Scarlett. "If you wanted to leave, all you had to do was say so, Scarlett. You went too far," I finally heard Lucian in my head. He was angry. I sat in the dark room and welcomed it despite his angry tone. "I did not do it," I said. "Bianca has no reason to lie. We trust her with our lives. She has never drugged or poisoned us before. Her family has served ours for generations. She would never betray us," He said. "But I am a Vladislav, a tyrant's daughter," I said, and he was silent. "We will send you warm clothes and investigate. I want to believe you, Scarlett, but the evidence is damning. I had Bianca flogged, and she maintained the story. I threatened to cast her out, and she maintained the story, Scarlett. If you had told me. We would have let you go, and I would have gotten back with Stasia to ease the heartbreak. I might not love her, but I would have tried with her. You made me end that bond only to try to leave us, Scarlett," he said, sounding betrayed, and I began to cr

Scarlett. I watched the crowd disperse, and the cold began to seep into my bones. They had left me out here to die. I did not mean to kill anyone. I just wanted to get away. I was tired of everything, and I wanted to get away. I looked around me, teeth chattering, hoping someone would take pity on me, but no one was there. Everyone had left. I was forgotten. Bet they were all waiting until I die and my corpse becomes frozen before they come and help. I wanted to tug at the mate bond, but how they looked at me before they left discouraged me. If they had doubts about Bianca's allegations, this was an apparent offence. I had indeed drugged the reservoir, and it had led to deaths. I was a mass murderer, and I did it all in desperation. When I was doing it, it seemed like a good idea. I just wanted them to sleep. I guess it wasn't everyone who could tolerate high doses of the pollen and wolfbane. It was a sad situation. I remained tied to the stake, praying to the powers that be to save

Scarlett. Ebenezer and I rode for a while. I slept a bit in the car. Images of what happened in the north still plagued my mind, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had never been so mistreated in my entire life. I thought my life with my father was cruel until David shipped me to the north. Thinking about my mates brought tears to my eyes. They treated me so badly for a crime I did not commit. I remembered everything they had promised me and realised they were all lies. To think Lucian was going to bring a bride there even though we were bonded. He wanted to make me suffer; I knew it. He left me to die in the cold because he could not end my life himself and Maxwell and Clay were part of it too. I actually thought I would have a life with them. I was wrong. I just prayed good things awaited me in the west. Clay, Lucian and Maxwell can rest and keep everything with me gone from the north and not going to the south. That was what they wanted anyway. They exerted their revenge

Maxwell, Sleep was our enemy all through the night. We kept raking our minds about where Scarlett might be. I stayed up in my room and wept. The seer could not help us this time, and I could not blame her. How could we have allowed our mate to be treated the way she was? We were so focused on not having issues with the Alpha of the West that we neglected Scarlett's needs. I couldn't blame her for running away from us. I doubt she would ever look back. She left with the notion that we wanted her dead. There was no coming back from that. I doubt she would ever come back to us. I spent two days in my room, waiting to feel pain from the bond, but nothing happened. I tried to feel for the cord that connected us, and it was still there. The cord was my only hope that she was alive and well out there. I finally decided to exit my room, and found Lucian drunk on the floor in the living room. "We fucked up," he said in tears. He had never drunk this much before; I guess pain could do that to

Lucian. I was lying on the bed when I felt the sudden silence. It was like a blockage. A partial disconnection. I did not know what it was, but it was painful. "Lucian," I heard Maxwell's voice in my head. " Did you feel that?" He asked me, and I responded. "What is going on?" I heard Clay, and I managed to get off the bed and move to the living area, still feeling the pain. Something was really off. If we could all feel it, then it had to do with Scarlett. Maxwell and Clay decided to come out of their rooms and join me in the living room. "What is going on," Clay said, wincing in pain. "A partial severance," Tiger, my wolf, said, and I was stunned. "Tiger said it is a partial severance," I said, and they already knew from the look on their faces. Of course, they would know; their wolves would tell them. "What should we do?" Maxwell asked with fear in his voice. "I don't know. She ran away and now is trying to disconnect herself from us and move on. Isn't it clear already? I