9 Chapter 9

Beth sits up and Scarlet does too as she pulls my leather jacket back on, covering herself up. "Umm... Doctor, by any chance did you find a necklace after my stay in the hospital?" Scarlet asks as Dr. Hauser gets up from her spot on the edge of the bed.

The doctor's eyes open wide for a moment and she holds up a finger. "That reminds me," she begins before reaching for her bag. She opens it up and pulls out a small plastic bag. "A nurse found this when she was cleaning out your room. Is this what you were looking for?"

Scarlet swiftly reaches out and takes the baggie from Dr. Hauser, a smile spreading across her face as she sees what's inside. She quickly tips the bag upside down over her palm before a necklace falls out into it. "Yes! Thank you so much Doctor." I watch as she clasps the delicate chain around her neck and see a small diamond hanging from it. There is no way someone from The Scourge would be able to afford something like that.

"Where did you get the necklace?" I inquire, my body instantly tensing as though it expects to not like her answer.

She looks up at me worriedly and bites her lip, unsure. Clearly my instincts were right. "A friend gave it to me."

"A friend?" I ask, my voice coming out gruff and disbelieving. What kind of a friend gives someone expensive jewelry? She nods at me, reluctant to say any more. "What friend?"

She clears her throat uncomfortably. "Just a friend from The Scourge."

"And how did your friend afford something like that?"

"He found it."

"He???" My wolf growls. Why is another man giving her jewelry like that? No wonder she didn't want to answer me.

This time Dr. Hauser clears her throat as she comes up to me, interrupting the conversation that quickly seemed to be heating up. "Well, she has a few tender spots still and that one gash is pretty bad, but I bandaged it up. Shouldn't take more than a couple days to completely heal. Nothing to worry about. The main thing I could suggest right now is some rest for her. Quite frankly it looks like you both could use some Alpha." She gives me a pointed look and I smirk and nod at her.

"I'll see what I can do."

I walk her and Alex to the main exit and watch as the elevator doors close after them before heading back to my room to talk to Scarlet. She is still sitting on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees while they are bent up to her chin. I sit down next to her and her gaze rises to meet mine. Her expression betrays her and I can see the guilt and the anxiety. "Why did you do it? Why did you sneak out and go back to that place?"

"I... umm..." she begins as her eyes begin to wander around the room like she's trying to find another escape route.

"Don't even think about lying to me again Scarlet. Why didn't you tell me you knew who had killed my men? What was your relationship with him?"

Her eyes shoot back to me, wide and shocked. "We didn't have a relationship. He was just some asshole who lived in The Scourge with his little gang of thugs."

"But you knew he was guilty and you didn't tell me. Why?"

"I wasn't sure how you'd react..."

"And you think that's a good enough reason to lie to me?"

"No! I... I just didn't want any more innocent people to die. The packless aren't bad people..." she says before I cut her off with a scoff.

"They aren't bad people?! Are you fucking kidding me right now? Do you know what that asshole was going to do to you? Do you know what would have happened if I hadn't shown up?!" The idea of what could have happened kills me. I had seen the damage he had done and I could smell his arousal. He was enjoying it. My fists instantly tighten in anger and my jaw tenses.

"Not everyone in The Scourge is like that though! There is just a small group of guys that are always getting into trouble but that's it! Most of the people there are really decent. I just didn't want to risk any of them getting hurt if you went in there guns blazing again."

I can't stop the growl that bursts through my clenched teeth. She was protecting those lowlifes. Her eyes narrow at me and she sits up straighter, clearly going on the defensive. I decide not to argue about the morals of the packless. It is obvious that we don't see eye to eye on that matter and right now there are more important things to worry about. "Tell me about that guy who was attacking you," I order.

"His name was Ray Jones. He has been living in the Scourge for as long as I can remember. He was always up to no good. Picking fights, crossing borders, stealing stuff, that type of thing," she answers, taking the chance to avoid an argument as well.

"And what about this gang of his that you mentioned? How many other wolves did he hang out with?"

"Five. But they never used their wolf forms."

"Why not?"

She gives me a weird look as though she doesn't understand my question for some reason. "Because they're packless," she states as though that explains everything. When she sees that I'm not following she continues. "Packless can't mind-link each other. So they don't usually shift because that leaves them no way to communicate. They typically only shift to hunt for food to bring back to the shelter."

I nod. I had never even thought about that before. My eyebrows furrow as I continue to think. "What's the shelter?"

"It's where I live, where most of the packless live," she answers. She looks down and plays with the hem of my jacket that she is still wearing. Is she uncomfortable talking about this?

I want to ask her more about this, but I need to stay on track. Getting to know her and her past can wait. First, I need to get justice for my pack and that means finding the rest of Ray's gang. "So, did Ray and his men live at the shelter too?"

"No. They lived in one of the abandoned apartments next to where you rescued me, but they've been laying low since your last visit."

"Any idea where they would be hiding?"

"Not really. There are plenty of uninhabited buildings in The Scourge. And we are along the outer borders so they could hide in the woods that are outside of anyone's territory. Those would likely be their only options unless they decided to take their chances and leave the area."

So far the information doesn't seem to be narrowing down the possibilities. "Okay, can you describe all of his lackeys for me?"

She nods with a sigh before her face twists in concentration as she tries to remember Ray's goons. "Well... first there is Frank..." she begins before telling me about the scents and descriptions of each of the members of this so-called gang. I quickly mind-link the details to all my pack's warriors and guards. I also make sure to tell Alex and Xander so they can inform their own packs.

"Great. We'll let you know as soon as we find anything," Caleb's voice comes through in my head.

"I have all my guys on the lookout for them. Don't worry. We'll get them," Alex replies.

"Don't worry bro. They'll soon know they messed with the wrong pack," Xander answers in his usual arrogant tone.

When my gaze lands on Scarlet, she is looking at me, observing me. "What?" I ask her as I raise an eyebrow.

"You aren't going to hurt anyone else, right?"

"Scarlet, my responsibility is to my pack and our allied packs. They come first. As long as the packless don't get in our way, they won't get hurt."

She instantly narrows her eyes at me. "We weren't in your way the last time either. They had been minding their own business and you and your men tore them apart," she seethes, making my own anger spike.

"Why are you always trying to protect them?!"

"Well someone has to!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Seriously?! Ethan! We don't have an Alpha or any leaders to protect us. We aren't allowed to work. We constantly have to scrounge for food. We are on the outskirts of the borders which means that we have to worry about rogues and other threats..."

"Why do you keep saying 'we?' Those aren't your people anymore."

She gives me a withering look and I exhale the rage that is boiling to the surface. "That is seriously what you took away from what I just said?! Do you even hear yourself?! And I'm not part of your pack Ethan! I'm not part of any pack! That's the very definition of being packless! What do you have against us?! What did we ever do to you?!"

"THEY KILLED MY MOTHER!!!"

I see shock wash over her face and I turn away from her. All those bitter memories begin flooding my mind, the night we were told, the stabbing pain in my chest as my heart broke, the look on my brothers' faces. I don't want to relive this. I don't want my mate's pity. I need to get out of here.

"Ethan, I'm—" she begins as I can sense her approach before her hand lightly lands on my shoulder.

I shrug her away, not even bothering to look at her. My feet immediately carry me to the door and I reach for the knob. "I have things I need to take care of. I'll send someone to bring you up dinner. Don't wait up for me." With that I fling the door open and close it behind me, not even sparing my mate a glance in her direction.