Chapter 30

Alex Stone

Watching Sophia sleep so peacefully makes me smile. She likes to burrow into my chest.

Even though she takes scent blockers regularly, ever since we first slept together, whenever I'm around her, I always catch a whiff of her. I don't know how that's possible, but I like her scent, and I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

My mood turns serious as I wrap a strand of her hair around my finger. I never thought I would be lying here like this with my mate.

I still haven't given Sophia the mating mark; I don't want to assume she wants it just yet. I never courted her properly or did any of the things that a male is supposed to do before the female wolf allows him to mark her.

She has lashed out at me several times since we first met, but I've always known that none of her words held any malice. She was simply trying to protect herself. The level of mistrust Sophia has when it comes to even a ray of happiness entering her life is heartbreaking.

My fingers run through her hair, scratching her scalp, and she lets out a happy rumble, still asleep. When did I fall in love with her? I've tried to pinpoint one particular moment, but I guess it was all of them. Maybe it was our very first meeting, or maybe it was…

I simply don't know.

I went from finding her reckless and annoying to constantly thinking about her, watching for her lips to curve in that half smile of hers. How could I not fall for her? Even when she is spitting mad, she's still the most mesmerizing woman in the room.

She pretends to be sharp-tongued and mean, but she looks out for the people around her. She will put another's safety over her own. She's kind, but I don't think she knows it. Her heart is delicate and already bruised.

Our wounds are different, but we're both lonely. When I was handed responsibility after the death of my parents, it centered me and gave me a purpose. Since then, I've lived solely for the sake of my pack and to get revenge. Whereas Sophia…

"I have to protect myself."

"What am I supposed to do if you change your mind?"

"You're making me dependent on you, and that's the last thing I need."

"I'm not a complete lost cause."

"I can't help you, Alex."

Even when I lost everything, I may have been lonely, but I wasn't alone. I always had my pack around me. I felt secure in their presence. They stood by me through everything. I've never once doubted that my pack cares about me.

But what about Sophia? I don't think she's ever been accepted anywhere. The idea of someone wanting her must feel foreign. Has her life always been transactional? Did she think that I wouldn't want her simply because she believes she can't give me anything?

She's not lacking confidence, but she's lacking self-esteem. Her self-worth has been systematically broken down throughout her life. She doesn't talk much about her past, but when she does mention pieces of it, the stories are horrific.

It confuses me. It's not as if she is the only latent wolf shifter in the world. I have encountered several shifters who have dormant wolves. None of them are treated the way Sophia is. Although she has a few people she's close to, I've witnessed firsthand how callous the vast majority of the shifters in this town are toward her.

She still doesn't trust me. I know that. Even though she has accepted me, she doesn't trust me not to leave her, not to abandon her. Is that what she's scared of? Abandonment?

I study her relaxed features. Why doesn't she see how precious she is?

My finger traces over her skin. "I guess I never really gave you a reason to trust me. Who would trust someone who has constantly rejected them?"

Her nose scrunches in annoyance, and I remove my finger.

"I should have been the one to stand between you and the world, but I let you down, didn't I? What kind of mate does that make me? I was ready to sacrifice your happiness."

Bit by bit, my willpower on that matter crumbled. Be with another woman? How could I even have fathomed such a thing?

When I told Patrick that once we found the Silver Wolf, I would be stepping down as Alpha, I'd never before seen such a shocked look on my friend's face. I was willing to forget about my revenge. As long as we could rescue the pups, that was all I needed. Then, I would come back for Sophia.

But I can't bear to leave Sophia here alone. She needs me. I don't know exactly when I began to need her, but when I followed her to Rita's cottage and heard her cry over her friend's body, those broken sounds shattered something in me. And I can't bear the sight of her tears.

That day in the woods when Nathan attacked Sophia, we all heard her words. When I sat alone and thought about what Sophia had said, I felt a strange pain within me, a loneliness I never realized existed. I always knew my life was not my own. I existed only for my pack. Each time I destroyed a part of myself, nobody tried to stop me.

When I explained to my companions that I would finish what we'd started, but that I would then be leaving to be with Sophia, they understood that I meant what I was saying. But the guilt on their faces told me that this was their wake up call, as well. I can't blame them, though. I always considered my own desires unnecessary; my pack never disagreed till they were forced to take a look in the mirror.

My pack cares for me. I don't doubt it. But none of them ever took a stand for me, even as a child. I had to bear the weight of all the tough decisions. I had no one to comfort me or to offer me the assurance I needed as a young child forced to become the Alpha.

