Cortez and Sophie didn't talk for the rest of the day. In fact, he didn't even return to their bedroom when the entire pack had put themselves to sleep. Sophie went to bed alone and woke up alone, which pissed her off more than anything. She was upset that he was continuously avoiding their problems. He was always giving her ambigious answers and beating around the bush. He was being selfish and childish. She almost forgot he was the older one in their relationship.
Cortez and Sophie were only approaching each other again because Miguel was on his way back from the Lorton Yew pack this morning. After Sophie told him how upset Cortez was, Miguel decided to stay the night in the Lorton Yew's pack house for the night. Miguel thought better than to approach Cortez with something so important after royally pissing him off. It was also a good idea because that gave Maria and Antonio enough time to get to the Destine Moon pack so everyone could meet Miguel's mate at the same time.
The first thing Sophie said to Cortez in hours wasn't anything to relieve their tension. If you say a single mean thing to Miguel about any of this...
Trust me, he's going to get an earful. Cortez bitterly cut off, his voice hoarse with anger and annoyance.
Cortez.. Sophie coldly warned as she stole a glance at him. Their eyes met and they both stared with stubborn attitudes. I don't want you bumming him out today. This is important to him, you know.
You were important to me when I told them about you and he is still an ass about us. He kidnapped you, for crying out loud.
Sophie rolled her eyes and looked to the door. She could hear Miguel's car pulling up towards the house. I'm serious, Cortez. If you're mean to him, that's just another thing I get to yell at you about later.
Well, you've already got a list, apparently. What's one more? Cortez muttered.
Sophie was about to glare at Cortez again until the big front door swung open. The loud creaking of the door echoed through the foyer as the sunlight poured in from outside. Miguel appeared first, dropping his hands from the door and picking up two bags at his feet. He stepped inside and awkwardly smiled at his family. Maria stood anxiously on her toes as her eyes scanned what she could see past the doors, in desperate search for Miguel's mate.
When Maria spotted him, her smile faded and eyes went wide. To keep from making any noise, she cupped her hand over her mouth. Alex awkwardly stepped inside with two bags in hand and a big backpack slung over his shoulder. He dropped his bags and looked over the four people in front of him. Sophie could hear his heart racing in his chest so when he smiled at her, she happily smiled back and snuck a thumbs up beside her, hoping it would encourage him.
"Mom, dad, Cortez, this is Alex Cho. Alex, this is Cortez, your new Alpha, and my parents." Miguel nervously muttered as he gestured towards everyone. He glanced at Sophie and took a deep breath. "And Sophie, of course."
"Uhh.." Alex shoved his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, obviously unsure of what to do with them. "Hello. Nice to meet everyone. I hope you'll kindly accept me into your family."
Nobody said anything and the air around them grew suffocatingly thick. Sophie looked to Maria, who hadn't moved a muscle yet. Antonio was as unreadable as always, his facial features tense but she couldn't really tell if he was upset or just thinking. Cortez, on the other hand, was trapped in an endless cycle of trying not to laugh but also being so, incredibly confused.
"You're a warrior, I assume, by looking at you." Antonio finally spoke up, breaking the silence.
Alex perked up and anxiously nodded. "I am, Alpha."
Maria took a step forward, her hand dropping to grab her long skirt. Everyone watched as she slowly approached Alex, who nervously straightened his posture. They never looked away from each other as the space between them shrunk in length. Alex was simply hoping she wasn't about to slap him or something, which he was kind of expecting by the deadly look in her eyes.
Gently grabbing Alex's chin, she tilted his head and spotted his mark. She stared at it in dead silence before letting go of Alex and stepping towards Miguel. Before she could even reach for him, Miguel pulled down the collar of his shirt and revealed his own mark to speed up this excruciating process. He carefully studied his mother as the wheels turned in her head. He could see them moving but couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"Just.." Maria gathered her skirt in her hands as she turned and began marching off. She appeared to be flustered and frustrated. "Give me a minute to think."
"Are you upset?" Miguel called after his mother.
Maria put her hand up with a flick of her wrist as she continued to stomp away. "Give me a minute, Miguel! I didn't expect this!"
