Bound to a Werewolf

Chapter 3: Bound by the Pack

SOPHIA'S POV

The pack’s territory felt different from the forest we had traveled through. The air was thick with the scent of wolves—musky, earthy, and wild—and the ground beneath my boots was packed and worn by countless paws. A low growl sounded from somewhere in the distance, and I could feel the eyes of wolves on us as we entered their territory.

Luther didn’t say a word as he led me toward the heart of the pack's camp. The trees parted to reveal a clearing, a large open space where wolves were either lounging, training, or conversing in low growls. It was a strange, dangerous sort of peace, and I felt the tension in the air as soon as we crossed the boundary.

The wolves here were big, their eyes sharp with suspicion as they sized me up, my every move under scrutiny. I could already feel their distrust seeping into the air, like a thick fog that pressed against my skin.

I wasn’t one of them.

The realization was a sharp sting in my chest.

It wasn’t just about fitting in with them—it was about Drake. He was imprisoned in the Night Infernal Pack, and every step I took deeper into their world made me feel further from the mission that burned in my chest. I was here to free him. I couldn’t afford distractions, not even Luther’s protective gestures or the pack’s disdain.

I had to stay focused.

Luther kept walking ahead, his strides confident, his presence commanding. I followed, trying to steady my breath. I couldn’t show fear—not in front of them, not in front of him. But the closer we got to the heart of the pack, the more exposed I felt.

I wasn’t a wolf.

I was something else—something that didn’t belong.

“Luther,” one of the pack members, a large, scarred male, stepped forward from the group that had gathered around the clearing. His eyes immediately darted to me, lingering on my form with something between suspicion and disdain.

“You brought her here?” the wolf growled, his voice rough with authority.

Luther didn’t flinch. “Sophia is under my protection.”

I straightened at his words, though I didn’t fully believe them. Protection. He didn’t owe me anything. I wasn’t a wolf. I wasn’t like them.

The other pack members were silent for a moment, their eyes flicking between me and Luther. One by one, they looked me over, but none of them said a word.

Then, a voice—a younger male, maybe in his twenties—spoke up. “She’s not a wolf.”

I could hear the challenge in his tone, the way he said it like it was a declaration of truth. “She can’t shift. She doesn’t even have the scent of a true wolf.”

Luther's jaw tightened at the words, but he kept his calm. “I vouch for her.”

But the damage had already been done.

A ripple of murmurs spread through the group. I could feel the weight of their doubt pressing down on me like a physical force, suffocating. The younger wolf took a step closer, his eyes narrowed with contempt.

“She’s a Sigbin, isn’t she?” His voice was low, almost a whisper, but it was clear enough.

I froze. The word stung more than I’d expected, but it wasn’t new. The Sigbin was a term most wolves used to describe creatures like me—creatures that were neither fully wolf nor fully human, born to serve but not to lead. It was a bitter truth I had learned to live with.

But hearing it spoken aloud like that... it made me feel more alien than I had in years.

I had to push it down. I couldn't afford to be weak here. Not when Drake’s fate was hanging in the balance.

I was here for him. Not to prove myself to them.

I couldn’t afford to be distracted by their judgment. I wasn’t here to make friends, and I didn’t need their acceptance. What I needed was to free Drake.

So I breathed in deeply, forcing my mind to focus on my mission. Save Drake. That’s all that matters. Everything else is just noise. I don’t belong here, and it doesn’t matter.

I had been trained to obey. To serve. To follow without question.

And that’s what I would do. My loyalty wasn’t to these wolves. It was to Drake.

“Enough, Jax,” Luther said, his voice cold, snapping me from my thoughts. “She’s with me. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with me.”

Jax didn’t back down, though. “You’re letting a Sigbin into the heart of our pack? What happens when she betrays us? What happens when she shows her true nature?”

I felt Luther’s gaze on me before he answered. His eyes softened, just a fraction. “She has no reason to betray us. If you don’t trust me, then don’t trust her. But don’t question her loyalty when you know nothing of her.”

