Chapter 65 Confusion
LISA'S POV
I stared at the pregnancy test in the box and my mind refused to process what I was seeing. "This is impossible. I have not been intimate with anyone, so why am I seeing this?”
Ryan's face went white. "Lisa."
"No, Ryan. This is Sophia's manipulation," I continued and my voice rose with each word. "She is trying to destroy my credibility before the challenge tomorrow. She wants everyone to think I am reckless and irresponsible." I almost broke down in tears.
But Ryan was looking at me strangely. His eyes held something I could not name. Guilt maybe or fear. Nathan stepped closer and his hand touched my shoulder. "Lisa, are you sure?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course, I am sure," I snapped. "I would know if I had been with someone."
Then the memory hit me like a slap. Three weeks ago. The night after I defeated Sophia's first challenge. I had been drunk on victory and pain medication from the fight injuries. My ribs had been bruised and my shoulder dislocated. The pack doctor gave me something strong for the pain.
Ryan had helped me to my room, I remembered his hands supporting me up the stairs. His voice telling me I was safe now. And then fragments. Pieces of memory that felt like dreams. His hands on my skin. His voice saying my name. The warmth of another body next to mine in the darkness.
Oh God.
"Lisa?" Nathan's voice sounded far away. "You have gone pale. What is wrong?"
I could not breathe. The hallway was too small and too bright. I needed air. I needed space. I needed to run until my lungs burned and my thoughts stopped screaming.
"I need air," I managed to say and then I was moving. Running down the hallway and out the back entrance. I shifted mid-stride and felt my bones crack and reform. The wolf took over and ran through the forest until everything was just scent and sound and movement.
This could not be happening. Marcus Krane wanted to marry me to his son or challenge me for my pack. Emma had betrayed me for months. Adrian might be using me for political power. And now this. A pregnancy test with Sophia's mocking note.
I ran until my paws were bleeding and my lungs felt like fire. Then I shifted back at my mother's memorial stone and collapsed naked on the cold ground. The tears came hot and angry. I had worked so hard to be strong. To be the Alpha my pack needed and now everything was falling apart.
"Lisa."
Adrian's voice cut through my crying. I looked up and saw him standing at the edge of the clearing. He pulled off his jacket and walked toward me slowly like I was a wounded animal that might bolt. He wrapped the jacket around my shoulders without saying anything else.
"Daniel called me," Adrian said quietly. "He told me about Marcus Krane. I came as soon as I could."
I pulled his jacket tighter and breathed in his scent. Pine and mountain air and something uniquely him. "Are you part of a coalition with Marcus Krane?"
Adrian went very still. "Who told you that?"
"Sophia."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he sat down beside me on the cold ground and did not seem to care that the dirt was staining his expensive pants. "There is a Continental Alpha Coalition. It is a diplomatic alliance between progressive packs trying to reform outdated laws. Marcus Krane is part of it, so am I."
The confirmation felt like another betrayal even though I had expected it. "So Sophia was telling the truth."
"About the coalition existing, yes," Adrian said. "But not about why I am here. I am not courting you for political power, Lisa. I want you because you are brilliant and brave and everything I never knew I needed. The coalition would benefit from having a silver wolf aligned with us, yes. But that is not why I want you."
"How do I know that is true?" My voice broke on the question.
Adrian turned to face me fully. His hand came up to cup my cheek and his touch was gentle. "You do not. You just have to decide if you believe me. I cannot prove my feelings with evidence or documents. I can only tell you that when I look at you I see someone worth fighting for. Someone worth protecting. Not because you are a silver wolf but because you are you."
His words should have comforted me but all I could think about was the pregnancy test. The note. The fragments of memory from three weeks ago. Ryan's hands. Ryan's voice. The warmth and the need and the desperate seeking of comfort in another person.
"Adrian, I think I made a mistake," I started to say.
Then Ryan appeared at the tree line. He stopped when he saw us. Me wrapped in Adrian's jacket, Adrian's hand on my face and the intimate positioning of our bodies on the ground. Something crossed Ryan's face too quickly to name.
"Sorry," Ryan said stiffly. "Daniel told me you ran. I was worried."
Adrian stood and helped me to my feet. "We were just talking."
Ryan's voice went cold in a way I had never heard before. "I can see that. Lisa, we need to discuss what Sophia sent."
"It is fake," I said quickly. "She is manipulating us."
Ryan stepped closer and his eyes never left mine. "Is it? Because three weeks ago after your challenge you were in pain and exhausted. I helped you to your room. You asked me to stay."
The clearing went silent. Adrian's hand dropped from my arm. I could feel both of them watching me and waiting.
Ryan's voice cracked when he spoke again. "You said you needed me. That you could not be alone that night. We did not plan it, Lisa. It just happened." He took a shaking breath. "Tell me you remember."