Maria disappeared into the pack house, Miguel and Cortez both tense since they had no idea what their mother was thinking right now. Alex stood idly and waited for the next person to say something. He didn't know how to take that response but he was beginning to expect the worse of this situation. Luckily, Antonio spoke up again to break the silence.
"Welcome to the pack, Alex." Antonio's comment drew in everyone's attention. Alex politely bowed and stared at Antonio as he opened his mouth to continue. "I trust you'll take care of Miguel and this pack starting today. Those will be your responsibilities now."
"I'll try my best with everything I have in me, Alpha." Alex said.
"Good answer." Antonio finished and turned to follow his wife.
When he was gone, Alex turned to Miguel in a slight panic. "Is your mother upset?"
Miguel didn't answer. He was trying to figure that out himself. She couldn't possibly be that upset, maybe just taken aback. She was never truly angry at Miguel when he screwed up so, if this is what made her hate him, Miguel would be absolutely crushed. He didn't want to imagine this being the thing that tore their relationship apart. It'd be even worse if this is what tore apart the relationship between his mother and his sister, as well.
"I'm sorry, Sophie. I imagine she's going to come back to you with this.." Miguel said, his voice low.
"Don't apologize for a damn thing." Sophie retorted. "You've done nothing wrong and I can handle your mother."
"You've been awfully quiet." Miguel said to Cortez.
All eyes fell towards the Alpha as he shrugged. "Mom always taught us, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
Sophie's jaw fell as she stared up at Cortez. She couldn't believe he would say that to his own brother. He just brought home the love of his life, his mother just stomped away, and he really can't say one nice thing?
Miguel was just as shocked. He couldn't believe his brother was so quick to pass judgement. Yeah, he was on the fence on how Cortez would react but he still knew his brother. Cortez never made split second decisions unless absolutely necessary. This is one of those things were he would ponder on it for a week or two and then decide to toss Miguel out when he got the balls to. The fact that he already made his decision on this made Miguel almost throw up.
"I'm just fuckin' with you." Cortez laughed as he stepped towards a very shocked Miguel. He playfully punched his brothers shoulder and reached for Alex's hand. "Nice to meet you, Alex. We've got plenty of warriors in this pack. You'll fit right in."
Alex nervously laughed, heartily shaking Cortez's hand as he stared at him with a mixture of flustered emotions. "Thank you, Alpha.."
"For fucks sake, Cortez!" Miguel pushed his older brother but Cortez hardly stumbled even a step away. "You scared the shit out of me!"
Cortez laughed in amusement until there was another push behind him. This time it was Sophie as she stood beside him. "This is why I told you not to tease him! You're going to give everyone a heart attack."
"Like I would ever give a shit that you're gay, Miguel. I don't understand why you were so nervous to tell me about this." Cortez huffed.
"I didn't know if you wanted that reputation on the pack or not.. I mean, it's not everyday that this happens." Miguel awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
"Well, by the looks of it, we're not having pups and neither are you so this pack will just have to deal with the reputation of harvesting nothing but old wolves." Cortez smirked.
Sophie couldn't help but smile. That made her a little less upset at Cortez. He hadn't taken his mother's side and dragged her upstairs to procreate. That was good. He also didn't kick them out and disown them. Alex seemed just as relieved as he smiled happily at his new Alpha. Miguel's parents may be disappointed and that wasn't good but Alex would be living under Cortez and Sophie's rule so as long as they approved of him, it didn't really matter what the others thought.
"You going to talk to mom?" Cortez asked.
Miguel pouted. "I don't know. Not yet. Maybe she'll come around and I won't have to say anything."
"So then, who gets to tell the warriors you're gay?" Cortez smugly cocked an eyebrow at his little brother. "Should I run down there or should we just send Alex down there like a little time bomb?"
"Fuck off!" Miguel pushed Cortez out of his way and reached to grab the bags off the ground. "We're putting Alex's stuff away and then we'll go downstairs ourselves."
Alex followed Miguel through the foyer until he suddenly turned, adjusting the bags in his hands as he smiled at Cortez and Sophie. "Thank you, Luna. Thank you, Alpha. My apologies if I cause any trouble within the family."
