Chapter 12: Shattered Glass and Doubts
1238 Words
The bedroom plunged into darkness as the last shards of glass tinkled onto the floor. Sofia stood in the middle of the chaos, chest heaving, hands glowing with that strange golden light. Her power didn’t feel like a gift right now. It felt like a storm she couldn’t control — wild, angry, and ready to tear everything apart.
Lila burst through the door seconds later, flipping on the hallway light. “Sofia! What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
Sofia blinked, trying to pull the energy back inside. The glow faded from her hands, but the damage remained — broken bulbs, cracked mirror, and glass scattered like fallen stars across the carpet.
“I’m… fine,” she lied, voice shaking. She showed Lila the photo on her phone. “Valeria gave me this. Julian with his hand on her shoulder. Thirty minutes ago.”
Lila took the phone, eyes narrowing as she studied the image. “This looks photoshopped. Or at least conveniently timed. That woman is playing games with your head.”
“Maybe,” Sofia whispered. But the doubt had already sunk its claws in deep. The mate bond was screaming at her to trust Julian, to believe he was different now. Her heart, however, remembered every humiliating second under the full moon.
She sank onto the edge of the bed, careful to avoid the glass. “I can’t do this, Lila. I can’t keep letting him pull me back in. Every time I start to soften, something reminds me why I left.”
Lila sat beside her, brushing glass away with her foot. “Then don’t soften. Be smart. Protect your baby first. Everything else comes after.” She squeezed Sofia’s hand. “You’re not that same girl who walked away crying anymore. You’re turning into something stronger. I’ve seen it.”
Sofia managed a weak smile. “I broke the lights without touching them.”
“Exactly,” Lila said with a small grin. “Badass glowing mama. Own it.”
A knock sounded on the open door. One of the guards — a young wolf named Theo — stood there, looking nervous. “Miss Sofia? Alpha Julian is on the line. He wants to speak with you.”
Sofia’s stomach twisted. She took the phone from Theo and waited until he left.
“Julian.”
His voice came through, rough with exhaustion and concern. “Sofia. Marcus told me there was some kind of power surge at the house. Are you alright? Is the baby okay?”
“The baby’s fine,” she said flatly. “But your precious Valeria decided to show me a lovely photo of the two of you. Real cozy.”
Silence stretched on the other end.
“Sofia, listen to me,” Julian said carefully. “I saw Valeria for less than two minutes. She was reporting on border security. I touched her shoulder to move her out of the way of incoming wolves. That’s it. Nothing more.”
“It looked like more,” she replied, hating how small her voice sounded.
Julian growled low. “She’s manipulating you. The traitor is using her jealousy against us. I’m coming back tonight. I shouldn’t have left you there with her.”
“No,” Sofia said suddenly. “Stay there and fix your pack. I need space, Julian. Real space. Not your version of protection that still includes your ex-Luna under the same roof.”
She could almost hear him clenching his jaw. “You’re not safe alone.”
“I’m not alone. I have Lila. And I have this… whatever power is inside me. It’s getting stronger every time I get angry. Maybe that’s what I need right now.”
Another heavy pause.
“I’m sorry,” Julian said quietly. The words sounded like they cost him. “For everything. For the ceremony. For not seeing you clearly. For making you doubt me now when I’m trying to prove I’ve changed.”
Sofia closed her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks. The mate bond tugged painfully, wanting her to forgive, to run to him. But she held firm.
“Actions, Julian. Not words. I need actions.”
“I’ll send Valeria away tonight,” he promised. “And I’ll be back by morning. We’ll talk properly. No guards. No interruptions. Just us.”
She didn’t agree. She simply ended the call.
Lila found her a new room on the other side of the house. They swept up the glass together in silence, then Lila helped her settle into the fresh bed.
“You should rest,” Lila said gently. “Baby needs it. And you’ve had enough drama for one day.”
But rest didn’t come easy.
Sofia lay awake long after Lila left, staring at the ceiling. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that photo. Julian’s hand on Valeria’s shoulder. The way Valeria had smirked when delivering it.
Her power stirred restlessly inside her chest, like it was feeding on her emotions. She placed both hands on her belly and whispered to her son.
“I won’t let anyone use you as a weapon. Not Julian. Not his enemies. Not even me.”
Sometime after midnight, a strange calm settled over the house. Too calm.
Sofia sat up, senses suddenly sharp. The new warmth in her chest flared into a warning. She slipped out of bed and crept to the window.
Outside, in the garden shadows, several dark figures moved silently toward the house. Not rogues this time. These moved with military precision — trained wolves.
One of them looked up directly at her window. His eyes glowed blood red.
Before she could react, the power inside her exploded outward in a protective wave. Every light in the house flared blindingly bright for a second, then died completely.
Alarms started blaring.
Shouts erupted downstairs. Gunshots — or were they tranquilizer darts? — cracked through the night.
Sofia grabbed a robe and rushed into the hallway, heart pounding. She met Lila coming out of her room, eyes wide with fear.
“What’s happening?” Lila whispered.
“Stay behind me,” Sofia ordered, surprised at the authority in her own voice.
They crept toward the stairs. Below, the guards were fighting hand-to-hand with the intruders. One of the attackers broke through and charged up the stairs straight toward them.
Sofia didn’t think. She thrust her hands forward.
An invisible force slammed into the man, lifting him off his feet and hurling him backward down the stairs. He crashed into two more attackers.
Lila gasped. “Holy s**t, Sofia…”
But there were more coming. Too many.
A familiar voice shouted from outside — Marcus? No. He had gone with Julian.
Then she heard it. A cold, mocking laugh echoing through the chaos.
Valeria’s laugh.
Sofia’s blood ran cold as the warrior woman appeared at the bottom of the stairs, flanked by two masked intruders who clearly weren’t fighting against her.
“Time to end this little reunion,” Valeria called up, eyes gleaming with triumph. “The Alpha doesn’t need a weak queen when he can have a real one. Hand over the child, Sofia. Or I’ll take him myself.”
Sofia stepped forward, power crackling around her like golden lightning.
“You’ll have to go through me first.”
The betrayal had finally shown its face.
And the night was only just beginning.
- Writer
