Page 17

17

SONYA

T he knock came before dawn.

Three sharp raps. Controlled.

Cold.

Sonya was already awake.

Her mind had churned all night, tangled in thoughts of Landon, of Roman, of what was coming, not allowing her to sleep.

She’d watched the sky shift from black to slate gray from the edge of her bed, heart pounding like war drums in her chest.

Her wolf had been pacing inside her all night.

Now, it stilled.

She knew who it was.

She didn’t need to look through the peephole.

Didn’t need to scent the air.

The sheer pressure outside her door told her everything.

Roman.

She opened it slowly, jaw clenched, spine locked like stone.

He stood there in a dark coat, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.

He looked freshly shaven, like this visit was casual.

Like he was just a friend dropping by for coffee.

But his eyes...

They burned with warning.

“Early for a social call,” she said coolly.

Roman tilted his head.

“I find people are most honest before the sun’s up.”

Sonya didn’t move.

“What do you want?”

“To talk. Inside.”

She hesitated, then stepped aside.

Letting a predator into your den was always a choice made by those ready for war.

Roman stepped in slowly, surveying her small cabin like it was a curiosity.

“Cozy.”

“Spit it out, Roman.”

He turned toward her then, hands still calmly in his pockets.

“I know where you were last night.”

Her gut clenched.

She said nothing.

“I know you haven’t reported. That you didn’t follow orders.”

Still, silence.

“But more than that,” Roman said, voice softening to something falsely warm, “I know why. ”

Sonya’s jaw twitched.

“Then this conversation is pointless.”

“No,” he said.

“Because you still have something to lose.”

He pulled a phone from his coat.

Clicked the screen. Turned it so she could see.

A photo.

Her mother.

Leaving the house this morning.

Unaware she was being watched.

Another photo. Her dad’s truck at the gas station.

Another, her younger cousin walking to school.

Sonya’s wolf reared inside her, snarling.

Roman tucked the phone away like it was nothing.

“You want to be with him. I understand. New love, fierce and stupid. It burns bright. But it burns fast. ”

“Don’t you dare talk about him?—”

“I’m not here to scold you, Sonya,” he interrupted.

“I’m here to remind you of what’s at stake.”

“You mean who.”

He didn’t deny it.

“Landon’s blood might be royal,” Roman continued.

“It might be prophecy. But he’s also unpredictable. Untrained. Unclaimed. You think he’ll survive the weight of what’s coming? Of who he is?”

“He has more strength in his heart than you ever will,” she snapped.

Roman’s eyes sharpened.

“And that strength might get your family killed.”

Sonya froze.

That was it. The threat.

Finally said aloud.

Roman stepped closer, voice soft.

Almost intimate. “You chose him. I know that. You think I didn’t see it? But now you need to think beyond your gut. Think with your pack’s survival in mind. With your family’s . I’m willing to forgive you. Take you back by my side, but I’d still tread carefully if I were out. I can only allow so much leniency before looking weak.”

She didn’t respond.

He leaned in, breath ghosting across her cheek.

“This is your final chance, Sonya. Bring him in. Or I start... removing variables.”

Then he turned and walked out like he hadn’t just lit her world on fire.

She didn’t move for a long time after the door closed.

Her hands were fists at her sides, trembling.

Her wolf was pacing again, wild and snarling and loud.

She walked out onto the porch, into the morning chill, and stared at the trees.

Beneath her ribs, her heart raged.

It was always going to come to this, wasn’t it?

Not just about choosing Landon.

But choosing everything.

Her pack. Her blood.

Her safety.

Or truth.

Love.

The kind that wasn’t born from hierarchy or power, but from choice.

From gut instinct and quiet moments under starlight.

From the boy who held her when she showed him her most dangerous truth and didn’t run.

Roman had always taught her that vulnerability was a weakness.

That it made you a liability.

But standing there, wind in her hair and rage in her chest, Sonya realized something her wolf had already known

Vulnerability wasn’t weakness.

It was freedom.

Roman didn’t just want to control her.

He wanted to own her.

And she was done being owned.

She needed a plan. A real one.

Something beyond emotion.

Beyond longing. She had to protect Landon.

Her family. Herself.

Because she knew Roman now.

He would burn it all down to stay in control.To have her.

But he’d made one mistake.

He underestimated the girl he raised to be loyal.

Because loyalty didn’t mean silence.

It meant honor.

And Sonya was about to start fighting back.