart, Caleb,” I whispered, my lips trembling as I tasted the salt of my tears.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he smiled faintly and pressed a tender kiss to my lips.

Hope bloomed in my chest like spring after a bitter winter. Maybe… maybe there would always be an us.

A phone beeped in his pocket suddenly, and he took it out, shifting his focus to the caller. No longer me. After a few seconds, his expression turned dark.

Caleb kissed my cheek hastily. “I need to take care of a few things. See you soon.”

The door slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing through the large foyer. And the silence that followed reminded me so much of the loneliness I faced for twenty years in my father’s house.

What if it would be the same? After a year, would Caleb’s love for me fade?

“Ma’am.”

I jumped in the wheelchair, holding a hand over my heart. A matured woman, possibly in her late thirties, was smiling nervously at me.

“Sorry,” she said. “But you could use a tour, ma’am.”

I considered it for a moment, then I let her guide the wheelchair. I found out that her name was Tanya. She told me stories from her childhood while showing me the indoor pool, the kitchen, the garage, and everything else.

“You’re not from the Ice pack? None of you are?” I asked, slightly puzzled.

“No, your husband brought us from another pack to work here temporarily. Would you like me to show you to the master bedroom?” She expertly changed the subject, and we were headed there before I could respond.

When we got to the bedroom, she helped me lie down on the bed and left immediately. I couldn’t stop thinking about what we discussed.

Why wouldn’t Caleb hire wolves from the Ice pack? What was wrong?

I waited hours for him to come home until my stomach growled in hunger. I pressed the bell on the bed table and Tanya rushed in to help me up.

“Is my husband back yet?” I asked as we entered the elevator.

She nodded, and my heart fluttered with excitement.

When the elevator doors pinged open, I dismissed her and rolled myself into the hallway, eager to find him.

It didn’t take long before I found him shirtless in the kitchen, wearing low riding jeans. His back was to me.

It didn’t take long. He was shirtless in the kitchen, wearing low-riding jeans. His back was turned.

I stopped short when I saw the brunette standing beside him.

She was gazing at him dreamily, like he held her past, present, and future in the palm of his hand. They weren’t touching, but something about the way she looked at him made my chest tighten.

I frowned when she lifted her hand to touch his arm, only stopping when he turned and noticed me.

Caleb smiled too quickly. “Hey, Scar.”

The brunette stepped fully into view, and my heart dropped.

Demi.

My only friend.

“What… what are you doing here?” I choked out, disbelieving my sight.

“Hey, Scarlett.” She said, waving casually. “I work here now.”

My jaw slacked even more. I turned to him slowly. “How? Do you two know each other?”

They exchanged a glance.

Dread weighed heavier by the second in the pit of my stomach. Are coincidences supposed to be this perfect?

“No, not at all. I just met her here five minutes ago.”

But I remembered the way she looked at him—like she’d looked at him a hundred times before.

Maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe.

I blinked once. Then again. Then a third time.

So why did it feel so much like another lie?