Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Sofia
Four weeks later
“How goes the search?” Emily asks as she hands me a coffee.
“It’s not really going at all,” I sigh, curling my fingers around the mug for warmth.
The comforting scent grounds me slightly, but it doesn’t ease the weight pressing on my chest. “Four weeks of digging through every pack registry, calling in every favor I can think of, even a visit to the council that Luca had to attend because they’re a bunch of misogynistic assholes who would only speak to the acting alpha. But I still have no leads.”
Emily winces in sympathy. “What about the witches?”
I shake my head. “I haven’t found a contact in any of the covens who will agree to perform the spell to find Ryan’s mate yet. Apparently, I don’t have enough of an offering, whatever the fuck that means.”
“I’m so sorry. It sounds like you’re doing everything you can.”
He’s been staying in the cells since we got back from the rescue mission, but he’s doing well.
The therapy has been helping, as much as he tried to get out of it the first couple of weeks.
He bought in after Maya basically told him to stop wasting her time and either do the work or give up the space to someone who would.
Ryan was fuming, but he respected it, and he has come to enjoy his sessions.
Even his wolf seems more settled.
The memory tugs at my mind of Ryan telling me, “I’ve got to give it to you; that human has claws.
” He was obviously expecting more of a nod and smile type therapist but has come to enjoy the way Maya calls him on his shit.
I never could have imagined the day would come when my alpha brother not only tolerated but actually enjoyed being challenged.
“He wasn’t too bad during the full moon last week, but this can’t continue.” I continue. “He needs to get out of there. Being locked up isn’t good for any wolf, let alone an alpha.”
“Of course.” Emily nods. “It must be so hard seeing him like that. Locked up like an animal, even if it was his idea.”
“It’s awful,” I agree. “Luca has been doing everything he can to help and distracting me when he can’t.
He lets me fall apart and puts me back together again afterwards.
And Dad—” I pause, shaking my head. “He’s there every single day.
Talking to Ryan, trying to convince him to consider a chosen mate.
But Ryan won’t budge. He says his wolf won’t allow it. ”
I still can’t believe how consistent Dad has been. He’s different from how he was before everything with Mom. More subdued, more mellow, definitely less alpha. But he’s acting like his old self in other ways. He even slept in the cell beside Ryan during the full moon to make sure he wasn’t alone.
It’s allowed me to focus on trying to find a witch, but I’m running out of places to look.
We fall into silence for a moment, sipping our hot drinks. Then Emily asks, “And Luca? He’s been good? I still can’t believe he won you over.”
“Me either,” I say with a laugh. “Luca is such an idiot. He genuinely didn’t know how to be around me because he was obsessed with me and thought I was too young.
But since finding out we are mates, he has learned to be honest about his feelings.
It’s what I wanted. Even if it doesn’t make any sense. ”
“I’m happy as long as you’re happy, bestie,” Emily says with a smile. She’s still not fully sure about Luca, which I get. He was an asshole when she got here first. But he won me over, and I’m sure Emily will see it in time.
“Plus, the sex is insanely good.”
Emily flushes and giggles. She’s so adorable. The sweetness to my spice.
“How’s Jackson doing? Has he talked to Katie much?”
“No,” she says with a heavy sigh. “It’s tough on him.
He had this idea that they would go back to their old dynamic as soon as he found her.
But she’s not the same shifter she was back then.
He understands, of course. What she’s been through…
” she trails off and shudders. Emily has her own history of trauma, but what Katie has been through is very different.
My phone pings, and I open a text message from Caleb.
I have a witch. Call me.
For a heartbeat, I just stare. My pulse stutters, then surges so fast it feels like my skin can’t contain it. “Holy shit.”
Emily blinks at me. “What is it?”
I screech with excitement, jumping to my feet as I read, and Emily chokes on her tea. “Sorry, Em. I’ve got to go call Caleb. He has a witch!”
“Oh, thank Fate,” Emily whispers with her hands covering her mouth. She gives me a quick hug and then hustles me out the door as I pull up Caleb’s details. Finally, some good luck.
“We have a witch!” I cry as Luca, Ryan, and Dad all turn to stare at me, their conversation dying mid-sentence. My heart is hammering so hard I almost choke on the giddy energy buzzing through me.
