“Girl, please, you can’t leave the hospital in that,” she deadpans as she waves her hand up and down, gesturing to my hospital gown. “Jack. Out. Now.” She glares at him, and he raises his hands in surrender before backing away towards the door.
My disbelief is palpable. No way would a female order a ranked wolf around in Blood Moon. I open my mouth to ask, but decide against it. I don’t want to be rude, so I avert my gaze as I fidget with the blanket covering my legs. Sofia giggles and continues going through the clothes.
“I’ll be right outside. Call me if you need anything, Fia. Don’t take any chances,” he says while glancing my way. I guess his words should be insulting, but they aren’t. I’m so used to my weakness being pointed out; it’s kind of nice to be considered a threat for once. No one’s ever thought that before.
Goddess, I’m so pitiful.
I glance at Sofia after Jackson leaves, not having a clue how I should be engaging with her. I never had a lot of time to socialize as a pup. It was too risky that I might do something to upset my father. I’ve been with Aidan since I turned seventeen and he never allowed me to be around others without telling me exactly how I was supposed to behave.
“Sorry, I’m not used to females like you. I mean… I didn’t mean that how it sounded. I’m sorry,” I ramble, mortified. I’m such an idiot. Drawing my shoulders in, I burrow further under my blanket, wishing the ground would swallow me.
“Hey, hey,” Sofia soothes. She tilts her head and frowns before taking my hand and squeezing gently. “It’s okay, you didn’t say anything wrong.”
“I didn’t?” I ask quietly, my breath starting to even out.
“Nope. Not at all! What has you so worried?” she asks while rubbing soothing circles on my hand with her thumb. How do I explain to this self-assured alpha female that I almost exclusively say the wrong thing without seeming like a complete freak? I take a deep breath like Doc has been showing me and when I can function again, I try to make eye contact and explain myself.
“Uh… I can be a bit awkward. I say stupid things a lot and... and I don’t get why you’re being so nice to me. I don’t deserve it. You don’t want to spend time with me.” Sofia cocks her head to the side and levels me with a look as her dark brown eyes bore into me.
“Someone told you that, huh?” I can’t respond or make eye contact, so I just nod.
“So, here’s the thing,” she says, squeezing my hand again. “I don’t know youyet, but I’d like to get to know you and form my own opinion. Is that alright?” she asks softly. I nod again, my throat tight. I wish it were that easy. I would love to experience the joy of a friend, even if only for a little while, but I can’t stay here for long.
“You don’t have to tell me any more than you’re ready to, but I need to understand what we’re dealing with here to some extent. We need some information so that we can keep you and everybody else safe. How about a trade? I’ll tell you all about me and my pack and then you tell me whatever you’re comfortable sharing?”
It’s hard not to trust her. She seems so genuine. Over breakfast, she tells me all about the Lunar Eclipse pack and how she’s helping with Luna tasks until her brother finds his fated mate. Her description of Lunar Eclipse sounds so different from Blood Moon.
“So, there’s about 250 members of the pack. We have around fifty warriors, eight omegas, and the rest are unranked. Everyone has jobs in the pack or the local human town, but their homes are provided from the pack funds.”
“You interact with humans?” I ask in surprise. It was expressly forbidden in Blood Moon to interact with anyone from outside the pack unless the Alpha allowed it.
“Yeah, our pups go to school in the human town. I’m pretty sure they think we’re in a cult or something, but whatever.” She shrugs, clearly used to the idea. Whereas I haven’tever even spoken to a human. I’ll have to pick her brains about what to expect before I move on.
Sofia talks about how much her brother’s friends drive her crazy with their overprotectiveness, but she speaks about them like they are annoying rather than intimidating. She has me giggling when she whispers conspiratorially, telling me about how she’s been sneaking out for years and hiding it when she dates to avoid them scaring off anyone she is interested in. But never once does she seem like there is any fear of what they would have done to her if they found out.
I need her to tell me how this is possible. It can’t be easy to sneak around when your overbearing brother is the pack Alpha.
My stifled giggles soon turn to laughing out loud at some of Sofia’s stories. I can’t recall when I last laughed. It feels good. Free. Sofia’s life sounds so, well, normal. The complete opposite of my life, but it’s hard to begrudge Sofia when she has been so kind to me.
“So, honey, your turn. Are you ready to tell me where you’ve come from?” I inhale deeply, trying to chase down the nerves of what could happen if I tell her.
“Can you promise me no one will send me back?”
Sofia recoils slightly. “To the place you were tortured? Of course not!” Her reaction makes it easier to talk. It’s like she couldn’t even imagine sending me back. So, I tell her everything—well, a shortened, watered-down version of everything, but more than I’ve ever told anyone else.
I tell her all about how my Alpha had suggested we were likely fated mates. He had felt the bond, and I trusted his superior instincts. But that led to complete isolation and being put down so much that when he started to physically abuse me too, I had nowhere to turn and didn’t believe I deserved better.
My breath catches in my throat when I reflect on how the idea of having pups with him made me see I needed to get out. That I’d realized I’d rather die than bring life into that nightmare. How I’ve been running for weeks on a broken leg to avoid being captured and returned to Aidan.
“Looking back, I know I should have left sooner. It wasn’t so bad at the start, but things kept getting worse as time went on. I didn’t think it would get better, but I thought maybe I could get better at not making him angry. I tried so hard, but it was never enough.”
I was so naïve.
Sofia listens intently, never interrupting me. Her face tells me everything she’s thinking without her having to use words. The way she covers her mouth when she gasps showsme her horror at how Aidan hurt me. Her glassy eyes tell the story of the empathy she has for me. It’s almost too much to bear, and I find myself gazing away.
I don’t want her pity. All I want is a chance to start again.
“Oh, sweetie,” Sofia whispers after I finish. I peek up at her in time to see her wiping away the wetness on her cheeks before she envelops me in a hug. It’s soft and caring, and the difference between this embrace and almost every other physical interaction I’ve had over the past couple of years is striking.
