Chapter 22
Sophia Hope
The first thing I do when I drag myself out of bed is stop by the boxing gym.
Mostly humans take advantage of the gym. Shifters prefer to exercise by running in their animal form.
Mathew is in his office, and when I knock on the door, he looks up, annoyance in his eyes upon seeing me.
“I told you to come by yesterday.”
It’s very rare for him to be in a nasty temper with me. “I was in bad shape. You saw me.”
He watches me for a moment before sighing. “Sit down. How are you feeling now?”
I take a seat across from him. “That woman in the ring. Did you know she was a shifter?”
“How was I supposed to know?” Mathew stares at me. “I did get the feeling that there was something off about her when she beat you to a pulp. If I hadn’t called the match, she would’ve killed you.”
“You cannot put me in the cage with her again,” I tell him seriously. “I can’t go up against a shifter. I will never win.”
Mathew inclines his head. “Why not?”
I don’t want to admit to him that my wolf is latent. It’s a vulnerability that I don’t think I should be sharing with humans.
“Just trust me. I cannot have another match with her.”
Mathew gives me a considering look. “She’s such a skilled fighter.”
My hands squeeze into fists in my lap, and I try not to show my emotions on my face. “Yes, but the kind of violence she exhibited is going to become a problem for you. You weren’t at the receiving end of her blows. She didn’t know what I was, but she was doing her utmost to kill me. You put a fighter like that in the cage, and you’re asking to be shut down. You always told me never to injure an opponent more than they can handle. You will not be able to restrain this particular shifter. She enjoys the violence.”
“Don’t all fighters taking part in this sport enjoy the violence?” Mathew spreads his hands. “They come here to feed their blood lust.”
I don’t understand what is going on in his head right now. Mathew has never been like this. There’s a disdainful edge to his words.
“No, the majority of us are in it for the money,” I correct him. “Like me.”
Mathew leans back in his seat at my words. “Yes. You’re saving up for a specific amount, aren’t you? How much have you managed to accumulate?”
I just smile at him, not answering. “Why did you want to see me, Mathew?”
He doesn’t seem too pleased by my evasion, but he doesn’t press the topic. Reaching for one of the files on his desk, he takes out some papers from it and slides them over to me. “Your contract is up for renegotiation. You need to sign a new one if you want to keep working together.”
He hands me a pen, flips the contract to the last page, and points at the bottom. “Just sign here.”
I gently remove his hand and pick up the contract. “Let me read it first.”
A muscle in his jaw twitches. “You don’t trust me?”
I give him a half smile. “Unlike me, you have sharks for lawyers. And there’s nothing wrong with me wanting to read a contract before signing it. Besides, I think I’m only going to work for another year or so.”
Before I came here today, I reassessed my finances. After the incident with the crazed shifter the other night, I feel a bit hesitant about continuing with cage fighting. I still need more money, though. If I can save enough through other means, I would like to put an end to this entire business.
If I pick up more shifts at the bar and do some odd jobs here and there, and completely cut down on any extra expenses, a year will be enough to get me to my goal. I won’t even buy meat at the grocer’s anymore. If need be, I’ll go hunt my own meat. I know how to use basic weapons. Catching a rabbit or two won’t be that hard.
“One year?” Mathew has an odd look in his eyes. “I thought you still had to work for a couple more to save up for whatever it is you want.”
I shake my head. “Not anymore. One year should be sufficient now. Besides, there’s a limit to how much damage my body can take.” Even with special abilities, a body can only sustain and constantly heal from so much. There is going to come a point when my wolf healing will slow down.
I look down at the first page of the contract, but Mathew suddenly snatches it back from me.
I gape at him. “What are you doing?”
“If it’s a one-year contract you want, then this is not it. I’ll revise the agreement, and then you can have a look at it. By the way, your next match is scheduled for late next week.”
I look at him in surprise. “Nothing before then?”
He shakes his head.
It’s obvious that he’s upset by my declaration of quitting within a year, but that’s not my problem. I’m sure Mathew will find other skilled fighters to help him fix the matches and make more money. He always knew this was a temporary arrangement.
I don’t want to upset Mathew any further, but I have to ask him something. “My opponent the other night, who was she?”
He gives me a sharp look. “I don’t know. She signed on as a temporary fighter. She didn’t even place a bet.”
I run my tongue over my teeth, observing Mathew’s expression. Why do I get the feeling that he’s lying?
His explanation is reasonable enough. There are a lot of people who come by and just sign on as a one-round fighter. It’s a way to make a quick buck if they’re successful. They don’t have to reveal their identities. However, if a fighter returns more than twice, then they have to reveal their identity to Mathew to continue.