“Caleb found the coven who spelled the chokers,” I say quickly, as if the reality will fade away if I don’t grab on to it straight away.
“He found a witch willing to talk to him. Turns out she had no idea what they were being used for and feels awful. She agreed to do the locator spell for Ryan’s mate as part of her repentance. No payment required!”
I clap my hands together like a kid at Solstice, giddy with relief, with the sense that finally—finally—something is going our way. It feels as if the universe might be making sense again.
But Ryan’s answering snarl shreds my happiness in an instant. Dousing my excitement like a bucket of ice water.
“I don’t want you messing with witches,” Ryan snarls, and if he weren’t behind silver bars, I might knock his head against the wall. My nails dig into my palms as I attempt to anchor myself in the bare hint of pain.
“Why the hell not?” I snap. “She doesn’t even want payment, and it means you can get out of here. That you’ll be okay.”
“Ryan,” Dad cuts in, voice calm but firm. “You need to listen to your sister. This is your life we’re talking about.”
My chest swells with warmth and pride, hearing my dad having my back. I’m not alone. I’m not the only one trying to force Ryan to live, to fight for himself.
But Ryan just exhales, long and ragged. His eyes are heavy with exhaustion, but underneath that, something steadier glints. “We don’t need to involve witches.” He pushes his shoulders back, and when he looks at me, his expression is unflinching. “My wolf finally agreed to let me choose someone.”
I reel back, the world tilting sideways. “What?” My voice cracks. I glance around the room as if a female will materialize from the shadows. Luca and Dad look as surprised as I feel, judging by the raised eyebrows and slack jaws.
I’ve been trying to convince Ryan to take a chosen mate for weeks, and only now that I can find his fated mate, he is willing to choose. It doesn’t make sense.
Luca finds his voice first. “Who?”
Ryan doesn’t flinch. “My therapist. Maya.”
The silence that descends on us is heavy. Thick with disbelief and confusion so raw I can taste it.
“But she’s… human.” I say, stating the obvious. The pack won’t accept her as luna. The elders won’t let him remain as alpha if he has a human mate. The ruling from the council is clear that humans can’t be told of our existence. Unless… unless they are fated mates.
But that has never happened with a ranked wolf before. Ryan meets my gaze and stares at me for a few beats before replying. “I know.”
The quiet that follows is brutal. Dad looks as if someone’s knocked the wind out of him, shoulders slumping. Luca’s jaw flexes like he’s grinding stone.
The air feels heavier, pressing in. My mind flashes through every pack gathering, every whispered tradition, every law. My stomach knots. “The pack won’t accept her. They’ll never—”
“They’ll learn,” Ryan interrupts, voice rough but certain.
His eyes drop to the floor, then lift again with something like defiance.
“Or they won’t. But she’s the only one I’ve ever been able to be just me with.
She doesn’t care about my rank or being alpha.
She pushes me to be better. My wolf respects her because she doesn’t back down.
Because she isn’t afraid to call it like it is.
She makes me want to fight for myself. My wolf has settled just from talking to her.
” His lips twitch with something that might be a smile.
“And she’s the most stunning creature I’ve ever seen. ”
I blink, stunned. I hoped therapy would help him look at things differently. Not that he would fall for the person who got him to do that. But still, there’s a raw truth to his words that cuts deeper than any political argument.
But politics still matter. They always do. “What does this mean for the pack?” I whisper. “The council will never—”
“I need to leave,” Ryan cuts in, his voice steadier now.
“I want to be alpha, it’s what I was born for.
But the truth is, I can’t—not without a mate.
Not without someone to balance me. And she’s the only one my wolf will accept.
So, I’ll go to the city. Convince Maya to agree to be my mate. Bring her back. Simple”
“What if she doesn’t want to come back here?” Luca asks. “What if she’s not interested?”
Ryan raises an eyebrow and smirks at him.
“She’s either my mate, and it’ll be easy, or she’s not and I’ll convince her.
While I’m gone, I need you to step up. Take on the role of alpha.
At least temporarily. If you want to keep it after…
” he trails off before taking a deep breath. “I won’t challenge you.”
