Scarlett’s POVI stared at up Enzo. Terror locked my joints and froze my muscles. He didn’t look like himself; his lips were pulled back from his teeth in a snarl, one so animalistic that I could barely find the sweet, human nature that I knew so well. This wasn’t him. This wasn’t my mate.“No,” wheezed Samael. I blinked up at him, confused and scared in equal measure. “I’d die before I’d tell you.”What the fuck was going on? One minute, I’d been in the library. The next, I was here – wherever here was – lying in the snow, dazed and foggy. And Enzo…Enzo wasn’t here. Not him. Not really.He shrugged, his eyes cold as frosted coal. They glinted with something dark, something nasty, as he said, “That’s fine with me.” I struggled to get my body under control. But when Samael’s eyes started to roll back into his head, my soul slammed back into my chest and I found that I could move. I gasped. “Enzo.” My voice was rough and raspy, and I could barely manage a whisper. “Don’t.”Samael’s he

Scarlett’s POVEven though he’d been trying to kidnap me, I couldn’t get Samael’s death out of my head or heart. In a roundabout way, he’d died because of my air magic. I refused to believe Bennett, to accept that I had to do things his way or lose control. I’d been taking care of myself and my business for long enough that I was pretty sure I could learn to command air all by myself, thank you very much.I’d not told anyone about this. Not yet. So far, I’d only snuck out to practise once, and that had gone… poorly. And, of course, by poorly I meant I’d not been able to get my palms to tingle even once. To be honest, I’d expected the complete opposite – a windstorm billowing out of my hands and uprooting trees left right and centre. As I shoved on a gilet and bundled my hands into woolly gloves, I found myself wondering if that would’ve been better than the reality. At least I would’ve been doing something. Enzo was asleep still. The dawn was yet to break. He snored, a tiny, little s

Scarlett’s POV“You’re acting weird,” I remarked casually, reaching for the jam. Glancing over at Enzo, I added, “weirder than your normal, dorky self, that is.”He huffed and rolled his eyes. “Thanks. I think.”I smiled wryly. “You’re welcome. But no, seriously – what’s up?”He dropped his toast and scratched at his jaw. A crumb stuck to his stubble. My smile grew. “This Ryker business. It’s like a cloud looming over us, you know? I was just starting to feel like things were going smoothly for us.”“Yeah.” I smoothed the jam over my buttery toast. God, eating like this was still such a luxury to me. My layers of butter and jam were easily twice as thick as Enzo’s, and I went back to add a little more. “But we’re ready for whatever happens.”“It’s not that. It’s – well, what if Bennett’s right?”“Is that why you’ve been staring at the ceiling at night?” I put down my knife and levelled my gaze at him.“The first time I could’ve sworn I saw a snake up there.”“A snake. In your bedroom.

Scarlett’s POV“So,” I said, leaning forward on Enzo’s bed, frowning at the television, “he’s an alien?”“Yeah.” Enzo rubbed my knee, but his gaze didn’t once falter from the screen. “From the planet Gallifrey. And he travels around in a blue box that he stole…”“No, go on.” My lips twitched. “And the plastic?”“Is alive.” He grinned and, at last, turned to face me. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to watch it.”“No, I’m enjoying it. I’m confused, but happy.”“Well, that’s all I can ask.” He kissed my cheek. “I’m glad you’re happy.”“Me, too. Your parents are so nice.”They really were. We’d chatted easily, amicably, once I’d settled into myself – and got past the fact that Enzo had snickered at me for saying ‘Most welcome.’ Geno and Resme were warm people in a warm home, and with the mulled wine sinking into my flesh I’d found that our conversations had flowed as easily as drink into my cup.And, if I’d caught them sharing sad, almost pitying, looks whenever my past came up, no matter how q

Scarlett’s POVMy breath stilled in my lungs. The world compressed around me. I never should have kept this from Enzo. Never.Because now he was looking at me like he didn’t know me, and my heart was being torn clean out of my chest. I couldn’t even move to hold the fractured pieces of it together; I was frozen to the spot in every way possible, save for the blood pounding loudly against my temples. “You – you asked him to come?” His voice was caught somewhere between a breath of disbelief and the same growl he’d spoken to Bennett in. “We talked about this, Scar. He could be working for Alpha Ryker!”“That’s a risk we have to take. What choice do we have otherwise? Do we just keep coming up with plans that may or may not work? Do we hide out here until Ryker comes for me again? At least this way, I’ll go down fighting–”“You shouldn’t be going down at all!”I stood up. My hands trembled, so I clenched them into fists at my sides. Fake blood dripped down my chest; suddenly angry, I g