Chapter 8: Miscalculated?
Chapter & Miscalculated?
(Alexander’s POV)
I turned from the door and walked out of Scarlett’s house, her cold laugh ringing in my ears. My chest heaved as I tried to steady my breathing Anger coursed through my veins like fire, burning hotter with each step. My fists clenched at my
The moment I slid into the driver’s seat of my car, I slammed the door shut so hard it rattled the frame. Mason, my wolf, was pacing furiously inside
me, his growls echoing in the back of my mind.
“The mocked us Mason snarled. “She dared to reject us. Us?”
My grip tightened on the steering wheel my knuckles stark white. Mason’s outrage mirrored my own, but there was something else beneath it. A
growing uncertainty I refused to acknowledge
Jason’s voice pushed into our link cautiously. “Alpha? Has Scarlett calmed down?”
His tone made it clear he had no idea what had really happened back there. He thought this was just one of Scarlett’s fits. Perhaps a ploy to convince
me to banish Grace after all
“She has said shortly, my tone making it clear I didn’t want to talk
“She will” Jason reassured me confidently “She has to She can’t risk losing her place in the Winters Pack. Her position is too vulnerable. She has
nowhere else to go”
I wanted to agree. It made logical sense. Scarlett had always been careful, quiet, careful not to rock the boat too much. Her position in the pack was
licate. She wouldn’t want to risk everything on a whim.
But logic warned with memory. I closed my eyes, and all I could see were her blazing emerald eyes. Mason stirred uncomfortably at the thought
“She’s different” Mason growled again, quieter this time, almost grudgingly. “We can feel it. She’s not the same docile Luna we knew. She resists us
“She’ll come back,” I murmured, more to myself than anyone else.
Mason didn’t respond, and his silence was unsettling. —
Later that evening, I tried drowning myself in work. Pack matters–supply shipments, border patrol schedules, dispute resolutions Basic, mundane administrative responsibilties. My Beta, Jason, sat across from me, rattling off updates, but I barely heard him.
My thoughts kept drifting back to her. The way she had thrown off my Alpha command as if it were nothing. Her look of cold defiance, the way she
comissed me as if I were beneath her notice.
“She’ll regret it,” I muttered under my breath
Jason paused, looking up from his notes. “Alpha?”
Before I could answer him, the door burst open. Jason jumped to his feet, his hand instinctively reaching for the small blade at his hip, but he froze when he saw the face of our latest intruder
It was one of my men, his face palle and shaky. Whatever he had to say, it was big
“Hunter Stone,” he stammered, his breathing labored, from the Thorn Pack. He’s at the borders”
The name hit me like a
Like a slap
Thom Pack. I sat up straighter, my full attention now on the messenger. “Hunter Stone?
“Yes, Alpha” The young wolf stepped fully into the room now, his hands trembling slightly “He’s requesting a business meeting”
Jason looked confused, glancing between me and the messenger. “The Thom Pack?”
“They don’t meddle in politics here,” I said slowly, piecing it together “What does he want?”
The wolf licked his lips nervously “t’s about Scarlett’s healing center”
Heat exploded in my chest. There it was again–Scarlett. Her name always seemed to circle back into everything
Jason raised an eyebrow “Since when does the Thor Pack care about healing contracts? That’s not their style”
Chapter Miscalculated?
Heat exploded in my chest. There it was again–Scarlett. Her name abways saan
Jason raised an eyebrow. “Tince when does the Thor Pack care about healing contracts? That’s not their fa“
“They offered a contract,” the wolf continued, his voice dropping as if the words themselves stricked him. It’s worth more what we lea
with”
My thoughts raced, each one louder than the last. “Triple?”
“Yes, Alpha But only if the deal is done directly through Scarlett Hunter refused to negotiate with anyone else
Jason’s voice cut through my haze of confusion “That doesn’t make any sense. Why her? it’s not like Scarlett’s running a major pack caration Tra Thom Pack doesn’t get involved in trivial matters. Why would they need her specifically?”
I didn’t have an answer
But inside me, Mason growled low, unsettled. “They know something,” he said darkly. “There’s more to her, Alexander.
ourselves to see”
t want to m
I bit back a sharp retort at my own wolf’s words. But his unease twisted around mine, drawing connections i didn’t w
It couldn’t be a coincidence. Her immunity to my Alpha power. Her sudden rebellion. Now the Thom Pack was sniffing around, offering her deals worth more than most packs est in six months.
