Captor: Sophia’s Perspective

I sit in the middle of Zane's massive bed, our bed now, I suppose, with my knees pulled tight against my chest, arms wrapped around them like I might hold myself together through sheer physical force. My mother is dead. The words repeat in my mind, a terrible mantra I can't escape. Dead because she tried to save me. Dead because I was born a true omega in a world that treats us like breeding stock instead of people.

At least my father survived. The thought offers a flicker of comfort in the darkness consuming me. But even that is complicated by the reality of our situation, him a rogue wolf dependent on the mercy of an Alpha who's claimed me against my will, me a mated omega with no way out.

'We saved dad,' Nyx whispers in my mind, her presence warm with satisfaction despite our grief. 'We brought him to safety.'

'Did we?' I question silently. 'Or did we just deliver him to another kind of prison?'

Nyx bristles at this. 'Conri would never harm our father. He respects family bonds.’

'Conri isn't the one making decisions,' I remind her. 'Zane is. And I don't trust him to put anyone's interests above his own.'

'You felt how I commanded that guard,' she counters, pride evident in her mental voice. 'We are stronger than they know.'

Before I can respond, the door swings open. Zane fills the frame, his massive shoulders blocking the light from the hallway. His expression is thunderous, steel-grey eyes fixed on me with an intensity that would make most wolves cower. I meet his gaze directly, refusing to look away first.

"What part of 'stay here' was unclear to you?" he asks, his voice deceptively soft as he closes the door behind him.

"The part where you thought you had the right to keep me from my father," I reply, keeping my tone level despite the anger simmering beneath.

He stalks toward the bed, radiating the dangerous energy of an apex predator. "You defied me. In front of my guards. In front of a stranger to this pack."

"He's not a stranger," I snap. "He's my father, Zane. My father who I thought was dead. Who crossed hundreds of miles of hostile territory to find me."

"And I would have brought him to you after ensuring he wasn't a threat."

I let out a bitter laugh. "A threat? He's a Beta who's lost his mate, his pack, and nearly lost his daughter. What exactly did you think he was going to do?"

"That's not the point." Zane's jaw tightens, a muscle jumping beneath the skin. "You're my mate. When I give you an order, especially in front of others, I expect you to obey it."

"I'm not one of your soldiers," I retort, dropping my arms from around my knees to face him more directly. "I won't be commanded like some subordinate wolf afraid of your growl."

He crosses the remaining distance between us in two strides, looming over me where I sit. "This isn't about pack hierarchy. This is about respect. About the bond we share."

"We don't share anything," I say, each word precise and cutting. "You took what you wanted. You claimed me because I'm valuable to you, because Conri decided I was a suitable incubator for your pups."

Something dangerous flashes in his eyes. "Is that what you think? That this is only about your genetics?"

"Isn't it?" I challenge. "Would you have claimed me if I tested at forty percent instead of ninety-eight? If I couldn't heal with a touch or sense emotions? If I wasn't a true omega?"

He doesn't answer immediately, which is answer enough.

"I thought so," I whisper, a hollow victory settling in my chest.

"You're my mate," he says finally, as if repeating it enough times will make it true in the way he means it. "That means something."

"It means you've staked your claim. It means I'm another piece of territory you've acquired." I raise one eyebrow in challenge. "This isn't a mate bond, Zane. You aren't my mate. You're my captor."

He recoils as if I've slapped him, genuine shock registering on his normally controlled features. Something flashes behind his eyes, hurt, perhaps, though I didn't think him capable of such a human emotion.

'Sophia!' Nyx whines in distress. 'Don't say that! Conri could be mate. Real mate.'

I snort out loud, unable to contain my derision. "Mates don't command their mates," I say to both of them. "Mates don't treat each other as possessions. Mates choose each other."

Zane stares at me, something unfathomable moving across his features. For a moment, I think he might argue further, might try to convince me that what he's done is something other than what it is. Instead, he steps back, creating physical distance that mirrors the emotional gulf between us.

"You've had a difficult day," he says finally, his voice so carefully controlled it's almost mechanical. "Your father is safe. You should rest."

The sudden shift in his approach throws me off balance. I expected rage, dominance, perhaps even physical intimidation. This cold retreat is somehow worse, as if my pain isn't even worth engaging with.

I turn away from him, lying down on my side of the bed, my back deliberately toward him. The tears I've been holding back since returning to this room threaten to spill over, but I refuse to cry in front of him. I won't give him that power over me.

The mattress dips as he sits on the edge of the bed, but he doesn't touch me. I can feel him watching me, can sense his struggle through our unwanted bond. Conri pushes against the barriers in his mind, wanting to soothe, to claim, to possess. Zane holds him back.

Good. At least he has that much decency.

'He's trying,' Nyx whispers in my mind, her voice small and uncertain.

'Not hard enough,' I answer silently, curling tighter into myself. 'And it doesn't matter anyway. Nothing will bring mum back. Nothing will undo what he's done to us.'

I close my eyes, shutting out the room, the bond, the wolf who believes he owns me. Tomorrow I'll have to be strong for my father, have to find a way forward in this new reality. But tonight, I allow myself to sink into grief, to mourn for my mother and for the free omega I was just days ago, before test results and Council representatives and alpha wolves with possessive streaks changed everything.