"What did I say about apologizing?" Sophie playfully scolded. Alex smiled and bowed before rushing to catch up with Miguel.
Cortez silently eyed Sophie as she smiled to herself. His arms crossed over his chest as he opened his mouth to speak. "You talked to Andy, then?"
At the sound of Cortez's voice, Sophie debated whether she wanted to still be mad at him. She decided to stay neutral as she nodded. "Yeah."
"Did she give him up or did you take him?"
"I took him. He was talking about wanting a family and I kinda related to that feeling so..." Sophie sadly dropped her gaze and bit the inside of her lip. "Miguel was also afraid you'd toss him aside if he told you so that's why we kinda just escaped."
"Toss him aside?" Cortex frowned and stared across the foyer as if Miguel was still there. "I would never do that. I don't know why he'd say that. I want him here just as much as he wants to be here."
"That's why I took them." Sophie faintly smiled as she looked up at Cortez. She looked nervous. "I made my first important decision as the Luna of the Destine Moon pack and I don't think I made the wrong decision. That's pretty cool."
Cortez found himself smiling as he stared down at his precious mate. "I think you're pretty cool."
As the air settled around the two, the awkward tension never faded. Neither of them could decide if they were still upset at the other. Of course, they didn't want to be. It was instinctual not to be upset, which was probably a nonexistent problem for humans. That's what bothered Sophie. She was so ready to apologize and forget they ever argued but the rational, human part of her wanted to fix the problem instead of push it aside.
"So, can we, like..." Sophie awkwardly started. "Have an adult conversation about all of this now?"
"I feel like that should be my line." Cortez frowned.
Sophie rolled her eyes and started through the pack house to get to Cortez's office. She collapsed on to his slick black sofa and Cortez took the adjacent spot. They sat facing each other and took a moment to simply stare. There was a silent agreement between them that they wouldn't argue. This was a serious, understanding, conversation. They didn't need to mind link or open their mouth to agree on that.
"I want to start with the seed of this problem." Sophie confidently proposed. "Why did you tell Bruce you weren't going to let me train?"
Cortez took a deep breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked more relaxed than upset, which was a good sign so far. "Because I don't want you to train."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll get hurt. Why should I ever allow you to get hurt?"
"Again with the word allow." Sophie glared. "Please, stop using that word. You will not allow me to do anything. I do not live by your rules. You're not my father."
Cortez sulked, knowing she was right but annoyed that he couldn't counter that argument with anything.
"Is it because I'm small that you feel the need to control me? Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm daft."
"It's not because of your height, Gorgeous. It's because I love you. I don't want to see you hurt. I have, too many times already, and it sucks."
"But I've survived every time. I've survived life threatening situations. Learning how to properly fight for my life isn't going to hurt anything but my muscles."
Cortez eyed Sophie for a moment and she could already tell that the point she tried to make flew clear over his head. "Do you want to train with the warriors?"
"Well, I didn't get the chance to think about it before you decided I wasn't allowed." Sophie retorted.
Cortez rolled his eyes at Sophie's attitude. They agreed not to argue but neither of them could deny how annoyed they were. "Would you want to, Sophie?"
"Yeah. Probably.." She shrugged. "I've been in a couple sticky situations already. I'd like to be able to protect myself."
"You don't need to protect yourself. Myself and this entire pack will protect you."
"That's not the point!" Sophie snapped but when she realized they were getting into argumentative territory, she calmed herself. "I want to be able to protect myself, Cortez. I'm very happy I have all these people behind me but for my own sanity, I'd like to have the power to defend myself."
"Your sanity?"
"Yes." Sophie gulped. "When those rogues cornered me like that, I had nothing. I couldn't come up with a single defensive move or any kind of plan to get myself and Henry out of there. And then they killed him. Do you realize how taxing that has been on my self confidence and overall mental health?"
The new tears pooling in Sophie's eyes pulled angrily at the strings of Cortez's heart. He scooted closer and cupped Sophie's face in his palms as he rubbed her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. No tears fell, since she blinked them away, but she could still feel them waiting to emerge again.
"I didn't know it would mean so much to you." Cortex whispered.