“No.” Luca’s reply is instant, flat, unyielding. He crosses his arms over his chest, gaze hard. No hesitation, no flicker of doubt under Ryan’s scrutiny.
Ryan straightens. “If you don’t, I can’t go. And then I’ll lose my damn mind. You’ll have to put me down and take over, anyway.”
“I’m not saying you can’t go.” Luca’s voice is steel, as his gaze locks onto Ryan.
“But I am saying I won’t take over as alpha.
I’m a beta; I always will be. I don’t see the big picture.
I can’t think of the greater good in the way an alpha needs to.
I’ll always prioritize my mate above all else.
Including the pack. I got warriors killed the last time I tried to call the shots, and you know it could have been so much worse. ”
My core and my pussy both clench at his words. The sureness of me being everything to him.
“And anyway,” he continues, “we have a perfectly good Alpha right here who can take over for you.”
Ryan looks at Dad, and his face softens. “I’m so glad to have you back with us, Dad. For the past few weeks, you’ve really been there for me, but…” he looks back to Luca and shakes his head. “But I can’t ask that of him. He—”
“Not him,” Luca replies, cutting Ryan off while staring at me. “No offence Alpha Elliot, you know I have a lot of respect for you. But Sofia is the obvious choice.”
“What?” I ask, blinking at him. There’s never been a female Alpha before. Not here. Not anywhere.
Luca steps closer, his voice steady and unwavering. “You’re smart, and brave, and a natural leader. You’re the one who kept us alive out there, who refused to give up on Ryan and provided a safe space for a lost and broken omega. You see the bigger picture. And I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks, part fear, part disbelief. My mind spins—every council law, every tradition, every story drilled into me since childhood screams that this is impossible. But the way Luca looks at me… the way Dad regards me like he’s seeing me clearly for the first time…
“This is insane,” I mutter. “No one would ever accept me.”
“They already do,” Ryan says quietly.
I jerk my gaze to him. He’s watching me with a clear-eyed focus I haven’t seen in months—maybe years. “Sofia, the warriors worship you. When I broke, you held things together. When the rescue mission went to hell, you made the calls that brought us home.”
His mouth twists into something like a smile.
“Your brother’s right,” Dad cuts in, and the raw pride in his voice nearly knocks me off my feet.
He steps closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as if he could pass his strength straight into me.
“You’ve got your mother’s fire, and my stubbornness.
But you’re also fierce, compassionate, and when you believe in something, you don’t let go.
That’s what makes a leader. I want to claw myself apart for every day that I missed out on you becoming the wonderful shifter you are. ”
My eyes sting with unshed tears. Part of me wants to make a snarky joke. To diffuse the realness in the room with us. But I don’t. I let myself feel it.
“Dad…” I start, but I’m not sure how to finish.
He nods, his jaw working. “I failed you, honey. I acknowledge that. But I won’t fail you now. If you step up, I’ll stand behind you. Every step. So will Ryan. So will Luca. You have our full support.”
My eyes track between the three most important men in my life. Unwavering support written across their faces. My wolf purrs and puffs out her chest with pride. How did I get here in just a few short weeks? From the girl who felt she always had to prove herself to the one who already has.
“So, are you going to be my luna then?” I ask Luca to cut the tension. His answering growl tells me what I already know. He won’t be my luna, but he will be my second in command. My beta. Enforcer of my word if I need him to be, emotional support when I need that. He’ll be my everything.
“You know damn well I won’t be. But I think you already know who would be perfect for the role.”
Emily. My soul sister. The only shifter besides Luca I’ve ever felt such a strong connection with. And knowing there’s not a hint of jealousy or possessiveness in Luca makes it all the more perfect. He doesn’t need to feel those things. He’s secure enough in our bond now.
“Yeah,” I smile. “I think I do. We’ll have to convince the council and the elders too, you know?”
“Leave the elders to me, honey,” Dad says.
“And fuck the council,” Ryan says. “We already know they’re full of shit and don’t have the best interests of all shifters at heart.”
I grin at him, glad to see there are already signs of the big brother I grew up admiring coming back. Fates, I’ve missed him.