I find it strange that Mathew did not approach her after she defeated me in the cage. When I first beat Mathew’s strongest fighter, he immediately tracked me down and convinced me to fight for him. So, his claim of ignorance about the identity of the woman who was able to pummel me into the ground is a little hard to believe. If he told me that he’s trying to make inquiries about who she is, or showed a little bit of interest in her, I would find it more plausible. But the way he’s acting makes me a little suspicious.
Could it be that Mathew knows who the fighter is?
But he’s never hidden the identity of any opponent from me. All I have to do is ask, and he tells me who they are.
When I leave his office, I keep thinking about that female shifter. Why was she so aggressive? And why was Mathew pretending to be so apathetic about her?
However, I have one more stop to make today, and I don’t have time to focus on this.
Rita won’t be at home today. It’s Saturday, and she always comes into town for lunch on Saturdays. I stop by her favorite restaurant, and sure enough, she’s sitting outside at one of the tables, enjoying the little bit of sunlight, a drink in her hand. A server is walking away from her, probably after taking her order.
“Rita,” I call out, and she looks over, a smile on her face.
“Sophia!” There’s no hint of guilt in her eyes, and it makes me wonder. “Are you here to join me for lunch? My friend stood me up today.” She gestures toward the empty chair across from her.
I sit down, my eyes not leaving her face. “I want to ask you something.”
She looks at me expectantly.
I have been planning to ask her outright why she gave me that aphrodisiac, and what her intentions were, but from the innocent curiosity on her face, I find myself wavering. Could it have been an accident?
“The other day when I came over, and you gave me a potion,” I begin, “what exactly was in it?”
She blinks. “It was a simple healing potion.”
“It couldn’t have been,” I respond quietly. “I was given a very strong aphrodisiac, Rita.”
Rita’s eyes widen in what could very well be shock. “I didn’t give you an aphrodisiac, Sophia. It was a healing potion that I had specially made—”
“I was with Noah when it started taking effect,” I say, cutting her off. My hands are clasped together in my lap. “I was in his apartment. I had to sneak out the window before I jumped him. Why did you—”
Seeing the way Rita’s face turns white as a sheet has me falling silent.
“You didn’t sleep with Noah, did you?” she asks, her voice urgent.
“No, I ran straight to Al—my fated mate. I was trying to avoid him, Rita, and because of you, we ended up sleeping together. I want to know what you were—”
She grasps the edge of the table and gets up.
“Rita?”
She doesn’t answer me, using her walker to turn away.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to meet somebody.”
I grab her arm to stop her, worried at the panic in her eyes. “What is it? Tell me!”
She hesitates and sinks back into her seat once she realizes I’m not going to let her leave. Rubbing her forehead with her hand, she looks tense.
“I need to know why you did that to me,” I stress.
“It was a healing potion, Sophia. Why would I give you an aphrodisiac?”
Rita looks upset, but from her reaction, I can tell she’s hiding something.
“Then what about this?” I take out the broken pieces of Eve’s phone that I picked up in the alley last night. “When I was getting the bottle from your bedside table drawer, I saw a similar phone. Do you recognize this one?”
Rita stares at the shattered black phone and presses her lips together. “Why were you snooping through my drawer?”
“I wasn’t. I just saw it lying there. I remembered that I had helped you buy a phone, so seeing a different one got my attention.”
She’s quiet as she picks up a piece of the broken phone. “It’s a burner. I don’t know where you got this, but I don’t know who it belongs to. And I don’t think I’m answerable to you about why I have a second phone.” Her voice is curt now. “I didn’t let you into my home so that you could start snooping around, Sophia. I expected better from you. And I didn’t give you any aphrodisiac. I have no reason to. I was just trying to help you out. I have to say, again, that I did not expect this from you.”
She sounds disappointed, and I try not to let it affect me. There is no other place I could’ve gotten the aphrodisiac from. But Rita is insistent that it wasn’t her.
I hadn’t expected her to deny it.
Now what?
I’m about to say something when my hand accidentally hits my bag and a paper falls out onto the ground. Rita picks it up and looks at the content before I can stop her.
“The Silver Wolf?” She raises her head and looks at me. “Why are you looking into this legend?”
“The Silver Wolf is a legend?” I ask cautiously.
She scowls at me. “Of course. If the Silver Wolf actually existed—”
Just then, a terrible expression crosses Rita’s face, and she falls silent.
“Rita?”
She sets the piece of paper down on the table in front of her, her eyes narrowed as if deep in thought.