"It doesn't. It's not the training I care about as much as the fact that you didn't even give me a chance." Sophie stared sincerely into Cortez's eyes. "Do you not trust me? Do you really think I'll fuck up that badly? I have enough self doubt, Cortez, I can't have you doubting me too."
"I don't doubt you. Not at all, Sophie. If you trained, I am absolutely certain that you would come out more powerful than ever. You'd be unstoppable." Cortez gently reassured.
Sophie's gaze dropped. "Maybe I could finally be your perfect mate then."
Cortez's eyes and eyebrows narrowed at her muttering and he was quick to lift her head so she was looking at him again. "Why this again? I thought you accepted the fact that we're meant for each other."
Sophie was silent.
"Is this because of what Mrs. Dellawski said?"
Sophie hesitated to answer. "Maybe.." She pouted.
Cortex groaned and got up from the sofa, his footsteps were heavy as he marched around to his desk. "If what she said really bothered you, I'll call her right now so we can clear this up."
Sophie's eyes went wide as she watched Cortez pick up his phone off his desk. Leaping over the back of the couch, Sophie hurried to snatch the phone out of Cortez's hand and hide it behind her back. "Don't be so dramatic, Cortez! She doesn't have to be involved!"
"Why not? She's the one that offended you. We should talk to her." Cortez stated firmly, clearly pissed off but trying not to be.
"I'm not offended, it's just.."
"You're clearly offended!"
"I'm not!" Sophie barked. Cortez's jaw tightened as he fought back from starting another argument. Sophie took his silence as her cue to continue. "I'm not offended, Cortez. I'm just.. Jealous."
"Jealous? Who could you possibly be jealous of?"
Sophie couldn't look him in the eyes as she further explained the root of her shame. "Mrs. Dellawski said that you were good for me. Not the other way around. Which means I must be lacking in some way."
"You're not lacking, Sophie."
"Let me finish." Sophie huffed. Cortez folded his arms over his chest and Sophie leant back against Cortez's desk. "I asked some pack members who they imagined you with before I came along. They all pictured a beautiful warrior that was tall, powerful, and could match you in every way. That must be what Mrs. Dellawski meant. You are able to protect me and coach me through all the things I don't know but I can't do any of that for you. I'm jealous that this warrior mate is better for you than I am."
"This warrior mate, you've made her up?" Cortez softly asked.
Sophie cringed at herself. "Yes."
"Then why are you trying to be like someone that doesn't exist? I don't want her. I want you."
"She's better for you than I am!" Sophie exclaimed as she met Cortez's stare again. "Mates are suppose to challenge each other to make one another stronger. I can't challenge you."
"Well, that's a big fat lie." Cortez snorted a laugh, the sound in his chest causing his crossed arms to slightly bounce. Sophie cocked an eyebrow at him. "You've challenged me from the moment I met you, Sophie. You must be very selective in what you hear because Mrs. Dellawski also said I used to be very childish. Now that I have you, I've been trying to be nothing of a child."
"She said you were a child before you were Alpha. That doesn't count. You were Alpha before you met me." Sophie sulked.
Cortez shook his head and dropped his hands to rest on the desk on either side of Sophie. Their faces were suddenly very, very close. "Even after becoming the Alpha of this pack, I was still very greedy, like a child. I may have learned how to behave but I was still a spoiled brat. And then you came along, and instantly, I realized I couldn't have you. Or, at least, I would have to work to get you. I was no longer greedy because everything I used to want, I didn't anymore. I wanted you and that was it. To be fair, I guess, I can't say I'm completely passed being greedy. I still want to protect you, to a fault. You are bound to get hurt once or twice in the future and it is greedy of me to hide you away for my own selfish wishes, I can admit that. But you're trying to challenge that part of me. You want me to stop being so greedy about where you go and what you do, correct?"
Sophie was awestruck by Cortez's tangent. What he was saying was making sense to her. So, she nodded. "Yeah."
"You're challenging me to become a better me." A playful smirk spread across his face as his eyes bounced around Sophie's face. "And it's working because I never want to say no to you out of my own selfish greed ever again. And you know what else, Gorgeous?"
"What?" She breathed, almost never blinking as she stared into Cortez's pitch black, but dazzlingly handsome, eyes.