Then, Sophia entered my life and ripped open the darkness to shine her light inside. And in so doing, she saw all the wounds that I've covered up over the years.

I'd been planning to go to the arena by myself tonight, just to watch Sophia fight. Maybe talk to her afterward. I wanted to apologize to her, to ask her to wait for me and have faith in me. I hadn't planned on revealing Sophia's identity as the Wily Vixen to my friends, but when Nathan told me Julia was sneaking out of the motel, I had a feeling I was going to have to. Something was wrong. I knew instinctively where Julia was headed. She had tried killing Sophia in a cage fight before; she was going to finish what she'd started.

Patrick and Jared refused to let me go after her without an explanation, sensing something was up. While I easily could have ordered them aside and done as I pleased, I've never used my Alpha position to abuse my friends' trust.

I expected them to try and stop me. However, all of them, including Nathan, were adamant about saving Sophia. I didn't know when they'd decided to accept Sophia into the pack, but I knew it wasn't simply because they didn't want me to step down. Nathan was actually the most vocal about it.

I look down at the woman sleeping beside me. "Ultimately, the decision will be yours, though. Whether you want to come to my pack or go somewhere else, I'll do whatever you want, as long as you're with me."

I hear a soft knock on the door of Sophia's apartment, and at the same time, my phone begins buzzing on the table next to the bed.

I get out of bed and cover Sophia with the blanket to prevent her from getting cold. It's still dark outside. Only a couple of hours have passed since I brought her home and put her to bed. She was already asleep by the time we reached her building.

I close the bedroom door behind me and rush to the front door. Pulling it open, I see my men grouped together on the landing. Nathan is the last to enter the apartment, which is when I notice we're missing someone. "Where's Saul?"

"Julia was at the motel," Patrick replies, sinking onto the ratty-looking armchair in the living room. "He wanted to keep an eye on her. Lucky for us, you were right. Julia doesn't know the true identity of the Wily Vixen. She's been in a lousy mood ever since she got back from the arena. Biting her nails, muttering to herself—she's got crazy down to a T. She doesn't know we were there tonight. Whatever her plan was, it obviously failed."

"She's not one to give up easily, though," I say. I know Julia. I've known her for years. When she becomes fixated on someone, she'll go to any length to destroy them. "And we have to deal with Mathew Rivers, quickly. He's the only one who knows about Sophia."

I can only hope, for now, that Mathew isn't foolish enough to reveal Sophia's identity. If Sophia was right about the things she told me, then revealing her identity will only be a blow to the owner of the boxing gym and his secret underground cage fighting ring. I have to make sure it doesn't come to that.

"What do you want us to do to him?" Nathan rocks on his heels. "I could rip out his tongue for you."

"I would suggest something even more permanent," Jared says darkly. "The longer he's alive, the more danger Sophia is in."

"Killing a human will be problematic," I muse. "The pack security now knows there's more than one black wolf in town. They will be looking for a group of newcomers, which will lead them straight to us. But if Sophia's identity is leaked, they will have more reason to keep her here, and taking her with us will be that much harder. No, you're right, Jared. We don't have much time. We'll have to get rid of the human."

Nathan smirks.

"We'll deal with him quietly," I decide. "But let's wait a day or so. The pack security will be keeping an eye on him. We don't want to get caught."

"I heard back from one of our spies," Patrick interjects. "We've looked into both the owner of the bar and the woman in the cottage. Can't find much about Elsa. Everything he managed to dig up just confirms that she moved here from a human city, settled down, and opened the Dancing Bear. She used to be an herbalist and was a human assistant to the pack nurse in her former location. Her bank records are clean. There's nothing going on there. She does have a daughter, but they're not in contact with each other. They cut ties a couple of years ago."

"What about Rita?" I ask him.

"She was part of the pack security team in the town the main pack resides in. She was mated to a man named Elmer for four decades. The story is that he died in an attack, and Rita lost her leg. Then, she retired and moved here."

I study my lieutenant. "‘The story?' What actually happened?"

Patrick replies hesitantly, "I don't know whether this information is true or not, but the informant believes Elmer was seeing another woman, who was his fated mate. The separation process was initiated between Rita and Elmer. Rita seemed very compliant with the whole thing, but a few weeks later, they were both assigned a mission, and Elmer was killed."

"You think Rita murdered him?" I consider this new tidbit of information. If that's the case, the message Sophia and I saw on Rita's phone would make a lot of sense. Whoever was blackmailing Rita knew the truth.

