Chapter 4

 The Us that had to End

Scarlett’s POV

I should have known.

I should have paid attention to the signs when I saw them—but I chose to ignore it.

It was always there, staring me in the face. But like the fool I was, I turned a blind eye… just because I didn’t want him to leave me. I didn’t want to be alone again.

After everything that happened, he never returned to the building. I knew—because my eyes never left the door.

I kept waiting for a glimpse of his figure, for some sign that maybe… just maybe… I was wrong.

I still hoped it was all a lie.

Demi’s words echoed around the room like poison, her smug tone whispering through the silence.

I wanted to curl around my stomach, to shield my unborn child from the smoke that hung thick in the air, from the weakness sinking into my bones—but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even flinch.

Everything hurt.

Tears spilled from my eyes, burning hot trails down my face as sobs silently racked through me. The minutes dragged, each one sharper than the last, until they melted into an hour of excruciating stillness.

I was the most foolish person alive.

Of course, my father was right—no one could ever truly love me. No one could choose to stay.

I should have known it was all a lie. That it was too good, too perfect, too kind to be true.

When Caleb walked into my life that day and said all the things I had ached to hear—things my father never once gave me—I should have known.

I should have known it wasn’t real.

So this is how it ends.

The daughter of the Alpha of the Fate Pack, betraying her own blood… and left to die.

Pushed off a cliff by the same man she was about to promise her forever to.

I had already surrendered to the fate written for me by the Moon Goddess, when suddenly, the door creaked open again.

“Caleb?” My voice came out throaty, barely above a whisper. Despite the situation and all that I’d heard, a part of me still hoped it was the man I had fallen in love with, strolling through the doors and rushing to my side, just as he did the first day when I fell to the floor.

“You still haven’t learned your lesson, have you?”

Demi’s sultry voice cut through the silence as she reentered the room, her hips swaying with confidence.

“Caleb’s name should stay off your lips. He’s mine, dummy.”

“My baby…” I groaned, panic clawing at my chest. “This isn’t good for him. It could kill him.”

“You don’t even know the sex of your child,” she scoffed. “And I doubt you ever will, since there is zero chance that bastard is surviving.”

“My pup isn’t a bastard.” For someone who was in bonds, I sure had a sharp tongue. “Caleb is the father. He’s the only one I’ve ever been with.”

Demi’s smirk vanished. Her scowl deepened, and the moment her eyes flashed crimson, I knew I had said too much.

Without a word, she sauntered toward me, flicking the ash from the cigarette she had in her hand. It wasn’t until she straddled my lap and grabbed my wrist that I realized what she was about to do.

“No!” I thrashed, but the bonds held me firm.

“You think I won’t?” she sneered. “You dared to sleep with my mate… you dared to carry his child.”

She pressed the burning tip of the cigarette into my palm.

The pain was immediate and searing. I screamed, my voice cracking as the burn seared through flesh and nerves. The stench of scorched skin filled the air. I could hardly breathe.

“Now you’ll have something to remember me by,” she whispered against my ear, her voice like venom. “A scar for a scar.”

I sobbed, biting down on my lip to silence my cries. But it was no use—every nerve in my hand screamed.

“That is the last time I will hear you speak of that damn baby or the fact that Caleb is the father,” she said coldly. “The next time, you’ll pay with your life.”

It all made sense now. The look in her eyes when I saw her in the kitchen with Caleb the first day we moved in here, the tears falling down her face when I told her I was pregnant. My best friend was grieving—not for me—but because I carried the child of her mate.

“Why am I not dead yet?” I croaked, barely able to sit upright. “Just… end it already.”

“Death would be too easy for you, Scar,” she said with a twisted smile. “You had the guts to f*ck my mate and think you’d get away with it?”

I wanted to tell her that I hadn’t known. That they both had hidden it from me. But I could already tell—Demi didn’t care about the truth.

“What would you have me do then?”

There was a sharp snap, and the bonds fell away from my body. But I couldn’t feel any relief. My wolf was still sedated, and I was too weak to stand. I slumped against the bedpost, pain clouding my vision.

“Where is Caleb?”

“Wrong question,” she hissed. “You should be asking about the rest of the Fate Pack. Or don’t you care about them after you sentenced them to die?”

“Demi…”

I suddenly dreaded what she would say next.

“Your father is dead, Scar,” she said like she was talking about the weather. “Awwww! Sweet Scar. I’m sorry for breaking it to you in that manner. I should’ve known that would break you.”

She wiped away a fake tear, mocking every ounce of my grief.

“But you had to know, honey.”

“Caleb killed him?” I whispered.

Demi burst out laughing. “My mate might be passionate, but he’s no killer. Your father killed himself.”

I blinked. “What?”

“He saw that his pack was collapsing and couldn’t do anything to save his people. If you ask me, he took the noble way out.”

Rage burned through me. My hand throbbed, and my unborn child twisted in my belly, like he could feel my pain.

“You don’t want to know if he knew you were the one who sentenced them to death?” she mocked.

I shook my head and closed my eyes, tears stinging.

“I’ll tell you anyway,” she said gleefully. “He knew. I told him that you led Caleb to the seal. He was disappointed in you. But when has he ever not been?”

I curled inward, shielding my stomach with my arms, like I could protect the baby from her words.

Demi’s eyes darkened again. “You’re still thinking about that brat in your belly, aren’t you?”

My arms tensed.

“I could end it right here,” she whispered. “Push hard enough and that baby will bleed out of you.”

“Please…” I sobbed. “Don’t do this. For the sake of the friendship we once had—”

She cut me off with a bitter laugh.

“Friendship? Baby, we were never friends. You were just a stupid little girl too blinded by puppy love to see you were being used.”

I stayed quiet, tears streaking down my cheeks.

“But don’t worry. I won’t kill you.” She smiled, stepping back. “I have a better option.”

“What?” My voice was weak and barely audible.

“Do you know what it feels like to have your dignity stripped away from you?” Her grin widened. “I guess you don’t. But don’t worry—you’ll know soon. Tonight. At the auction.”

My ears rang, and the color drained from my face.

Auction?

She was going to sell me?

What about my baby?

I gasped, horror settling like a stone in my gut.

As though Demi could hear my mind, she continued. “If the pup survives the ride, that’s none of my business,” she said sweetly. “But you… you’re going to be a very expensive toy. And if I were you, I’d start praying to the Moon Goddess that whoever buys you doesn’t want to rip that baby from your belly the moment he finds out it exists.”