"I always thought, when I found my mate, we'd mate, mark each other, and have pups immediately. I mean, why not? I always got what I wanted and if that's what I wanted out of her, she'd be happy to deliver because she's my mate. But then when I met you and you started panicking about sex and pups, I realized none of that matters to me as long as I have you. I mean, hell, I use condoms now. I never imagined I would ever touch a condom in my life." Cortez laughed, prompting Sophie to laugh as well.
"So you do like me as I am? You don't mind that I'm small? You don't mind that I don't want pups? You don't mind that I like my human freedom?" Sophie nibbled on her bottom lip as her green eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Yes, Gorgeous, I like you as you are. Even with all of those things I never thought I'd have to deal with." Cortez chuckled.
Delilah's words re-entered Sophie' head right in that moment. You don't have to challenge him physically. Maybe it's mental. Sophie was beaming with happiness at this point and it was noticeable. It was making Cortez's smile broaden as he stared at her.
"I'm gonna have to take your word because I never knew you to be childish and greedy. I hope you're not just saying this to butter me up." Sophie teased.
Cortez chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not lying, Sophie. You challenge my instincts every single day."
There was a pause while Cortez and Sophie admired each other. Sophie resisted the urge to grab his shirt and kiss him. She didn't know why she resisted, exactly. Maybe because she just wanted to admire him for a moment and not start ripping his clothes off every time they were alone. Although, she would very much enjoy that.
"Can I kiss you now? I've been dying." Cortez asked as he stared at Sophie's lips and licked his own.
"Yes, please." Sophie whispered innocently.
Cortez instantly moaned at that beautifully soft tone in her voice as he leaned in to smack his lips against Sophie's. She gently cupped his face and kissed him back with just as much greed as he was. That's when she realized just how greedy Cortez might've been this whole time. He was always trying to touch her. Always, always, always. Even when he promised to ask first, he always failed to. That must've been the greedy side of him trying to fulfill it's need for more of her.
Sophie figured she might let that type of greed slide. She was greedy to touch Cortez as well. She'd challenge his other habits and instincts and whatnot. For now, the touching could stay. She didn't want to be a hypocrite.
"Oh! Wait, wait, wait!" Sophie blurted as she pulled away from Cortez, who groaned in frustration. She met his eyes again. "Why did you snap at me when I asked about those rogues?"
Cortez went still, his black eyes never blinking as he simply stared back at Sophie. A moment passed before his head dropped and he pulled away from Sophie completely. She watched him with so much curiosity and confusion. He was getting flustered again. That was rare but at least she knew that meant he was afraid to answer. She simply wondered why.
"Uhm.." Cortez hesitated as he ran his hand through his thick black hair. His eyes met Sophie's again as he gulped. "Regarding the rogues.. We're suppose to make the decisions on whether they get set free or get executed. Normally, I would get to make that decision myself but once there is a Luna, I am no longer allowed to decide someone's fate alone."
Sophie took in all that Cortez said and also nervously gulped. Her fingers gripped the desk beneath her. "So you're saying you have them? Are they locked up somewhere?"
"Yes.." Cortez awkwardly answered. "I only snapped at you because I didn't want you to have to make that decision. But since I can't without you, I just wanted to wait until you were ready. Deciding someone's fate is a heavy task. I didn't want you to worry about it while you were dealing with your grandfathers death and the house and everything else."
Sophie nodded, her eyes glancing over as she slipped into thought. Cortez was right. Deciding whether someone lived or died would be a very heavy task. She could understand why he didn't want her to think about it while she was stressed over everything else. That didn't mean he had to snap at her like he did, but she understood.
"What do you usually decide?" Sophie asked.
Cortez grew even more uncomfortable and rigid as he scratched the back of his neck. "Remember how I was talking about being selfish and greedy and childish before you came along?"
Sophie instantly knew what he meant. Before her, he was a lot less considerate. Which probably meant the wolves he locked up got killed a lot more often than they got released. She hoped they deserved it, at least. It was scary to think about, Cortez killing wolves, but she was surprisingly quick to accept it.
What else could she do? This was a werewolf thing. This was a whole different culture. She couldn't tell him he was wrong about something she barely understood.
