Chapter 32 Racing Home
NATHAN'S POV
The drive back to Moonstone was so quiet. Lisa sat in the passenger seat, silent in ways that scared me more than anger would have. Her emotions were locked down tight and it made me fear for her, no matter now she tried to hide it, I saw the hurt in her silver eyes every time she thought I was not watching.
Adrian had offered to come with us, his concern for Lisa obvious and genuine. But she refused politely and there was no room left for argument. This was pack business, Moonstone business, and she needed to handle it herself without outside help. Adrian accepted her decision without pushing harder, but the look he gave me before we left was clear. Take care of her. Protect her and bring her back safe.
Thinking about Ryan made my hands shake on the steering wheel, he had always been a bastard but Lisa was in love so she couldn’t see the entirety of it. Whether the Sophia rumors were true or just lies formed to hurt Lisa, Ryan had caused this pain. Again. He kept hurting her, kept failing her, he kept proving he did not deserve the gift destiny had given him in making Lisa his mate.
I had spent years watching Lisa suffer. Years of watching her try to be enough for everyone else while slowly breaking under the weight of their expectations and constant disappointments. It’s been years of staying silent about my own feelings because she was mated to my best friend and I thought loyalty meant swallowing everything I felt until it poisoned me from the inside.
Well, I was done staying silent.
"Lisa, I need to say this before we get back," I said, breaking the long silence that had filled the car for the past hour. My voice came out rougher than I intended. "Lisa, I love you. I am in love with you, and I have been for a long time."
Lisa turned to look at me, surprise breaking through her glance. I kept my eyes on the road because looking at her while saying this would make me lose my nerve completely. Was it wise to say this now?
"I know about the mate bond with Ryan," I continued, the words spilling out now that I had started. "I know it is supposed to be unbreakable. You know, sacred, destiny choosing you for each other and all of that stuff. But bonds can be rejected. Lisa, people do it all the time. Yes, it is rare and painful, but possible. And I am saying, if you want a different path, I am here. I choose you, freely and completely, with no destiny forcing my hand."
Lisa was quiet for a long moment, her breathing the only sound besides the engine and the road beneath our tires. I instantly felt stupid for saying all these rubbish.
"Nathan," she finally said. "You are one of the best people I know. Truly. You have been there for me through everything, never asking for anything in return, just giving and supporting and believing in me when I could not believe in myself."
Hope started building in my chest but then she continued.
"But I cannot make decisions about Ryan based on what someone else is offering," Lisa said gently, her hand touching my arm in comfort that hurt more than rejection. "I need to figure out what I want, independent of both of you. What I need from myself, for myself. Do you understand?"
I did. I hated it, but I understood. Lisa was not the kind of person who ran from one relationship to another, using new feelings to avoid dealing with old wounds. She needed to heal properly, to make choices from strength rather than pain.
"I understand," I said, meaning it even though every instinct screamed to fight harder, to convince her I could give her everything Ryan never would. "But my offer stands. Whenever you are ready, if you are ever ready, I am here."
Lisa squeezed my arm gently before withdrawing her hand, and we drove the rest of the way in silence that felt different than before.
When we arrived Moonstone Pack, we met chaos waiting for us. Pack members stood in their numbers
arguing seriously, some fighting themselves and settling immediately. Some voices defended Ryan loudly, insisting the Beta had every right to make his own choices. Others questioned his judgment with anger. The pack was fracturing right in front of us, the unity Lisa had worked so hard to build was crumbling because of his drama and betrayal.
Sophia was really here, looking perfectly at home near the pack house entrance like she had never been exiled at all. She wore a red elegant dress that emphasized her beauty, her dark hair styled carefully and her makeup flawless. She looked like she belonged here, and that confidence made my blood boil.
Several pack members rushed to Lisa as soon as they spotted her, relief and accusation mixing in their voices as they tried to explain what had happened during her absence. Stories contradicted each other, some claiming Ryan had personally invited Sophia back, others insisting she had simply appeared and refused to leave.
Lisa listened with calmness that impressed me. She was in crisis yet her face revealed nothing while she processed information and assessed the situation. When she had heard enough, she straightened her shoulders and walked toward the pack house confidently, which made them step aside instinctively.
I followed her closely, my position as Third clear to anyone watching. We climbed the stairs together, Lisa's footsteps steady despite the trouble radiating through her body. She pushed open the door to the Alpha's office without knocking and then stopped so suddenly I almost walked into her back.
Sophia sat in Lisa's chair behind the Alpha's desk, looking completely comfortable in a position she had no right to occupy. She smiled when she saw Lisa, the expression sweet and poisonous both.
"Lisa," Sophia said warmly, like greeting an old friend rather than the woman whose life she had tried to destroy. "I am glad you are back. Ryan and I have been talking while you were gone. Important conversations about the past and our future."
Lisa's hands clenched into fists at her sides, her wolf rising in her eyes. "Get out of my chair."
"In a moment," Sophia said, making no move to stand. "First, I think you deserve to know the truth. Ryan realizes he made a mistake completing the mate bond with you in desperation after I left. He wants to explore what we could have been if circumstances were different. If he had not been forced to move on so quickly. Isn't that right, Ryan?"
My eyes shot to the corner of the office where Ryan stood by the window, his back to us and his posture rigid. The mate bond must have told him the moment Lisa arrived, yet he had not turned around, he did not rush to her immediately to deny Sophia's claims.
"Ryan," Lisa said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Tell me she is lying."
Ryan turned slowly to face us, and the look in his eyes made my stomach drop.