Crystal Clear
KANE
The second her blood hit the air, my wolf lost its fucking mind.
Scarlett pushed herself up from the pavement, one elbow scraped raw, a thin line of red already welling up. The scent of it slammed into me like a fist, sweet, sharp, *hers* and every muscle in my body locked tight with the urge to tear the bastard who caused it into pieces.
Rhys already had him by the throat, but it didn't seem to be enough.
My claws itched to come out, but I did my best to keep my wolf in check.
The beta’s feet dangled a few inches off the ground while he clawed uselessly at Rhys’s wrist, face turning an ugly shade of red. Scarlett scrambled closer, eyes wide, one hand reaching out.
“W-wait… stop…” she mouthed, then grabbed Rhys’s arm and shook her head hard, pointing at the ground.
*Put him down.*
The beta choked out something that sounded a lot like “S…car…”
My vision went red.
He knew her name.
This random fucking beta knew *our* Omega’s name.
Scarlett turned to Rhys, still holding his arm, and mouthed frantically. Rhys’s golden eyes narrowed but he didn’t loosen his grip.
“You know him?” he asked, voice cold and quiet.
Scarlett hesitated, then nodded once.
I growled low in my throat. “Is he a threat?”
She shook her head quickly, already scribbling on her notepad with shaky fingers. She held it up for both of us to see.
*Not in the way you’re thinking. Please let him go.*
Rhys studied her for a long second. Then, without warning, he opened his hand.
The beta hit the pavement like a sack of meat, coughing and gasping.
Instantly the four of us moved, closing ranks around Scarlett and pushing her behind us.
She shoved at my back with both hands, but it felt like a kitten trying to move a wall. I didn’t even rock.
The beta still on his knees looked up at us with a mixture of fear and barely controlled anger.
Before any of us could stop her, Scarlett slipped past me and dropped down beside him, offering her hand. He took it, still coughing, and let her help him up.
“What’s going on, Scarlett?” he rasped, eyes flicking warily between the four of us.
She pointed toward the café entrance. People were already staring through the windows.
A few had even stepped outside.
Rhys’s voice cut through the tension.
“Inside. Now.”
Ten minutes later we were seated at a corner table in The Honey Thorn.
The beta’s name was Stuart.
Stuart.
What kind of wolf was named *Stuart*?
I stared at him across the table, arms crossed, while Scarlett wrote something on her notepad and slid it over to him.
*What are you doing here?*
Stuart glanced at the bandage around her throat, then at the notepad, then back at her. “I came to visit someone,” he said carefully.
The answer was vague and off. My wolf bristled.
Scarlett didn’t seem to notice. She just nodded and wrote again.
Stuart’s eyes moved over the rest of us. “Um… are these your friends?”
Rhys answered before she could.
“No,” he said smoothly, golden eyes locked on the beta. “We are her Alphas.”
Stuart’s mouth fell open and Scarlett’s cheeks flushed a deep pink.
I smirked.
Stuart recovered enough to clear his throat. “Sooo… what are you doing here?”
Scarlett wrote quickly and turned the notepad toward him.
*We’re on break from school. I decided to get a temporary job. Please don’t tell my brothers or my father you saw me.*
Stuart frowned. “Why not?”
I leaned forward until my face was only inches from his, voice dropping into something low and unhinged.
“Because she said so.”
He flinched.
Good.
I smiled, all teeth.
“Any other questions?”
Scarlett’s eyes snapped to me the second the words left my mouth.
Her lips parted in silent protest, and she gave me a sharp little glare that would’ve been cute if my wolf wasn’t still vibrating with the urge to rip Stuart’s throat out. Then she turned back to the beta and scribbled something fast, shoving the notepad toward him.
*Please don’t tell them.*
Stuart read it, then nodded slowly.
“Okay. I won’t,” he said. “But… I advise you not to hide it for too long from the Alpha. Your father won’t take it well if he finds out from someone else.”
My jaw tightened.
*The Alpha.*
As if her father mattered.
The only Alphas she shouldn’t be hiding things from were sitting right here at this table. Us. Not some pack leader who let her walk into a fucked up school and no care for years.
Scarlett wrote again.
*I won’t.*
Stuart exhaled. “Okay. Then… I guess I’ll see you around.”
I opened my mouth to shut that idea down hard, but Scarlett was already nodding.
*Sure.*
Stuart stood up, still a little unsteady. He glanced at all of us, then his eyes lingered on Lily for half a second too long. His cheeks went faintly pink.
I narrowed my eyes.
Oh?
Before I could decide how I felt about that, Rhys rose smoothly from his chair.
“I’d like a word with you,” he said.
I stood as well.
Stuart’s face went a shade lighter.
The second I moved, the beta staggered back half a step like his body already knew better than his brain. Scarlett shot up from her seat, worry flashing across her face.
I clapped a heavy hand on Stuart’s shoulder before she could intervene, gripping just tight enough to make my point.
Rhys looked at her, voice calm.
“We won’t hurt him, darling.”
I grinned down at the beta as I guided him outside.
“Not much, anyway.”
Scarlett’s glare burned into the back of my head as we left the table.
We didn’t go far. Just around the corner into a quiet alley that smelled of old brick and trash.
The moment we were out of sight of the street, I released him with a little shove.
He stumbled but stayed upright, eyes darting between me and Rhys like he was calculating which one of us would kill him first.
Rhys straightened his cuffs, calm as ever.
“Stuart,” he said pleasantly. “You’re going to listen carefully.”
I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching.
Rhys continued, voice low and precise.
“You saw Scarlett today. You spoke to her. That is the end of it. You will not mention her presence in this city to her brothers, her father, or anyone connected to her pack. You will not ‘run into’ her again by accident. And if anyone asks why you have a bruise forming on your throat, you fell.”
Stuart swallowed.
I pushed off the wall and stepped closer, letting my wolf bleed into my eyes.
“She’s under our protection now. That means her safety, her privacy, and her location are not your concern. Are we clear?”
Stuart nodded rapidly, eyes wide.
“Crystal clear.”
I patted his cheek once, almost friendly.
“Good boy.”
Then I stepped back, still smiling.
“Now get lost. And if I ever catch you looking at any Omegas I know like that again… we won’t have this polite little chat a second time.”
Stuart didn’t need to be told twice.
He scrambled away down the alley like his life depended on it.
Smart man.
When he was gone, Rhys glanced at me.
“You enjoyed that.”
I shrugged, rolling my shoulders.
“A little.”
We turned back toward the café.
Our girl was waiting.
And I was already thinking about how good she was going to smell when I got my hands on her again.