Scarlett's Final Goodbye

Scarlett's Final Goodbye
Scarlett (7 Months Later)
I smiled at Osprey as I stepped up behind him in front of the mirror. I brushed invisible dirt off his black suit.
“You look really handsome, but your tie is wrong,” I teased.
“No, it’s not. Dad showed me how to tie it. I did it exactly like he showed me.”
I moved around to the front of him, sliding my hands up his chest to grip the knot in his tie. I used it to pull him down to kiss me. I thrust my tongue into his mouth as his hands slid down my body to cup my ass. He lifted me a little, and my legs instantly wrapped around his waist as I ran my fingers through his hair.
“Osprey!” I moaned.
“Letti,” he groaned as he turned on his heel to deposit me on our bed.
He fell forward over me with his hands on either side of my head, looking deep into my eyes.
“Goddess, Scarlett. You are making me want to skip the ceremony so I can keep you in bed all day.”
I giggled. “If we did, I think our parents would flip out on us after last month’s pregnancy scare.”
He grinned down at me as he ground against my core.
“Well, it is our duty to produce the next Alpha.”
I smacked his shoulder. “Behave. Today is a big day for us.”
“It could be even bigger if you let me get you pregnant, baby.”
“If you are a good boy and go to your graduation, I will stop my birth control.”
He stared down into my eyes for a moment before cursing. “One month, Letti. If you don’t conceive, you go back on birth control until you graduate.”
I gripped his face to pull him down for another kiss. “If we do conceive, are you going to be able to handle watching our cub while I finish school?”
He nodded. “I want us to have a family, Scarlett. We have come so far in such a short time. Being a father to our cub is never going to be an issue.”
I hugged him tight. “I love you, ‘Sprey.”
“I love you, too, Letti.”
He sighed before pushing off the bed. “Tonight, baby. I want to start our journey of trying to have a family.”
I nodded as he helped me up. “Yes. Tonight.”
He took my hand, raising it to his mouth to press a kiss to the back of it before leading me out of the room.
“I need you to graduate already. I’m ready to marry you,” he grumbled.
“Soon, Alpha Osprey,” I said as I tugged him out of the room.
“I’m going to show you Alpha Osprey later tonight,” he growled quietly, making me giggle as I pulled him down the stairs behind me.
I let him go to hug Silver. “Congratulations on graduating, Silver.”
“Thank you, Scarlett. I’m honored that you would celebrate such a big moment with me.”
I smiled at him as Osprey wrapped his arms around my waist. “Come on, sweetheart, we should go before we are late.”
I linked my arm through Silver’s as Osprey led me out of the house to his car. We all climbed in while the rest of our family loaded into other vehicles. I leaned against my seat, facing Osprey, as Silver stared out the window.
“Are you excited to be graduating?” I asked.
Osprey took my hand. “Yes and no. I’m glad to be done with school, but I’m not happy to be leaving you surrounded by wolves and humans who might want to pursue you.”
I squeezed his hand. “Osprey, you’re the only one for me. I know we weren’t always perfect, but we are now. I wouldn’t change anything about our relationship. I love you. I’m not looking for or looking at another man. You’re my everything.”
He kissed my hand again. “And you’re mine.”
I turned my head to look at Silver. It worried me that he had been so quiet the last week. I had been too afraid to ask him what was wrong, but I needed to know. I didn’t want him to be unhappy.
“Are you excited to be graduating, Silver?”
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
He remained quiet for a moment as he stared out of the window for a minute before he sighed.
“I just don’t understand, Scarlett.”
“Understand what?” I asked.
“Why haven't you let Osprey kill me? I have been waiting every day to see him come for me, but he hasn’t come for me. Why are you stopping him? We all know that I deserve to die.”
Osprey let my hand go so I could wipe away the tears that threatened to fall.
“Because, Silver, I forgave you. I don’t want you to die.”
“I just don’t understand why you don’t. I hurt you so much. I’m so sorry for everything that I did and encouraged to be done to you.”
I turned to look at him as I reached for his hand. “At what point does justice stop serving the innocent, Silver? Everyone failed you. Your parents, your pack, and your Alpha. Why can’t I be the one that doesn’t fail you?”
“Because, Scarlett, I know the me that you don’t know. I know the part of me that doesn’t have the innocence that you see. You see someone in me that doesn’t exist. I can’t be the person that you want me to be. No matter how much I want to be.”
“You can be, Silver. Let me help you be that man,” I begged.
“I can’t, Scarlett. I need you to let me go. I need you to be safe. You will never be safe as long as I am alive.”