“You know something about the Silver Wolf, don’t you?” She doesn’t answer me, and I snatch the paper back from her. “Why are you avoiding the question?”
“The Silver Wolf is nothing more than a legend, Sophia.” Rita frowns at me disapprovingly, snapping out of whatever daze she was in. “And you shouldn’t be looking into things that don’t concern you.” She gets up, taking hold of her walker again. Her voice icy cold, she tells me, “I think it would be best for the time being that you don’t come over to my house.”
She leaves me at the table, stepping off the restaurant’s patio and walking away. I purse my lips, trying to stem this feeling of shame. I have no reason to feel guilty, but I can’t help it. It feels like I accused her of something she might not have done and hurt her feelings in the process. But her reaction when she saw the information I had jotted down about the mysterious wolf early this morning was more than a little bizarre.
She has to be lying. She must know something.
But for the life of me, I cannot understand two things: why she wouldn’t tell me if she knows something about the Silver Wolf, and why she gave me that aphrodisiac. Where else could I have gotten it from?
I leave the restaurant quickly, planning to apologize to her to alleviate some of this guilt. I see her walking down the street. I’ve only taken a few steps toward her when I see her open the door to the Dancing Bear and walk inside. I come to a halt. She’s probably going to complain to Elsa about me. Or maybe she just wants to get away from me right now.
Aside from being a friendly gossip, Rita has never spoken a harsh word that I know of. In fact, she is very well-liked in town.
I can’t imagine that she would hurt me for any reason.
I have to be barking mad to think she would deliberately try to do something nefarious to me. I stare at the bar, my feet glued to the sidewalk.
I should clear my head before I do something else to destroy my relationship with Rita.
Hands in my pockets, I make my way toward the trees. There’s a lake about an hour’s walk from town. My thoughts are all jumbled up, and I just want to sort them out in peace and silence.
The Silver Wolf.
The aphrodisiac.
The female shifter in the cage fighting ring.
Mathew’s strange behavior.
And now Rita.
Not everything is connected, but stuff like this doesn’t happen in Oakrest Town. This place is as dull as it can get. So, why are all these strange things happening at once? Why are they happening now?
*** **
I know these woods like the back of my hand. Walking through them has always brought me comfort. There’s something about the silence and tranquility that soothes every part of my soul.
I have not seen Noah since I left his apartment. He never called me, and I never reached out. I’m being a coward.
The next time we meet, I’m going to have to put an end to whatever is happening between us. I enjoy his attention and his affection, but it doesn’t feel right. I had myself convinced that just because he makes me feel cherished, I should stick with him. But that’s not fair to him.
I’m not exactly looking forward to that conversation. He is not going to be happy in the slightest.
And then there’s Alex.
I don’t understand why he’s so sure that the Silver Wolf is hunkered down in Oakrest. I still plan to help him find her, but what if we’re going on a wild goose chase? Alex can’t stay in this town so much longer. Not with Noah and the pack security team searching for a black wolf.
For a moment, I come to a stop and look over my shoulder in the direction of the town. He’ll be gone soon. My life will go back to how it used to be. A wave of loneliness washes over me. How pathetic. I should be pleased. I’m finally going to be rid of the person who has brought so much chaos into my life.
But the idea of not seeing Alex is painful. And that is something I will only ever admit to myself.
I let myself be consumed by my thoughts as I make my way toward the still lake that sits hidden in the forest. As I’m walking, I suddenly feel the hair on the back of my neck rise.
I don’t look around.
Instead, I train my ears on my surroundings, searching for any sound that is out of the ordinary.
After a few seconds, I hear it.
Crunch.
Somebody’s stepping on dead leaves. Far off to my right. Without a moment’s hesitation, I begin running. My pursuer follows me, no longer hiding his existence. I take a sharp left and jump into a tree. Hiding in foliage is something I’ve perfected over a lifetime. I would often nap on branches as a child. The other kids were not as good at climbing trees as me, so they would have no choice but to leave me alone. Wolves in general aren’t fond of trees, so I would always clamber up into one when I was in trouble.
Sure enough, a couple minutes later, a man emerges into the clearing, looking around in frustration. My eyes narrow into thin slits. I recognize him as one of Alex’s people. I can’t recall his name, but I’ve seen him with Alex.
Why is he following me?
He looks around some more, clearly searching for me, and I decide to reveal myself. Jumping to the ground, I see him whirl around in shock.
“Wanna tell me why you were chasing me?” My arms are crossed over my chest as I glare at him.
“You’re Sophia.”
His acting skills are pretty pathetic.
“That doesn’t answer my question. And don’t pretend you didn’t know who I was. You’re one of Alex’s men. Why are you following me?”
