Chapter 57

Sofia

This couldn’t be happening. Not to her. Not to Sofia Pierce. She was the one who every guy wanted to be with. She was the one who every girl wanted to be. She did not get rejected. She did the rejecting.

And she certainly didn’t lose to women who looked like her. When Sofia had first shown up at the chapel, she had thought maybe the magazine picture hadn’t done the other woman justice. That, maybe, she was actually prettier in real life.

But now Sofia knew better. The other woman was just plain. There was absolutely nothing special about her. Even in that goddess awful wedding dress, she was nothing special. She was just nothing.

And yet Arthur had chosen that girl…Almara…over her. He had rejected her in public. In front of his family. And even Roman had supported him. Roman had never supported Arthur a day in his life. What in the absolute hell was going on?

Sofia watched as Arthur briefly talked to one of his wolves before racing out of the chapel. She tried to lunge forward, but Roman held her back. She didn’t bother fighting him. He was a former alpha. There was no way she would win.

Sofia folded in on herself, collapsing to the ground. Roman didn’t even try to hold her up. She guessed he really had abandoned her. She turned her attention inward, to the mate bond that still thrummed with life. It shouldn’t have been there. It should have dissolved, but perhaps the Moon Goddess was on her side after all.

Perhaps she could get Arthur to rescind his rejection. But first she had to get rid of Almara once and for all. She just didn’t know how to do that.

Someone draped a coat around her and she looked up, surprised to find that the chapel was empty except for her and Dana, Arthur’s beta.

Dana helped her stand up, eying her thoughtfully. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that. The rejection must have been painful.”

Sofia pressed her lips together. Dana was Arthur’s second-in-command. She would report back everything to Arthur, especially if it was in her favor. Sofia knew that the bitch in front of her coveted her mate. Perhaps she could be useful. Perhaps they could use each other. Sofia just needed to be sure to come out on top.

“Actually, the mate bond is still there. The Moon Goddess did not let it fray. She wants us to be together. I just have to get rid of Almara,” Sofia said honestly and Dana’s eyes lit up, glittering with malice.

“If only we could turn Arthur against her. But I have been watching them since he brought Almara home. He’s head over heels in love with her. I don’t think I need to tell you how devoted he’s become to her. I’m afraid the only way he would leave her is if she was no longer with us,” Dana said, her eyes rising to her hairline as she looked at Sofia meaningfully.

Sofia chewed on her bottom lip. She knew what Dana was trying to say. Roman had suggested the same thing. Only he hadn’t gone through with it.

“Roman said the same thing, but he failed me,” Sofia admitted and Dana’s eyes widened.

“Almara never said anything about Roman going after her. But I think I know why he didn’t,” Dana mused, but she didn’t elaborate. Sofia didn’t press her for answers either. It didn’t really matter to her what Almara had done to win over Roman. The only thing that mattered was succeeding where Roman had failed.

“How do you think we should do it?” Sofia asked, shifting from foot to foot, eyes darting to the door of the chapel nervously. They were talking about committing murder. That was a death sentence should they get caught.

“I suppose a car accident would do the trick. Hit and runs are very common in the city,” Dana said thoughtfully, holding her chin between her forefinger and thumb.

Sofia couldn’t help but agree. “Who will be driving the car?”

A feral smile came over Dana’s face. “Please allow me to do the honors, Princess. We wouldn’t want to get your hands dirty.”

Sofia shuddered. This woman was a bad enemy to have. Sofia suddenly wasn’t sure if she wanted to be between Arthur and Dana now either. It would only be a matter of time before Dana tried to get rid of her too. The only reason that Dana hadn’t been a problem before was because Sofia hadn’t really been in her way.

“Where would the accident take place? The city has so many CCTV cameras. You know as well as I do that ninety percent of the crime here gets solved,” Sofia told her, her voice dropping to a whisper as she heard people just outside the chapel door.

“Don’t worry about that. I know of a spot where there is no CCTV. And I know a guy that can get us fake license plates. All we have to do is get some balaclavas. Nobody will know that it was us,” Dana assured her, but Sofia was still nervous. She had never committed any kind of crime before and now she was jumping straight to murder.

But it had to be done. She had to get rid of Almara. She had to get Arthur back. Otherwise she would just be the princess of a small pack. She wouldn’t have any real power. Her parents would probably sell her off to someone else if she came back without Arthur as her husband.

Dana’s phone rang in the silence, making Sofia jump. Dana held up a finger and answered the phone with a serious, “Yes, Alpha?”

Sofia’s ears pricked up. It was Arthur. Maybe he was calling Dana to say that he had made a terrible mistake and was on the way back.

“Right away, Alpha. Don’t worry. We’ll find her,” Dana said before hanging up. Her lips turned up at the corners in amusement as she returned her attention back to Sofia.

“It seems that Almara has disappeared. I’m afraid I have to cut this meeting short. I have to go look for her. But I’ll let you know when I’m ready to take care of our little problem,” Dana answered her unspoken question. Sofia smiled. It seemed that Almara had gotten her heartbroken earlier. It didn’t seem that her and Arthur’s relationship was that strong after all.

Or perhaps Almara realized that she didn’t have a chance against Sofia. That Sofia could understand. It would have been for the little mouse to think that she could hold a candle to her beauty, to her stature.

Sofia waved goodbye as Dana left. The coat scratched at her arm and Sofia wrinkled her nose. What was this material? Sofia took the coat off, holding it at arm’s length. Her lips pulled back in disgust. She couldn’t believe she had been wearing this for so long. She dropped it on the ground where it belonged.

It was time for her to go. She had lingered in the chapel for too long. If she spent any more time here, people would begin to talk more than they already were. Right now, Sofia had the advantage. They pitied her. She could work with pity. However, she could not win if they thought she was having a breakdown. Leaders did not have breakdowns.

Sofia left the chapel with her head held high. She would show them she was a better fit to be their luna. She would show them that she wouldn’t run away. She would show them she was so much more than Almara.