"One thing is for sure," Patrick says. "She was no longer working for the pack security. And she had no contact with the Alpha. Whoever gave her that burner phone, it was not Alpha Robert Black."

"But it has to be someone higher up," I murmur. "That black cell phone and those slips…Only senior officials use them. Unless they do things differently here in the South Alliance."

"No, they don't." Patrick shakes his head. "I checked."

I turn my attention to Nathan. "What did you find in the diary?"

"I haven't had time to look at it yet because of the whole situation with Julia," he confesses.

I frown. After Sophia gave Nathan the diary yesterday, Julia exchanged a few harsh words with Nathan and went on a rampage, destroying his motel room. We were all busy dealing with her. That's why I couldn't stay with Sophia once I brought her back to Elsa's office after her collapse in the forest.

Thinking of that moment, my chest tightens. I had been close to Rita's cottage, trying to pick up the scent of the killer, when I felt a strange surge of power coming from the bond between Sophia and me. Instinct and my wolf drove me to her location just in time to see her collapse in Elsa's arms. I could sense her wolf's agitation and discomfort.

"There's some sort of spell on her," Elsa told me back at the bar. "There's something blocking her wolf. I don't believe Sophia's wolf is latent. I think it has been forced into dormancy."

But what does that mean? Does Elsa think Sophia's wolf was subdued by a witch? Shifters have a different sort of magic compared to witches. It is unheard of for a witch to be able to suppress a shifter's wolf. The magic within us is too different. If witches could do that, they would be far superior to shifters. But is there something blocking Sophia's wolf? Will she be able to shift if it is unblocked? My presence managed to calm her wolf down, but then I received the news of Julia's rampage, and I had to hurry back to the motel before I could talk more to Elsa about her theory.

Unfortunately, there's no point in even considering finding a witch to remove whatever blockage has been put on Sophia. Witches cannot interfere in each other's spells. But Sophia has never been able to shift, even as a child. Who would curse an infant like that?

I don't know what to make of this new twist. But it doesn't matter. Even without a physical wolf, Sophia will always be safe with me. She doesn't have to be able to shift.

I haven't told my companions about what happened to her. I don't think it's their business. And I haven't had a chance to discuss it with Sophia. Although, Elsa did warn me not to say anything to her yet.

Refocusing on the present, I ask Nathan, "Did you hide the diary?"

"It's safe. I'll take a look at it today."

"See what you can find out. In the meantime, I'll deal with Mathew. Patrick, Jared, and Derek, I want you to keep an eye on that waitress, Eve. See what she's up to, where she lives, who she talks to, and whether she goes into the forest or not. The three of you can switch off so she doesn't get suspicious about being followed."

"You just said we don't have much time. How do we convince her to help us?"

Jared has a valid point. "See if one of you can charm her. And if you can't, see if she can be bribed. Those are the only two options we have."

Jared smirks. "Charm her? I can charm the pants off any female."

Derek has been quiet the whole time, but this makes him laugh. "Yeah, sure. We've all seen how that goes."

"What about the Alpha Successor?" Patrick glances at me. "Wasn't he courting Sophia?"

The mention of Noah Black makes me burn with anger. Sophia doesn't seem to understand how dangerous that man is. But now that she's with me, she has no reason to accept his advances. How will he take being rejected? If not well, I may have to step in. And if it turns into a full-blown fight, I could end up revealing my identity as the black wolf Noah fought once before.

"For now, we avoid him. I'm not going to put Sophia in any sort of danger. I have a feeling he's the kind of man who doesn't take rejection well at all."

"He's been pursuing her quite aggressively," Nathan points out. "I don't know if you heard, but he killed one of the pack security members because the man insulted Sophia. She witnessed it."

My body stiffens. "What? When was this?"

"Two or three nights ago? I'm not sure."

Sophia never said a word about that to me. Of course, I haven't exactly had time to talk to her. "OK, thanks for letting me know. You guys go take care of the diary and the waitress. Noah Black is my problem."

My men leave as quietly as they came in.

I check on Sophia, who is still fast asleep. It's four in the morning; I don't think the pack security will be lingering around Mathew's establishment at this time, and I also have a feeling that the man hasn't gone home yet. I know I told my companions we should wait before going after Mathew, but the truth is that I want to deal with him now, by myself. He tried to hurt my mate. I want him to look at me and realize that the woman he tried to take advantage of is not all alone.

Instead of using the stairs, I open a window and climb up to the top of Sophia's apartment building. The streets are empty, but I stick to the rooftops, not wanting to run into anybody.

