15. Sofia

15

Sofia

L evi had absolutely broken her heart. She couldn’t say he was like every other guy in the world, because even though she was furious with him, he was still so much better than most.

When she told him to leave her alone, he had done it. Not instantly, but he’d gotten there. He hadn’t put his hands on her and tried to force her to listen to him. But she discovered something else: being angry felt good. It felt really good. It felt a lot better than being subjected to the whims of someone else.

She had spent her whole life trying to placate the shifters around her. The temperamental ones, the explosive ones, the silent and the malicious ones. It seemed that the only solution was to shrink inside herself. But she had not done that in the compound. She asked questions and she’d been punished for it. And look at what the end result had been—she’d found her power and her voice.

Sure, she could’ve been killed. But she had survived. And then she broke out of her prison and busted her way out of that razor wire fencing. So, when she hadn’t done that with a group of evil wolves, she sure as hell wasn’t going to do it with Levi, a male who claimed to be her mate.

If he was truly her mate, wouldn’t he respect her wishes? Maybe that wasn’t fair. How would she feel if she had declared her feelings for him and been rejected without a chance to prove herself? Not good. But if she knew he had been through such an ordeal she would respect that—she hoped.

She thought maybe Rhett would hold it against her that things between her and Levi were tense, but he seemed to brush it off.

“Sorry about that,” she said.

“No big deal,” he replied. “Communal living has its ups and downs. All of us obviously prefer it. Shifters are meant to live alone. I’ve told everyone that you’re coming but it’s best if we introduce you slowly. So, for tonight you can just hang out with me or a few of the members who are the most outgoing.”

He waved to a woman who came walking over. “We’ll wait for the more reserved members to come to you. I’ve already explained to a few of our shifters who stay in their animal forms permanently why you’re here. They’ll make their way over; it just may take a day or two.”

“Feel free to speak to anyone here, about any topic, as long as they approach you first. All of us are well versed on just saying we aren’t comfortable if a topic comes up that we don’t want to address. And almost all of us will listen to your story. I don’t think there’s one of us who hasn’t been through a boat load of trauma.”

He motioned toward the woman. “This is Isa. Isa, this is Sofia.”

Isa smiled and she linked her arm with Sofia’s “Come on, I’ll show you around the camp. I’m sure Rhett told you, but feel free to share as much or as little as you want.”

She wasn’t used to sharing much about herself. There had been no one to share it with… until Levi. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little disoriented. The guy who came here with me, Levi, he thinks we’re mates.”

“And you don’t think so?”

“I don’t know,” Sofia said. “There’s definitely a very strong connection but I’m all muddled up from the last few months. There’s no way I could make a decision like that, and I refuse to be a passive participant in my own life. He was pretty hurt that I didn’t feel the immediate need to ride off into the sunset together.”

That was enough about her. “How long have you been with the motorcycle club?” Sofia asked.

“Years now,” Isa said. “It’s my family. The only one I acknowledge.”

“That sounds lovely. I just came from a group of shifters in Texas. I assume you know Kellan? He seems to know everyone.”

“Yes. Everyone knows who he is; he’s a very generous benefactor and he expects nothing in return.”

“Sofia!” A male voice yelled. Was that Levi?

She ducked behind a tree. Immediately Isa’s hand landed on her arm. “Don’t worry. He won’t get past Rhett or Max. Max is our head of security.”

“Oh no. I’m pretty sure that’s Levi’s voice. I’m not scared of him at all, he’s a very kind person. Yes, we did have an argument this morning, but if he’s back here, then there’s a reason. And it’s probably not a good one.”

Isa searched her face. “Are you sure? I can get you out of here right now.”

“I appreciate that there are people who would need that, but I don’t. I need to find out what’s happened.”

“Let’s go back then. I’ll go with you,” Isa said, and she stayed close to Sofia shoulder to shoulder. Even though she didn’t need it, Sofia appreciated the solidarity.

As soon as Liam saw her, he closed his eyes and exhaled. “Sofia, thank God.”

Her stomach clenched. “What happened, are you okay?” She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him. Seeing how white his skin was and the stricken look on his face had her second-guessing her decision.

“I’m fine,” he said. “But I just got a call from Kellan.” He looked around the camp.

“You can say it in front of them,” Sofia said.

“The wolves from the compound—they’re in the United States.”

Her hands came up to her mouth. She reached out for his hand to steady herself. Now was not the time to break down. She had to stay alert. A male stepped forward. She assumed this was the Max they had spoken of. “Are these the same wolves that held Nora?”

Levi had told her Nora’s story, and that they were afraid the packs were connected. “We think so,” Levi said.

Max muttered a few precious words. “She has to know.”

“Brennan’s already calling her. As far as we know, this is the first time they’ve left Russia since the day Niall took them back from Ireland.”

She felt a little faint. She would not allow them to capture her again.

Levi leaned close but he did not touch her. “We will not let them get to you. You have all our support. Kellan is already doing everything he can.”

Rhett nodded, and so did Max. “And you have our support too. We stick together.”

“Why are they coming for me? They didn’t come after Nora.” She grimaced. “Not that I want them to come after her.”

“If it’s the same pack—and we’re still working on whether it is—there could be several answers as to why,” Levi said. “Nora’s power is immense but has grown over time. Your power is like a waterfall. I can feel it crashing.”

She couldn’t keep her jaw from dropping open. “Really?”

“Yes. You have quite a bit of talent.”

Sofia rubbed her face. It was talent that she did not want.