“What is happening? Sophia?”
“You must all leave now,” I said, my voice heavy with terror. “Is there anywhere safe we can get to?”
An older man appeared at the top of the stairs, I instantly recognized him as the Beta and one of my father’s oldest friends.
“Who are you? What is happening?” he asked. Coming down, he stopped, his eyes narrowed. “Ophelia?”
“There is no time to explain much, Augustine. You must know that Silviu is planning an attack and I fear they're the ones outside. Get the warriors ready for attack and I and Sophia will get the family to safety.”
“Attack? Silviu?” Confusion furrowed my mother’s brows as she looked from me to my father.
“I'll explain it all to you, please, let's just…” I took in a deep breath to steady my breathing, tears burned at the back of my eyes. “Please.”
“Is there anywhere safe we can get to now? The underground vault? Is it still standing?” Ophelia asked.
“It is, we’ll be safe there, yes,” Marilyn said, standing up. “I'll help father.”
“This doesn't make sense, Sophia.” Kate stood her ground. “You can't just show up after so many years with these talks. Why would uncle Silviu attack us? Is no one thinking like I am? And where the hell is Natalie and Sephora?”
She came to stand directly in front of me, her mouth tightened in mistrust. “Why should we trust you or whatever you have to say? Are you wearing glamour because the real Sophia is supposed to be having her mating ceremony and you show up as her with a dead Ophelia?”
I understood what she was saying and her reasons to be doubtful of me especially as I couldn't tell her anything, we didn't have that time. The clashes that came from outside reached us in the manor and I knew it was just time now until they barged in.
Augustine was already out and a few warriors stepped inside, one of them was helping Marilyn to hoist my father into an upright position.
He looked like he didn't know what was happening, his face was crumpled, and his eyes sunken and void. I could almost swear my father had no idea who anyone was, I didn't even know if he was still conscious and it hit me – if my father was in this state, he couldn't have written a letter to me.
The man with his eyes half shut who swayed on his feet and would tumble if he wasn't being held on by both sides wouldn’t write a letter asking me to go back to Alexander. I wasn't sure if he remembered who Alexander even was, or if he remembered who I was either.
Silviu had sent the letter – I knew this without any doubt.
“We must leave now, Sophia.” Ophelia cut into my thoughts, reminding me that I didn't have the luxury of trying to piece things together now.
“I promise to explain it all to you as soon as I can but we must leave now, please, Kate, Mother, lead us to the vault.”
“Come on.” And my mother led the way.
I held my breath in fear as we made our way through the sprawling hallway that led down to a wall. I trusted they knew better and so I went with them quietly. My mother stopped just at the wall before nodding at one of the four warriors who were with us. The man stepped forward and brought down a painting on the wall that held a lever.
My mother pressed down on it and the wall in front of us parted to form an entrance, behind the wall was a set of steps that spiraled downward. Marilyn and Father went down first, and I went down after Ophelia, Mother, and Kate. The warriors were behind us, one was left behind to cover our tracks.
The vault was an old, arched structure with stone walls. It had hanging lamps that lit up the place and a seemingly infinite passageway.
“There are rooms in here for our comfort, we’d be safe for now,” my mother said as we reached a large door. She pushed it open to reveal a stunning interior that held even more beauty than the one above us.
I stopped, my eyes finding Ophelia. She had spoken about Silviu threatening her with their daughter, my cousin, Lydia, but she hadn't been brought down along with us.
I was going to ask Ophelia if Lydia still lived in the Mystic Hollow Pack when a gasp stopped me.
My eyes widened when I stepped inside fully to see what awaited us. A dozen warriors stood behind Silviu where he was spread out on a high stool like the one that belonged to my father, the Alpha.
Lydia was on the floor, her hands and legs tied and in the middle of the room was a burning fire.
“Come, come, I've been waiting for you all,” Silviu said, his lips stretched into a wide grin. “You've done well, my darling, Ophelia. I've always known I could trust you.”
My heart dropped and in sheer disbelief, I turned to Ophelia, praying that this wasn't true. Fear pierced my skin and goosebumps erupted all over me, it felt like I had something clammy crawling through my skin when I saw the regretful look on Ophelia’s face.
“He threatened to kill her.” She whispered, her eyes darting to look at Lydia on the floor.
Immediately, I caught a figure move seamlessly through the shadows and when I turned to it, they’d disappeared.
“Brother,” Silviu, stood up, his gaze on my father. “You've lived long enough, don’t you think? And even when I've managed to debilitate you, you still choose to hold onto life.”
He let out a harsh laugh. “A true Alpha if I've ever seen one.”
The shadow appeared again and this time when my head snapped toward it, I felt it move once more swiftly before I felt its presence behind me. A heavy hand rested on the back of my neck and stroked it.
I knew immediately without turning who it was.
“Happy birthday, darling,” he said in a low-pitched, dangerous voice. “You didn't think your twenty-third will go by without me, did you?”
They’d orchestrated all of these very carefully, every move planned with extreme meticulousness.
“You were never headed toward the Black Tide Pack,” I let out quietly.
“No,” His breath was cold against my bare skin. “Just a few of my men to serve as a distraction, Sophia. Look how well that worked.”
Finally, I turned toward him and the sight of him affected me more than I would've thought. He still had the emptiness in his cold, blue eyes, his lips were tilted in a devilish smile.
Alexander was staggeringly handsome still, in every way a man could be but his perfect outward appearance did nothing to shroud the darkness and cruelty that existed inside him. His inside was rotten and if anything, his eyes were a gateway to a glimmer of the hell that resided inside of him.
“Come, come, Sophia. We do not have any more time to waste,” Silviu said, impatience in his voice. “Go on now, Alexander.”
I glanced around us, we were obviously outnumbered. The three warriors we’d brought along were no match for Silviu or Alexander’s warriors.
– I had not only fallen right into their trap, but I had also dragged my family along too.
Alexander reached his hand to the stand above me and pulled down a crown of flowers.
My mouth slackened on its own and when I looked up at him, I caught the reflection of the burning fire in the room, it made Alexander's eyes flicker ember… The fire.
The fire.
“It’s time to round the fire, Sophia.” Humor was in his tone now. “A ritual for your ascension as Luna of the Dark Wood Pack, isn't that right?”
Blood pounded in my ears and I could feel the world collapse around me.
I hadn't been able to escape him – I would never be able to escape him.