Chapter Eight #2
“Back the fuck up, dude. I’m the beta of this pack, and no one disrespects the Alpha’s sister,” I growl, pushing him away from me.
Please don’t back down. Please give me a fucking opportunity to tear you to shreds.
He blinks at me, opens his mouth and then closes it before he bares his neck and steps back.
The two of them scurry away like rats. And I’m left here trying to push my unused claws back inside my fingers while adrenaline courses through my body.
Everyone knows you don’t pick a fight in another pack without wanting war.
But I wish he had given me an excuse. My wolf howls, wanting me to avenge Sofia.
I mean the pack. It’s not about Sofia; it’s about defending the pack.
And cutting out anyone who thinks it’s okay to speak about females like that.
It’s a slippery slope between careless comments and being willing to do…
Fuck. I shake off those thoughts because they really aren’t helping to calm me or my wolf.
Rachel huffs behind me and storms into the party.
I need to end things with her. If I’m honest with myself, I’m sick of wasting time with casual flings.
It’s supposed to be about blowing off steam for both of us, but it’s not working for me anymore.
And it’s not fair to Rachel if she wants something I can’t give her.
Jackson is waiting at the front door with an eyebrow raised as he stares at me.
“What?” I bark out.
“Yeah, no one disrespects Fia except you,” he says while giving me a pointed look.
His posture conveys an intentionally relaxed stance, standing with his back against the cabin and one knee bent back to rest his foot against the wall.
As if to make it clear he isn’t looking for a fight despite the comment he just made.
“What are you talking about?”
“It needs to end, Luca. She’s officially not a kid anymore. You need to stop treating her the way you do. As if she’s not an important part of the pack. You need to stop butting heads with her at every opportunity.”
I can’t help the growl that travels up my throat as I clench my fists.
Why would he say I regard her like she isn’t important?
As if she doesn’t matter. I might treat her like she’s a kid, but she’s the one always starting shit and getting into trouble.
I can’t help how protective I am of her.
The comments those shitheads were making might have been unwarranted and disgusting, but it’s definitely not the first time I’ve had to step in that way.
Not that Sofia—or anyone else—needs to be aware of that.
But fate, it’s as though she attracts negative attention on purpose sometimes.
Like when she joined the damn cheer squad in the human high school and pranced around in that tiny fucking outfit.
Or when she went skinny dipping with the warriors.
Or even just the tiny shorts and cropped tops she wears when she bothers to turn up to training.
She laughs it off, but I have to hear the comments about her perfect body.
Not that I ever hear it for long. I shut that shit down quickly.
“It’s not my fault if she’s constantly getting in trouble or leading wolves on.”
Jackson sighs heavily and runs his hands through his hair.
“Look, man, Emily threatened to withhold sex for a week if I didn’t say something.
And as unlikely as it is that she would actually follow through, I’m taking no chances.
Tonight is Fia’s birthday. Her twenty-first birthday.
Her parents aren’t here, and she hasn’t met her mate.
The last thing she needs is you giving her shit.
Promise me you won’t upset her tonight?”
I don’t upset her. Sure, we verbally spar, but she never gets upset. She gives it back as soon as I throw something her way. It’s the highlight of my day when I get to banter with Sofia. She would have said something if it upset her. Wouldn’t she?
Sofia is the most unflappable shifter I’ve ever met.
Other than when I held her back from joining the fight against Aidan’s warriors, I haven’t seen her emotionally waver in the three years since I’ve been back at the pack.
Dread creeps into my veins at the thought that maybe more was going on.
That she’s been hiding her feelings. I shake off the creeping worry that there has been more going on for her than meets the eye.
Ryan, as alpha, would have detected her hurt if she had felt it.
And while he has pulled me up multiple times on how I talk to her, he’s never said I was hurting her.
I’m so fucking over this conversation. My wolf is champing at the bit to get in there, and I need a beer, or preferably something a hell of a lot stronger. A bourbon would be nice.
“Fine!” I snap. “I’ll stay out of her way. Happy?”
“Very, my cock and I thank you for your service,” Jackson laughs, slapping me on the back as we walk into the house.
He’s been so fucking happy since he met Emily.
Which he deserves. He was miserable before.
But it’s not easy seeing your friend getting everything you want.
I’m beyond ready to meet my mate and find my forever.
My wolf huffs and snarls, not at all impressed at me agreeing to stay away from the birthday girl. And as soon as I step inside, I recognize why.
I’m going to have to break the promise I just made, because nothing could keep me away from Sofia now. Not when I realize exactly why I’ve always been so fiercely protective of her.
My wolf picks up her scent immediately, an intoxicating mixture of bergamot, bright and citrus-sweet orange, threaded with a trace of cinnamon.
Stronger and more intense than ever before, her scent calls to me, and I follow blindly.
