CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - A TRUE FRIEND

It's about time a familiar face returned, am I right?

That was exactly what happened within the next two days. 

I was situated on a couch in the living room, drinking a cup of green tea to calm my nerves, while flipping through a book. The front door suddenly opened with a creak, alerting me. When I looked up, I expected to see another warrior of the Monclaw Pack - lately, it was just a revolving door of warriors. 

But, instead, it was someone who I wasn't sure if I would ever see again. 

Scarlett.

She collapsed against the doorframe, inhaling deeply. Her red hair was matted to her sweaty forehead, her clothes were ripped and stained, blood oozed from recent wounds. She had one hand pressed firmly against her rib-cage and her other hand trembling above a thigh wound. 

Her brown eyes met mine.

A weak smile came onto her face. "I'm back."

"Scarlett?" I breathed, leaping from the couch. She started sliding down the doorframe in exhaustion, but I was there fast, grabbing her. I provided enough support for her to stay standing. A groan escaped her lips from the little movement. 

She tilted her head back, blinking at me for a moment. It was almost as if she couldn't get her vision to clear. She lifted a hand, brushing her fingertips against the ends of my hair. "Hey, you cut your hair - you look good, babe."

"Come on, let's sit you down," I responded, ushering her to the couch. When she gently sat down, I straightened to my feet in a panic. "I need to go grab Julius -"

"No, wait," she blurted, snatching my hand. "Stay for a minute."

"Scarlett, you're bleeding," I persisted, concerned. "Who did this to you?"

"Who do you think?" she retorted, giving me a look. "Roarke." My stomach dropped. My vision swayed. Roarke had done this to her. My eyes skimmed her broken, bleeding body in horror. She inhaled through her nose, before wincing in pain. "The only reason I'm still alive is because Rudy stepped in and I managed to escape."

"Rudy saved you?"

Her eyes softened. "He did." She had a quick lapse of emotion, before she cleared her throat and huffed, becoming cold once again. "He put his life on the line for mine. What an idiot."

I noticed there was a severe amount of blood oozing from her thigh. I quickly pressed my hands to the wound without a second thought, applying pressure. She chomped down on her bottom lip, muffling her scream of pain. "Why aren't your wounds healing?"

"Because, they're from an Alpha," Scarlett hissed, gritting her teeth together. When her eyes locked with mine, she flashed a confident grin. "Don't look so scared, babe. I'm going to be fine. It'll just be a few hours until I can stand again."

Guilt overwhelmed me. "I'm so sorry."

"Why?" she asked, frowning. "This isn't your fault." But, I still felt responsible. Roarke did this to her - maybe I could've stopped it somehow. As I mentally blamed myself, Scarlett stared at me, seeming to drift in and out of consciousness. "You even have that look in your eyes that Luna had."

Thankfully, at that exact moment, Weylyn entered the room. He stiffened at the smell of blood and he turned his head, spotting us. 

"She's bleeding," I stated, feeling her warm blood between my fingers. "I-I don't know what to do."

He moved forward, kneeling down and taking my place at the couch. Once I removed my hands from her wound, he quickly examined her injuries with calm eyes. His lips formed a straight line as he lightly shook his head. "These are some deep wounds, Scar."

When she smiled, she had blood on her teeth. "You should see the other guy." As Weylyn took a closer look at her wounds, Scarlett shifted her attention to me, briefly rolling her eyes. "Can you tell her to stop crying?"

He looked at me. "Go grab the medical kit in the bathroom."

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I rose to my feet and rushed off to the bathroom. I rummaged through the drawers underneath the sink until I found the medical kit. My hands were trembling. My eyes were burning. I needed to pull myself together.

When I returned to the living room, Julius was standing there, holding Scarlett's hand. "I warned you to be careful, Scarlett. You should've left with Chloe - both of you could've probably saved yourselves the extra injuries if you had stuck together."

"I couldn't leave him," Scarlett murmured, referring to Rudy. "I had to stay. . .until I couldn't stay any longer."