"You don't have to make the decision, Sophie." Cortez spoke softly, gaining Sophie's attention. The air hung heavy between them. "If you grant me permission, I'll deal with them on my own."
"All you need is my permission?" Sophie asked. Cortez nodded. "Can't you just lie and say I already gave you permission? Who's going to verify it?"
"Nobody. But it's a spiritual binding agreement. If I lie just so I can kill them, the Moon Goddess would find a way to punish me. Not only is it selfish of me to kill them on my own, but they are not my enemies, they are yours. Even if they deserve to die, that decision would be deemed wrong by the Moon Goddess because I made that decision."
Sophie took a deep breath and nodded. That was a lot. The rules dug very deep, diving passed simple tradition and into spiritual truth. Did that mean the Moon Goddess would be upset with her if she didn't make the decision? Sophie wasn't very confident in her ability to make the right one. But yet again, would it be cowardly if she passed it on to Cortez simply because she was scared? She didn't want that.
Cortez wasn't suppose to make Sophie's decisions for her anymore.
"Where are they?" Sophie asked.
Cortez seemed intrigued by her question. She asked as if she were ready to go right now. "They're.. In our dungeon."
"You have a dungeon?" Sophie cocked an eyebrow at Cortez.
"Well.. Yeah. Every pack does."
"What about Alpha Gabriel? What did you do with him? If he was still free, I assume he would've attacked by now."
Cortez nervously scratched the back of his neck. "I... killed him myself." He looked at Sophie to see her slightly tense up but attempt to hide it. "I don't really remember it all. I was in a blind rage. I killed him, killed Lee, and threatened the rest of the Crystal Lake pack to never intervene with us again."
"Who's Lee?" Sophie blinked.
Cortez awkwardly shifted in place again. He didn't like having this conversation. He didn't want to relive all of this again and introduce Sophie to all the chaos she was lucky enough to never experience, consciously, at least. She was oblivious to these things. She was blissfully ignorant, and for her own good, he wanted her to stay like that. Sophie didn't deserve to be exposed to all of this chaos.
"Lee confronted me because he was upset that you'd be the new Luna of this pack. He thought you were too small and weak, a child. I threatened him to find another pack when he got too bold and he did.. Again, Sophie, I'm sorry I put you in these kind of situations." Cortez confessed.
Sophie's gaze dropped as she gulped. She stared at her hands as she picked at her nails. It was strange to her that she didn't know about any of this all this time. Why was Cortez keeping her in the dark all the time? To protect her? How could she possibly be safe in a world she was completely unfamiliar with? She couldn't protect herself like this. She'd die in a battle she didn't even know she was fighting if this secrecy continued. Training, and honesty, was the best solution here.
"I want to see them. The rogues. Show me the way." Sophie said as she hopped off the desk and started through Cortez's office.
Cortez leaped into action, surprised by Sophie's quick decision. He took her hand and led her through the woods of their territory until they ran into a small square building that was built like an old mausoleum. Sophie figured it wasn't though, otherwise all the rogues would be dead and locked up here, which freaked her out. It was almost completely covered in veins and moss. And one of the warriors sat outside of it as he swung a dagger around in boredom.
"Alpha. Luna." The warrior jumped up at their sudden presence and offered a polite bow.
Sophie did so back but Cortez continued forward, pulling open the big brick door. Sophie held tightly on to Cortez's arm as he started down a dark flight of cement stairs. They descended into the ground but it didn't get colder, like she expected. It was actually quite hot by the time they reached the bottom. Cortez pushed open the second brick door and Sophie looked into the dungeon in awe.
In front of them was a long, very narrow hallway that was completely covered in brick. Torches were hung on the wall every couple spaces and between them were metal cell doors. The cells were small, dirty, some partially flooded with water. The smell was horrid. It was hard to tell but it smelt like dead frogs, sweaty wolves, and moldy wood. Sophie could hardly breathe as they walked through the dungeon.
Finally, Cortez stopped between two small cells towards the end of the hall and Sophie looked to see one familiar rogue to her right and one in another cell to her left. Even though it was incredibly hot with so many torches down here, her body ran cold at the sight of them. Both rogues turned to look at who had approached and, when their eyes locked with Sophie's, all the blood drained from their faces.
