Chapter 2

Scarlett POV I woke with the taste of blood in my mouth and cold pressed deep into my bones. For a while, I couldn't tell whether my eyes were open. Darkness covered everything, and the concrete beneath my cheek felt just as cold. When I finally tried to move, pain started at the base of my skull and worked its way down into my shoulders. My wrists were still tied behind me, the rope biting so deeply into the skin that every shift sent another sharp pulse through my hands. I flexed my fingers. Pins and needles rushed through them, so painful that I almost stopped breathing. My hands trembled as the feeling slowly returned. My shoulders ached from being held in the same position for hours. At some point, I had stopped shivering altogether. I felt cold and constant pain. I turned my head as far as I could. The men were gone. So was Liliana. I tried to piece together what had happened. The bat swung toward me. The flash of white. Then nothing. Maybe they'd decided I wasn't useful anymore. Or maybe Jaxen had already made whatever quiet arrangements men like him made when a problem became inconvenient. A beam of light suddenly cut through the darkness and landed across my face. “Luna, are you there?” I flinched. The rope dug deeper into my wrists. Footsteps hurried across the concrete. Someone crouched beside me, and careful fingers peeled the tape from my mouth. I coughed, tasting blood again. My lips were dry and broken. The ropes had been cut and fell away. Pain surged through my hands as circulation returned. I rubbed at the raw skin without thinking. “Are you hurt?” “My head.” My voice was hoarse. I looked at the man properly. The uniform told me he was pack security. “Jaxen came?” It was barely a second, but I noticed. “He’s here,” he said. “Outside.” I pushed myself up before he could say anything else. My legs gave out the moment I put weight on them. He caught me by the elbows before I hit the floor. “Easy, Luna.” “I’m fine.” I wasn't, but I didn't have the strength to argue about it. “Take me to him.” He tightened his grip and helped me toward the open door. The chilly night air hit my face the moment we stepped outside. Floodlights washed the field in harsh white light. Police cruisers and ambulances stood beside black pack SUVs, while a line of sleek Ashford family cars filled the clearing. Voices carried through the night in low, hurried threads. Stretchers rolled across the grass. Then I saw the Bugatti beneath the brightest lights. Jaxen's car. Relief hit before I could stop it. For one dizzy second, I forgot the pounding in my skull and the raw skin around my wrists. I took a step forward. Then I saw Liliana. She wasn't standing on her own. She was pressed against Jaxen, both arms wrapped tightly around his waist, her face buried against his chest. One of his hands rested against the back of her head while the other supported her shoulders. He was saying something to her in a low voice. I couldn't hear the words. I knew that look. For three years, I'd learned every line of Jaxen's face, waiting for some small sign that there was a softer side of him beneath the cold Alpha everyone else saw. I had never seen it directed at me. But there it was now. His jaw was relaxed; his eyes were gentle. He looked at Liliana as though her safety mattered more than anything else around him. Something heavy settled beneath my ribs. The bodyguard beside me quietly called, "Luna?" I didn't answer. I looked down at myself. My shirt was ruined, stiff with dried blood. I lifted a shaking hand and tried to smooth the front of it anyway. I pushed a strand of hair away from my face and felt the smear of blood across my cheek. That only made it worse. I locked my knees and forced myself to stay upright. Across the field, Warrick spotted me. He turned toward Jaxen. “Alpha.” Jaxen looked over. For a moment, his eyes met mine. His brow drew together. Before he could say anything, Liliana made a small, broken sound against his chest. “Jaxen…” His attention shifted back to her immediately. She leaned more heavily against him. “I thought I was going to die.” “You’re safe now.” His hand moved slowly through her hair. I stood there and watched. My eyes burned. I looked away, fixing my eyes on the line of cars instead. The memory came without warning. My wedding night. Three hours alone in that enormous bedroom, my veil folded carefully over the chair beside me. When the door finally opened, Jaxen walked straight past me. I had told myself not to cry that night. I had time. Three years later, I was still telling myself the same thing. Until tonight. Warrick spoke again. “We found Luna; she is waiting over there.” Jaxen's gaze finally returned to me. He crossed the short distance between us. “Are you okay?” A simple question, delivered in the same calm tone he might have used with an employee who'd taken a terrible fall at the office. I gave him a tired smile: “Thank goodness I am not dead yet.” His eyes moved over me, up and down. “You don’t look badly hurt.” I laughed and murmured, "Are you blind?" Behind him, the medical team had already gathered around Liliana. One person checked her pulse. Another examined the red mark on her cheek. Someone wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and another asked whether she needed water. Jaxen glanced back at them. Then he looked at me, face blank: “Wait until they’re finished with Liliana. Then have them check Scarlett.” “Yes, alpha,” someone answered. I looked at him. For a moment, I couldn't feel the cold anymore. I straightened my shoulders, even though every muscle in my body protested. “Jaxen.” He turned. "What?" I looked at the man I'd spent years waiting for, and desperate enough to mistake for love. This time, I didn't wait for him to give me anything. “I want a divorce.”