Lib Novel Page 87
“In the living room, under the coffee table,” she finally mutters.
My injuries haven’t exactly healed, so I can’t move very fast. By the time I retrieve the first aid kit and return, I walk in on her taking off her shirt. She’s wearing a sports bra underneath, but I can see that her entire back and both sides are littered with bruises. I can’t control my sharp intake of breath.
Her body stiffens, and she glares at me over her shoulder. “Get out! I’m changing!”
I don’t move. “Who did this to you?” My voice is furious, my wolf enraged. Somebody used her as a punching bag.
“None of your business.” She opens her closet, hissing in pain with each movement. She takes out a loose blouse and pulls it over her head. Her movements are clearly painful, and when she hobbles over, wanting to pass by me, I stop her.
“I’m making it my business, Sophia,” I growl. “Who did this to you?”
She looks at me tight-lipped, her eyes flashing with anger. “Explain to me why you give a shit. Do you think I’m supposed to feel touched by your concern? Or do you think I need a big strong male to protect me?”
Her words have me staggering, the venom in them something I’ve never heard from her before.
“I just—”
She gets in my face. “Don’t give me an explanation, Alex. You made your intentions very clear to me today. I understand why you have to do what you have to do. But rejecting me means you have no say in my life. So, back off. Besides, if I need a man’s support, there’s somebody else I can turn to.”
She pushes me aside and limps away. I stare after her, my heart feeling like something is clenching it.
“You mean that baby Alpha?” I can’t help the cold fury in my voice. “The one who’s been fawning over you?”
She comes to a stop, and without turning to look at me, she replies, “Yes. He’s the first person to treat me like I matter. So, if I need help with something, if I’m in any sort of trouble, you can bet your ass I will go to him before you any day.”
My wolf snarls inside me, furious at me and enraged by her words. It wants nothing more than to go hunt down our rival.
Sophia is moving toward the kitchen. I follow her.
I have never understood Noah’s interest in Sophia. Every Alpha Successor or Alpha chooses a mate they know will benefit them and their pack.
“Have you considered what that man wants from you?” I demand, watching her take out a bag of peas from the freezer and press it against her black eye.
Sophia lets out a dry, angry chuckle. “Why? Just because you are discarding me, does that mean every other man is supposed to do the same?”
I clench my jaw. “I’m not walking away from you because I want to! You know why I have to—”
She turns around to face me, and anger glitters in her uncovered eye. She looks glorious and beautiful, even with the bruises all over her. The defiance in her expression intrigues my wolf, stirring its wild nature. It wants to bite her, lick her.
“I am not in the habit of begging for anybody’s affection, Alex. Your reasons are your own problem. I never questioned you. I never told you to choose me and not the Silver Wolf. I have not uttered a fucking word. So, why do you think you have a right to stick your nose into my business? You and I mean nothing to one another. If I fuck the next person who looks at me, it is not your business, and if somebody else wants me, I am not going to reject them because of your misplaced pride.”
I open my mouth, but no words come out.
She’s right. I know she is. I don’t have a say in anything she does. But the idea of her and that Alpha Successor with the golden, surfer-boy looks drives me insane. A part of me knows I’m being unreasonable. But the analytical side of me is also concerned. Why is Noah Black pursuing Sophia? There is no logic to it. Her wolf is latent. Even if he is madly in love with her, the pack elders would not accept her as Alpha Female.
The Alpha Female is the heart of the pack. She is supposed to be a source of strength and nurturing and, like the Alpha, she is the first line of defense when it comes to protecting the pack.
Even with all of Sophia’s strengths, no sane Alpha Successor would choose her as Alpha Female because of her latent wolf. For me, the situation is different. She is my fated mate. Plus, I have no pack elders left alive who would protest the union.
But Noah? Very soon, he will challenge his father for the position of Alpha. It is a rite of passage, and he needs the pack elders’ backing. Logic dictates he choose a strong mate. So, why is he pursuing Sophia?
I can only surmise that there is some unknown reasoning behind his actions. I haven’t forgotten what she told me about how he bullied her when they were children. Although I only got the gist of the story, I could tell from the fear she displayed that Noah had been a source of torment.
Is this another game of his? Is he planning to make her fall in love with him and then crush her? I would not put it past him. The information I was able to gather on Noah was limited, but after my conversation with Elsa, I had my spies start digging deeper.
The man has a cruel streak. An almost sadistic one. His opponents and enemies fear him for his brutal actions. His methods of torture are so vile and so incomprehensibly cruel that tales of the few incidents that reached my ears made my skin crawl. Even if Sophia despises me, I can’t let her be with that creature. He’s up to something. I can’t figure out what it is, but what I have been able to discern about Noah Black is that nothing he does is without a purpose.
Even Elsa, a human, is worried about Sophia’s relationship with him.