Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 181 - Chapitre 190

Scarlett POVAfter I finally got Jaxen out of the building, the air in the office felt lighter.Just… less charged.The gossip didn’t stop, though. Of course, it didn’t.A coworker drifted over, coffee mug in hand, eyes too curious.“That tall guy earlier, family? Brother? Cousin?”I hit the keyboard harder than it needed to be. The keys clacked sharply under my fingers.“Why do you care? Work.”She shut up fast. But the group chat blew up a minute later.I caught the notification out of the corner of my eye:Holy shit, Scarlett just rode the elevator with her ex-husband.Ex-husband?The man Denise had brought up earlier was Alpha Hale. He’d said it himself, calm as anything. Once that sank in, the stares multiplied. Every pair of eyes in the open floor plan seemed to find me.All Jaxen’s fault.He’d walked in

Scarlett POVGary’s hands were still on my shoulders when the low rumble of an engine cut through the night air. I didn’t have to look to know who it was.My pulse jumped hard enough that I felt it in my throat, a sharp, almost painful thud that made Lydia stir restlessly beneath my skin.Jaxen stepped out of the black car. Dark coat, jaw set, eyes already locked on me with that familiar, unrelenting focus. The second his scent hit, it made the back of my neck prickle and the air feel denser; Lydia went still, then restless.Old instincts I thought I’d buried clawed their way up, circling, uncertain, torn between the solid presence at my side and the one walking toward us like a storm given human form.Gary’s fingers tightened just slightly before he let go.Losing contact was sudden and deliberate. He didn’t step back, though. He simply straightened, shoulders squared, as if bracing for impact.

Jaxen POV“Whether she lives or dies.”Those four words dragged me straight back to the day the kidnappers called.I’d said almost the same thing.Tell Scarlett I don’t mind if she’s dead or alive.Stop with the cheap theatrics.I’d thought it was another one of her games, the kind she always pulled when she wanted attention.That fixed idea had cost her. She ended up hurt and unconscious in a hospital bed because I didn’t move fast enough.Now, hearing the same words out of Gary’s mouth, I finally put myself in her place that night.If she’d been close enough to hear me, or if the bastards had repeated what they had said, what would that have felt like? The thought sat heavy in my chest.My wolf paced hard behind my ribs, low and restless by the memory of her scent when I’d finally found her: copper and fear and something broken.

Scarlett POVEven without Jaxen’s warning, I wouldn’t have gone there.The dislike was real. And Jaxen was already circling too close, catching scents of things he shouldn’t.One wrong word from Regina had been enough for him to drag me out to the estate before.If he caught wind that Gary was still around… I didn’t want the mess. I wasn’t scared of him.I just didn’t need the complication.And if he ever pushed hard enough?I’d walk away from Great Vision without looking back and find a city that fit better.The door opened.The doctor stepped in.Gary stood as if he hadn’t heard a word I’d said.“Could you check her one more time?”The doctor shook his head. “She’s awake. Take her home; let her rest. That’s all she needs.”The look he gave me made it clear staying in the bed any

Scarlett POV I let go of Jaxen’s sleeve the second we put enough distance between us and that hospital room. He tried to fall into step beside me.I sped up on purpose. He slowed instead and just… followed, like some oversized shadow I couldn’t shake.No more pretending I had somewhere specific to go.The act was done.“Where are we headed?” He asked from behind me.I didn’t answer. Kept walking.The picture of Gary’s face taking that last hit kept looping in my head.I wasn’t feeling sorry for the guy.More like anyone who got tangled up with Jaxen ended up paying for it.Sticky. Hard to wash off.I was so damn tired of that superior, I-own-the-room energy he carried around like a second skin. Somebody needed to knock him down a peg.Preferably hard.My head went light again unexpected.The hallway tilted.My fo