Page 27 of The Reluctant Mate (Shifters of the Three Rivers #5)
Chapter twenty-seven
Sofia
“T wo days off the grid? Wasn’t your smartest move,” Darla said bluntly.
I cocked an eyebrow. “You weren’t worried, were you? Darla Ash, worried about little old me?”
“Don’t push your luck,” she warned, but the faint twitch of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“Come, sit down. Collapsing on Lucian’s floor isn’t a good look.”
Lucian snorted. “And Darla should know; she’s done it more than once.”
I forced myself to move toward the nearest chair, my legs shaky, though I wasn’t sure if it was from exhaustion or sheer emotional overload.
“I was bleeding out from a bullet wound I got defending you. And you started that fight, so it was entirely your fault.”
As much as I wanted to hear this story, I wanted answers to the questions that had been swirling around in my mind since I woke up. “How did you find me?”
Lucian settled opposite me. “You missed training.”
“He panicked,” Darla interjected, moving to his side. “So we pulled Bottley’s security footage.”
“You—” I began.
“Saw you slip out back with Derek,” she continued, cutting me off. “His car left minutes later. So we figured you were with him. After that, it was just a matter of checking hotels, motels, anywhere you might be holed up, and tracking down all his holdings.”
“The cabin wasn’t easy to find,” Lucian added, voice tight. “He’s good at covering his tracks. Better than I expected.”
“You want to tell us what happened out there? Lucian said he found you being hunted through the forest by armed men. Where was Derek?”
I frowned at Lucian, wondering if dragon Shifters could communicate telepathically.
“I called from the car while you were unconscious,” he explained, reading my expression.
Or he really was telepathic and had just read my mind.
My parched throat tightened as I swallowed. I’d kill for a glass of water, but pride kept me from asking. I trusted Lucian and Darla, but I didn’t know much about dragon Shifters and what they could do. Before I’d met them, I’d thought dragon Shifters were a myth, made up by wolves to scare their cubs—stories of fire-breathing monsters who could level mountains with a single roar. Now I was sitting in one’s office, wearing nothing but a T-shirt, completely at their mercy. It was surreal how quickly impossible things became an everyday reality.
I pulled Derek’s shirt tighter, hating that I still wore it, hating him, hating that I couldn’t make myself take it off.
“I don’t know exactly. I don’t even know who those men were. Derek tied me to the bed—”
“Tied you to the bed?” Darla’s lips curved into a wicked smirk. “Didn’t realize you were into that.”
“It wasn’t the fun kind of tying up! He left me there like bait!”
Lucian’s forearm muscles tensed as he methodically rolled up his sleeves. “He restrained you and didn’t even leave you a weapon?” His voice had dropped dangerously low. “Exactly what has he dragged you into?” Something flickered in Lucian’s eyes—a flash of gold that disappeared as quickly as it came.
I shook my head. “I wish I knew.”
“None of this tracks,” Darla said, frowning. “You sure this isn’t some werewolf courtship ritual gone sideways?”
My jaw dropped. “Courtship ritual? Injections, kidnapping, being tied up and hunted through the woods by armed men? What exactly do you think werewolves do for foreplay?”
“Darling, I dated a she-wolf once. Trust me, some of her kinks made me blush.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it firmly. I decided I didn’t want to know.
Darla smirked at me. “Good choice.”
Lucian leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Think back. Has Derek been acting strange lately? Anything unusual at all?”
Exhaustion hit me like a wave, dragging my shoulders down as I sank deeper into the chair. I caught a whiff of something in the air—the lingering scent of expensive cologne and gunmetal. Someone else had been in this office recently, someone who carried weapons.
“He did steal a USB from his brother, Sam.”
“Wait,” Darla said, her voice sharpening. “You mean Sam Shaw? As in the Wolf Council member?”
“Yeah. Why? Does that make it better or worse?”
A look passed between Darla and Lucian, one I couldn’t decipher.
“I don’t know yet,” Lucian said, his eyes returning to me. “In the meantime, you can stay here. As long as you need.”
“Here?” I was going to stay in his office? I glanced around, not seeing a bed.
He gestured upward. “There’s another floor above this one. It’s yours if you want it,” he said, his tone softer now. “You’ll be safe here. Or I can arrange for a driver to take you back to Three Rivers. It’s your call. Just let us know what you want to do.”
I pushed myself awkwardly to my feet, my bare toes curling slightly against the smooth floor as I took a hesitant step toward the far window, the one looking out over the city. The throb in my ankle reminded me of my sprint through the forest, branches tearing at my skin, rocks digging into my feet. A bruise was blooming along my calf where I’d crashed into a fallen log.
A distant siren sounded from outside. Three Rivers was out there somewhere, along with everyone who’d be worried about me—Mai, Wally, Jase. I should want to go back, shouldn’t I? To my apartment, my job, my life.
But something twisted in my gut at the thought. Going back meant facing Derek. Meant answering endless questions, enduring concerned looks. Meant becoming Sofia-the-reliable again. The one who held everything together. The one who put everyone else first.
I didn’t want that yet. Didn’t want to return to pulling espresso shots and solving other people’s problems. Didn’t want to face Derek knowing he’d abandoned me again. Not yet, anyway. For once, just once, I wanted to put myself first.
I turned back to face them, my spine straighter. “I think I’ll sleep for a week. After that…” I shrugged. “I don’t know. But whatever happens next will be my decision. Mine. No one else’s.”
Darla searched my face for a moment before giving me one of her rare smiles. “That’s our girl.”
Behind me, Lucian’s phone vibrated on his desk. He glanced at it, his expression hardening for a fraction of a second before he schooled his features back to neutral. Darla caught his eye, a silent conversation passing between them. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
But Darla’s words had stirred something faint but steady within me. My anger hadn’t cooled; my frustration hadn’t eased. Derek’s name still burned in my chest like a brand. But for the first time in days, I felt a flicker of control—a tiny ember of hope igniting somewhere deep where bitterness hadn’t yet reached.
It wasn’t much. But tonight, it was enough.