Sofia lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose. “She must be one of the omegas. You just need to hang on until we get them out of there. Where are we with the plans?”
“I have a call with Caleb in a couple of days. He has managed to make contact with someone on the inside. We need to regroup and plan.” Ryan says. “His contact said security will be lowest on the full moon; we need to move in then.”
“Fuck,” Sofia replies with a sharp intake of breath. I grit my teeth to hold back the building frustration at Sofia hearing about this. I don’t want her anywhere near the action when we break the omegas out and burn the operation to the ground.
“That’s two weeks away. Will you be okay until then?” I ask Ryan, not wanting to ignore the elephant in the room. He will be more vulnerable the closer we get to the full moon and the longer it takes for him to find his mate.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Ryan shares. His shoulders slump, and I can’t imagine how hard this is for him. To admit his vulnerability. And I am so fucked up for using this as a way to get closer to Sofia. But I’m going to do it anyway.
I clear my throat. “Sofia can’t stay here.”
Her eyes cut to me, and if looks could kill, I would have dropped dead. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think I would ever leave my brother when he needs me? I knew you thought low of me, but this is above and beyond.”
“Hey, hey,” I say, raising my hands defensively. “This isn’t about you. What happens if you’re here when he loses control again? What happens if he wakes in the middle of the night and doesn’t recognize you? How do you think Ryan could ever come back from it if he hurt you?”
Her face falls, and the fire in her eyes dims. The golden hue of her wolf receding back to the deep brown of her human form. “I’m the safest shifter he could be around. I’m the only one immune to his command, and I can hold my own.”
“He’s right, little sis,” Ryan says, wrapping his arms around her. And even though he’s her brother, my wolf still gets his hackles up. “It would be safer for everyone if you weren’t here. Only until we free the omegas and I hopefully find my mate.”
“I can’t just abandon you,” Sofia says, her voice breaking as a salty taste permeates the air. It guts me that she’s going through this. That she won’t let me be there for her like she used to. It’s my fault, of course, but it’s still painful.
“I can’t—”
“You can,” Ryan interrupts softly. “You’ll still be there for me, but if I ever hurt you, I’d never come back from it.”
“I hate this,” she says with a heavy sigh. “But fine. If this is what you need. I’ll check with Emily and Jackson and see if I can stay with them. Or I can stay at the packhouse.”
My wolf explodes inside me. The idea of her in the packhouse, surrounded by unmated males? No, no fucking way will that be happening.
“There is no chance in hell you’re staying in the packhouse,” I growl, voice rough with possession.
Sofia clenches her fists and steps into my space. “What the hell is your problem now? It was your idea for me not to stay here!”
“And you can’t. But staying at the packhouse will raise questions. There’s only one place you can go without drawing attention to why you’ve left your home. And you know where that is.”
Sofia’s brows scrunch together for a fraction of a second as she puts two and two together. Her eyes widen, horror flashing across her face as the truth lands. My grin is sharp, victorious, and maybe even a little cruel. She can hate me for it all she wants, but the Goddess herself just handed me exactly what I’ve craved—an excuse to keep her in my home.
And I’m not going to apologize for finding a reason to have my mate in my home. I grin at her, and she glares back at me.
Her scowl is molten, furious, and it only makes her more beautiful. She spins on her heel and storms toward her bedroom, all fire and sassy attitude, before slamming the door behind her.
I lean back against the wall, smiling like a wolf with a fresh kill.
Let’s see her try to avoid me now.
Chapter Seventeen
Sofia
Being outsmarted by Luca Taylor is a new low for me.
Ugh, I can’t believe I let him bait me into this situation. Once I had accepted moving out as being the best thing for Ryan, there was no going back. And the worst part is, he’s right. Going anywhere but here—my mate’s place—would raise questions that we can’t answer yet.
If the elders find out that Ryan is headed towards moon madness, they’ll push for a change in pack leadership immediately. And that could lead to the madness taking hold even sooner.
But shit, moving in with Luca was definitely not on my bingo card for this lifetime, and yet, here I am, walking between my brother and my nemesis-slash-wannabe-mate, while the two of them carry bags of my things like I’m some fragile princess. I tried to argue—said I could grab stuff as I needed it—but apparently that wasn’t an option. Neither was carrying my own damn bags.
As if I’m not a fully grown alpha shifter.
