Chapter 33 The Lie
RYAN'S POV
The fact that I went silent didn't mean I agreed with what she said. I was frozen in shock that Sophia was twisting our conversation so completely and so viciously. I had allowed her on pack lands to discuss reparations for her past actions and nothing more. The conversation had been brief and carefully supervised, or it was supposed to be supervised until circumstances changed. But before I could correct her lies, before I could defend myself against accusations I did not deserve, Lisa spoke.
"Get out of my chair, Sophia," she said, her voice ice cold in ways that made my wolf whimper with distress. The mate bond pulled tight between us, channeling Lisa's pain and fury directly into my chest until I could barely breathe because of the height of her emotions.
Sophia stood slowly and deliberately, making a show of smoothing her gown and gathering herself with exaggerated grace. She moved around the desk like she owned it, like she had every right to occupy the Alpha's seat and Lisa was the intruder.
This lady was a snake.
"Is it your chair?" Sophia asked, her tone innocent and poisonous. "Because from what I understand, an Alpha without her mate's full support is vulnerable to challenges. And Ryan has been very vocal about his doubts regarding your leadership and your choices."
Her words were calculated to wound Lisa and they succeeded perfectly. I saw Lisa flinch, I saw her walls slam up higher to protect herself from Sophia.
I finally found my voice, anger burning through the shock that had paralyzed me. "That is not what I said and you know it."
But the damage was already visible in Lisa's eyes. Another seed of doubt planted in soil that was too fertile from years of rejection and betrayal. This was another reason for her to believe I would always choose wrong, always hurt her, always fail to protect what we were supposed to be building together.
"Nathan, escort Sophia to the guest quarters and post guards," Lisa ordered without looking away from me. Her Alpha voice was absolute, leaving no room for argument or negotiation. "She stays there under watch until we sort this out properly."
Nathan moved immediately to obey, his hand firm on Sophia's arm as he guided her toward the door. Sophia went without resistance, but the smile she gave me over her shoulder was triumphant. She had accomplished exactly what she came here to do and we both knew it.
When the door closed behind them, Lisa turned to face me fully. The office felt too small suddenly, the air too thick to breathe properly.
"What exactly did you discuss with her?" Lisa asked, her voice carefully controlled in ways that scared me more than shouting would have.
I ran my hands through my hair, trying to organize thoughts that were scattered and desperate. "Sophia reached out three days ago claiming she had information about remaining Viktor loyalists who might target the pack. She said there were wolves who blamed us for Viktor's death, who were planning retaliation."
"And you believed her?" Lisa asked, disbelief sharp in her tone.
"I did not know whether to believe her or not," I admitted. "But I could not ignore a potential threat to pack safety. So against my better judgment, I agreed to meet with her on pack lands with Daniel present as witness. I thought having a Third there would prevent exactly this kind of manipulation."
Lisa crossed her arms over her chest, her posture defensive. "But Daniel was not there when I walked in."
"He was called away for an emergency with the border patrols," I explained, hating how weak the excuse sounded even though it was true. "One of our scouts reported suspicious activity near the eastern boundary. Daniel left to investigate and Sophia used those private minutes to twist everything I said."
"What did you say?" Lisa demanded, her silver eyes boring into mine like she could see through to my soul if she looked hard enough.
She would be hurt if I told her the truth but lies would destroy us completely. "I told her I was worried about me and you. I was worried about you pulling away, about the distance growing between us no matter what I did to fix things. I said I had doubts about whether we could survive all the damage, whether the mate bond was enough to overcome everything that had happened."
Lisa's face was unreadable, carefully blank in ways that told me she was feeling too much to show any of it.
"Sophia took those words and twisted them," I continued quickly, desperately needing Lisa to understand. "She made it sound like I wanted to end our bond, like I was regretting choosing you. But that is not what I meant. I was expressing fear, not desire. Worry, not intention."
"You gave her an opportunity, Ryan," Lisa said quietly, and the disappointment in her voice cut deeper than anger ever could. "Again. After everything she has done, after every time she has tried to destroy us, you still gave her access to hurt me."
The accusation was true and I had no defense against it. I had made the same mistake repeatedly, trusting Sophia in small ways that created massive consequences, failing to protect Lisa from threats I should have anticipated.
"I was trying to protect the pack," I said, the words hollow even to my own ears.
"You were trying to fix things without talking to me first," Lisa corrected, her voice gaining strength as anger replaced hurt. "That has always been your problem, Ryan. You make decisions about us, about the pack, about our future without including me in the process. You treat me like someone who needs protecting rather than a partner who deserves honesty."
She was right. How many times had I made choices for Lisa's supposed benefit without asking what she actually wanted or needed? How many times had I decided what was best and expected her to simply accept my judgment?
"You are correct, Lisa.” I admitted. "I have been making the same mistakes over and over, expecting different results."
"Yes," Lisa agreed simply. "You have."
She moved toward the door, her movements controlled and purposeful. Every step away from me felt like losing something precious I would never get back.
"Lisa, please," I started, not even sure what I was begging for. Another chance? Forgiveness? Time?
She paused with her hand on the doorknob, her back still to me. "I need space to think, Ryan. Real space this time. No following me, no grand gestures, no trying to fix this immediately. Just space."
Then she opened the door and left, closing it behind her with quiet finality that echoed louder than slamming ever could.
I stood frozen in the office, staring at the door and feeling the mate bond stretch painfully as Lisa put distance between us. Through the window, I could see into the hallway where Nathan waited. I'm sure he heard everything, his position just outside the door made that obvious.
Nathan told Lisa something I could not hear through the glass, his face was gentle and supportive. Lisa nodded, accepting whatever he suggested, and then she leaned on him. Actually leaned into Nathan's strength, letting him support her weight while her shoulders sagged with exhaustion and pain.
Nathan's arm came around her carefully, his touch respectful but undeniably intimate. He guided her down the hallway toward her private quarters, their heads bent close together as he spoke softly and she listened.
I watched through the office window as my mate walked away with another man, and realized that I had pushed Lisa directly into Nathan's arms.