Chapter 2 What the Blood Remembers

The next night fell hard.

Scarlett woke in a sweat, tangled in sheets that smelled like him. Her skin was on fire, her breath ragged, body trembling with need she couldn't fight anymore.

It had started.

The heat.

It throbbed beneath her skin, a rhythm her wolf followed with helpless obedience. She clawed at her neck, desperate to silence the ache-the ache only one man could cure.

Dominic.

She hated it.

Hated that his scent made her weak, hated how her dreams whispered his name like a promise and a curse.

She needed to move. Think. Escape.

But when she tried to stand, pain shot through her spine, blinding and raw. Her knees hit the floor. She gasped, clawing the edge of the bed.

And that's when she heard it.

Voices.

Not Dominic's. Not the guards.

Strangers.

Men.

Scarlett forced herself to crawl to the window, each breath a war, every movement setting fire to her nerves.

Down in the courtyard stood a dark figure draped in crimson fur, flanked by two wolves that weren't of this pack. His aura was cold, and his eyes... they glowed silver-blue.

Scarlett's heart froze.

She knew those eyes.

Alpha Theron.

A name that used to haunt her childhood.

Her mother had whispered it with fear.

Her father- the gods rest his traitorous soul-had once called him "king of the cursed."

"What is he doing here?" she whispered, her hands pressed into the glass.

Then she heard it. From her window, through the still night air.

"I've come for the girl," Theron said. "The blood doesn't belong to him."

Scarlett staggered back. Her mind reeled.

What blood? Whose blood?

Before she could question it further, the door slammed open.

Dominic stood there, chest heaving, eyes blazing with fury and something else-something like fear.

"You need to stay away from the window," he growled, stepping into the room.

She tried to stand, but her body betrayed her. Dominic caught her mid-fall, his arms around her waist.

"You feel it now, don't you?" he whispered, his voice low and raw. The bond. The heat. You can't outrun it anymore.

"I don't care about the bond," she gasped, gripping his shirt. "Who is Theron?"

Dominic's jaw tensed. "A ghost. One who should've stayed buried."

"What does he want from me?"

Dominic met her gaze, and for once, his arrogance was gone. His voice dropped to a whisper.

"Your blood, Scarlett... It's not just Omega. It's ancient. Forbidden. That's why your parents hid you. That's why he's here."

She stared at him, breathless, aching, overwhelmed.

"I'm not what you think I am," she murmured.

"No," he agreed, lifting her gently into his arms. "You're something far more dangerous."

He laid her on the bed, brushing her hair from her face with a touch far too soft for a monster.

"I won't let him take you."

Her voice cracked. "And if I go with him willingly?"

His gaze darkened. "Then I'll burn the world to bring you back."

Scarlett had no time to catch her breath before Dominic stormed out of the room, his eyes dark with a fury she hadn't seen before. She heard the growl of wolves in the distance, a deep, unsettling sound that made her pulse race.

He was going after Theron.

But the pain inside her-the heat-was far worse than anything Dominic could face. Her skin felt like it was being set on fire, every nerve alive with need, with something more. She wanted to scream, but the words wouldn't come. Her body betrayed her, a constant, unrelenting ache.

The door slammed open again.

This time, it wasn't Dominic.

It was Theron.

He walked in slowly, his eyes locked on her as if she were the last meal he'd ever feast upon. The scent of blood was thick around him, like a shadow that clung to his form. His lips curled into a cruel smile as he stepped closer, his presence suffocating.

"I told you I'd come for you, Scarlett," he said, his voice smooth and chilling. "And now, here we are."

She recoiled instinctively, but her body betrayed her again. The bond was already pulling at her, coaxing her to trust him.

"What do you want from me?" she spat, trying to stand, but her legs were weak.

Theron's eyes flicked to the window, in the direction Dominic had gone. Your blood, yes. But not just that, he said, his smile widening. "You're far more valuable than even you know. Your bloodline... it's older than anyone realizes. It could change everything."

Scarlett frowned, the pieces of the puzzle slipping into place, but not fast enough. "What do you mean?"

He stepped closer, the air between them crackling with an undeniable charge. "I mean, you have a choice, Scarlett. Join me, and I'll give you power beyond anything you've ever imagined. You'll never have to fight this heat again. Your wolf will be under your control."

Her heart thudded in her chest, but she didn't let herself believe it. "What's the catch?"

He chuckled darkly. "The catch is simple: your soul. You'll become mine, body and blood. In exchange, I'll give you control over your destiny. No more hiding, no more fear."

"Or..." Scarlett's voice faltered, but she held his gaze. "Or I stay with Dominic and fight you off?"

Theron's smile faded, and for a moment, something dangerous flickered in his eyes. "That's the hard way, Scarlett. But it's not a path I'll allow you to walk for long."

Before she could react, a familiar voice called out from the doorway.

"Touch her, and I'll tear you apart."

Dominic stood there, bloodied but unbroken, his eyes wild with the primal fury of an Alpha.

Theron's lips curled into a twisted grin. "You think you can protect her, Dominic? She's mine. And you-"

"I'll burn the world before I let you have her," Dominic interrupted, his voice low and lethal.

Scarlett's pulse raced between them, torn between the dark temptation Theron offered and the undeniable pull of Dominic's raw power. Her world was shifting, breaking apart, and she was at the center of it.

And then, as if her heart couldn't beat any faster, Theron's words hit her like a bomb.

"You don't understand, Scarlett. You're not just an Omega. "You're the key. "And if you choose him," he glanced at Dominic with a mocking smirk, "there will be consequences."

Scarlett's chest tightened. "What consequences?"

Theron's eyes glinted dangerously. "The truth about your bloodline will destroy everything you thought you knew about yourself. "And the question is, Scarlett, are you ready to face it?"

The night felt like it was closing in on Scarlett, suffocating her in a web of lies, power, and choices she wasn't ready to make. Theron's words echoed in her mind, as haunting as his silver-blue eyes. The key. Her bloodline. She wasn't just an Omega. She was something more, something dangerous.

And Dominic... he was there, still standing between her and the nightmare she could feel closing in.

Theron's smile never wavered, even as Dominic took a step forward, his muscles tensed and his breath ragged. The room seemed to pulse with energy, the very air thick with the tension of the three of them, caught in a web of fate none of them could escape.

"I don't care who you are," Dominic growled, his eyes burning with an intensity that could level kingdoms. "Stay away from her."