Julius's jaw tightened. "And, because of that decision, look what has happened to you."

"I needed to explain myself to him," Scarlett argued, glaring at him. "He needed to hear it from me." She glanced at me as I handed the medical kit to Weylyn who instantly started to tend to her wounds. She flinched in pain at his touch. "And, he's not angry at me. He told me - he understands."

I tilted my head. "Rudy understands?"

She flashed her bloody teeth at me. "He chose me." I was confused, and when I looked at Julius and Weylyn, they looked confused as well. "He chose me over Roarke."

"What does that mean?" Julius asked, quickly. 

"It means, Rudy won't be fighting," Scarlett said, watching me. "The deadliest warrior of the Farkas Pack has chosen to withdraw - he is rogue now." 

I was shocked by this news, but even more shocked when Scarlett turned into a giggling frenzy. Tears streamed from her eyes as she giggled and giggled until finally passing out.

-

"Can I come in?" Weylyn asked, lingering in the doorway. I lifted my head, peering at him from the bed. Scarlett was still on the couch in the living room, quietly speaking to Julius. I needed some time to myself - I needed to think. Yet, as I made eye-contact with Weylyn, I realized that I didn't mind his company. 

I nodded my head.

Weylyn entered the bedroom, softly closing the door behind him. I started picking at the tips of my fingers, continuing to ponder. Roarke had hurt Scarlett. She could've died. Rudy was rogue. Everything was falling apart. Everyone was falling apart.

As I ran my fingers through my hair, Weylyn approached the end of the bed. "Did Scarlett scare you?"

I frowned. "Scare me?"

"Appearing at the front door, bleeding and broken," he explained, rather calmly. "I imagine seeing your friend hurt like that was startling." 

There was a moment of silence as I searched for my next words, which would be a deep confession. "Did I tell you that I watched a close friend of mine get murdered? His name was Foster. He's not the only person who I've seen die. I've seen several people die, but he was the first that I knew personally."

Weylyn just listened.

"This world is full of death, of blood, of broken people," I continued, shaking my head. "Everybody is just trying to break what's already broken - and it's going nowhere. Scarlett showing up like she did, it was startling, but I wasn't surprised. Hurting people is normal now. Murder is normal now."

"We are all in pain," I finished, holding back my tears. "We are all trying to make ourselves feel better by hurting other people. We all want to be happy - and we're all trying to achieve happiness in the wrong ways."

"That's what you believe?"

"Am I wrong?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He pinched his lips together, squaring his shoulders, yet not meeting my gaze. "How are you achieving happiness?"

He turned his head. "I - well, I guess I haven't thought about happiness." I blew out a breath, glancing up at the ceiling. He stepped forward, his knees touching the end of the bed. "How are you achieving happiness?"

"I'm not," I admitted, quietly. "I'm the defining idea of happiness for others." His eyebrows furrowed together at my words. "Roarke's happiness depends on me. Julius wants to be happy with me. Everybody can see themselves happy with me, but what about my happiness?"

"I understand what you're saying," Weylyn spoke, dropping his tone. "If you want to be happy, you have to fight for it."

"Everybody is fighting for happiness," I said, crossing my legs on the bed. "With claws and teeth and bloodshed. That's how it is these days, and I can't fight like that. It's not me. I'd rather be unhappy than have to hurt others to get to happiness."

He was silent for a minute.

"I think you're a gentle soul," he said, almost too softly. "In a cruel world. And, I'm shocked you've survived this long."

My heart skipped a beat. "Were you a gentle soul once?"

He seemed surprised by my question, but he managed to give me a calm answer. "I've never been gentle."

"But, you haven't always been a killer," I responded, wrapping my arms around myself. "I think we all start off gentle and innocent - then, we turn into monsters."

Weylyn cocked an eyebrow. "You haven't."

I hesitated. "Yet."

His shoulders stiffened and he remained standing there, keeping me company with my negative thoughts. Things were only going to get worse from here.