Chapter 63

Sofia

Sofia was an utter mess. The entire operation had gone down the drain. She should have never trusted Dana. That bitch almost ruined everything. Sofia still couldn’t believe that they had hurt Arthur.

She hadn’t been able to eat or sleep much since the whole thing. She jumped at shadows, waiting for someone to grab her, to bring her to justice. Sofia hadn’t heard anything about a suspect in the case, but she felt like it was just a matter of time.

Sofia looked into the mirror of her vanity for the first time in weeks. She almost threw up at the sight. Her hair was a rat’s nest, there were dark circles under her usually bright blue eyes, and her skin looked sallow. Guilt was one hell of a drug.

She didn’t know how much longer she could take this. She felt like she was barely living at this point. Especially after what her contact at the hospital had told her.

When Sofia had heard that Arthur was going to be okay, despite his very serious injuries, the relief had brought her to her knees. But that’s not the only news she received. She’d almost had to threaten her confidante to pry it out of her.

However, when she finally got it out of her, it had sent Sofia into a spiral. Almara was pregnant. With a baby. She had almost killed an unborn baby. And not just any baby. It was Arthur’s baby. It was going to be the next heir.

Not only that, but she knew how Arthur felt about children. It was his most important dream. More important than being alpha, more important than his career, having a baby was everything Arthur had ever wanted. And she had almost taken it all away.

Sofia never would have gone through with the plan if she had known. Even if she was willing to commit murder, she would never kill a baby. Especially Arthur’s baby. He would never forgive her if he found out. In fact, she was pretty sure it would be the end of her.

What made it even worse was Sofia was sure that Dana knew about the pregnancy. How could she not? As Arthur’s beta, she was privy to everything that Arthur knew. And she had still been willing to go through with it.

But Sofia couldn’t tell Arthur about Dana without outing herself. She was extremely conflicted. On the one hand, she worried if she didn’t say something, Dana would just try to murder Almara and the baby again and Sofia’s guilt would consume her. On the other hand, if she did say something, she might be sentenced to death.

Her manager was pushing her to confess. He might have even been more of a mess than Sofia was. He called her multiple times a day, blubbering on the other end of the phone. But he was too much of a coward to rat her out.

As Sofia continued to stare at herself in the mirror, she came to the realization that her outside finally matched her insides and she absolutely did not like that. She prayed to the Moon Goddess that it wasn’t too late for her to change.

The best place to start would be to tell Arthur what happened, Delilah said gently and tears burned behind her eyes before spilling down her face. Her own wolf was telling her to confess. Maybe she should.

The doorbell rang, bringing her out of her thoughts. Sofia sighed and put down her hairbrush. She didn’t have the energy to get her life in order after all.

She was just getting back into bed when a hesitant knock came from the door. She ignored it, burying herself in the huge mounds of blankets. They had basically been her home for the past few weeks.

The knock came again, louder this time. Sofia ignored it again. They would eventually go again. They always did. They were so afraid of her, it would have been funny a few weeks ago, but Sofia did not feel like that person anymore.

She heard the door open. That was new.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry to bother you and believe me, I wouldn’t be bothering you unless it was important…but Tarah Sloan is here. And she wants to talk to you,” one of her staff said, their voice barely a whisper. Sofia realized she didn’t even know their name or could even picture their face.

“Who?” Sofia’s voice sounded so hoarse she wondered if she’d even said a word at all. It was more of a croak, like a frog or a toad.

“Tarah Sloan, Your Highness. She’s the Hurricane Pack’s private investigator. She says she’s here for a case she’s working on.”

Fear and panic shot through Sofia’s body so quickly that she thought her heart might stop from the shock of it. Of course Arthur had hired a private investigator. Someone had tried to murder his unborn child. He wouldn’t stop until he found the culprit.

Don’t let her know anything. If Arthur finds out from her, there will be no saving you, Delilah warned. Sofia did not have to be told twice. She bolted out of bed, reaching for her nicest robe..

“Oh, Your Highness,” the staff cried, completely distraught. Sofia paused, glancing over at her confused. The woman had her hands over her mouth and her eyes were wide. She was staring at Sofia like she had seen a ghost.

Sofia pressed her lips together. She hadn’t realized how isolated she had made herself. She supposed her appearance was quite a shock.

“I’ll be fine. Help me get ready. Quickly. I don’t want to meet her like this,” Sofia said and the staff member snapped to attention. She got Sofia presentable in record time. It wasn’t quite her best, but at least she didn’t look like a zombie anymore.

Before leaving her room, Sofia closed her eyes, settling into her role as princess. It was the persona she used for TV interviews. Nothing was wrong. She had the perfect life. She had absolutely nothing to worry about.

She met Tarah Sloan in the foyer. The petite brunette turned, giving Sofia a once over. She did not look impressed. But she did have a gleam in her eye that Sofia didn’t like. As if she knew something that Sofia didn’t.

“Hello. How can I help you?” Sofia asked, keeping her voice steady, but on the inside she was screaming. She didn’t want to be in this mess anymore. She just wanted out.

“I think you know, Princess,” Tarah said, a smirk tugging one corner of her lips up. It made her look like a fox. A very cunning fox.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to explain it to me,” Sofia said tightly, her face shutting down completely. She was cold, aloof, untouchable.

Tarah let out a huff of disbelief. “I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way, then.” She pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Come get her.”

It was only then that Sofia noticed the flashing blue and red lights outside the front windows. Tarah wasn’t there to question her. She already had what she needed. She had just given Sofia a chance to explain herself and she hadn’t. She was ruined.