Having made my way to the boxing gym, I wait outside for a while, studying the surroundings. I can't sense any shifters out here, and there is only one car parked in the lot. I'm sure it belongs to the sleazy owner, Mathew.

Taking my chances, I leap down to the ground and head toward the building. The door is locked from the inside, but it's not hard to break in. I've never entered the gym before. The cage fighting ring is in the building right next to the boxing gym. It was said to be part of the gym, but the entrances and exits are different. Once I'm inside, I see that the basements of the two buildings are combined, creating three separate areas. One part is the cage, one part is for the spectators, and the back part of the basement houses the fighters' dressing rooms, Mathew's office, and the back exit of the other building.

It's quite a smart business that Mathew has created here. It is a wonder, though, that it has not been exposed. I do know that the man has very good lawyers and that, recently, one of the fighters—the large man I saw Sophia fight the first time I was here—started to run his mouth, and he disappeared. I don't know if Mathew's lawyers dealt with him or if Mathew got rid of him in another way, but the man was staying at the same hotel as us, and he never came to retrieve his belongings.

The light in the office in the back is on. I can smell the stench coming from there, as well.

The soft hum of conversation reaches my ears, but I cannot hear another voice. Mathew must be on the phone.

"No…I don't think I'll have to pay the bitch anymore. If she knows what's good for her, she'll come to me herself."

Loud laughter.

"She really thought she could just walk away from me. I own her. If she had just shut up and kept doing what she was doing, she would still be getting paid. And now, I'm gonna make sure she has no way out."

He's definitely on the phone, bragging about what he's done to Sophia. My blood boils.

"I invested a lot of resources in that little brat. And she made me a lot of money. I wasn't going to let my golden goose just waddle away from me."

He's quiet for a bit, presumably listening to the person on the other end of the line.

Then he snickers. "I already had a plan. I had an idea of how much money she'd made, so I was going to have somebody break into her apartment and steal it. The girl doesn't believe in banks. Idiot. But then that woman came in and wanted to fight her. She wanted to know the Wily Vixen's identity, but I knew to hide it. Clearly there was something going on between the two of them. But now, Sophia can't escape me. She screwed herself over good."

I don't need to hear any more. This man cannot be allowed to live.

I slowly open the door to his office, and Mathew does not notice. His back is toward me as he talks on his landline.

I pluck the receiver out of his hand and hold it to my ear for a moment, listening to the voice on the other end. When Mathew turns around, I crush the phone in my hand.

"What the—You?!" His eyes nearly bulge out of his head. I find the very sight of this man repulsive. "I know you! What the hell are you doing here? What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm Sophia's mate."

Mathew's face pales. "You're lying. You're not Sophia's mate. Sophia doesn't have any man in her life. I would know."

"Why?" I sneer at him. "You're not important enough for her to tell you anything. And because I am Sophia's mate, I've come to put an end to all this."

Mathew is clearly scared, but he's not scared enough. "You can't do anything to me. And Sophia works for me."

"Not anymore, she doesn't."

Mathew gets to his feet and spits at mine. "If she stops working here, your pack security team will kill her. Shifters aren't allowed to take part in anything that pits them against humans. Isn't that true?"

"Very true." I smile at him. "Are you threatening to leak her identity?"

"Only if you push me." Mathew clearly thinks he's got the upper hand here. "If she knows what's good for her, she will come back to work for me. Only this time, I intend to make her sign a slave contract. And if you don't want your precious mate's identity to be revealed, you'll be more respectful—"

I grip him by his throat and lift him in the air.

His face turns red as I squeeze his neck. "It's not very smart to threaten my mate, Mr. Rivers. There's a lot I could do to you, but unfortunately, I don't have the time. Consider this Sophia's resignation. Not that it matters."

I'm not fond of taking lives, especially human ones. But to protect Sophia, there's no line I won't cross. And I have no pity for those who try to take advantage of her.

Not wanting to make too much of a mess, I twist his neck. The man goes limp in my hands.

Quite an anticlimactic death, but so be it.

I toss the man's body aside and start looking through his desk for anything that might link Sophia to this place. The search takes me well over an hour, and by the time I'm done, I can see through the small, high window that the sun is rising outside.

