My Lunar Chronicles fanfictions are definitely popular… I'm looking at the views like Gollum right now… my precious… MY PRECIOUS….

So… I decided to do another Scarlet x Wolf story, this one set in Cress, in Wolf POV when he realises Scarlet's gone. I thought it was a powerful moment for him and for me. *cries into box of tissues*

It kind of ruined Cress for me, I mean, my fav couple just…. GONE. But I guess Cresswell made up for it. #KeepCalmAndLoveCarswellThorne ;)

Speaking of which, my new collection of stories – Love is in the Hair – has just been released and is an ongoing project. Go check it out!

Shout outs to…

Aurum19: The only one who could possibly lov more than me! Lol

Lovelunarchron: My first reviewer for Love is in the Hair – thanks for complimenting on my 'Thorne's Inner Monologue' lol

PokespeBlazey: Thanks so much for favouriting my 'A King's Reign of Love'. It means so much!

Thanks, all support is appreciated. Stay strong! *hugs all around*

~InfernoAlive

He watched the reunion between Cinder and Thorne with disinterest, scratching at his chest where all the tubes were tied to. Weird… he didn't remember being tied down like this… in fact his whole mind felt woozy… his brain just wasn't working today… maybe Scarlet would know…

Scarlet. Instantly he felt sick all over. Cold. His heart was in his throat and he found himself saying breathlessly, "Cinder?"

He saw her whole body go rigid as she heard his voice, and the coldness wormed through his system like a bad drug. She turned towards him, barely meeting his desperate gaze.

Then it all came back to him in a dizzying moment of heat, "I had a dream where you said… you told me that Scarlet…" He couldn't finish, as if he knew that if he said it aloud, it would come true. If he didn't finish Scarlet was going to be alright.

He saw Cinder swallow nervously, and his mind started screaming NO…NO…

"Wolf…" It was in her eyes, her whole face, where the painful truth was reflected back at him. All his memories of Scarlet came into his mind like a flash. An endless reel of film playing every precious scene they'd had together. It all burst into flames.

Cinder murmured, confirming his fears, "It wasn't a dream. She was taken."

Wolf heard Thorne say something or other but he wasn't listening anymore. Everything else was white noise in the background. All he could think of now was Scarlet: beautiful, caring, compassionate Scarlet. Her throwing him a tomato and telling him with some amusement what it was; her at his fight, looking so innocent and out of place amidst the tough atmosphere; Scarlet and him on the train, her touching his scars and wanting to know the story of each one; when he'd fought a member of his pack, the blood everywhere… and Scarlet spurring him on. When he'd crouched over in the street over her, about to tear her throat out. But she'd tamed him, saved him from the brink of insanity. And he'd failed her.

"She's dead." He whispered, the truth piercing him like a knife, "I failed her."

Cinder challenged him, "Wolf. She's not dead. You don't know that."

"Neither do you." He retorted weakly, all the life that was worth living draining out of him. And here was Cinder, filling him with false hopes and cruel stories.

She continued nonetheless, her words adding fuel to his growing anger and grief, "She's not dead. They'll want to keep her for… for bait. For information. They wouldn't just kill her. So there's still time, there's still time to do…"

She didn't get to finish. Every sentence that she'd said had been a hammer, breaking down the cage his inner beast was in. Now it was unleashed and thirsting for vengeance. Through a mist of red, he had Cinder against the wall, pinning her mercilessly by her throat as she choked.

"You think I want that?" he roared, his whole anger focused on the loss, pain that he felt inside, "For them to keep her, alive? You don't know what they'll do to her – but I do." As he said the words, his anger started to cool and the heart-wrenching grief set in, the only thing he could see being Scarlet's face framed by deep red curls – "Scarlet-like the hair. What a clever observation." "Scarlet…"

He dropped Cinder without a thought, visions of Scarlet invading his mind and ran out the room. He ran and ran on breathlessly, not caring where he was going, not caring about his life anymore.

What was worth living when the person you were living for was gone? He was nothing without Scarlet, nothing.

Nothing… He stopped suddenly, a desperate need building up inside, all his emotions crammed up into one until he howled. Howled so desperately, so wretchedly to tell the world of his unbearable pain.

The emptiness inside cried out, and he howled along it, detesting the nothingness that lived there now…

Nothing…

Scarlet, he thought, come back. I can't live without you.

I'm nothing without you.