Chapter 107
Sofia Bliss
I was trapped between those two wolves I barely knew.
Luke Hines and Andrew Hoffman.
That smell that permeated the air still bothered me, made me angry.
The wolf inside me was furious.
It was as if everything around me was screaming, “Danger! Danger!”
I couldn't trust them, I couldn't trust anyone.
The problem was that, at the same time... part of me wanted to hear every word they had to say.
I wanted to know everything, the truth, every event.
I wanted to ask more questions, but before I could decide whether to take another step into that conversation or run away, Andrew—the man who should have married my mother—approached.
And it was at that exact second that Adrian appeared.
Walking down the hallway as if he were late for something. As if the mere fact that I was there, talking to those two, trying to get some information, was something too forbidden for me.
He came so fast that my eyes popped out.
He pulled me by the arm in a firm, decisive, and at the same time... careful way.
As if he were removing a caged animal from a trap.
And that made me feel less pressured, but that feeling didn't last long, because the anger came back with a vengeance.
Because as soon as I looked at his face, I knew.
He already understood why I was avoiding him. Why I was distancing myself.
I didn't need to say anything.
He must have known that his mother had put my name on the list.
Of her involvement in all that filth.
He knew... more than anyone else that maybe his mother had been part of all that shit.
And he didn't tell me.
He didn't say anything.
Even after everything he saw me go through.
Even after seeing my tears. Knowing that I was alone, with my father missing, my cousin gone, my whole life in ruins.
The pain came before the anger.
And then... the fury.
I pulled my arm out of his grip forcefully, pushing him back a little.
Luke took a step forward.
Andrew did too.
As if they were ready to “protect” me—or whatever they wanted to do.
I had no idea whose side they were on.
Whether they were murderers, victims, manipulators... or just wolves with their own interests.
I simply didn't know who to trust anymore.
Adrian said he liked me.
That he wanted what was best for me.
That he would do anything to help me.
But he hid that.
He hid the fact that maybe his mother was in the middle of it all.
And even if he didn't know the whole truth...
Even if it was all confusing for him too...
He should have told me.
He should have.
I thought it was important to him... but he preferred not to tell me, didn't he know the consequences? It broke me... left me angry... full of hatred.
I took a few steps back, instinctively moving closer to Luke.
Not because I trusted him.
But because I didn't trust Adrian at that moment.
And I felt when he realized it.
I felt the impact, as if I had been struck directly in the chest.
That promise, to stand by him.
I wouldn't be able to keep it, not like that.
His eyes grew dark, tense... anguished.
But I couldn't look at him now.
If I did, I might break.
And I couldn't break there.
Not in that place where any smell, any glance, any breath could betray what I was feeling.
“Sofia...” Adrian began, trying to get closer.
I took another step back.
Then another.
My uncle—if he really was my uncle—remained in front of me, leaving Adrian with less and less patience.
“Maybe you should take a breath, Adrian,” he said, in a calm tone, but laden with something that resembled poison. “You look... tired.”
Adrian growled.
Not enough to lose control.
But enough to tell me he was at his limit.
Andrew crossed his arms, looking at me, as if he was still trying to figure me out.
“I need to talk to my niece,” Luke continued. “There's a lot to clarify. A lot she needs to hear.”
“There's nothing you need to tell her that she doesn't already know,” Adrian replied firmly.
“She's with me today, this is not the time for a family reunion.”
I waited for my mouth to say something.
Anything.
But nothing came out.
I remained silent.
Just watching.
Trying to understand what that silence meant.
I was tired.
Tired of chasing answers, of discovering that everything was worse than it seemed.
I was exhausted from trying to trust someone and seeing that person knock me down at my most fragile point.
My head was too full.
Full of images of my mother.
Of the smell of the hospital.
Of memories of Adrian holding my face tenderly, promising me I wouldn't be alone.
And now?
Now I was standing in the middle of three men who could very well have destroyed my life.
And I didn't know which one was the real enemy.
That damn promise kept echoing in my mind.
No matter what happens, I'll stay with you.
But how?
How could I stay by his side when I found out about that?
Knowing that he could have cleared everything up, and yet he still hid it from me.
I looked at him.
And for a second... I saw something break in his gaze.
“Sofia...” he repeated, more quietly this time. “Please...”
But I stayed where I was.
I needed to think.
I needed to understand, to hear what the others had to say.
Because if I opened my mouth in that room...
My wolf would speak for me.
And I didn't know if he would scratch Adrian...
Or kill someone.
Luke stepped forward a little more, creating a barrier between us.
“Come on, Sofia,” he said. “There are things you need to know...”
Adrian took a step forward, but I turned my face away.
But only because I didn't know if I could look at him without breaking down.
And also, because maybe... part of me was afraid to hear his truth.
Because what if it hurt even more?
I remained silent.
And that silence was the worst answer I had ever given in my life.