Everything rushed back to Sophie in a huge wave of pure pain and agony. She remembered their smell, them grabbing her, threatening her, threatening to hurt her grandfather, and then throwing those grenades and running away like cowards. She remembers looking up at her burning house after being thrown into the street by the explosion. She remembered screaming for her grandfather. The pain, the tears, the stress, it all came back at once.
Even the pain of seeing that one empty seat at the dinner table with Cortez's family hit her once again. And when she was getting ready for the mate ceremony and had no grandfather to walk her down the none existent isle. He didn't get to be there with her for such an important moment in her life. And her graduation ceremony. He wouldn't be there to see it. He wouldn't be here to see anything. These two rogues made sure of it.
They killed her grandfather. They killed Henry. They took her last family member away from her.
Cortez watched a tear fell silently down Sophie's cheek but he didn't do anything. She was as stiff as a board. It wasn't until a flash of gold passed through her eyes that he realized how she felt. She wasn't sad, like her stray tear would imply. She was burning with pure anger. There was so much anger that her hand was beginning to shake in his.
"Why did you do it?" Sophie asked the rogues, her voice low and wavering as she held back all her whirling emotions.
Both rogues looked towards Cortez, fearlessly and ruthlessly. They didn't fear him, but, only because they knew it was Sophie who would be deciding their fate. It didn't matter what they said to him. Cortez would simply have to take it and do nothing until Sophie came along and made her decision.
"Alpha Cortez deserves to be taken down a peg. He's a big headed, haughty, tyrant, who feels no remorse." One of the rogues spat, their eyes still planted on Cortez. He returned their anger and spite ten times as hard.
"So, you attempted to kill me?" Sophie snapped, gaining the attention of all three men. "Whatever beef you shitheads have with Cortez has nothing to do with me. It is ignorant, foolish, and reckless of you to target something that correlates with your foe, instead of going for your enemy."
Both rogues gulped, already knowing that is where they had screwed up. It was easier, but the outcome was less guaranteed. They simply hoped Sophie wouldn't have considered that part. Cortez was amazed by the words falling off Sophie's tongue with venom woven into every syllable she spoke.
"For your foolishness alone, I think you deserve to die. But, because you killed my last living family member for your selfish conquests for vengeance, I think you deserve a slow, painful death." Sophie admitted coldly.
"Luna!" One rogue begged as he crawled an inch closer to the metal bars.
Before he could get another word out or even a step closer, Sophie loudly growled at him, basically threatening him to speak another sentence. Even Cortez flinched at the amount of anger in her growl. But, disturbingly enough, he was turned on. Sophie was sexy when she was angry.
"Kill them." Sophie demanded lowly before turning on her heels and stomping through the dungeon again.
"Are you sure, Gorgeous?" Cortez called after his mate with a smile on his face.
"Slow and painful, snookums." Sophie flashed a quick evil smirk as she sauntered down the hallway of the dungeon.
Sophie could hear the rogues yell in protest and beg for forgiveness but she blocked out their voices. She had to get out of there before she killed them herself. She was overflowing with anger. Her wolf was begging to be set free and take control with this new level of anger but she knew not to let her out. If she did, she really wouldn't hesitate to kill them.
Cortez watched his mate disappear as he swooned. He was very proud of her. She had made her decision and in his opinion, they deserved to die. They took away more of Sophie's life than they deserved to. They had destroyed her even more psychologically. She would never be the same thanks to what they had done to her.
"Fuck, I love her so much." Cortez declared as he turned to the cells, both rogues up against the metal bars with eyes full of desperation. He mind linked Kano and Tyree to help with this fun execution. "Should we begin, boys? I sure think so. You've been in these cells a lot longer than I planned."
{ WHOOOOO!!!!
And that ends Volume One! 40 chapters! Wow! Time to find some more trouble to get into and dive into the problems I left behind..
How did everyone enjoy Volume One of Little Miss Luna? Was it good? Did you have fun reading this little adventure? Don't worry, even if you didn't have fun, because it's gonna go OFF in Volume Two.
Let's have some more fun, shall we?!? }