CHAPTER THREE

Jonathan strode through the demolished apartment doorway without a backward glance.

Sophia hesitated, adrenaline and trepidation rooting her in place as she flicked an uncertain look between him and the cryptic Damien.

But Marcus moved to follow his Alpha, pausing to pin her with an inscrutable look. "You will come with us. Now," he said, his voice carrying the same inborn dominance that Jonathan exuded.

Yet there was an underlying gentleness to it—as if he were simply stating an immutable fact rather than uttering a threat.

An innate trust sparked somewhere deep in Sophia's gut, urging her to obey.

Even so, she cast a wary look toward Damien.

The other alpha male regarded her with hooded eyes glinting with speculative flames. A serpentine smile slowly curved his lips, heightening the arrogant planes of his striking features.

"Don't fret, little Maiden. We'll have our reunion soon enough," Damien said, his voice laced with a charged promise.

A shiver skated up Sophia's spine at the unholy temptation emanating from him.

Marcus cleared his throat, the sound rumbling through his broad chest with a resonance that betrayed his inhuman nature. "Now, Miss Bennett," he said firmly.

With one last apprehensive look around her trashed home—and the lifeless bodies strewn about—Sophia swallowed hard and ducked under Marcus's spanning wings to follow him and Jonathan.

The halls outside her door proved even more horrifying. Gouged bulkheads, rampant destruction, and... worse.

Mutilated corpses, human and monster alike, littered their path.

The acrid stench of death, fear, and rage clogged the air with a bouquet of primal devastation.

"Oh... oh god..." Bile surged up Sophia's gullet as she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the urge to wretch.

Without breaking stride, Jonathan slanted her a look over his shoulder. "Focus ahead, not behind. The past is unchangeable," he said casually as if strolling through a park.

Sophia tried to obey, but her gaze kept snapping back to the grisly scenes flashing past. She had lived her whole life in ignorant bliss of the true nature lurking all around her. This rude awakening, dealing with bloodied bodies and mangled limbs scattered in abandon, was too much to compartmentalize.

At last, Marcus hung back to walk alongside her, his presence large and implacable. "Close your eyes if you must. I'll guide you," he said.

With immense gratitude, she nodded and allowed her thick lashes to flutter shut, losing herself behind that guarded curtain. She concentrated on the heat rolling off his body beside her and the sound of his powerful inhalations—slow and even. Like the hypnotic crash of waves against the shore, they gave her a focal point to deaden the hellish visuals burned into her psyche.

Solid fingers encircled her elbow, Marcus's careful grip providing a stabilizing counterpoint as he steered her footsteps forward. The contrast between his effortless strength and raw power with the gentle surety of his touch unsettled strange embers in Sophia's core.

The night's nightmarish events made increasingly less sense the more she dwelled on them. Yet these men expected her to simply follow along, no questions asked.

They exited the building, passing beneath an archway where the sounds of nightlife could be heard a few blocks over. But it might as well have been light years away for how abruptly the world narrowed to this dark, empty side street.

Tires crunched heavily over loose debris as Jonathan's voice issued a terse command. "Get her inside, now!"

Cool metal pressed against the bare skin of Sophia's arm as Marcus maneuvered her, guiding her to duck low before the deep bass groan of an engine rumbled to life.

Risking a peek, she found herself enveloped by lush black leather seating inside an opulent SUV. Jonathan occupied the driver's seat, jaw taut as he whipped the vehicle into gear and slammed the gas pedal.

Sophia was thrown sideways by the explosive burst of acceleration, nearly toppling into Marcus, who braced an arm over her shoulders to steady her.

She shot him a grateful look in the dim ambient glow from the dash, drinking in the sharp contours and sheer masculine power emanating from him in waves, even seated.

His midnight irises met hers with an unreadable intensity as his hand slid purposefully from her shoulder, down her back in a slow caress… before settling on her hip in an unmistakable claiming grip.

Heat flooded Sophia's cheeks. Some unknown yet irresistible part of her yearned to press closer rather than recoil from the unconventional contact. As if she could melt into the shelter of his sculpted form and be safe. Protected.

Clearing her throat, she shifted and opened her mouth to speak—

Only for Jonathan to beat her to the punch, never once taking his eyes off the road as they hurtled down empty streets. "You have questions," he said.

It wasn't phrased as such, but Sophia nodded, tongue darting out to wet her lips before daring to speak. "Yes, well… um, many. But first—who or, ah, what were those… things?" she asked.

"Rogues," Marcus rumbled, either unaware or uncaring of the sensations his searing proximity sparked within her. "Exiled ferals who reject the sanctity of the Moon Law. Feral scum."

"They follow the wretched cur known as Mikhail Romanov," Jonathan intoned with the wearied severity of one accustomed to war. "A diseased wretch who craves disorder and blood worship just for sowing chaos amidst the packs."

Sophia frowned. "Packs? You're… not..." She swallowed hard and dared to shift closer to the overwhelming Marcus, seeking his presence as an anchor against the maelstrom engulfing her. "You're not exactly... human, are you?"

To her shock, an amused rumble emanated from the titan beside her. "Not precisely," Marcus said.

"My pack brothers and I..." Jonathan paused as if weighing his words with care. "Let us say we embrace a more… primordial side of human nature. Once you're witnessing firsthand this very night."

"I don't understand..." Sophia said, her voice trembling.

"Of course you don't." Despite the almost scolding tone, Jonathan's focus remained glued to the road. "One doesn't simply wake up a mythological figure primed to reshape the very fabric of our existence."

Sophia opened her mouth to demand clarification, but Jonathan barreled on without looking at her. "But tomorrow night's bloodletting has robbed us of time for courtesies or slow reveals." His eyes flickered up to the rearview mirror, meeting hers with simmering intensity. "Mikhail knows you've awakened as the Moon Maiden, the one female fated to forge the most powerful alliance of alphas since time immemorial. An alliance that can destroy his insurgency once and for all."

At last, the vehicle eased up to a guarded checkpoint, looming metal gates yawning open to allow them entry to a pristine compound in the shadows of downtown Manhattan's skyline.

Armed sentries snapped to attention flanking the roadway, eyes sharp and assessing.

Beside her, Marcus stiffened, the hand on Sophia's hip squeezing almost imperceptibly. "Alpha—" he started to say.

"I know," Jonathan growled, knuckles whitening on the steering wheel. "Rogues remain."

Sophia stifled a soundless gasp as Marcus shifted infinitesimally closer, his earthy pine and smoke scent searing her senses.

She couldn't breathe, couldn't think to question the inexplicable rightness of being so near this stranger. This terrifying, beautiful stranger.

They rolled to a stop in a spacious motor court outside an immense, palatial estate. Floodlights shattered the gloom with piercingly bright halos, casting everything into harsher relief.

Too used to dark city alleys, Sophia instinctively shrank from the illumination, pressing into Marcus's side as if he could shield her.

His solid chest rumbled a soothing purr that seemed to vibrate down into her very bones.

Jonathan killed the engine with a flick of his wrist. Silence reigned for a long beat, adding palpable weight to the air.

At last, he pivoted in his seat to pin Sophia with eyes like molten silver. "Welcome to the beginning of your new life... my fated mate," he said.