“What other secrets is she hiding? I muttered, my voice rough
Before I could dwell further, Grace walked into the office, her soft perfume washing over me. A mix of sweetness and something new–something distinctly maternal.
I stiffened. So did Mason.
“Alexander?” she called out, her voice as delicate as ever. “Is everything alright? You seem…” She faltered, her pale brows furrowing in concern
Distracted
Her frailty, her softness, her eternal performance. And for once, I felt nothing but cold frustration.
“Scarlett is becoming a problem,” I said bluntly, cutting through Grace’s act
(Grace’s POV)
The pack council chamber was stifling, both in heat and in tension. I sat carefully in the corner, my hands folded delicately in my lap. My posture was perfect,just enough to suggest that I was distressed but still composed.
Scarlett’s name filled the air like some cursed mantra. Every conversation circled back to her. Her behavior. Her defiance.
“This cannot go on,” Alpha Marcus Winter’s voice thundered through the room, his imposing frame adding weight to his words. If Scarlett continues like this, she will tear this pack apart.”
I dabbed lightly at my eyes with a tissue, allowing my lower lip to tremble just enough to fuel my carefully crafted appearance: “I didn’t mean to cause trouble, I whispered softly, shaking my head. 1 only wanted peace… and she- My voice broke as if I couldn’t finish.
Sarah, ever the devoted Luna, leaned forward with a sharp look. “Scarlett’s reckless behavior leaves us no choice. I’ve revoked her access to all resources–hunting grounds, training areas, even healing supplies.
Daniel Winter, the pack’s weak–willed heir, nodded in approval. “Good. That’ll force her to submit
I tilted my head slightly, pretending to study my hands, but inside I smiled. These fools were so predictable. They all believed Scarlett would come crawling back, begging for leniency.
But something gnawed at the edges of my victory. The memory of Scarlett’s emerald eyes burning with an otherworldly light haunted me.
“I don’t think this is enough,” a soft voice murmured hesitantly. All heads turned to a younger pack member at the far end of the room. His voice betrayed his nervousness.
“What do you mean?” Daniel barked.
The young wolf hesitated, shrinking slightly under the collective weight of the council’s gaze. “Her eyes.. they didn’t just glow. It was like… like they burned”
“Nonsenser Sarah snapped,
the unas
“Nonsensel farah siapped,
But the unease lingered. Even as the council moved toward a manimous agreement to punish Scarlett further, my mind drifted
i had radiated something unfamiliar. Something powerful
Maybe all of us–myself included–had underestimated her.
Hut no matter. Her defiance only made her more dangerous. More necessary to crush
When the council finally adjourned, Saralı grabbed Marcus’s phone with sharp efficiency. “We’re calling Scarlett,” she announced
I stayed seated, watching as the call connected.
“Scarlett,” Sarah began, her voice cold. “This ends now, Stop targeting Grace or you’ll be cut off completely. No pack privileges, no resources. You’ll
lose everything.”
To everyone’s shock, Scarlett responded with a laugh–a sound so sharp and cold I shivered involuntarily.
Saral’s composure Intered for a brief moment. “Do you think this is a joke?” she hissed.
Scarlett’s response was lethal. “Go ahead. Cut me off. I don’t need you.”
And then impossibly, the call disconnected. No woll should have been able to sever a direct link with the pack.
The room fell into stunned silence.
I leaned forward slightly, adding just the right amount of tremble to my voice as I spoke next. “Scarlett, please.”
“No,” Scarlett snarled coldly through the line that hadn’t been fully cut after all. “Save your pathetic lies. Don’t waste your fake apologies on me.”
The tears in any voice were carefully placed, “I didn’t want this. I never wanted this fight between us. I only wanted things to be peaceful”
“Peaceful?” Scarlett’s laugh was bitter, almost hollow.
The connection broke for good this time.
Daniel exploded “She’s gone insanel How can she speak to us like that? To Grace? After everything Grace has endured?”
Others quickly followed, their voices layering over one another. Condemnation of Scarlett filled the air. Brash words of rage and disdain tangled among themselves
“She’s damaging the pack’s unity”
“She’s reckless, ungrateful, wild?”
“She must apologize
But I couldn’t focus on their words. My mind played Scarlet’s voice on loop.
Cold Unfeeling Confident
I touched my lips lightly, my mind racing with doubt for the first time
Had we–no, hadi miscalculated? Was there more to her than I’d ever known?
Uncertainty was a feeling I had grown unaccustomed to Yet now, it wrapped around me like ice.
