Filed to story: The Silver Angel He Never Recognized (Scarlett) Book PDF Free
I blinked. My chest burned. My hands were still on the table. I could feel my wolf twitch. I didn’t even turn to look at Ryan-I didn’t need to-he answered so fast, voice smooth, clean, like he’d been waiting for it.
“Yes.” That was all he said. One word. A lie. And not even a crack in it.
I swallowed and nodded too, quiet.
“Yes.” My voice didn’t even sound like mine. I didn’t know who I was pretending to be. But we lied together. And somehow that felt worse.
Grandfather didn’t blink either. Just nodded once like he’d heard what he wanted or maybe didn’t care anymore. I couldn’t tell. The rest of breakfast was just background noise after that. He talked about meetings and plans and stuff I was supposed to care about but couldn’t. I kept nodding, smiling small, acting like everything wasn’t boiling under my skin. Ryan kept answering like he wasn’t holding back a storm of his own. His face was unreadable. That was what he did. He locked it all in and gave them what they needed. Not me. Them.
Beta Derek stepped in quiet, leaned into Grandfather’s ear and said something low. Grandfather stood like it was planned, cane in hand. We all stood too. That’s what you do. It’s automatic with him.
We followed him outside. The sun hit hard. Too bright, like it was trying to burn the truth off my skin. I stood back a little while Ryan said something I couldn’t catch. Grandfather nodded again, adjusted his coat, and gave me that look he always gives me like I’m some responsibility he didn’t sign up for. “Get some rest, child,” he muttered as he stepped into the car. “You look tired.”
Tired. I could’ve laughed but I didn’t. I just nodded. “I will.”
The door closed. The car drove off. And I stood there frozen, I turned. Ryan was already watching me. His eyes were calm, but his shoulders were tight. I wanted to reach out, say something, but my mouth was dry. My heart was louder than my thoughts.
“I think I need to sleep,” I said. It just came out.
He nodded without even thinking. “Of course. You should rest. I’ll be heading out too.”
Heading out. I nodded. I tried to make it small. Tried not to let my face give it away.I didn’t ask where
I didn’t ask about last night or the necklace or the phone call I pretended to sleep through. I didn’t ask about the girl. I didn’t ask if I was still the only one he couldn’t stop thinking about. Because if I asked, I might not survive the answer. And I already had too many wounds to explain.
So I nodded again, turned back into the house like I wasn’t full of questions.
I was pacing. Not out loud. Not in steps. Just in my head. Over and over and over.
He’d told me it was nothing.
Last night. When I asked, When I finally looked him in the eyes and just said it- What was that call about? -he gave me that soft smile that always made my heart stop and said, “Nothing much. Just something I’ve been looking into.”
Looking into. That’s what he called it. Like it was casual. Like it wasn’t big. But it was in his face. I saw it. The way his whole body shifted when that picture lit up on his phone. I saw how his eyes softened. I saw how his fingers curled around the device like it held something sacred. I saw the way he lit up. Not just smiled. Lit up .
Like it meant something.And it wasn’t me.
He brushed the question aside after that. Told me not to worry. Kissed the top of my head and told me to sleep. That he had things to handle in the morning. Said it like it was simple.
But my chest hasn’t stopped hurting since.
I sat up in bed, covers twisted around my legs, hair a mess, skin cold even though the room wasn’t. My throat was dry. My thoughts were louder than my heartbeat. And that was saying something. I tried to shake it off. I told myself it wasn’t what I thought. That I was just in my head. That the bond didn’t lie, and if he wanted someone else I would’ve felt it, right? Right?
But what if he didn’t want her? What if he owed her?Or worse, what if she was someone he lost-and now he was close to finding again?
I grumbled, grabbing my pillow and pressing it against my chest like it could stop the ache. I hated how this felt. I hated being unsure. I hated that my mate was out there chasing shadows and I didn’t even know what direction to look in. And I hated myself for caring this much when I should be focused on healing, on figuring out what the hell was happening to me.
But I wasn’t. I was stuck in the jealousy burning in my gut.The ringing pulled me out of my thoughts.
My phone. Loud. Too loud in the silence. I reached for it with a frown, half thinking it might be Ryan-even hoping, stupidly.
It wasn’t.I stared at the screen. That name. The one I should’ve deleted. The one I couldn’t.I answered before I could stop myself.And the first words that came through the line weren’t hello.
“I need to see you, Scarlett.”
My breath caught as my stomach twisted,
It was Bryan.
BRYAN’S POV
I was pissed. Not just pissed-burning.
. I knew what I said. I knew I was the one that told them Scarlett had whored herself out. I said it first. I said it out loud. But I never meant for it to go that far. I didn’t mean for it to hit screens. I didn’t mean for the whole damn party to see her like that.
I didn’t even know who the hell did that. Some snake at the party. Some rat who wanted to humiliate her. Or maybe me. Maybe both. But whoever it was, they’d stirred shit deeper than I could handle. Because I hadn’t even caught my breath before I looked up-and there he was.
Ryan.
Wrapping his arms around her like she hadn’t just been exposed to everyone. Holding her like she wasn’t a shameful secret but something holy. The way he pulled her to his chest, the way she collapsed into him, the way he looked at her like she was the only one that mattered-like she hadn’t just shattered in front of everyone.
And that bite.
That damn mate mark.
He’d marked her.
The bastard had already sunk his fangs into her skin, claimed her for real. She was his now. Not on paper. Not by bond alone. His . And she let him. She let him mark her.
That was what broke me.
I threw the door open, almost ripped it off the hooks, stormed into my apartment and there she was.
Maya.
Sprawled across my damn couch like she owned the room. Her robe half open, skin on display, covered in fake diamonds and too much makeup. Waiting for me like always. Legs crossrd.
“I’m not in the mood,” I snapped, tossing my jacket on the floor, eyes not even pausing on her. “My wolf’s not horny today, so don’t bother.”
She shifted, sitting up, her mouth parted like she’d been stung. Like I’d slapped her without touching her.
I didn’t care.
I wasn’t trying to be gentle. Not tonight. Not ever.
“You’re unbelievable,” she whispered, voice shaky. “Is this because of her?”
