Chapter 266: Awake

Leonard’s POV

​Two whole days had passed, and Scarlett still hadn’t opened her eyes.

​My brothers and I had been taking turns, making sure someone was always by her side. None of us had argued about it. None of us had said a single mean word or complained about the other doing too much. It was so nice to feel this way. The thick, angry walls of jealousy that used to divide us for years had completely melted away, replaced by a quiet, shared love for our mate.

​I stood by the edge of the large bed, staring down at her calm face. Her skin was warm now, but she was still locked deep inside her mind.

​"Scar, you have to wake up. Please," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion as I reached down and lightly touched her hand.

​Liam stepped into the room, his eyes tired but soft when they landed on her. He walked over to the other side of the mattress and sat down. "Yes, please, Scar. We need you."

​Leo walked in right behind him, leaning his heavy frame against the bedpost. "We are not whole without you, little bird. Please come back to us."

​We stayed like that for hours, talking to her, telling her about our days, and reassuring her that the pack was safe. As the night grew late, none of us wanted to leave her room. One by one, we climbed onto the large bed beside her. Liam lay on her left, Leo lay on her right, and I rested near the space by her shoulders, wrapping our arms around her securely. Feeling the steady warmth of my brothers and my mate, I finally closed my eyes and fell asleep.

​Suddenly, I opened my eyes, but I wasn’t in her bedroom anymore.

​I was standing in a strange, foggy place. The ground beneath my feet felt like soft water, and the air smelled like sweet mint. I looked to my left and right, gasping in shock. Liam and Leo were standing right there next to me.

​"Where are we?" Leo asked, looking around the thick grey mist. "Are we dreaming?"

​"Look," Liam whispered, pointing ahead.

​Through the fog, a small figure was sitting on the ground. It was Scarlett. Her back was turned to us, her shoulders small and tight, as if she were trying to hide from the world.

​"Scarlett!" I called out, my heart leaping as the three of us ran forward together.

​She flinched when she heard my voice, but she didn’t turn around. "Don’t come any closer," she sobbed, her voice echoing in the empty space. "Please, just leave me here."

​"What are you talking about?" Leo cried, dropping to his knees a few feet away from her. "We came to bring you home. Come back to us, Scar."

​"No!" Scarlett cried out, covering her face with her hands. "I am scared of returning. If I come back, you three will just hate each other again. You will fight, and you will kill yourselves over who gets to keep me. It is better if I stay here. It is better if I die so you can live in peace."

​Her words felt like a physical slap to my chest. She had been holding onto that deep fear this entire time.

​"Scar, look at us. Please," I pleaded, stepping closer until I could see the side of her face. "You have it all wrong. These past two days, we haven’t fought once. We haven’t let a single drop of jealousy inside our hearts."

​"We swear to you, Scarlett," Liam said, his voice loud and completely sure. "We will learn to share you. No... we want to share you. We broke the bad cycle of our fathers. We don’t care about our pride anymore. We only care about you."

​"I don’t want to own you, Scar," Leo said, tears running down his cheeks in the dream. "I just want you alive. I want us to be a family. All four of us. Please, just come back."

​I reached out my hand, letting it break through the fog toward her. "We choose you, Scarlett. Together. We will spend the rest of our lives making sure you feel safe and loved by all three of us. Please come home."

​Scarlett stayed still for a long, agonizing moment. Then, slowly, she turned her head. Her sea-blue eyes looked between the three of us, searching our minds. Through the dream bond, she felt our absolute honesty. She felt the pure, selfless love connecting the three of us.

​A small, beautiful smile finally broke across her lips, and she wiped her tears away.

​"Okay," she whispered softly.

​My eyes flew open.

​I gasped for air, my heart hammering against my ribs as the dream vanished. I quickly sat up in the dark bedroom, my chest heaving. At the exact same time, Liam and Leo gasped, sitting up fast on both sides of the bed.

​We all looked at each other, our eyes wide with shock. No words were needed. We knew right away that we had just shared the exact same dream.

​"Look," Leo whispered, his voice shaking as he pointed down.

​Liam and I quickly looked down at Scarlett’s face on the pillow. The completely still, doll-like look was gone. Her long eyelashes were fluttering, moving gently as she began to stir.

​A soft, low breath left her lips, and her fingers lightly twitched against the sheets.

​"Scarlett?" I breathed, my voice barely a whisper in the quiet room.

​The three of us didn’t move. We didn’t even dare to blink, terrified that if we made a sound, she would slip back into that cold, deep sleep. We watched her face, our chests tight with hope.

​Slowly, her long eyelashes fluttered again. She let out another soft sigh, and then, her eyelids finally blinked open. Those beautiful, sea-blue eyes looked up at the ceiling, looking a little bit confused at first.

​"Water," she whispered, her throat sounding completely dry and rough.

​"I’ve got it!" Leo gasped, moving so fast he almost tripped over the bedsheets. He rushed to the side table, poured a glass of cool water with shaking hands, and brought it right back.

​Liam gently slipped his arm behind her back, lifting her up slowly so she could sit against the pillows. She leaned her weight into him, her body still a little weak but completely alive. I took the glass from Leo and held it to her lips, letting her take slow, small sips.

​As the cool water cleared her throat, Scarlett looked up. She looked at Liam on her left, Leo on her right, and then her eyes locked onto me. She looked down at how our hands were still intertwined on the mattress, completely relaxed and peaceful.

​"You’re all here," Scarlett murmured, a small tear forming at the corner of her eye. "It wasn’t just a dream."

​"It was real, Scar," Liam said gently, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head. He kept his arm securely around her waist, not to pull her away from us, but just to hold her close. "Every word we said to you in that dream is the absolute truth. We are done fighting."

​"We almost lost you, little bird," Leo said, his voice cracking as he climbed back onto the bed and sat near her knees. He took her other hand, pressing it against his warm cheek. "We realized that a life without you isn’t a life at all. And a life where we fight each other only hurts you. We choose to share you. Fully. Forever."

​Scarlett looked at the three of us, her chest moving up and down with healthy, steady breaths. Through our shared mate bond, I could feel her mind opening up. The deep fear and anxiety that had driven her to run into the vampire territory were completely gone. She could feel our emotions now—she knew there was no hidden anger, no secret jealousy, and no lies between us.

​"I was so scared," Scarlett whispered, letting out a breath she had been holding for days. She reached out and pulled Leo closer by his hand while leaning her head against Liam’s shoulder. She looked at me, giving my fingers a tight squeeze. "I thought I would have to choose. I thought choosing one of you would destroy this pack."

​"The only thing that would destroy this pack is losing you," I said softly, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. Her skin felt warm and perfect. "We broke the cycle, Scarlett. We are a team now."

​She smiled, a real, radiant smile that completely lit up the dark bedroom. For the first time in a very long time, the mate bond felt completely sealed, humming with a warm, golden energy that wrapped around all four of us. We were finally whole.

​But just as the sweet relief settled into my chest, a sharp knock cut through the quiet room.

​The door pushed open, and our Head Warrior walked inside. His face was tense and serious, his eyes lighting up with relief for a quick second when he saw Scarlett awake, but his professional posture quickly returned.

​"Alphas," the Head Warrior said, bowing his head quickly. "I am sorry to interrupt. But you were right about the assassination attempt coming for Scarlett."

​Liam’s eyes narrowed instantly, his Alpha aura turning freezing cold. "Report."

​"As you instructed, I kept secret spies and warriors placed all around the mansion," the Head Warrior explained, his voice low and sharp. "We kept a completely silent watch. And just now, my men caught two masked assassins trying to slip into the mansion."