THE ALPHA'S DIVORCED BRIDE, HIS REGRET

Chapter 4

The tension in Café Luna was suffocating. Three Blackstone brothers faced off while Sophia stood frozen in the center of their triangle of conflict. Victoria clung to Alexander's arm, her perfect face twisted with rage.

"This is ridiculous," Victoria spat. "She's nobody. Just kill her and be done with it."

Alexander's head snapped toward her. "What?"

"She's carrying another Alpha's child. It's a threat to your leadership. Pack law allows—"

"I know what pack law allows," Alexander cut her off, his voice dangerous.

Lucas's wolves tensed, ready to attack at his signal. Nathan watched everything with amused interest, like it was a show arranged for his entertainment.

"Everyone out," Lucas commanded. "Except family."

"I'm not leaving," Victoria insisted.

"You're not family," all three brothers said in unison.

Victoria's face went red. "Alexander—"

"Go," he said without looking at her. "Wait in the car."

She stormed out, but not before shooting Sophia a venomous look that promised retribution.

The humans in the café had already fled, sensing danger. Lucas's wolves positioned themselves at the exits. Now it was just the four of them.

"Sit," Lucas said, though it wasn't really a request. "All of us. We're going to handle this like civilized people."

"Since when are you civilized?" Alexander muttered but took a seat.

They formed an awkward square—Sophia and Lucas on one side, Alexander and Nathan on the other.

"Start talking," Alexander demanded, looking at Lucas. "Where have you been?"

"Building a life away from your lies," Lucas replied coldly. "Did you think I'd stay gone forever?"

"You were banished—"

"I was framed. That dead girl, Marcus's sister? Nathan killed her."

Nathan laughed. "Prove it."

"I don't need to. We all know the truth here." Lucas turned to Sophia. "Including why you really married him, Alexander. Needed a Luna with the right connections after Father threatened to remove you as heir, didn't you?"

Sophia looked at Alexander, seeing him clearly for the first time. "Is that true?"

Alexander's jaw clenched. "It was more complicated than that."

"No, it wasn't," Nathan interjected cheerfully. "Father gave him an ultimatum. Marry someone with strong pack connections or lose his position. You were perfect—beta bloodline, father with business holdings, and desperate enough for love to never question the arrangement."

Each word was a dagger. Sophia had suspected, but hearing it confirmed...

"I grew to care for you," Alexander said quietly.

"When?" Sophia demanded. "When you were sleeping with my stepsister? When you were telling her our marriage was a joke?"

"That was—"

"The truth," Lucas finished. "Stop lying to her. For once in your life, stop lying."

Alexander's composure finally cracked. "Fine! Yes, it was arranged. Yes, I resented it. But seeing you with him—" he pointed at Lucas, "—it's driving me insane. You were mine."

"I was never yours," Sophia said firmly. "I was your possession. There's a difference."

"And now you're his?" Alexander's eyes flashed gold. "You don't even know him."

"I know enough."

"Do you? Do you know he's building an army to take over the pack? That he's planning to challenge me?"

Sophia looked at Lucas, who didn't deny it.

"Yes," Lucas said simply. "I'm taking back what was stolen from me."

"And Sophia? Is she part of your revenge plan too?"

Lucas's hand found Sophia's under the table. "That night at the hotel, I didn't know who she was. I didn't know she was your ex-wife until an hour ago."

"Convenient," Alexander said bitterly.

"But not unwelcome," Lucas continued. "She's carrying my child. That makes her mine to protect."

"She's not property to be claimed!" Sophia pulled her hand away from Lucas, glaring at all three brothers. "I'm a person. With my own choices."

"Then choose," Nathan said, leaning forward with interest. "Who do you want protecting you and the baby?"

"Why do I need protection at all?"

The brothers exchanged looks.

"Because," Alexander said slowly, "a Blackstone heir changes everything. The pack will see it as either a blessing or a threat. Other packs will try to use you for leverage. Rogues will see you as a target."

"Not to mention Victoria," Nathan added. "She's not going to let this go."