I sighed as I let him go. “I wish you would reconsider.”
“I wish I could.”
We fell silent, and I laid my head on Osprey’s shoulder, desperately trying to keep my emotions at bay. Every day, I begged Osprey to spare his life. It wasn’t fair to still kill Silver after he had shown his remorse and had proven himself loyal to me. He deserved so much better than what he got. He didn’t stand a chance with the way his pack raised him. Osprey took my hand again.
‘Do you want me to pardon him?’ Osprey linked to me.
‘I do, but I can’t ask you to do something that he obviously doesn’t want,’ I answered, sniffling. ‘I don’t think anything can get him to change his mind.’
‘I’m sorry, Scarlett. I’ve tried to get him to change his mind.’
‘You have?’
He nodded. ‘I just want you to be happy, even if it means keeping him alive.’
I kissed his shoulder. ‘Thank you, ‘Sprey.’
‘I love you, Letti.’
‘I love you, too, Osprey.’

Three hours later, I rushed down the bleacher stairs to meet Osprey and Silver as they walked off the field to come back to us. I threw myself into Osprey’s arms while I wrapped one of my arms around Silver’s neck, hugging both of them tightly.
“I’m so proud of you both!”
“Thanks, baby.”
“Thanks, Scarlett.”
I squeezed them again before smiling at them. “Osprey, your parents want to take you to dinner.”
“Where are we going?” He asked, beaming.
“I’m not going.”
“Why not?”
“Silver was not invited. I’m going to eat with him.”
Realization dawned in his eyes, making him nod. “Okay, baby. Be safe.”
I relaxed as I put my hand against his cheek. “I will. I love you, ‘Sprey.”
“I love you, too, Letti.”
He walked off to hug our family while I studied Silver’s face. “Where do you want to go for dinner, Silver?”
“Let’s go to Red Lobster. I know you like their biscuits.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
He held his arm out, and I gently put my hand on it. He led me over to Osprey, who immediately took me in his arms briefly before letting me go. He handed Silver the keys to his car, keeping his eyes glued to Silver’s.
“You better treat her with respect, or your death won’t come,” he threatened.
Silver lowered his head. “I’m not going to hurt her, Alpha Osprey. Not again.”
“You better not.” He turned to me to cup my face as his thumb moved over my lip. “Have a good time, my love. I’ll see you at home later.”
“I will. We’ll celebrate later.”
“I'm counting on it.”
I followed Silver to Osprey’s car, where we quickly climbed in, and Silver was taking off within a minute. In 15 minutes, we were pulling into the restaurant parking lot. After telling him to get whatever he wanted because I was paying, we ordered a bunch of appetizers and entrees. Plate after plate was carefully put on our table. I knew that the waitress was already annoyed because she was gearing herself up to have to toss a lot of uneaten food, but we were shifters. We were going to finish it all.
While we slowly made our way through every dish, we talked about everything from his passion for football to my worry about being Alpha Sow. We talked about his newfound joy for life and my love for cooking. We laughed a lot while we reminisced about the trouble Osprey and he had gotten into when they were young. I could just picture a young wolf and bear running through the forest while one peed on everything as the other one ate through trees like a little termite. When all the food was gone and I had paid, he stood up, stretching as he smiled at me.
“Ready?”
I nodded as I got up. “Yes.”
On the way home, he tried to keep the atmosphere light as we drove. I remained silent, uttering small noises of attention as I memorized his face. I was going to miss him. He had changed a lot since everything happened to us. I wish he wouldn’t accept death so readily. I would have loved to give him everything I had. I would have loved to meet his second chance mate and welcome her into our family. I wiped a tear as it started to roll down my face as he parked in front of my house, where Osprey sat on the porch, waiting for us. He got out to come around the car to help me out before walking me up to the porch, where he hugged me. I wrapped my arms around his waist, clinging to him for a moment as tears burned my eyes. When he pulled back, he cupped my face, gently rubbing the only tear that I couldn’t keep in my eyes off.
“Please, don’t cry for me, Scarlett.”
“I can’t promise you that, Silver. I love you.”
“I love you too, Alpha Sow Scarlett. Thank you for dinner.”
I hugged him again, holding him for a moment before letting him go. “Enjoy your night, Silver.”
“You, too, Scarlett. Osprey.”
Osprey wrapped his arms around me from behind as we watched Silver leave. “When do you want me to do it?”
“Tomorrow, before I change my mind.”
“Okay, love. Are you going to be okay?” He asked.
I shook my head. “I’m going to miss him, ‘Sprey.”
“I know, Letti. I will, too.”