Chapter 8
Lucas's POV:
I had been lying on Sophia's bed for what felt like an eternity, staring at the ceiling as the hours crawled by. The entire day had dissolved into a haze of her lingering scent and the hollow ache where our severed bond used to be.
Her pillow still carried traces of that intoxicating jasmine fragrance that used to drive both me and Victor wild.
She's gone, my wolf reminded me for the hundredth time today. Because of our choices.
I pressed my face deeper into her pillow, trying to chase away the crushing weight of regret.
The room felt suffocating without her presence, every corner holding memories of what I'd thrown away. Her vanity table still had a few forgotten items—a hair tie, some lip balm. Small things that now felt precious.
My phone buzzed against the nightstand, but I ignored it like I had been doing all day. Marcus had tried calling multiple times, probably with pack business that suddenly seemed meaningless. What was the point of running a pack when I'd lost the one person who made it all worthwhile?
Buzz.
This time it wasn't a call. A text message from an unknown number. Something twisted in my gut as I reached for the phone.
The screen lit up, and what I saw made my blood turn to ice.
A photo. Sophia, breathtakingly beautiful in a shimmering white gown, wrapped in the arms of a tall, dark-haired man. They were standing close—too close—and the way he was holding her, protective and intimate, sent a surge of possessive rage through my veins that nearly made me shift right there.
Who the hell was touching my Luna?
My hands shook as I stared at the image. Sophia looked radiant, more beautiful than I'd ever seen her. But she was in another man's arms, and that fact felt like silver burning through my chest.
Victor was snarling in my head. Find her. Kill him. Bring her home.
Before I could process the fury completely, my phone rang. Leo's name flashed on the screen.
"What?" I snarled into the receiver.
"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine," Leo's familiar voice carried his usual casual tone. "I'm calling to ask why the hell you're not at the Lycan King's feast. Half the Alphas in the kingdom are here, and you're nowhere to be found."
I sat up slowly, my head spinning. "You had better find me for something."
"You need to get out of whatever dark hole you've crawled into. Besides," his voice took on an intrigued tone, "you might be interested to know who's here."
Something in his tone made Victor perk up with dangerous interest. "What do you mean?"
"Sophia's here."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I was on my feet before I realized I'd moved, every muscle in my body tensing. "What did you say?"
"Your ex-Luna. She's here, and Lucas..." Leo's voice dropped to an amazed whisper. "She looks absolutely stunning. I've never seen anything like it."
My vision went red. The phone creaked in my grip. "You saw her?"
"Saw her? I could barely get close. She's like a magnet tonight, drawing every Alpha in the room. But there's something different about her, something..." He trailed off. "Lucas, what exactly happened between you two?"
I was already moving toward my closet, phone pressed between my ear and shoulder as I grabbed the first suit I could find. "I'm coming. Right now."
"Now? Lucas, it's late. The party's been going for hours—"
"I don't care what time it is." I yanked on my shirt with more force than necessary, buttons threatening to pop. "Tell Marcus to prepare the car. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Wait, Lucas—" Leo's voice carried a warning that made me freeze mid-motion. "There's something else you need to know."
"What?" My voice came out dangerously low.
"She... she was with Prince Ryder for most of the evening. They looked very close."
The phone creaked ominously in my grip. Prince Ryder. That royal bastard had his hands on my Sophia. The image from the photo flashed in my mind again—that protective embrace, the way she'd been leaning into him.
Did Sophia really move on and find a new partner so quickly? Jealousy is driving me crazy.
"Lucas? You still there?"
"Where is she now?" My voice came out barely controlled.
"Last I saw, Prince Ryder was leading her away from the main hall. They went toward the private royal wing."Leo's voice carried an anticipatory tone of watching a play.
I was already heading for the door, adjusting my tie with sharp, angry movements. "We have not yet signed the divorce agreement, and she is still my wife. No prince is going to change that."
"Technically, didn't she reject you? I heard the bond was severed—"
"I don't give a damn what you heard." I cut him off, my patience completely shattered. "Sophia belongs with me, not with some entitled royal who thinks he can take whatever he wants."
"Lucas, listen to me carefully," Leo's voice turned serious. "There was an announcement tonight. About the royal family. You need to know—"
"I don't care about royal politics." I grabbed my jacket and headed for the stairs. "All I care about is getting my wife back."
I hung up before he could continue, my mind consumed with images of Sophia in that prince's arms. Every rational thought was drowned out by Victor's possessive fury and my own desperate need to see her, to touch her, to prove she was still mine.
Marcus was waiting by the car when I reached the driveway, his expression carefully neutral despite the late hour.
"Alpha," he said quietly, opening the door. "Are you certain about this?"
"Drive," I ordered, sliding into the backseat. "And don't stop until we reach the palace."
As the car pulled away from the pack house, I stared out at the passing landscape, my hands clenched so tightly my knuckles were white. All I could think about was that photo—the way Sophia had looked so radiant, so alive, in another man's arms.
The rational part of my mind whispered that she had every right to move on, that I'd destroyed our bond with my own choices. But Victor was having none of it.
She's ours, he growled. We mark her, we claim her, we bring her home.
The palace lights grew brighter in the distance, and my resolve hardened into something cold and determined. I didn't care what it took, what I had to do, or who I had to face.
I was getting Sophia back tonight.