Chapter 104

Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Sofia Bliss.

I tried to breathe — to look normal.
I tried to convince myself that I was just… sitting there. Watching.
Trying to survive that room full of monsters I barely understood.
I looked from side to side, my hand on my lap, squeezing my fingers as I tried to calm myself... to wait for Adrian, just a little longer.
But that smell…
That damn smell…
It was a continuous pull dragging from deep inside my chest, as if someone had tied a hook to my soul and was yanking me through those hallways.
It was faint but persistent.
And that thing inside me — my wolf — wanted to run after it.
Wanted to track it. Wanted to hunt.
Calm. It wasn't the right time... I would stay calm... that time would come, but not now.
I kept saying that to myself. For the wolf.
But nothing inside me wanted calm.
I sat there, just listening, looking around…
Cedric and Cael talked and talked and talked — trying to lighten the mood, trying to distract me, two well-meaning idiots. But their presence only made my wolf more irritated, more alert.
I could feel their blood.
Their fast heartbeats.
Their uneasiness.
Not because they feared me — but because they knew the kind of shit happening in that place, the rotten, sick people watching us, waiting to corner us.
And then…
I heard them continuing with their chatter.
''Glad to know that, after everything, your bond with Adrian is stronger…'' Cael commented, crossing his arms as if this had already been discussed. ''Even knowing it was his mother who put your name on the list… maybe your mother’s as well…''
I snapped my head toward him so fast my neck almost cracked.
What was he talking about?
My heart jumped.
''What?'' I looked at him, my eyes wide.
I don’t even know how my voice came out, but Cael and Cedric froze the instant they heard it.
That—
What the hell had they just said?
My blood had already been boiling with anger. Now it ignited into pure combustion.
I must have misheard, right? It couldn't be true... I tried to breathe once, twice.
Then I let my voice out.
''What did you just say?'' I repeated.
Cael’s eyes widened, and he started stuttering, as if realizing he had said something he absolutely shouldn’t have.
I saw... on the table, his hand was trembling, and he was looking at his brother, terrified.
''Shit… look… calm down, Sofia, I just— I didn’t mean— we’re not even sure about your mother yet, but — once Adrian finds out, he’ll fix it—''
I wasn’t even listening anymore.
Nothing else mattered.
Nothing except the poison they’d just thrown at me.
His mother.
His mother had put me on that cursed list, and could have been involved in killing mine.
Was that it?
It seemed like a silly joke, but judging by their reaction, it wasn't true.
I braced my hands on the table, my breath bursting out of me, too strong, too fast.
Cael and Cedric they moved away from the table... two men who had just realized they were standing in front of something they should never have provoked.
I looked in their direction, they exchanged glances, and then looked at me. I took a deep breath, and then... began to speak.
''You’re telling me,'' I said, every word trembling, ''that Adrian’s mother… might have killed my mother?''
My teeth ground together — pure rage — pure hatred.
Cedric shrank, like I might explode right there.
''No! We don’t know that! We just— we only have suspicions!'' He spoke fearfully, biting his lip.
''We don’t know anything!'' Cael added quickly.
It was a lie... I knew it, and it irritated me deeply.
But it was too late.
That phrase — that venom — had already rooted itself inside me.
I pushed away from the table, shaking my head, feeling my throat burn, my eyes going blind with rage.
So… that was it?
Was that why Adrian was helping me so much?
Guilt? Remorse?
Was he trying to fix his family’s mistake?
No.
No, it couldn’t be that — I felt something between us, I knew we had something. So... why did he hide this from me? I didn't understand.
I rejected that idea with such violence it made me dizzy.
My chest hurt with all of it: anger, disappointment, fear.
Fear that everything I felt was only mine…
And not his.
Why hadn’t he told me? Why?
I wanted to scream.
To break everything.
To find Elenna Valehart and rip answers straight from her throat.
I stood so fast the chair nearly slammed into the wall.
''I’m going to talk to Adrian now!'' I declared.
I was clenching my fingers so hard that I could feel my nails tearing my skin.
Cael stretched a hand toward me.
Cedric stood up too.
''Sofia, wait—''
I turned with a snarl.
Literally.
I still didn’t know how to control that.
They froze.
Completely still.
As if they’d been turned to stone by the sound of my voice. There was panic on their faces, in their eyes.
''If you try to stop me,'' I said slowly, ''I’ll tear this place apart. And it’ll be your fault.''
They understood instantly.
They stepped aside without another word.
I just turned my back on him; now was the time... to know everything, because Adrian hid this from me. I wanted the whole truth before I went crazy.
I walked out — blind with rage, with pain, with the unbearable need for answers.
I walked past all those people sitting at the tables, but I was so angry that I just... ignored them.
I was almost running when I turned the corner where I’d seen Adrian go... It was so hot... my wolf was agitated, angry, just like me. He wanted to strangle Adrian's mother, and so did I... but I tried to control him while I hurried away.
I was in such a hurry that I almost... I collided with someone.
My shoulder slammed into him, and I almost snarled again before I even looked up.
But when I lifted my face…
I froze.
Not because of shock at his appearance.
Because he was too tall... dark hair, he wore a suit... and he had a look... so familiar... everything about him was. Which was even stranger.
It was his words, his voice, that caught my attention the most.
The deep voice — familiar in a way I couldn’t explain.
A scent I didn’t recognize, yet my soul seemed to know.
And he smiled.
A sad kind of smile.
I was motionless... still looking at him... I couldn't speak, I couldn't do anything at that moment. It was so strange.
''Sofia…'' he said, as if he’d known me my entire life. ''Look how much you’ve grown.''
My blood went cold.
''You’re so beautiful…'' he added, eyes welling up as he extended a hand toward me. ''You look so much like your mother.''
I couldn’t do anything.
No reaction.
Not a sound.
Who was this man?
And how did he know my mother?
So many questions are going through my mind right now.