Chapter 42 The Video
RYAN'S POV
I saw Lisa check her phone after the challenge and watched her face go pale with the blood and bruises on her body. I knew that Sophia had delivered one final blow even in defeat.
Lisa did not confront me publicly. She was too smart and too controlled for that kind of scene. She accepted the pack's congratulations with grace, went to medical treatment for her injuries without complaint, and maintained her composure throughout the celebration that followed her victory. But her eyes kept finding mine across the crowd and the look in them made my chest tighten with fear.
She waited until we were alone in her office hours later to show me what Sophia had sent. The pack house had finally quieted after the excitement and Lisa sat behind her desk with fresh bandages wrapped around her head. The medical team had stitched the wound and declared her lucky it was not worse.
Lisa turned her phone toward me without a word. The video started playing automatically.
It was surveillance footage from weeks ago when Sophia had returned to pack lands claiming to have information about Viktor's loyalists. The footage showed my office and I recognized the moment immediately. Sophia and I were alone and while there was no sound to provide context, the visuals were absolutely damning.
The video showed Sophia touching my arm, leaning close to whisper something in my ear, and at one point appearing to kiss my cheek. From the angle of the hidden camera, it looked like something intimate happening between two willing adults instead of what it actually was.
I had been rejecting her advances at that moment, telling her to leave and making it clear I wanted nothing to do with her manipulation. But without sound to provide context, without being able to hear my words or see my expression clearly, the footage looked like proof of betrayal.
"This is why you are fighting so hard to win me back?" Lisa's voice was eerily calm, completely devoid of the emotion I knew must be raging beneath the surface. "Because you feel guilty about this?"
"Lisa, let me explain," I started but she held up her hand.
"Explain what? That Sophia was manipulating you? That the footage is misleading? That nothing actually happened beyond what is visible in this video?" Lisa's tone was conversational, almost pleasant, and that terrified me more than screaming would have.
"Yes," I said desperately. "Sophia was trying to seduce me and I was telling her to leave. I rejected her completely. Nothing happened between us."
"I believe that nothing physical happened," Lisa said, leaning back in her chair and studying me with anger burning in her eyes. "I believe you did not kiss her or touch her or betray me in any concrete way that could be proven."
Relief flooded through me for a brief moment before Lisa continued and destroyed it completely.
"But you let her close enough to create this footage, Ryan. You let her manipulate you again. You allowed her access to you despite knowing her history, despite every warning, despite everything she has done to hurt me." Lisa's calm was cracking now, anger seeping through the carefully maintained control. "How many times? How many times do you fall for her games before you realize you are the problem?"
I wanted to defend myself, to explain that I had been trying to gather information and protect the pack. But the excuses died in my throat because Lisa was absolutely right.
I kept giving Sophia opportunities to hurt Lisa. My pattern of poor judgment regarding Sophia had destroyed any trust Lisa might have rebuilt after our night together before the challenge. It did not matter that I loved Lisa or that the mate bond pulled me toward her or that I wanted desperately to fix what I had broken. The simple fact was that I was not trustworthy when it came to Sophia and that fundamental flaw made me unreliable.
"I am sorry," I said, the words inadequate and hollow. "I know that does not fix anything but I am sorry."
Lisa stood from her desk and walked to the window, looking out over the pack territory she had just defended with her own blood and strength. When she spoke again, her voice carried finality that made my heart stop.
"You are a good Beta, Ryan. When you focus on the pack business and military strategy, you are exceptional at your job. The pack respects you and your knowledge is invaluable." She turned to face me and I saw tears in her eyes for the first time. "But I cannot keep doing this. I cannot keep wondering when the next manipulation will come, when the next poor decision will destroy whatever fragile peace we have built."
"What are you saying?" I asked, though I already knew and the thought was killing me.
Lisa reached up and touched the mate bonding mark on her neck where my bite had sealed our bond years ago. As a silver wolf, she had abilities beyond normal pack members including the rare power to suppress even completed bond marks temporarily.
I watched in horror as the mark faded from her skin, disappearing like it had never existed. The mate bond itself remained intact because breaking it completely would cause severe damage to both of us. But the visible symbol of our connection vanished under her will.
"You are reinstated as Beta effective immediately," Lisa said, her Alpha voice firm despite the tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Daniel has done excellent work in your absence but the pack needs you in your proper role. You have proven your competence in that position repeatedly."
"Lisa, please," I begged, taking a step toward her.
She held up her hand again, stopping me in my tracks. "The mate bond stays intact because breaking it would harm us both physically and psychologically. But I am done trying to make this work romantically. Consider us separated, functionally if not magically."