There’s probably music playing, but I can’t take it in.
Someone laughs, and it sounds like an echo. All I can think of is her.
She’s talking to Emily and a couple of warriors.
Her long dark hair is tied in a high ponytail.
It's straight tonight, and I miss her curls. A tight red dress hugs her delectable curves, ending slightly below her toned ass. Her perfectly round, toned ass. Her tan legs look amazing, her heels highlighting their already long length. She’s roughly the same height as my 6’1” frame in those shoes. Fate, I love how tall she is.
She’s not a dainty little thing, she’s powerful and strong. She’s a goddess.
Everyone else in the room fades away; the music and talking become white noise. My wolf pushes forward, urging me to claim her here and now, and the syllable slips out of me in a whisper without permission. “Mate.”
Sofia’s head snaps up. Her ponytail flips as she turns, and her deep brown eyes narrow at me.
Her nostrils flare as she breathes me in, inhaling my scent and realizing what it means.
Gold flashes in her eyes as her wolf registers me.
Sofia’s chest rises rapidly above the red sweetheart neckline that encases her full breasts.
My wolf puffs out his chest with pride at having such a strong and beautiful mate but the human part of me is torn between a million racing thoughts.
Fuck. Ryan is going to lose his shit.
“No, no, no,” Sofia mutters under her breath while shaking her head. “This is not happening,” she grinds out. She walks towards me with a look of fierce determination on her face—head up, shoulders squared, like she can will the world to bend.
“I, Sofia Rivera of the Lunar Eclipse pack rej—” Ryan lunges between us faster than I can register what’s happening, his hand clamping over Sofia’s mouth just as she was about to reject me. Blood rushes in my ears, and my heart pounds erratically. She was going to reject me? What the hell?
I stumble backward, falling into Jackson, who must have been standing right behind me. The room spins and I need to get off this ride. Gasps sound out, followed by muffled whispers I can’t comprehend. My heart hammers in my chest. None of this is how I imagined meeting my mate.
It’s supposed to be an undeniable pull.
I’ve seen others meet their mates. They’ve run to each other, kissing, running their hands all over each other. Magnetically drawn together, unable to be apart for another second. Mates from the same pack are usually drawn together before turning twenty-one.
Which explains why I haven’t been able to get Sofia out of my head since I got back. But she’s obviously fucking horrified by the thought of being with me. She clearly sees how messed up this is. How fucked it is that we are fated to be together. How I’m way too old for her.
“Come with me, both of you, and keep quiet,” Ryan orders, applying his alpha command so there’s no room to refuse.
We move as we’re told. My feet drag like I’m wading through thick water.
I want to run in the opposite direction.
But the command doesn’t give me a choice.
My wolf howls in the back of my throat—angry, baffled, wounded.
Rejection is a blade that not only severs the bond but also causes unimaginable pain—sometimes even death.
But why?
She didn’t even give me a chance. She went straight to refusal, and the idea that she would risk the consequences of a rejection without a conversation—without even asking—slashes across me.
Maybe there’s someone else. Maybe she’s afraid.
Or maybe she hates me so much that she’d rather bleed than be linked to me.
The possibilities ricochet around my head, and none of them feel like an answer I can stand.
Could she be angry that I didn’t wait for her? But surely not. I’m a thirty-year-old shifter, for fate's sake! Although maybe I should have been more discreet. My stomach clenches, and the memory that I brought a date to her birthday assaults me.
I’m a fucking idiot, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow. The sheer awkwardness stings, leaving a burning residue of discomfort. Unease settles into my limbs, and my feet feel as if they are made of concrete as I trudge along behind Ryan.
I didn’t know. She can’t hold that against me. Can she?
Sofia doesn’t glance at me once for all the times I look at her; her gaze remains fixed on some space ahead of her.
The muscles in her arms tighten as she crosses them protectively, almost as though she’s creating a physical barrier between us.
The air around her seems to crackle with the intensity of her emotions.
Her whole fucking energy screams ‘don’t talk to me’ and I hate it.
The tightness in her posture is a shield she’s raised, and it burns to see the girl who used to come to me for comfort treat me like I’m the enemy.
She used to come to me whenever she needed anything.
Especially after what happened with her parents.
Have I pushed her away to the point that we can’t even have a conversation?
I want to grab her and tell her the truth.
Tell her about how perfect I think she is and how much of a damn coward I’ve been.
But the words stick in my throat like I swallowed tar.
How the fuck do I tell Sofia—and Ryan—that I’ve been drawn to her for nearly three years without them thinking I’m a complete creep?
My head pounds as I try to make sense of the situation and what to do next. Because as much as I hate myself for it, I can’t deny how much I want her anymore. My wolf wouldn’t let me even if I wanted to.
Fate put us together, and we both need to accept that.
Sofia Rivera is mine.