Chapter 6: Chains and Awakening
1251 Words
Sofia woke to the taste of metal and fear.
Her head throbbed, a dull pounding that matched the rhythm of her heartbeat. The air smelled damp and earthy, like an old basement mixed with pine. Her wrists were bound behind her back with thick zip ties that dug into her skin. When she tried to move, cold concrete scraped against her bare legs.
The van. The cloth over her mouth. The rogue with the scar.
Panic surged through her as memory slammed back. She twisted sharply, eyes darting around the dim room. A single hanging bulb swayed overhead, casting long shadows across wooden crates and metal shelves. No windows. One heavy metal door.
And the most terrifying thing — the small, steady spark inside her belly was still there. Faint but fighting.
“Thank the Goddess,” she breathed, tears stinging her eyes. Her baby was alive.
Heavy footsteps approached from the other side of the door. Sofia forced herself into a sitting position, back against the wall, trying to look less terrified than she felt. The door creaked open.
The rogue with the scar stepped in first, followed by two others. All three carried the wild, uncontrolled scent of rogue wolves — no pack loyalty, just hunger and survival.
“Well, well,” Scarface drawled, crouching in front of her. “Look who’s awake. Sofia or should I call you Sofia Blackwood?”
She kept her face blank even as her stomach dropped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed, low and ugly. “Cute. The Alpha rejects you publicly, and you think no one notices? Word travels fast in the shadows, little omega. Especially when a fated mate suddenly vanishes while pregnant.”
One of the other rogues — a skinny man with a tattoo crawling up his neck — licked his lips. “Boss says the pup might be valuable. True Alpha blood is rare. Even from a wolf-less mother.”
Sofia’s blood ran cold. They knew about the baby.
She pulled on the zip ties instinctively, and that familiar warmth in her chest flared hot. For a second, the ropes felt looser. The spark pushed outward like invisible hands pressing against the air.
Scarface narrowed his eyes. “What’s that? You’re supposed to be broken. Wolf-less. That’s why he threw you away, right?”
Sofia lifted her chin, channeling every ounce of defiance she had left. “If you touch my child, I will kill you. Slowly.”
The three men laughed, but there was a hint of unease in their eyes now.
Scarface stood up. “Feisty. The buyer will like that. We’re just the delivery boys. Someone with deep pockets wants that pup. And if the mother comes with some hidden power… even better.”
He stepped closer and grabbed her jaw roughly, forcing her to look at him. “Make this easy. Tell us everything you know about Blackwood’s weaknesses. In return, we might let you live after the birth.”
Sofia spat in his face.
He slapped her hard enough that her head snapped sideways. Pain exploded across her cheek, but the spark inside her roared in response. Something deep within her chest cracked open — like a dam breaking after years of pressure.
Power flooded her veins.
The bulb overhead shattered. Darkness swallowed the room except for the faint glow coming from her. Her eyes were glowing soft gold.
The rogues stumbled back.
“What the hell—”
Sofia didn’t think. She just pushed.
An invisible wave exploded outward from her body. The two weaker rogues slammed against the wall like ragdolls. Scarface managed to stay on his feet but clutched his head, blood trickling from his nose.
“Impossible,” he snarled. “You’re supposed to be nothing!”
Sofia felt the zip ties snap behind her back. She didn’t know how — she just knew the power listened when she was protecting her child. She scrambled to her feet, legs shaky but determined.
The door was still open.
She ran.
The hallway beyond was narrow and poorly lit. Shouts echoed behind her as the rogues recovered. She rounded a corner and nearly collided with a fourth man guarding the exit. He swung at her, but she ducked on pure instinct and drove her knee upward with surprising strength.
He crumpled.
She burst through the exit door into the cool night air. They were in some kind of abandoned warehouse district on the edge of Silverhaven. Rain had started falling, slicking the cracked pavement.
Freedom was so close.
Until headlights flooded the area.
Two black SUVs screeched to a stop, cutting off her escape route. Sofia froze, heart in her throat. More of them?
The passenger door of the lead vehicle opened.
A tall, familiar figure stepped out into the rain.
Not Julian.
Marcus. Julian’s Beta.
He looked exactly as she remembered — broad, serious, with a scar through his left eyebrow. His eyes widened when they landed on her.
“Sofia?”
Behind her, the rogues spilled out of the warehouse, snarling. The situation had just gone from bad to catastrophic.
Marcus’s expression hardened. He barked orders to the men behind him. “Secure the girl. Take down the rogues. Alive if possible.”
Chaos erupted.
Wolves began shifting all around her. Growls tore through the rainy night. Sofia backed away, power still crackling under her skin, unsure who was the bigger threat.
Marcus approached slowly, hands raised. “Sofia, it’s okay. Julian sent us to find you. We’ve been tracking rogue activity near the city. We didn’t know it was you until now.”
She laughed bitterly, rain mixing with tears on her face. “Tell your Alpha I don’t need his help. I don’t want anything from him.”
A rogue wolf leaped toward her from the side. Before Marcus could react, Sofia threw her hands out on instinct. The wolf yelped as an invisible force hurled it backward into a wall.
Marcus stared at her in open shock. “You… you have power.”
The fight raged around them — Blackwood wolves versus rogues. Sofia stood in the middle of it, drenched, exhausted, and running on pure adrenaline and maternal fury.
Marcus stepped closer. “Come with us. At least until we make sure you’re safe. The rogues mentioned a buyer. This isn’t over.”
Sofia hesitated. Every instinct screamed not to trust anyone connected to Julian. But she was pregnant, alone, and these men clearly had more resources than she did right now.
A sharp pain lanced through her abdomen — not the power, but something more concerning.
She gasped, doubling over slightly.
Marcus was at her side instantly, supporting her elbow. “You’re hurt. Let us help. For the baby’s sake.”
She looked up at him through the rain, eyes blazing with defiance even as her body betrayed her.
“Fine,” she whispered. “But this changes nothing. I’m not going back to him.”
Marcus nodded once, but his expression was troubled. He helped her toward one of the SUVs as his men finished subduing the last rogue.
As they drove away from the warehouse, Sofia clutched her stomach and stared out the tinted window. The city lights blurred past.
She had escaped one cage tonight, only to step closer to another.
Because somewhere out there, Julian Blackwood would soon learn the truth.
And when he did, the slow burn of his regret was only just beginning.
- Writer
