The one he chose

Scarlet

I stormed into my room, slamming the door behind me so hard the walls trembled. My chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, my hands shaking with rage.

How could he still stand by her? 

How could he still love her after everything?

The moment I saw them together in that room, all the pain I had swallowed for years cracked open like a dam, flooding my mind with everything I had tried to bury.

Theo was out of his mind. 

She was marked. 

She belonged to someone else now, and yet he still refused to see it.

My gaze landed on my dresser, where a collection of expensive perfume bottles sat neatly arranged. My hand reached out instinctively, fingers curling around a deep sapphire bottle with intricate gold filigree.

A gift. 

From Theo.

The bottle felt like a weight in my palm, each ounce heavy with memories. I tightened my grip, nails digging into my skin as a searing ache rose in my chest. I raised it slightly, my arm tensing with the urge to hurl it across the room, but I froze. A painful lump formed in my throat.

I couldn't. 

Not this one.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips, sharp and hollow. How pathetic. Even now, I hesitated over something so small, something that still reminded me of him.

With a growl, I grabbed another bottle—one of no significance—and threw it at the wall. Glass shattered, the scent of crushed flowers spilling into the air.

But it wasn't enough.

I reached for another. And another.

Porcelain vases, delicate trinkets—anything my hands could find. One by one, I sent them crashing to the floor, the sound of their destruction a brief release. But with every shattering piece, the storm inside me grew louder, more intense. The chaos, the noise—it filled the room, but it couldn't drown out the rage in my chest.

How did it come to this?

I thought she wouldn't be a threat. 

I thought she would fade into the background. 

I even let myself believe we could be friends. 

I was a fool.

From the moment she arrived, she took everything. The attention, the admiration… him.

And the worst part? She never even had to try. 

She didn't have to fight for any of it. She just… existed. And that was enough to make Theo fall for her.

My breath hitched. My legs gave out beneath me, and I crumpled to the floor, my body folding into itself.

I had given him everything—my time, my heart, my trust—and yet, it was never enough.

And it never would be.

I reached for another object, desperate for something else to destroy.

Then I heard it.

A knock. 

Firm. Unhurried. Calm. 

Then—his voice. 

"Scarlet."

I stiffened.

That voice. Steady, infuriatingly controlled.

"Open the door. We need to talk."

Talk?

I let out a short, humorless laugh. "If this is about your precious Luna, you better turn around, Theo. I have nothing to say."

Silence. 

Another knock. Slower. Persistent. 

"Scarlet."

That damn calm voice.

As if I was a petulant child.

I whirled around, my fury reaching new heights. My hand shot out and I yanked the door open so hard it slammed against the wall.

Theo stood there, arms crossed, his eyes flicking over the destruction in the room. He barely spared a glance for me. His gaze dropped to my feet, where blood trailed from the cuts caused by the shattered porcelain. 

His brow furrowed, but he didn't speak. He never did.

Because Lydia was all that mattered.

I glared at him, words burning on my tongue. "What, here to defend your little Luna again? How predictable. What is it about her that makes you forget everything else, huh? You'd sell your soul just to see her smile, wouldn't you?"

He didn't react, not even a flinch.

"Lydia is innocent," he said simply.

I clenched my jaw. "You're blind, Theo. Why don't you wake up? She's marked. She belongs to someone else now. And yet, here you are—standing by her, like nothing's changed. You make me sick."

He sighed, his patience unbroken. "Why are you acting like this?"

I whirled back around, my body shaking with the need to release everything. "Why am I acting like this? Why? Because I'm the only one who seems to care about what really happened last night!"

Silence stretched between us, but I could picture the look on his face. That calm, infuriatingly righteous expression. The one he always wore when it came to Lydia.

"She's our friend, Scarlet," he said, his tone unwavering. "You should be standing by her, not shunning her like this."

I scoffed, my voice cold. "Before she became my friend, there was us." My voice cracked. "What about you, Theo? Even though you don't care about yourself, do you think I wouldn't? Tell me, why do you keep defending her? Does it make you feel like a man? Or are you just so desperate to pretend everything's fine, even when your precious Luna's out there letting some bastard mark her?"

"It doesn't change anything," he said quietly.

I stared at him, my heart twisting painfully. "It doesn't? Are you serious?"

"She doesn't remember," he said, his voice firm. "That changes everything."

"So what?" I snapped. "Just because she doesn't remember doesn't change the fact that she was marked!" My fists tightened at my sides, my nails cutting into my palms. "And you can't ignore the bond."

"Lydia is my mate," he said, as if the words were truth enough.

I felt the air leave my lungs. "Your mate? Are you that desperate, Theo? Just making excuses, because you can't bear to face the truth. She's already marked, but you're too blinded to see it."

"She's wolfless, Scarlet," he replied. "She can't feel the bond. And even if she was marked, it doesn't matter. She loves me."

The words cut deeper than I wanted to admit.

I forced myself to meet his gaze, my heart breaking with each passing second. "And what if the wolf who claimed her comes for her?"

He didn't hesitate. "She will choose me, and if necessary, I'll fight for her."

A sick, hollow feeling spread through me. His unwavering faith in her… it made me want to scream.

Silence. The weight of his words hung in the air, suffocating.

Then, in a voice that held no room for argument, he added, "And I don't want this reaching Lydia's ears." He locked eyes with me. "If anyone dares to speak about it, they'll be on my blacklist. That includes you."

I felt the blood drain from my face. His words, cold and final, rang in my ears.

Of course. He would protect her. 

Never me.

I shook my head, disbelief lacing my voice. "Why, Theo?" I hissed. "You don't want others to know how your precious Lydia got ruined last night? Is that it? Does it embarrass you? Does it make you feel small?"

His gaze remained unyielding, his face an impenetrable mask. "I don't want it to hurt her," he said, his voice steady, as if that made everything better. "We don't know what happened last night. And her not remembering it doesn't help. Can't we just move past this? All I wanted was a peaceful life with her."

"And do you think the pack will accept a Luna who is tainted?" I bit out, my voice thick with frustration. "Do you have any idea what will happen to her if word gets out?"

He didn't flinch, his eyes locked onto mine with unwavering conviction. "She didn't choose this. I'm standing by her, no matter what."

"Standing by her? Or hiding behind her, because you're too afraid to face the truth. She will be the ruin of you," I spat, my words cutting through the silence like a knife.

Theo's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. The room hung heavy with the weight of his silence, the tension unbearable.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. "Come up and clean the mess in Scarlet's room," he said, his tone clipped, devoid of any emotion. His eyes flicked to the broken shards on the floor, then to my bloodied feet. He sighed.

With a resigned look, he crouched down, pulling a cloth from the nearby table. He moved with practiced precision, tending to my wounds without another word.

"Don't move," he muttered, his touch gentle, but it only made the coldness in my chest grow.

I should have told him to leave. To go to hell.

But I stayed. Rooted in place.

Because no matter how much I hated him, no matter how much I wanted to rip everything apart, I still wanted him.

Which made me even more pathetic.

I thought he would finally open his eyes after everything that happened. That he would leave her. That this time, he wouldn't be able to ignore the truth.

But I was wrong. Again.

And now, after everything I had done—everything I had shattered—I couldn't take it back. The mess around me was nothing compared to the one in my head, tangled and impossible to fix.