Page 18 of The Wolf

Scarlet pulled a sheathed dagger from the belt at her hip and tossed it through the bars onto Will’s lap. “A gift for an old friend. Please look at me, Will.” She swallowed. “It’s Scarlet. Come back from your vault.”

All the wolves were trained to find a vault in their mind where they could hide during interrogations.

Her old friend blinked slowly and dropped his gaze to the dagger on his lap. Slowly, he lifted his head and met her gaze. It was a shock. He’d lost all traces of the boy he’d used to be. A soldier stared back at her. His brows furrowed, and recognition dawned.

“Scarlet? What in the blazes are you doing here?” Will rumbled, his voice deeper than before.

“She’s here to interrogate us,” the redhead growled.

Will finally looked away from her face and scanned her from head to toe, lingering on her red cloak. His lips thinned and she knew what he saw. A tool of the alpha.

“I heard stories about Old Mother’s red cloak,” Will said, his tone hard. “Tell me those weren’t about you.”

Dread pooled in her gut. She’d been forced into situations over the years that would haunt her for the rest of her life. “I never got away,” she said softly.

Will spat on the ground. “So you helped her?”

Scarlet held her chin high. “I do it to spare others.”

Will laughed. “What are the odds that the same little girl who helped me escape that vile woman would be the one to send me right back to her?”

“I didn’t know,” Scarlet whispered. “I didn’t know you were with the Hood.”

“How could you not?” Will snapped. “Do you think I’d let the alpha invade Merjeri and enslave others?”

“Lower your voice,” she hissed, glancing at the stairwell. “We are surrounded by wolves.”

“I know. One is standing right in front of me wearing a red cloak.”

That cut deep.

“Don’t you dare judge me,” she growled, gesturing to her scarred cheek and then to the cloak. “This was my punishment for helping you. Do you think I want this?”

Will’s expression shuttered, and he picked up the dagger. “Why are you here, Scarlet?”

Her heart clenched and heat pressed against the back of her eyes. “Because you were once my friend and my father’s friend. You protected me through the first of my stepmother’s purges. You held my hand and sang to me while screams cut through the night. Do you think I would ever betray that?”

His expression softened just a touch. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“No, I shouldn’t.” It put everything at risk. “Friends never leave friends behind. You told me that, and I don’t plan to now.” She pulled several vials from her belt and knelt. Scarlet rolled them to Will. “Those should help healing and pain. There is some for all three of you.”

“What then?” the redhead asked, running a chained hand over his beard.

“You survive,” she whispered. “I’ll be sent down every few days for interrogation until the execution. That will give me enough time to figure out a plan to get you out.”

“The Hood will get us out,” the brunette replied.

Scarlet smiled. “That may be so, but it’s always better to have a backup plan, no?”

Will straightened, his eyes narrowing. “Someone is coming.”

She pulled her hood over her hair. “Make sure to look appropriately drugged.”

All three men slumped as the sound of footsteps moved swiftly down the stairs.

The sheriff.

Stars, Scarlet disliked the man. There was something off about him. Mourne followed on his heels, his amber gaze looking at anything but her. She brushed her hands off and met the sheriff head on. He eyed her cloak and glanced over her shoulder at Will and the other two men.

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