The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~CARTER~

"You don't look so good," Alaric tells me as he walks closer.

"I failed her," I whisper. "I should have told her the truth since the beginning. Instead, I was a coward. I hid the truth from her, and now I'm paying the price."Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Even if you'd told her the truth, it wouldn't change this outcome, Carter." He claims. "Joshua was out for our family a while now. He would have taken Scarlett one way or the other to get to our family. There's nothing you could have done to stop this from happening."

"How is Apollo?" I ask him.

My brother was still haunted after the death of Lily, Joshua's younger sister. He blamed himself for her death just as much as Joshua did.

However, we all knew that he wasn't at fault. Lily learned of Apollo's secret and used it against him. She was always obsessed with him, but he was never interested in her. They were friends at one point, but they weren't the closest of friends.

Lily always followed him around. Then, one night, she showed up at our door with bruises all over her body. She claimed that Apollo had lost control and slept with her.

We knew right away that it was a complete lie. Apollo was still locked in the basement when we checked that same morning. There was no way that he'd escaped. Lily hadn't known about the basement; she knew a bit about the curse, but that was it.

Apollo was unhappy about her lies and asked her to stay away from him. Then, we found out that she was pregnant. She still maintained the story that he was responsible for her being pregnant.

He told her that he would not be the child's father because he never slept with her. We never got to find out who the real father was. Then, one day, we learned that she'd killed herself. Apollo was depressed and blamed himself for months. He never fully recovered from her death.

"He's hanging in there." He answers me. "I think he's trying to be strong for you. He knows that you need all of us right now. I'm sure he already blames himself for this as well since Joshua was responsible for this madness."

I clench my jaw, "Joshua should have protected his sister from the man who got her pregnant instead of coming after our family."

"At least he's dead now." Alaric growls. "I would have felt sorry for him if he hadn't kidnapped Scarlett. He let his revenge take over his actions. Now he's gone, and he never found out the truth. Lily shouldn't have lied to begin with."

“It's true. She should have told everyone the truth.”

Alaric places a hand on my shoulder, "I almost forgot what I came here to tell you."

"What is that?" I ask anxiously. "Is it something to do with Scarlett? Have you found out anything more about the Cage brothers?"

"No, but Atticus managed to contact some people who might be able to help us." He informs me. "Follow me."

I do as he says. I was willing to meet anyone who could help me. I'd spent the last few hours driving in circles, asking everyone I knew and even strangers for help. I was hoping that someone would have the information that I needed to get Scarlett back. However, the second they heard the name Wilder Cage, they all went into a panic. No one wanted to help because of who those people were.

It was expected. No one liked to mess with people from the underworld.

Even though Atticus and I didn't start on the best terms, I was still grateful for all of his help today. I had to thank his wife for forcing him to help me. I knew she must have been the one to convince him to come here.

I pause for a second after turning the corner. I knew who the special guests were almost immediately.

Hunter.

Austin.

James.

Kane.

They were the first that I saw. There were even more of them behind them, including their wives.

How did Atticus manage to get all of them here so quickly? What did he say to them to convince them to help my family?

"Carter Prince." Austin greets me as he shakes my hand. "Atticus informed us of your recent troubles. We are here to offer a helping hand if you accept it."

"I'm happy for any help I can get," I assure him. "I'll do anything to get Scarlett back. Name your price."

Austin quirks a brow at me, "My price?"

Hunter chuckles, and so do the rest of them.

"We don't want anything in return." He assured me. "Our family is quite indebted to the Fawns. They've helped us a lot. Once they ask us for a favor, we're always willing to help."

"What do you know of the Cage family?" I ask him. "Is it possible to find out where they currently live?"

Hunter scratches his jaw lightly, "finding out where they live may be slightly difficult since no one would be willing to give out that information about them. Everyone would fear for their lives; the Cage brothers have a reputation that makes everyone terrified of them. However, there might be a few of our friends that would be willing to help out a little."

"If you need to offer them money," I say. "I'm willing to pay any price to get my Scarlett back."

"While we're sure we can find their location," Austin adds. "That wouldn't be the hardest part at all. The most difficult part is getting into their home through all the security. And then finding Scarlett in there. Of course, getting out with everyone alive is also another challenge."

Arthur Blackner nods, "Getting out will no doubt be difficult. We need to plan all of this the right way. We can't barge into there with no plan. We want everyone to be alive by the end of this."

It sounded like a challenge, but I didn't care about any of that.

Once they found out where these people lived, I would find a way to get in. I didn't care about my life, Scarlett’s life and our baby’s life mattered the most to me.