Chapter 5: Whispers in the Steam
1411 Words
Sofia’s hands shook as she frothed milk the next morning, the stainless steel pitcher rattling against the espresso machine. The night’s fear still clung to her like damp fog. That rogue’s amber eyes haunted her every blink. She kept glancing toward the café’s large front windows, half-expecting to see him standing there, smiling that predatory smile.
“Easy on the foam, sweetheart,” Mrs. Hargrove called from behind the counter. “You’re doing great for your second day, but the customers want lattes, not milkshakes.”
Sofia forced a bright smile. “Sorry. Still getting used to the machine.”
The truth was simpler and more terrifying. She felt everything now. The hiss of steam sounded like a waterfall. She could hear the couple in the corner arguing about their mortgage in hushed voices. She could smell the exact moment the cinnamon rolls in the back oven went from perfect to slightly overdone. And underneath it all, that warm spark in her chest pulsed like a second heartbeat—stronger each day.
It both comforted and scared her.
During her short break, she slipped into the tiny staff bathroom and locked the door. Leaning over the sink, she stared at her reflection. Her eyes looked brighter than usual, almost glowing in the harsh fluorescent light. She placed both hands on her still-flat stomach.
“You’re changing me already, aren’t you?” she whispered. “I just hope I’m strong enough for whatever comes.”
A sharp knock made her jump.
“Sofia? You okay in there?” Lila’s voice, warm and concerned.
She opened the door. Lila stood there in her scrubs, holding two iced coffees like peace offerings. “I had a short shift and thought I’d check on my new favorite neighbor. You look like you didn’t sleep.”
They settled at a small table near the back. The morning rush had died down, giving Sofia twenty precious minutes.
“I saw someone last night,” Sofia admitted quietly, stirring her drink without drinking it. “Outside my window. He… didn’t feel safe.”
Lila’s eyebrows drew together. “Did you call the police?”
Sofia shook her head. “He was gone by the time I looked again. Probably just my imagination. New city jitters.”
Even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. That man had been real. And he had been looking for her.
Lila reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Listen, I get it. Starting over is hard. But you’re not alone anymore. I’ve got a friend who’s a security guy. I can ask him to keep an eye on our building for a few nights. No charge.”
The kindness almost broke Sofia. Tears pricked her eyes. “Thank you. Really.”
They talked until Sofia’s break ended—about safe prenatal exercises, which foods helped with nausea, and silly baby name ideas that made Sofia laugh despite everything. Lila left with a promise to bring over some soup after her next shift.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of orders, book shelving, and forced smiles. By closing time, Sofia’s feet were swollen and her lower back ached, but she had earned seventy-eight dollars in tips. Every cent felt like victory.
She walked home slowly as the sun dipped low, painting the streets in amber and rose. The city felt less overwhelming today. Almost beautiful. She even stopped at a small park to sit on a bench and watch children playing on the swings. One little boy with dark hair ran past, laughing, and her heart clenched.
Would her son look like Julian?
The thought brought equal parts warmth and rage. She rubbed her stomach gently. “You’ll never be defined by him,” she promised softly. “You’ll be better.”
That night, after a simple dinner of soup and crackers with Lila, Sofia finally slept deeply for the first time since the rejection. No dreams of howling wolves. No feeling of being watched.
Until 2:17 a.m.
She woke with a gasp, sitting straight up in bed. The spark in her chest roared to life, burning hot. Her senses exploded outward. She could hear footsteps on the fire escape outside her window—too quiet for a normal human. Slow. Deliberate.
He was back.
Sofia moved without thinking. She grabbed the kitchen knife from under her pillow and crept to the window. Peeking through a tiny gap in the curtains, she saw him.
The rogue stood on the metal landing one floor below, head tilted as if listening. Tall, wiry, with a scar running down one cheek. His eyes glowed faintly amber in the darkness. He wasn’t just passing through. He was hunting.
Her hand tightened on the knife.
Suddenly, the warmth inside her surged like a tidal wave. Time seemed to slow. She could see the individual threads of power flickering around the man—wild, chaotic energy compared to the steady strength she now felt blooming in herself.
Without meaning to, she pushed back.
The rogue staggered on the fire escape, clutching his head as if struck by an invisible force. He snarled, looking straight up at her window.
Sofia’s breath caught. Their eyes locked again.
For one electric second, she felt his confusion. His hunger. His recognition that she was more than just a rejected omega.
Then he grinned, showing too many teeth.
“Little wolf-less b***h has teeth after all,” he muttered, voice carrying impossibly clearly to her enhanced ears. “The boss will love this.”
He leaped off the fire escape and disappeared into the alley.
Sofia stumbled back from the window, heart hammering. The power rush left her dizzy and drained. She sank onto the edge of her bed, staring at her trembling hands.
What was happening to her?
She had no wolf. Julian had made that very clear in front of the entire pack. Yet something was waking up inside her—something that scared even a rogue.
She stayed awake until sunrise, knife in hand, mind racing. She needed to be more careful. Get better locks. Maybe find a different apartment. But moving cost money she didn’t have yet.
The next three days blurred into a pattern of survival.
Mornings at the café, learning to smile through bone-deep exhaustion. Afternoons studying free prenatal guides on the library computers. Evenings with Lila, who slowly became the sister she never had. She hid her new abilities carefully—never mentioning the heightened senses or the strange push of energy that had scared off the rogue.
But the rogue wasn’t gone.
She caught his scent twice—once near the park and once outside the café after closing. He was watching. Waiting. And he wasn’t alone anymore. She could smell two others with him now.
By the end of the week, Sofia had saved enough for a deadbolt and a cheap security camera she installed herself with Lila’s help. She told her friend it was just pregnancy paranoia. Lila didn’t fully believe her but didn’t push.
Then came the ultrasound appointment Lila had helped her get through a sliding-scale clinic.
Sofia lay on the table, gel cold on her belly, as the technician moved the wand. The woman’s face softened into a smile.
“There we go. Strong heartbeat. And… would you like to know the gender? It’s still early but I can tell pretty clearly.”
Sofia nodded, tears already forming.
“It’s a boy.”
A boy.
Julian’s son. The potential True Alpha heir he had thrown away along with her.
Joy and grief crashed through her at the same time. She left the clinic clutching the grainy black-and-white photo like a treasure, smiling through tears as she walked home.
She was so wrapped up in the moment that she didn’t notice the black van until it was too late.
It pulled up beside her on the quiet side street two blocks from her apartment. The side door slid open. Two men jumped out—definitely not human.
The rogue with the scar smiled from inside the van.
“Hello again, Sofia Laurent. Or should I say… Blackwood’s rejected mate?”
Sofia turned to run, the spark inside her flaring wildly, but a cloth pressed over her mouth from behind. Sweet, chemical smell flooded her senses.
As darkness pulled her under, one desperate thought echoed through her mind:
Not my baby. Please, not my baby…
- Writer
