​Leo’s POV

​She pulled away from me, her movements slow and heavy. One by one, she began removing the pieces of the armor. I stood back, my eyes never leaving her, watching as the warrior shell fell away to reveal the woman underneath. When she was done, she sat on the edge of the large bed, looking small and fragile.

​I knelt on the floor in front of her, resting my hands on her knees, just staring. I was trying to understand why the air felt so still. The mate bond was right there—I could feel the golden thread of it in my mind—but it was quiet. It wasn’t humming with life like it used to. It felt like a phone line that had been cut.

​I didn’t want to pressure her. I didn’t want to scare her away again. So, I took a shaky breath and asked the simplest thing I could. "How have you been, Scar?"

​"I have been fine," she said softly.

​The answer was too short, too simple for three years of being "dead," but I swallowed my questions. I just wanted her to feel safe enough to tell me herself.

​She reached out and took my hands in hers, her grip tight. "Leo, can I ask you for a favor?"

​"Yes, Scar," I said instantly, leaning closer. "You can ask me anything. Anything at all."

​She swallowed hard, her eyes darting to the locked door before looking back at me with a desperate intensity. "Can you keep this between us for now? Especially... especially from your brothers."

​The request hit me like a punch to the gut. I swallowed hard, thinking of Liam and Leonard. "Scar... my brothers have been living miserably. We all have. They deserve to know you’re alive."

​"Please," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Please, Leo. Don’t tell anyone yet. Just do this for me." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

​"Scar, they are hurting," I argued gently, my heart breaking for my brothers who were miles away, still mourning a girl that was still alive.

​"Please... just do it for me," she pleaded, her eyes wide with a fear I didn’t understand. "I will tell you everything. I promise. But I need time. I need two years."

​"Two years?" I gasped. The thought of keeping this secret for another day felt impossible, let alone two years. "Scar, I can’t look them in the eye and lie about this."

​"Please," she cried, grabbing my arms, her body trembling again. "I will tell you everything after two years... I just need you to trust me. Please, Leo. If you love me, keep me a secret for just a little longer."

​I looked into her eyes and saw a terror so deep it chilled my bones. She wasn’t just hiding; she was protecting something. Or someone.

​I swallowed hard, my chest aching. If I told my brothers, I might lose her again. If I didn’t, I was betraying the two people I cared about most. But seeing the fear in her face made the choice for me. I couldn’t be the reason she ran again.

​"Okay," I whispered, leaning my head against her knees. "Okay, Scar. I’ll do it. I’ll keep your secret."

​She let out a long, shaky breath and pulled me into her lap, holding my head against her heart. I closed my eyes, feeling like a traitor and a savior all at once. I didn’t know what was going to happen in two years, but for now, she was in my arms, and that had to be enough.

​"So," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she smoothed my hair. "I heard that you men are married. And Leo... I heard you have a new mate now."

​I stiffened against her knees. I wanted to scoff, to pull back and tell her the truth instantly. I wanted to tell her that Bianca was my wife in name only, that our mate bond was a hollow, manufactured fake, and that I had never truly belonged to anyone but her.

​But just as the words reached my tongue, something stopped me. It wasn’t the voice of my wolf—he was too busy purring in relief to be near her. It was a different voice, a cold instinct at the back of my mind that felt like a warning. It told me that if I told her I was free, she might vanish again.

She’s different now. The woman behind that armor isn’t ready to be a mate or a wife yet. If I tell her my mate bond with Bianca was fake, she’ll feel trapped by the bond. I need her to believe I belong to someone else, so she can breathe.

And then there was the bond—or the lack of it. Why wasn’t it humming? Why wasn’t it snapping us back together? What had she done to us?

​I looked up at her, my heart heavy with a new kind of lie. I took a breath and forced the words out.

​"Scarlett... I’m sorry," I said, my voice thick with fake shame. "We were... we were forced. After you were gone, the Council and the packs... they pressured us. We had to marry them. We had to mark them."

​I looked away, unable to meet her eyes as I dug the hole deeper. "They drugged us, Scar. They used our grief against us and took advantage of us."

​I expected her to frown. I expected her to scream or push me away in disgust. But she didn’t. She didn’t even look angry.

​"It’s okay," she said quietly, her fingers continuing their rhythmic stroking of my hair. "I understand, Leo. Truly."

​Her calmness was more terrifying than any rage. It was as if she had already accepted that we were broken beyond repair. My heart hammered against my ribs—guilt and fear fighting for space. I had just lied to the woman I spent three years mourning, and she had forgiven me for a sin I didn’t even commit.

​"You aren’t mad?" I asked, searching her face.

​"I have no right to be mad," she replied, a sad smile touching her lips. "A lot can happen in three years. And it’s for the best."

​I wanted to scream that I was the same, that I was still hers, but the words were trapped behind the wall of my own deception.

​I wondered if she had moved on. Had she marked someone else? Was that why the bond felt silent? My eyes instinctively went to her neck, searching the smooth, pale skin for any sign of another man’s teeth. There was nothing. No scar, no fading ink, no scent of another male.

​She noticed my eyes searching her and gave a small, sad smile. "No, Leo... I am not marked by anyone. I haven’t been with anyone else."

​I felt a wave of relief, but it was quickly followed by a deeper confusion. "You’ve been alone all these years?"

​"Yes," she said softly, her eyes looking far away. "Just me."

​I swallowed hard, my hands tightening on her lap.

Then why? Why can’t I feel our bond? It was right there, but it was cold. It didn’t pulse with the heat and passion we used to have. It felt dead, even though she was sitting right in front of me.