LOGINSONYA'S POVReign spends the next few hours turning his estate into a war room.Maps are spread across the dining table. Warriors come and go, reporting on security measures and patrol routes. Landon calls from the hospital, still weak but alive, offering tactical advice that Reign scribbles down like his life depends on it.Which, let's be honest, it probably does.I'm sitting on the couch, watching this unfold, when Phoebe bursts through the door like a hurricane in designer jeans."Okay, what the actual fuck?" She spots me and rushes over. "You get kidnapped, mate-bonded, and nearly killed, and I have to hear about it from pack gossip? We need to have a serious talk about communication, babe.""It's been a busy twelve hours, Phoebe.""Clearly." She plops down beside me, eyeing the chaos around us. "So, you're mated to the scary Alpha now, huh? How's that working out?""Ask me when we're not planning to confront his father about a massive conspiracy.""Fair." She leans closer, lower
SONYA'S POV"All staged," Derek's smile is bitter. "They worked perfectly. You ran straight to Reign like a good little omega, signed his contract, started getting close to him exactly as planned.""Except Reign and I are true mates." I let that sink in. "You didn't account for that, did you?""No." Derek's knuckles turn white against the bars. “The mate bond wasn't supposed to be real, Sonya. You were supposed to be compatible enough to break the curse, but not... not this. Not true mates.""Must have really screwed up your plans.""You have no idea." He leans his forehead against the bars. "Everything would have worked if I hadn't gotten so distracted and you two hadn't bonded. The curse would have remained unstable, and I would have finally gotten the recognition I deserved.""By stealing power that was never yours to take.""It should have been mine!" Derek slams his palm against the bars, making me flinch. "I'm a Savage too, Sonya! I deserve that power just as much as Reign does!
SONYA'S POVI find myself standing outside Derek's holding cell before I fully process the decision to come here.Reign is upstairs coordinating with his warriors, planning tonight's confrontation with Alpha Garrick. He thinks I'm resting in our room, processing everything. And I will be, after I get the answers I need.That's why I snuck down here to the holding cells to face the man who spent six years manipulating me.Probably not my smartest decision.But I need this. I need to look Derek in the eye now that I have all the facts, now that I'm not at gunpoint or in survival mode. I need to take back some of the power he stole from me with his lies.The guard at the cell block entrance recognizes me immediately and steps aside without question. Being the Alpha's mate apparently comes with certain privileges."Third cell on the left," he says. "Holler if you need anything."I nod and make my way down the corridor, my footsteps echoing off concrete walls. The holding cells are cleaner
SONYA'S POV"Anything you need to say, you can say in front of my mate," Reign says immediately, his arm sliding around my waist possessively.Brittany's eyes widen as she hears that. "Your mate? Since when?""Since last night. Long story." I gently ease out of Reign's arms. "What's this about, Brittany?""Derek's been lying to everyone. About everything." She pulls out her phone with shaky hands. "I found this on his laptop. He didn't know I had his password."She shows us a folder full of documents. Plans. Communications with Zane. Financial records showing money changing hands.And photos. Dozens of photos of me. Some from years ago, back in high school. Some recent."He's been obsessed with you since high school," Brittany says, tears streaming down her face. "But not in a romantic way. He kept notes. Plans. Ways to manipulate you. Ways to use your feelings for him."My stomach turns.I can’t believe it goes this deep."Why are you showing me this?""Because I'm pregnant." Brittan
SONYA'S POVI should tell him to stop. Should maintain some distance while we figure out this forced mate bond situation.But I don't want distance.I want him. I want to feel something other than the crushing betrayal Derek left behind. Want to remember what it's like to be desired by someone who actually sees me."Don't stop," I breathe.He captures my mouth in a searing kiss, his hand sliding between my thighs. But instead of touching me where I need him most, he traces lazy patterns on my inner thighs, deliberately avoiding my aching core."Reign," I whimper against his lips. "Please...""Please what?" His fingers dance closer, then retreat again. "Use your words, little omega.""Touch me. I need you to touch me.""Where?" He's torturing me now, his fingers stroking everywhere except where I'm desperate for him. "Here?" He brushes my outer lips through the growing wetness, making me buck against his hand."Yes, fuck, yes...""So impatient." But his fingers finally slide through my
SONYA'S POVI slowly open my eyes, squinting against the soft light filtering through the window, only to realize I'm in Reign's bed with absolutely no memory of how I got there.I'm wearing one of his shirts and nothing else, which is concerning but also... not entirely unwelcome?Goddess, I'm a mess.Just then, yesterday's events come crashing back like a tidal wave.The kidnapping. Zane. Ravenna's dark magic burning through my veins.And Derek.Derek pointing a gun at me.Derek admitting he never cared.Derek revealing that six years, six entire years of what I thought was friendship, connection, maybe even love, was nothing but calculated manipulation.My chest tightens, and suddenly I can't breathe.‘You were always just a means to an end, Sonya. The pathetic little omega with a crush. So easy to manipulate.'The words echo in my head, each one like a knife twisting deeper in my heart.Goddess… I was so stupid. So blind.How did I not see it? How did I spend six years building fa
SONYA'S POVI lock myself in my room for three hours, alternating between crying and rage-pacing.A curse. A fucking curse.Everything makes sense now. The contract. The urgency. The way Reign pushed so hard to have me close. It wasn't about wanting me, it was about survival.How could I be such an
SONYA'S POVReign's hand moves from my ass to my thigh, then slowly, torturously, between my legs. Even through my panties, the pressure of his fingers makes me moan."So responsive," he praises, circling my clit through the fabric. "So fucking perfect.""Please," I whimper, rocking against his han
VANESSA'S POVThe front door of Reign’s estate opens easily as I walk past. No one stops me. Why would they? I’ve been here hundreds of times.But as I step into the grand foyer, my heels clicking against the hard floor, Landon appears from the west wing. His expression twists from surprised to war
SONYA'S POVReign and I are on our way back from the lake when his phone suddenly rings through the car’s speakers."Alpha," Landon's voice fills the car, tense. "We have a situation."Reign's entire demeanor hardens. "What kind of situation?""The kind with blonde hair and a restraining order she'