“I was just going for a walk.”
I smile mockingly. “You must really think I’m an idiot.”
His jaw tenses.
“What was it? Were you planning to get rid of me out of sight of your Alpha?”
I was just taking a shot in the dark, but when I see his dark expression, my whole body turns cold. He was actually planning to do that?
He takes a step toward me menacingly, and I lift a finger. “One scream and I’m sure the pack security team will be here in an instant. They’re monitoring the woods.”
The man stops in his tracks, a vein pulsing on his forehead. He looks pissed. “I’m warning you,” he says, baring his teeth at me. “Stay away from Alex. The last thing he needs is a distraction. And a useless one at that.”
My smile turns hard at his words.
“And what are you, his keeper?” I place my hands on my hips.
“My Alpha isn’t in the right frame of mind right now,” he says coldly. “He doesn’t seem to understand that you’re going to be nothing more than a hindrance.”
“A hindrance?” I laugh, trying not to show that his words are slicing me up.
“Exactly,” he spits out. “A female like you, who does not even have a wolf, is only going to hold him back. Nobody in our pack will ever accept you, so stop trying to get his mating mark. You are an anomaly. You don’t deserve to—”
I hold up my hand, stopping him in mid-speech. “I don’t need the whole song and dance from you. I get the gist. You don’t approve of me. Boo-hoo.”
“Approve of you?!” The man gives me a disdainful look. “You’re not even good enough to lick the bottom of our shoes!”
“You sure have a lot of anger inside you.” I study him. “I didn’t realize Alex surrounded himself with such vile people. But don’t worry, he already rejected me.”
“That’s not going to be enough.” He takes another step toward me, and I waggle a finger in his direction again.
“One scream. That’s all it’s going to take.”
The hatred in his eyes chills my soul.
“So, your plan is to do what? Kill me and bury me out here somewhere? And what about when Alex finds out?”
He sneers at me. “Alex is not that attached to you. And he won’t do anything to me. I’ve been by his side for years. We have a bond forged in blood. He is confident in my loyalty.”
Worry snakes through me when he doesn’t reject my words. I know that the pack security team is nowhere near this area. With the impatience this man is showing, I’m not going to be able to hold him off much longer.
“Loyalty?” My upper lips curls. “I don’t know about loyalty, but I do know that the person I’m looking at is not so different from the monster who hurt your people.”
The man flinches as if I’ve slapped him. “How dare you—”
“Am I wrong?” I tilt my head, my voice cold. Underneath the fear that is twisting my gut, there is also anger rolling through me. “You’re trying to kill me for merely existing. Simply because the Goddess decreed your Alpha and me to be fated mates. And since I don’t have my wolf, you think you get to decide my destiny for me, don’t you?”
His lips draw back in a snarl. “Even if you had your wolf, Alex can only ever be with the Silver Wolf!”
“So, Alex’s life and decisions are yours to control?” Annoyance flares within me. “He can only be happy if you allow him to be? Is he a sacrificial puppet that is only meant to dance according to your fingers and those of your pack’s? Your little band of merry men aren’t the only ones who suffered under Queen Karina’s subjugation. Have you forgotten that Alex also lost his parents? But he’s the one who has to sacrifice his happiness, his needs.” I take one step toward him, finally understanding the reason behind this anger. “Tell me, will you only be appeased once you’ve drained him of everything, all happiness, every bit of joy? Will you and your friends finally be satisfied once he crushes his soul for you? Loyalty, my fucking ass!”
The man’s face turns a crimson red. “You have no idea what you’re—”
“I know what happened to your pack. And I know that no matter what you say or what Alex believes, all you people have ever done is treat him as somebody with no feelings. His pain and his needs don’t matter to you. But I bet if it were your fated mate on the line, none of you would be so willing to sacrifice her for the greater good.”
He gnashes his teeth, enraged now. “Shut up!”
I clearly touched a nerve there, and when he leaps at me, I pick up a downed branch lying next to me and slam it into his side. He goes rolling on the ground but jumps back up to his feet.
“You’re not even worth spending a minute on,” he growls.
Before I can blink, he transforms into a black wolf and charges at me.
Fear paralyzes me, and I know there is no escape this time. I can only await death.
I’ve never been a quitter, though. I ready myself, my own claws out. I’ll go for his eyes or his belly. I don’t want to hurt Alex’s friends—clearly, they matter to him—but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let one of them kill me.
He’s inches from me, his body in the air, his mouth wide open as if he’s planning to bite my entire head off, when a streak of black appears out of nowhere and slams into him. My attacker goes flying into the trees, breaking a couple on his way down.