The tension in the air thickened, and for a long moment, no one moved. The pack members were watching, waiting for something—maybe for me to say something, to show them I was worth trusting. But I couldn’t. I had no words that would make them see me as more than a Sigbin, more than a servant.

Luther’s eyes locked with mine, and I saw the unspoken words there. He was offering me a lifeline, trying to shield me from their judgment. But it felt too fragile, like it might shatter the moment I moved wrong.

Another wolf, a female with long, silver fur, stepped forward then, her eyes studying me with curiosity rather than disdain. “Let her speak for herself. You’re not the only one who matters here, Luther.” She turned to me, her tone soft but firm. “What are you really, Sophia?”

I swallowed, trying to steady the emotions rising in my chest. The weight of her gaze felt like it was pulling me apart. She wasn’t looking at me like I was a servant. She was looking at me like a potential ally. Or maybe an enemy.

“I’m nothing more than a servant,” I said flatly, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice. “I don’t belong here.”

The words hung in the air for a moment, and I could see a flicker of understanding pass through the silver-furred female’s eyes. But before she could say anything more, another voice broke the silence.

“You may not belong here,” Jax said, his tone mocking, “but you should be able to shift, shouldn’t you?”

I stiffened at the challenge, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. “I’m not a wolf. I can’t shift.”

The words burned like acid in my throat. There it was again—the truth of my existence, something that would never change, no matter how many times I tried to hide it.

Jax scoffed, his gaze filled with disdain. “Then you’re just a liability. You’ll never be one of us.”

I felt the sting of those words more than I expected, and the impulse to fight back surged through me. I had always fought for my place, for my worth. But here, in this pack, where wolves lived by strength and loyalty, I was nothing but a shadow.

Luther was standing beside me now, a solid presence that somehow steadied me. His hand brushed against my arm, a silent gesture of reassurance.

“You’re wrong,” Luther said, his voice cold and hard. “Sophia is here to stay.”

A low murmur passed through the pack members, but Luther stood firm. The younger male, Jax, opened his mouth to protest, but Luther cut him off. “If anyone has a problem with that, they can take it up with me.”

Silence settled over the group, the tension crackling in the air. I didn’t know if they truly accepted me or if they were just deferring to Luther’s authority, but for now, they remained silent.

I felt like a stranger in their midst. Not a wolf. Not a human. A creature that didn’t belong.

But Luther’s hand on my arm—warm, steady—was the only thing holding me together in that moment.

---

The night stretched on, and the air grew colder. The wolves began to settle, retreating to their dens or gathering around the fire. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was still being watched, that every movement I made was being analyzed, judged.

And in the back of my mind, Drake’s face lingered.

The Night Infernal Pack had taken him, imprisoned him for reasons I still didn’t fully understand. I had to save him. I couldn’t let him rot here. My master, the man who had raised me—who had been my whole world for as long as I could remember—was trapped in a cage of his own making, and it was my mission to free him.

Everything here—the tension, the distrust, the wolves—was secondary. It was all just a temporary obstacle. I couldn’t afford to be distracted.

This was my purpose. This was my only mission.

I wasn’t here to be a wolf. I wasn’t here to be accepted. I was here to obey, to do what was necessary, to be the servant I had always been.

That’s who I was. That’s what I was meant to be.

Luther turned to me when the night was still and the pack had begun to rest.

“We’ll have to work harder to earn their trust,” he said, his voice low.

“I’m not worried about that,” I said, more to myself than to him. “I don’t belong here.”

Luther studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable.

“You’re my other half, Sophia,” he said softly. “You’re something more. And whether you see it or not, they’ll see it eventually, too.”

I wanted to believe him. But I couldn’t. It didn’t matter what they saw, or what Luther thought. The only thing that mattered was Drake.

Tomorrow would bring more challenges.

But for tonight, I simply wanted to breathe.