The Alpha’s Fated Choice (Alpha's Fated Encounter Trilogy #1)

Even when I lost everything, I may have been lonely, but I wasn’t alone. I always had my pack around me. I felt secure in their presence. They stood by me through everything. I’ve never once doubted that my pack cares about me.

But what about Sophia? I don’t think she’s ever been accepted anywhere. The idea of someone wanting her must feel foreign. Has her life always been transactional? Did she think that I wouldn’t want her simply because she believes she can’t give me anything?

She’s not lacking confidence, but she’s lacking self-esteem. Her self-worth has been systematically broken down throughout her life. She doesn’t talk much about her past, but when she does mention pieces of it, the stories are horrific.

It confuses me. It’s not as if she is the only latent wolf shifter in the world. I have encountered several shifters who have dormant wolves. None of them are treated the way Sophia is. Although she has a few people she’s close to, I’ve witnessed firsthand how callous the vast majority of the shifters in this town are toward her.

She still doesn’t trust me. I know that. Even though she has accepted me, she doesn’t trust me not to leave her, not to abandon her. Is that what she’s scared of? Abandonment?

I study her relaxed features. Why doesn’t she see how precious she is?

My finger traces over her skin. “I guess I never really gave you a reason to trust me. Who would trust someone who has constantly rejected them?”

Her nose scrunches in annoyance, and I remove my finger.

“I should have been the one to stand between you and the world, but I let you down, didn’t I? What kind of mate does that make me? I was ready to sacrifice your happiness.”

Bit by bit, my willpower on that matter crumbled. Be with another woman? How could I even have fathomed such a thing?

When I told Patrick that once we found the Silver Wolf, I would be stepping down as Alpha, I’d never before seen such a shocked look on my friend’s face. I was willing to forget about my revenge. As long as we could rescue the pups, that was all I needed. Then, I would come back for Sophia.

But I can’t bear to leave Sophia here alone. She needs me. I don’t know exactly when I began to need her, but when I followed her to Rita’s cottage and heard her cry over her friend’s body, those broken sounds shattered something in me. And I can’t bear the sight of her tears.

That day in the woods when Nathan attacked Sophia, we all heard her words. When I sat alone and thought about what Sophia had said, I felt a strange pain within me, a loneliness I never realized existed. I always knew my life was not my own. I existed only for my pack. Each time I destroyed a part of myself, nobody tried to stop me.

When I explained to my companions that I would finish what we’d started, but that I would then be leaving to be with Sophia, they understood that I meant what I was saying. But the guilt on their faces told me that this was their wake up call, as well. I can’t blame them, though. I always considered my own desires unnecessary; my pack never disagreed till they were forced to take a look in the mirror.

My pack cares for me. I don’t doubt it. But none of them ever took a stand for me, even as a child. I had to bear the weight of all the tough decisions. I had no one to comfort me or to offer me the assurance I needed as a young child forced to become the Alpha.

Then, Sophia entered my life and ripped open the darkness to shine her light inside. And in so doing, she saw all the wounds that I’ve covered up over the years.

I’d been planning to go to the arena by myself tonight, just to watch Sophia fight. Maybe talk to her afterward. I wanted to apologize to her, to ask her to wait for me and have faith in me. I hadn’t planned on revealing Sophia’s identity as the Wily Vixen to my friends, but when Nathan told me Julia was sneaking out of the motel, I had a feeling I was going to have to. Something was wrong. I knew instinctively where Julia was headed. She had tried killing Sophia in a cage fight before; she was going to finish what she’d started.

Patrick and Jared refused to let me go after her without an explanation, sensing something was up. While I easily could have ordered them aside and done as I pleased, I’ve never used my Alpha position to abuse my friends’ trust.

I expected them to try and stop me. However, all of them, including Nathan, were adamant about saving Sophia. I didn’t know when they’d decided to accept Sophia into the pack, but I knew it wasn’t simply because they didn’t want me to step down. Nathan was actually the most vocal about it.

I look down at the woman sleeping beside me. “Ultimately, the decision will be yours, though. Whether you want to come to my pack or go somewhere else, I’ll do whatever you want, as long as you’re with me.”

I hear a soft knock on the door of Sophia’s apartment, and at the same time, my phone begins buzzing on the table next to the bed.

I get out of bed and cover Sophia with the blanket to prevent her from getting cold. It’s still dark outside. Only a couple of hours have passed since I brought her home and put her to bed. She was already asleep by the time we reached her building.

I close the bedroom door behind me and rush to the front door. Pulling it open, I see my men grouped together on the landing. Nathan is the last to enter the apartment, which is when I notice we’re missing someone. “Where’s Saul?”

“Julia was at the motel,” Patrick replies, sinking onto the ratty-looking armchair in the living room. “He wanted to keep an eye on her. Lucky for us, you were right. Julia doesn’t know the true identity of the Wily Vixen. She’s been in a lousy mood ever since she got back from the arena. Biting her nails, muttering to herself—she’s got crazy down to a T. She doesn’t know we were there tonight. Whatever her plan was, it obviously failed.”

“She’s not one to give up easily, though,” I say. I know Julia. I’ve known her for years. When she becomes fixated on someone, she’ll go to any length to destroy them. “And we have to deal with Mathew Rivers, quickly. He’s the only one who knows about Sophia.”

I can only hope, for now, that Mathew isn’t foolish enough to reveal Sophia’s identity. If Sophia was right about the things she told me, then revealing her identity will only be a blow to the owner of the boxing gym and his secret underground cage fighting ring. I have to make sure it doesn’t come to that.

“What do you want us to do to him?” Nathan rocks on his heels. “I could rip out his tongue for you.”

“I would suggest something even more permanent,” Jared says darkly. “The longer he’s alive, the more danger Sophia is in.”

“Killing a human will be problematic,” I muse. “The pack security now knows there’s more than one black wolf in town. They will be looking for a group of newcomers, which will lead them straight to us. But if Sophia’s identity is leaked, they will have more reason to keep her here, and taking her with us will be that much harder. No, you’re right, Jared. We don’t have much time. We’ll have to get rid of the human.”

Nathan smirks.