Page 42 of Marked By the Alphas

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, my wolf straining against my control.

Tears welled up in Scarlet's eyes, and her face was a picture of utter heartbreak. “I had to see you,” she choked out, her voice thick with emotion. “I never meant for things to end between us the way it did.”

She reached out a hand, her fingers trembling, but I refused to take it. Instead, I took a step back, wanting to be as far away from her as possible, but she didn’t seem to take the hint, because she took another step closer, her eyes pleading.

“It's all my fault. I know you hate me right now, and nothing I say is going to change that,” she whispered, sniffing as she spoke. “I was young, foolish, and I made a terrible mistake.”

She moved even closer, her scent overwhelming me, but it mixed with the new undercurrent of something foreign. Desire flared in my gut, the memories of our passionate past threatening to consume me, but underneath it, I could feel the awareness that she was causing me to feel that way. There was something else going on.

“Don't,” I managed to force out, fighting the urge that threatened to consume me.

“It's not what you think,” she pleaded. “What happened all those years ago, it wasn't my fault. I was forced. They threatened my life if I didn’t help them. I never stopped loving you, Rowan, even after I was forced to leave. I never stopped thinking about you.”

As she spoke, her movements became more deliberate, her voice taking on a seductive edge. She inched closer, and her scent surrounded me, threatening to imprison my mind.

Her words were a spark, igniting the memories. I thought of her leaving me without a single explanation, leaving me with the last image of her working with the enemies while they raided the pack. I remembered her leaving me with a gaping hole in my heart that had been there until Elara’s arrival.

A million questions swirled in my head, threatening to drown me. I had sworn never to dwell on the past, yet here I was, doing just that. Why didn’t she try to come back sooner? Why did it take all these years?

“You’re a liar and a traitor, and you should be thankful I’m letting you walk away with your life. Rhys and Kai might not be so merciful, so I suggest you leave the pack immediately, never to return,” I said, and the iciness in my tone caused Scarlet to flinch.

Scarlet's face fell at my response. “Please, Rowan,” she pleaded, taking a step closer and reaching out to take my hand against my will. “Don't turn me away. I have nowhere else to go.”

“Well, you can go be with the people you planned the attack with. You’re not fooling me with your sob story, Scarlett. I saw you that day and you didn’t look like you were forced. I’m not sure why you came here. I have a mate now, so even if you were telling the truth, nothing would happen between us ever again. Coming here was a waste of your time. Go back to wherever you’re from. I won’t tell you again,” I said, and the anger that flared in her eyes caused me to reel back.

“I’m trying to save you from your so-called mate!” she yelled, causing me to flinch slightly.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, recovering quickly.

Scarlet's eyes glistened as she pleaded. “She's not who you think she is, Rowan. She's a Siren, a creature of deceit. She tricked you all, used her powers to gain access to the pack.”

A tear slipped down Scarlet's cheek, tracing a trail on her porcelain skin. “She has a power, Rowan,” she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “A power to manipulate emotions, to create illusions that feed into your deepest desires. You have to listen to me Rowan, you have to see this clearly. She was sent to destroy all of you. You’re in danger!”

I stood looking at her for several seconds before I shook my head in disbelief.

“This is your attempt to get back into my life? Accusing my mate of having dark magic? Who gave you this information? How low do you intend to stoop?”

“Then what is this, Rowan?” Scarlett pulled out a book from the bag she had slung across her back and tossed it at me.

I caught it before it could hit the ground, and I could have sworn my heart stopped working when I flipped open the front page.

Silas’ Sirens.

That’s what the heading said.

And true to Scarlett’s words, the top right corner of the book held Elara’s picture.

Chapter 21

Elara

I turned over for the umpteenth time, sighing heavily when the pillow beneath my head suddenly felt like a rock. I pulled the pillow from underneath my head and tossed it to the floor, but it didn’t help me bring sleep any closer.

With a groan, I pulled myself to a sitting position, plucking my phone from the nightstand where I had left it to charge. I went directly to the text messages, and when I found no new messages, my heart sank again, just like it had for the last couple of hours.

Rowan and I were supposed to have a salon appointment earlier in the day, but he never showed up for it, nor did he respond to the texts or calls I had left him. The blinking red light of the alarm clock on the nightstand showed that the time was 10:55 p.m. It was pretty late, and still, there was no sign of him, and he still wasn’t responding to my texts or returning any of my calls.

During dinner, Kai had assured me that although Rowan had acted weird earlier in the day during their meeting, he had been able to reach him in the evening and Rowan had assured him he was fine and would be home late because he had some business to attend to. Of the three of them, I was most used to Rowan’s presence in the house during the day because he had to be out on patrol most nights. But on days like this, when he left the house early, he usually came back early too.

---