Scarlett’s POV
The heavy clicks of her high heels against the floor sounded like a warning bell. I didn’t move an inch. I kept my back to her, praying she would take the hint and leave.
But of course, she didn’t.
"Don’t you have any shame?" Camila’s voice echoed through the quiet bedroom, filled with disgust. "Fucking married men. Sleeping in my husband’s bed... while I am pregnant with his child."
Seriously, the joke was completely on her. Did she really think I was stupid? Did she actually believe I didn’t know about the lies she and her sisters, Talia and Bianca, had been spinning? They had been playing games under this roof for too long, but their time was officially ticking down.
Slowly, I rolled over and sat up, fixing her with a cold, dead-eyed stare.
"You tricked the triplets into marrying you and your sisters," I said, eyeing her. "And soon, this entire fake marriage will be over. As for your pregnancy? If you are really pregnant, why don’t you go tell your husband instead of whispering it to me?"
Camila’s face turned bright red, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She tried to speak, her fingers twitching at her side, but the bedroom door flew open before she could get a single word out.
Liam walked in. The second his green eyes landed on Camila standing near his bed, his entire chest expanded and a terrifying, deep growl ripped from his throat. The walls practically shook.
"What are you doing in here?" he snarled, his Alpha aura flaring so hard the air in the room instantly turned heavy.
Camila jumped, but she tried to pull her shoulders back, playing the part of the proud wife. "I am your wife, Liam! I have the right to be in your room. The real question is, what is this whore doing here?"
That was her biggest mistake.
Liam went completely feral. In a split second, he blurred across the room. Before Camila could even blink, his hand shot out and grabbed her tightly by the hair, tilting her head back.
"The next time you call my mate a whore to my face, or even behind my back, I will cut off your tongue," Liam hissed, his voice dropping into a dark, demonic promise.
Camila let out a sharp whimper, all her fake bravery melting away into pure terror. While keeping a tight grip on her hair, Liam dragged her to the entrance, forced the door open, and threw her out into the hallway like a piece of trash. He slammed the heavy wood shut, locking it with a loud, final click.
He stood by the door for a moment, chest heaving as he sucked in a deep breath, forcing his inner wolf back under control. When he finally turned to me, the anger in his eyes vanished, replaced by deep worry. "I am so sorry, love. I shouldn’t have left the hallway unguarded."
"It’s okay," I nodded, sliding off the high mattress. I couldn’t stay in this room anymore. The air felt suffocating. "I want to take a walk."
"I’ll come with you," he said immediately.
I nodded, and we walked out of the residential wing, heading straight out into the warm afternoon air toward the pack’s main training field.
Dozens of Full Moon warriors were out there, running drills, lifting heavy weights, and sparring in the dirt. I was doing my absolute best to distract myself from thinking about Leo and Leonard. My finger was practically itching to open the mind link again, but I forced myself to hold back. Distracting them while they were preparing to lead a vanguard was a literal death sentence.
Liam noticed my unease. He watched the way my eyes kept darting toward the western border, my body tense and restless.
"Come on, darling," Liam said, a soft, challenging smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Let’s spar."
I looked at him and nodded.
Honestly, these triplets still had no idea what I was capable of. Liam still thought I was that same weak, fragile girl he used to train years ago—the one who could barely take a hit without bruising. He thought he was just going to give me a light, easy workout to clear my head.
He was in for a very rude awakening.
We stepped onto an empty, dirt-packed ring in the center of the field. Liam kicked off his boots and dropped into a loose, easy stance, putting his hands up. "Go ahead, Scar. Give me what you’ve got. Don’t worry about hurting—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, I moved.
I blurred forward with explosive speed I had perfected over five years. Liam’s green eyes widened in pure shock as I slipped right past his guard. I hooked my foot behind his ankle, drove my palm hard into his chest, and used his own massive weight against him. With a heavy thud, Liam hit the dirt, flat on his back.
The entire training field went completely silent. Warriors stopped mid-swing, turning their heads to stare at the ring with wide eyes.
