Page 28 of Fractured Mates

Considering the intensity in her eyes as she stared at my body that I purposefully left on display for as long as possible, I know even if she denies she felt anything with that kiss, she’ll be full of shit.

But that’s a problem to deal with later.

Maciah calling instead of texting me first tells me that something else has happened.

Once I make my way outside, I double-check that Sophie hasn’t followed me. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did or cracks the door open in an attempt to use her wolf hearing to listen in on our conversation. That alone has me watching the motel room from where I stand. Once I’m as certain as I can be that Sophie isn’t eavesdropping, I give Maciah the all-clear to speak freely.

“We have a problem,” he says first.

“I assumed as much,” I reply. “What happened?”

“Sophie showing up complicated matters, just as I thought it would,” Maciah explains. “The trap was for someone else, but as soon as Astor figured out it was her in that house, he changed his plans and is intent on having her now.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, keeping my voice low just in case.

“It means that they have history, as I told you before, and while he hasn’t bothered with her before, thanks to us threatening him with the full force of East Texas all those years ago, it seems her return has made him forget our arrangement,” he tells me, but he pauses before dropping a bomb I don’t expect. “Sophie killed his son.”

It would be great if I could ask if he’s sure, but after what I’ve seen, I have no doubt it’s true.

“What did the guy do?” This woman might be a killer, but something tells me she doesn’t murder because she gets some sort of thrill out of the action.

Maciah is silent, then I hear tapping as if he’s typing something on the phone. “They were mates.”

I nearly choke before I’m able to reply. “As in fated mates?”

“That’s my understanding,” he says. “Sophie was only sixteen when she met Astor’s son—Thane. He was in his twenties. Considered himself a prince and his father a king, and thought that his mate was his property.”

Regardless of the seriousness of this story, I laugh, because I can’t imagine someone treating this particular she-wolf as property, much less getting away with it. How someone who should have been close to her thought he could is beyond me.

“It’s worse,” Maciah explains. “From what River told me, Thane tried to force her to officially mate with him, knowing she was a teenager.”

Any enjoyment I might have gotten from this story is stripped away within an instant. My chest burns with rage, and even more, my wolf snarls from deep within. “Tried to? As in, he didn’t succeed?”

Men who force themselves on anyone deserve to be killed, but to do so to your fated mate? The one you’re supposed to protect until your dying breath and cherish more than your own life? I can’t even fathom the thought.

If Thane wasn’t already dead, I’d be hunting him down tonight regardless of Maciah’s answer.

“No, Sophie killed him when he continued to push things and threaten her,” he says. “She ran away for the second time after that. We didn’t realize just how bad things were the first time we brought her back to the pack for her parents. Two of our men found her, and once they learned why she ran away again, we agreed it was best to place the girl within the protection of the East Texas pack.”

Understanding Sophie and her…overzealous ways is getting easier by the second. She still isn’t over what she felt forced to do when she was basically a child.

“And Astor suddenly wants his retribution, even though it’s been over ten years and regardless of the risk that a pack twice the size of his would decimate him,” I state, making sure I’m reading the situation clearly.

“From the sounds of it, yes,” Maciah answers. “I’m going to be sending River in tomorrow. He’s familiar with this pack. His dad was the previous beta, but it’s been years since River lived there. He’ll be pretending that he left because he didn’t agree with ideologies there and wanted out, but under new leadership, he thought maybe he could come home. If Astor and York—the current acting alpha—buy his story, River is going to have to do things he wouldn’t normally. I need you to still trust him.”

I’ve worked with River several times over the years. He’s a solid protector and has never given me any reason to doubt where his loyalties lie, but it’s not me I’m worried about.

“I’ll make sure Sophie knows to?—”

Maciah stops me. “No, Kyler. She can’t know any of this.”

A deep crease forms between my brows as I continue to watch the motel room. “Why?”

“She’s been away from her pack for too long, and she’s too emotionally involved,” he says sternly. “That girl has been running for most of her life. I don’t know what made her want to come back to South Carolina now, when everything is going to shit, but something is off. I’m not saying it’s with Sophie, but we don’t know her, either. She will still get our protection, but I’m not willing to risk the lives of good people because she demands to know more than she needs to. This is bigger than her and more than I can share in detail, even with you right now.”

I can’t disagree with him. Not just because he’s my boss, but because I also understand. None of this feels like a coincidence. Not Sophie showing up, not me being the one sent to protect her, not the secrets I have a feeling are only just starting to be uncovered.

“I’m going to need to give her something,” I say, knowing there’s no way I can go back into that room and not tell her anything without her threatening me.

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