Chapter 28: Chapter 28
Tom Bennett’s fingers dug into my wrist like steel clamps, and I swear I could feel my bones grinding together.
"Let go of me," I hissed, twisting against his grip. My wolf snarled beneath my human skin, demanding I shift and tear his throat out.
"Not happening, sweetheart." Tom’s smile was all teeth and malice. "We have unfinished business."
I jerked harder, surprised when my enhanced strength actually made him stumble. The trial had changed me in ways I was still discovering, apparently.
"There’s no business between us," I snapped. "You made that clear when you rejected me."
Tom’s green eyes flashed with something dark and twisted. "About that. See, there’s a problem with what happened."
My stomach dropped. "What problem?"
"I never completed the formal rejection ritual." His voice carried that supernatural compulsion wolves used to influence weaker minds. "Never went through the proper ceremonies, never had the pack elders officiate the severance. Which means..."
"Which means what?" But I already knew. My wolf was whimpering with recognition and fear.
"Which means you’re still technically bound to me under Silver Moon Pack law." Tom’s grin widened as my face went white. "Incomplete rejections leave binding remnants, Sophie. And I’ve got a few months to reclaim what’s mine."
The legal trap closed around me like a noose.
"You planned this," I whispered.
"I planned everything." Tom began dragging me toward the black SUV parked at the alley entrance. "Spent time studying pack law, tracking your movements, and building alliances. Did you really think I’d let you walk away after what you cost me?"
I dug my heels in, but his supernatural strength made resistance almost impossible. "What I cost you? You’re the one who rejected me!"
"I was testing you!" Tom’s voice cracked with frustration and obsession. "Seeing if you’d fight for us, prove you were worthy of being my mate. Instead, you just... accepted it. Walked away like I meant nothing."
"Because you slept with my ex-best friend, and you made it clear I meant nothing to you!"
"You were supposed to fight back!" Tom’s eyes burned with fanatic intensity. "Prove you wanted me as much as I wanted you. Instead, you humiliated me in front of everyone. Made me look weak."
My wolf was practically howling with the need to escape, to run, to find safety. And there was only one place that felt safe anymore.
Christian.
The mate bond between us pulsed with my distress, sending out signals that I hoped he could feel. Wherever he was, whatever pack obligations were keeping him busy, I needed him to know I was in danger.
"If you think you can just drag me back to —"
"I don’t have to drag you anywhere," Tom interrupted, his smile sharp as broken glass. "Your new Alpha has already agreed to honor my claim."
Harold. Of course Harold would see this as the perfect solution to his Sophie problem.
"Scream all you want," Tom added, seeing me open my mouth. "Humans can’t hear supernatural frequencies, and they won’t interfere in pack business anyway."
That’s when the streetlights started flickering.
Car alarms went off randomly up and down the street. Windows vibrated in their frames. The air itself seemed to thrum with barely contained power.
Tom’s confident expression faltered as supernatural energy rolled through downtown like a tsunami.
"What the hell—"
Christian appeared at the mouth of the alley like an avenging angel.
His dark eyes blazed with Alpha fury, and his sandalwood and cedar scent hit the air with territorial dominance so strong it made my knees weak. He looked dangerous, powerful, and absolutely lethal.
"Let. Her. Go."
The words carried a supernatural compulsion that made even Tom flinch. Christian’s Alpha power was no joke, and right now it was focused entirely on the asshole holding me prisoner.
"This doesn’t concern you," Tom said, but his voice had lost some of its earlier confidence. "I have a legal claim—"
"I don’t give a fuck about your legal claim." Christian stepped into the alley, his presence making the confined space feel even smaller. "You’re on my territory, threatening my pack member. Remove your hands from her before I remove them for you."
My wolf practically purred with relief. Christian had found me. Christian was here.
But Tom wasn’t backing down.
"She’s mine by Silver Moon law," Tom snarled, his supernatural dominance rising to meet Christian’s challenge. "Prior claim supersedes territorial rights."
"Prior claim?" Christian’s laugh was as cold as the winter wind. "You rejected her, asshole. I heard all about your show."
"Incomplete rejection," Tom shot back. "Never formally severed, never properly ritualized. She’s still bound to me whether she likes it or not."
The two of them faced off like gladiators, Alpha power crackling between them while I stood there like a prize to be won. My wolf was torn between relief at Christian’s presence and fury at being treated like property.
"This is Shadow Ridge territory," Christian said, his voice dropping to a supernatural growl. "And Sophie is under pack protection. Your presence here is an act of invasion."
"Your father disagrees." Tom’s smile was triumphant. "Harold Blackwood has officially recognized my legal claim as legitimate pack law."
Christian’s expression went nuclear. "My father—"
"Has agreed to transfer custody once I present the proper documentation." Tom’s grip on my wrist tightened possessively. "Which I have."
I used their Alpha pissing contest as an opportunity to twist away from Tom’s hold. My enhanced strength finally overcame his grip, and I immediately moved toward Christian like a moth to a flame.
His protective scent wrapped around me like armor, making me feel safe for the first time since this nightmare began.
Tom’s green eyes tracked my movement with predatory interest. "See how she comes to you? That’s the incomplete bond pulling her toward the nearest dominant male. But it’s just supernatural confusion. She belongs with me."
"She belongs with whoever she chooses," Christian said, his Alpha authority making the words ring with finality.
Tom backed toward his SUV, clearly recognizing that he was outnumbered and outpowered on Christian’s home turf. But his retreat felt tactical rather than defeated.
"This is just round one," Tom said, his obsessive determination burning in his green eyes. "Pack law is on my side. Your father knows it, my Alpha knows it, and the supernatural courts will uphold it."
He reached his vehicle and paused, his gaze fixed on me with fanatic intensity.
"I’ve waited for this moment, Sophie. Planned every detail, covered every legal angle, built every alliance I needed." Tom’s voice carried a supernatural menace that made my skin crawl. "You can run to your new Alpha, hide behind his protection, and pretend you’ve found something better."
Tom opened the SUV door but didn’t get in yet. Instead, he stared at me with the kind of obsessive hunger that promised this was far from over.
"But deep down, you know the truth," Tom continued, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow carried more threat than shouting. "You know you were made to be mine. You know that incomplete bond is going to keep pulling at you until you accept it."
Christian moved protectively in front of me, his Alpha power radiating warning. But Tom just smiled that twisted, predatory smile.
"This isn’t over, Sophie." Tom’s green eyes burned with fanatic determination as he finally climbed into his SUV. "You know where you belong, and I’ll be waiting when you remember."