Liam lay in the dust for a second, looking up at the sky like he had just been hit by a truck. Then, a massive, booming laugh escaped his chest. He pushed himself up onto his feet, standing tall as he began to clap for me, his eyes burning with absolute pride and heat.
"Holy shit, love," he breathed, wiping the dirt from his chin. "Where the hell did you learn to move like that?"
"Less talking, more fighting," I smirked, bouncing lightly on the balls of my feet.
This time, Liam didn’t hold back. He dropped into a real, serious combat stance, his Alpha focus locking onto me. He lunged, throwing a heavy right hook. I ducked underneath the blow, feeling the wind of his fist brush past my hair. I swung around, delivering a sharp kick straight to his ribs, followed by a sweeping low kick that forced him to jump back to keep his balance.
We traded blows for minutes, blocks and strikes echoing through the open air. Every time he thought he had me cornered, I used my smaller frame to slip away, countering with lethal precision. By the time we finally parted, both of us were breathing heavily, sweat glistening on our skin.
Dozens of warriors had completely abandoned their drills, crowding around our ring to watch us, their murmurs of respect filling the air. They were looking at me like I was a goddess.
Liam didn’t care about the audience at all. He stared at me, his heart beating wildly, completely mesmerized by the fierce warrior standing in front of him.
"Fuck," he growled low.
He didn’t care who was watching. He strode across the ring, grabbed me by the waist, and pulled my sweaty body flush against his hard chest. He leaned down and kissed me proudly right in front of all his warriors—a deep, dominant, possessive kiss that told the entire pack exactly who I was.
He pulled away slowly, his green eyes still dark with heat and total disbelief. "How did you learn to do that?" he asked, his breathing still rough. "Seriously, Scar, where did that come from?"
I wiped a trail of sweat from my forehead, a small, proud smirk on my lips. "I told you before... I trained."
He let out a low laugh, his chest vibrating against mine. The shock on his face turned into something entirely wild and playful. He stepped back, a wicked gleam entering his eyes. "Then let’s see if you can beat me in your wolf form."
The moment the words left his mouth, the surrounding warriors went absolutely crazy. They cheered and roared, stamping their heavy boots into the dirt, desperate to see my wolf shift and test the Alpha.
But inside, I completely panicked.
I wasn’t panicking because I was shy about getting naked in front of everyone. In a werewolf pack, nudity was nothing new. It was a normal part of life. In fact, right across the field, a few warriors were completely naked, preparing to shift into their wolves before they stopped to watch Liam and me fight. They hadn’t even bothered putting their clothes back on. No, I wasn’t shy at all. I panicked because I was not ready to show my wolf to this pack.
I didn’t want them to see my fur. I am a red wolf. Red wolves are incredibly rare—literally one in every hundred thousand wolves—and revealing that right now would draw way too much attention. The craziest part? Liam didn’t even know yet. Only Leo knew the truth because of those Alphas I attacked.
Liam noticed the sudden hesitation in my eyes, but he completely misread it. He thought I was just being shy about going naked in front of the crowd.
Turning around, Liam glared at the cheering crowd, his Alpha aura flaring just enough to make them instantly shut up. "Everyone back to your training! Now!" he commanded.
The warriors didn’t need to be told twice. They quickly scattered, turning back to their weights and sparring rings.
Liam turned back to me, his expression softening as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I’m sorry, love," he said gently. "I shouldn’t have put that kind of pressure on you in front of the whole pack."
"No," I said, stepping closer to him and shaking my head. "It’s fine, really."
I took a deep breath, looking into his trusting green eyes. I loved him, and hiding things from him made my chest ache. I wanted him to know who I really was, but I needed all three of them together when I finally dropped the bomb.
"Liam, I want to show you something about my wolf," I said softly, my voice serious. "But let’s wait until your brothers return."
He looked at me, a bit curious, but he didn’t push me to speak. He just nodded, respecting my boundary completely. "Okay, darling. We’ll wait for Leo and Leonard."