As if summoned by her name, Sophia's phone buzzed. A text from Victoria: "You think you've won? I'll kill you and that bastard child before I let you take what's mine."

Sophia showed it to the brothers. Alexander's face darkened with fury.

"She's lost her mind," he muttered.

"She's desperate," Lucas corrected. "Desperate people do dangerous things."

"I'll handle Victoria," Alexander said.

"Like you handled her before?" Sophia asked sarcastically.

Before Alexander could respond, the café windows exploded inward. Wolves poured through—rogues by their scent, at least a dozen of them.

"Down!" Lucas shouted, pulling Sophia under the table as the brothers shifted instantly.

The café became a battlefield. Lucas's wolves engaged the rogues while the three Blackstone brothers fought with lethal precision. Despite their conflicts, they moved as a unit, protecting Sophia's position.

She watched Lucas fight, mesmerized by his power. His wolf was massive, dark brown with gold-tipped fur, taking down two rogues at once. Alexander's pure black wolf was slightly smaller but faster, while Nathan's wolf was identical to Lucas's except for a white mark on his ear.

A rogue broke through their defense, lunging for Sophia. Aria roared to the surface, and Sophia shifted faster than ever before. Her wolf, usually a modest size, seemed stronger, more powerful. She tore into the rogue, protecting her unborn pup with savage fury.

When the last rogue fell, the brothers shifted back, staring at her.

"Your wolf," Alexander said, shocked. "It's different."

Sophia shifted back, Nathan quickly throwing her his jacket. "What do you mean?"

"You're stronger," Lucas said, understanding dawning in his eyes. "The pregnancy. It's changing you."

"Blackstone heirs do that," Nathan explained. "Make their mothers stronger during pregnancy. It's a protective mechanism."

"Which means every wolf in a hundred-mile radius will know soon," Alexander said grimly. "We need to get you somewhere safe."

"The pack house—" Alexander started.

"Is compromised," Lucas interrupted. "Victoria has allies there."

"My compound then," Lucas said.

"Over my dead body," Alexander snarled.

"That can be arranged," Lucas replied coldly.

"Stop!" Sophia shouted. "All of you, just stop!"

She stood, pulling Nathan's jacket tighter around her. "I'm done being fought over like a prize. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to my own safe house—yes, I have one. I'm going to figure out what I want without any of you pressuring me."

"You can't—" all three started.

"I can and I will." She moved toward the door, then paused. "Lucas, you have forty-eight hours to prove you're different from your brothers. Alexander, stay away from me unless you want a restraining order. And Nathan?" She looked at the twin who'd been playing puppet master. "Stop playing games or I'll make sure all three packs know exactly what you've been up to."

"You don't know what I've been up to," Nathan said, but he looked intrigued.

"Europe, the Silvercrest Pack, Alpha Romano's daughter," Sophia listed. "Should I continue?"

Nathan's smile widened. "You've done your homework."

"I'm not just a pretty face," she said, then looked at Lucas. "Forty-eight hours. Don't waste them."

She walked out, leaving three stunned Alphas behind.

"Did she just..." Alexander started.

"Handle all three of us?" Lucas finished, a proud smile on his face. "Yes."

"I like her," Nathan announced. "If you screw this up, brother, I might actually pursue her myself."

Lucas growled. Alexander growled. Nathan laughed.

But Sophia was already gone, driving toward her safe house with Aria humming contentedly in her mind.

"That felt good," Aria said.

"It did," Sophia agreed. "But now we need to figure out what we really want."

Her phone buzzed. Three messages:

Alexander: "Please reconsider. I love you."

Nathan: "The offer stands. Think about it."

Lucas: "Forty-eight hours. I won't waste a second."

She deleted Alexander's message, ignored Nathan's, but Lucas's made her smile.

Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for something real. But first, she had to figure out who she was without any of them.

Her hand went to her stomach. "Just you and me for now, little one. Let's see what your father does with his chance."

In the distance, a wolf howled—lonely, desperate, and wild. Lucas, she realized. Already beginning his pursuit.

Forty-eight hours to prove he was worth the risk.

The clock was ticking.