​Scarlett’s POV

​I was sleeping, trying to take an afternoon nap because I couldn’t sleep at all through the night, when suddenly, my wolf stood up in my mind, her voice screaming at me.

​Scarlett, wake up! The triplets are here. They are right outside the gates!

​My eyes flew open. My heart slammed against my ribs. I jumped out of the guest bed and ran out of the room, my bare feet slapping against the cold floor. I rushed down to the main living room.

​Chen was standing by the security monitor, his face dark and angry as he stared at the screen. He was talking into the intercom phone. Through the camera feed, I saw them. Liam, Leonard, and Leo were standing right outside the giant iron gates, looking tall, irritated, and furious.

​My head raced. They were actually here. In China. Less than 24 hours after my phone call.

​Chen turned around and looked at me, his eyes full of confusion. "Scarlett? Do you know them? They say they are here for you."

​I swallowed hard, my throat completely dry. I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could speak, a loud sound echoed through the mansion.

​Bang! Bang! Bang!

​I jumped, my hands flying to my ears. "What was that?!"

​Chen’s face turned totally white as he looked down at his security board. "Those aren’t my guards’ weapons... The gunshots are coming from inside the house!"

​Right then, a faint breeze passed through the room, and I caught it. That dark, metallic scent. My blood ran cold.

​"Chen, the assassins are here," I whispered, my voice shaking with pure panic. "They are inside."

​"How did they get in?" Chen panicked, his hands trembling as he checked the cameras.

​Through the intercom speaker on the wall, I could hear the triplets’ voices roaring from outside the gate. The sound of the gunfire had traveled right through the microphone.

​"What is that gunshot?!" Leonard’s voice barked through the speaker, sounding completely crazed with worry. "What the hell is happening in there?!"

​"Scarlett! Answer us!" Liam shouted, his Alpha voice vibrating through the wall speaker.

​Chen dropped the phone receiver. "Scarlett, come with me! I have to hide you!" he yelled, grabbing my wrist.

​But we didn’t even make it to the door.

​The heavy double doors of the living room kicked open with a loud crash. Two masked men stormed in, their big black guns pointed directly at my chest.

​"Don’t move," one of the assassins growled, his voice cold and flat. "No need to run anymore, girl. And don’t you even dare to shift into your wolf, or we will put a bullet through your head before you can even growl."

​Chen’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. He dropped his grip on my wrist, staring at me in absolute shock. "You... you are a werewolf?"

​I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t even look at him. My own wolf was howling inside my head, begging me to shift, begging me to fight, but the guns were aimed right at my heart. One wrong move and I would be dead.

​I took a slow breath, trying to keep my voice steady. "Who are you? Who sent you?"

​The gunman laughed, a cruel, dry sound. "Let’s just say it’s someone whose path you crossed. Someone who wants you to remain dead."

​As they spoke, I realized something. They didn’t know the triplets were right outside the gate. If they knew three supreme Alphas were standing just yards away, they would have already shot me and run for their lives.

​"You have been good at hiding, Scarlett," the second gunman said, lifting his weapon higher, lining up the shot right between my eyes. "We have been tracking you for three fucking years. It ends now."

​My body froze. I panicked, my mind going completely blank as I stared down the barrel of the gun. There was nowhere to hide. No pillar to jump behind.

​He squeezed his finger against the trigger.

​But before he could pull it, it happened like a flash.

​The glass windows behind the assassins exploded into a million tiny pieces. The giant iron security gates outside must have been torn to shreds, because three large shadows burst into the room like a hurricane.

​Everything moved at the speed of light.

​Before the bullet could even leave the gun, a heavy, warm body crashed into me, grabbing my waist and pushing me safely away onto the soft carpet. I looked up through the dust and flying glass, my breath catching in my throat.

​It was Leo. He was holding me tight against his chest, his arms wrapped around me like a shield.

​At the exact same time, another shadow moved with terrifying, god-like speed across the room. Liam and Leonard had converged on the two gunmen before they could even turn their heads. Leonard’s fangs were fully bared, his eyes glowing a blinding, furious gold as his large hands ripped the weapon straight out of the first assassin’s grip, breaking the man’s arm with a sickening crack.

​Liam tackled the second gunman into the wall, shattering the concrete behind them, his face completely twisted in pure, possessive Alpha rage.

​The living room turned into a complete bloodbath in a matter of seconds.

​Liam didn’t just hit the second gunman; he completely destroyed him. He slammed the man into the wall again and again, his large hands wrapped around the killer’s throat. The sound of bones breaking filled the air, mixed with Liam’s terrifying, deep wolf growls.

​Leonard was just as brutal. He threw the first assassin onto the floor, pinning him down with a heavy knee to the chest. He ripped the dark mask off the man’s face, his claws digging deep into the killer’s skin.

​"Who sent you?!" Leonard roared, his voice so loud it made the remaining glass windows vibrate. "Who told you to touch her?!"

​The assassin choked on his own blood, gasping for air, but he didn’t say a word. He just stared up at Leonard with pure terror in his eyes.

​I couldn’t look anymore. I buried my face into Leo’s shoulder, my body shaking all over. Leo kept his arms wrapped tightly around me, pressing me against his chest. He was breathing heavily, his heart beating super fast against my cheek. He felt so warm, so solid, and so familiar.

​"I’ve got you, Scar," Leo whispered into my hair, his voice tight and full of emotion. "You’re safe. I’m not letting anyone hurt you again."

​Chen was completely frozen in the corner. He was staring at the triplets, then at the blood on the floor, and then at me. His brain couldn’t understand what his human eyes were seeing. The sweet, quiet painter he knew was currently being held by a giant, terrifying man, while two other men were tearing assassins apart with their bare hands.

​"Scarlett..." Chen choked out, his voice tiny and trembling.

​Liam sharply turned his head at the sound of Chen’s voice. The second assassin was slumped on the floor, completely still and lifeless. Liam’s eyes were glowing a bright, scary gold. He looked at Chen, his chest heaving up and down, his Alpha aura flaring up so high that the air in the room became thick and hard to breathe.

​Liam stepped away from the wall, walking slowly toward us. His eyes dropped down to where Leo was holding me on the floor.

​"Let her go, Leo," Liam ordered. His voice was dangerously low, a cold, possessive command that made my inner wolf shiver.

​Leo didn’t move at first. His grip on my waist tightened for a split second, a silent act of defiance. But Liam took another heavy step forward, his growl vibrating through the floorboards. Slowly, reluctantly, Leo unwrapped his arms from around me and stood up, pulling me up gently with him.

​The moment I was on my feet, Liam closed the distance. Before I could even blink, his large, scarred hands cupped my face. He tilted my head up, his gold eyes staring deep into mine, searching every inch of my face for injuries.

​"Five years," Liam breathed out, his voice cracking with a mix of pure anger, relief, and obsession. "Five years of thinking you were dead, Scarlett. And I find you across the world, hiding in another man’s house, getting shot at."

​"Liam..." I whispered, my voice caught in my throat as his familiar, overpowering scent of forest and pine washed over me.

​Leonard stepped up right behind him, his face covered in the assassin’s blood, but his eyes were completely full of tears as he stared at me. "You’re alive," Leonard cried softly, reaching out a trembling hand to touch my hair. "My scar is actually alive."

​I looked at the three of them—three supreme Alphas, my triplets, completely surrounding me. They had saved my life, but as I looked into their possessive, burning eyes, I realized my peaceful life in China was officially over. I was trapped again.