I discover a couple of payment forms with her name on them, and I put them in my pocket. I do a computer search, erasing any mention of Sophia, including from his emails. I find his cell phone in his jacket; I delete Sophia's number as well as any messages that might connect the two of them. Walking to the door, I take one last look at the office, hoping I didn't miss anything. I can't risk spending more time here to do a deep clean, and I will not have another opportunity. The moment Mathew's death is discovered, the pack security is going to start digging through his things to find the identity of the Wily Vixen. I can only hope I've done a thorough job. His entire office is a mess; I went through each file, each cabinet, and each desk drawer, collecting any papers I could find that would implicate Sophia.

I quickly make my way upstairs and over to the other building. The office there is mostly empty. There is only one cabinet, in which I find a file with Sophia's name on it. I take it with me.

The sun is almost above the horizon as I make my way back to Sophia's apartment. But as I'm passing the Dancing Bear, I see two members of the pack security team walking on the other side of the street. I duck into the bar, grateful that the door is unlocked this early in the morning.

Elsa is standing inside. She is understandably surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?"

The two men have seen me and are now heading toward us. I stuff Mathew's papers into Elsa's hands. "Hide these. Hide them now."

Elsa gives me one last look before she disappears into her office. The door opens behind me, and when I turn around, the two shifters are looking at me. "What are you doing roaming around at this time of day?"

"What time is it?" I slur my words deliberately. "I was just gonna get another drink."

"The bar is closed," one of them says suspiciously.

Elsa walks back out from her office. "Don't worry, gentlemen. He's a friend. The bar is always open to him." To me, she says, "Why don't you take a seat? I'll get you your beer."

"That's convenient," the other one complains. "You always kick us out at closing time, and this guy is having a drink before the sun has even hit the fucking sky?"

"He's a family friend." Elsa manages to sound annoyed. "Now, be on your way. I have the delivery trucks coming in. I don't have time to stand around and gossip."

I'm surprised that neither of the men argues with her. They just shoot me a dirty look and leave.

As soon as they're out the door, Elsa raises both her eyebrows at me. "Mind telling me what that was about?"

"Long story."

"I'll make myself a stiff drink. I might need it."

She goes behind the bar and picks out a few bottles.

"Pour one for me, too." I sit down, running my fingers through my hair.

As she prepares the drinks, she asks, "How's Sophia?"

"Resting for now," I tell her. "I barely got her out of the cage fighting arena last night."

A bottle slips from Elsa's hand, and I quickly grab it before it smashes onto the granite counter between us.

"The what?"

"The cage fighting arena?" I say slowly, stunned. "You didn't know? I thought for sure you did. You're always up in Sophia's business."

Elsa lets out a deep breath before snarling, "I'm going to kill that girl. I'm going to box her ears till—What the hell was she thinking, taking part in a cage fighting ring?"

"Who said she took part in it?"

She gives me a dark look. "Do I look like I was born yesterday? Sophia hates violence. The only reason she would be there is if she were taking part in it." Elsa grabs two more bottles and pours some from each into the glasses. Then, suddenly, her head shoots up. "Don't tell me. The documents you just brought in here…?"

I end up telling her what happened overnight, and by the end of it, she has downed both her drink and mine. Her eyes are furious and her cheeks flushed. "That dimwit. I keep telling her to keep a low profile, and she goes and does this!"

I'm starting to feel sorry for Sophia, although I kind of agree with Elsa.

"So, those documents are evidence. I should destroy them."

"It would be better if you just gave them back to me—"

"Absolutely not!" she roars at me. "Given how careless you are? Don't go blabbing this story to any other people! You moron. I'm going to go burn them right now. Stay here."

She storms back to her office, leaving me feeling regretful. I was sure Elsa knew what Sophia was up to. The two of them are incredibly close, and the older woman is always watching out for her protégée.

Wondering what to do next, I reach over the bar and grab a bottle of tequila. I've taken three shots by the time Elsa returns. "It's done. So, what is happening between you and Sophia?"

I don't dare ask her whether the documents have turned into ash or not. But my nose can smell the charred scent of paper burning.

"I'm taking her home with me." I look Elsa in the eyes. "I haven't been a good mate to her, and she deserves the best."

"Yes, she does." The affection in Elsa's voice cannot be hidden by the anger. "She's a good person. She reminds me so much of her mother."

"You know her mother?" I ask sharply.

"Forget I said anything." Elsa glares at the bottle of vodka before her, then sighs. "I knew her mother a long time ago. But I'm glad to hear both you and Sophia are seeing things clearly now. You should disappear before tonight. With Sophia."

"Why?" I ask warily.

"The pack Alpha is coming tonight. Too many deaths. And trust me, you don't want Sophia anywhere near him."

The darkness in Elsa's voice makes me tense.

What does the Alpha want with Sophia?