Bonded To The Dysfunctional Alpha

Chapter 13: The Elder Meeting

Sophie’s POV

Everything from yesterday sat on my chest through the night, Ava slamming out of my room, the look on her face when I pushed her away, and the quiet that followed that was somehow worse than the door closing, and I woke up heavy with all of it, staring at the ceiling and listening to the sounds of the house and trying to decide if getting up was worth the effort.

Ava’s door stayed shut when I passed, and I didn’t knock because I already knew what would happen if I did and I didn’t have the energy for another version of that conversation this early in the morning.

I went back to my room and sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the wall and tried to figure out what I was doing here, what any of this was, two weeks of my life in this pack and I had Tyler who wouldn’t claim me and Ava who kept swinging between forgiving me and shutting me out and Dylan and Ryan circling from a distance like something that hadn’t decided to strike yet.

I was still sitting there when the knock came.

Sharp and urgent, and when I opened the door the maid was standing there with wide eyes, “something is happening downstairs, you should come.”

I came out of my room pulling my hair back and nearly walked straight into Tyler in the hallway, he was moving fast, his jaw set, already in Alpha mode, that particular energy he carried when something required his full attention.

“What’s happening,” I said.

“Dylan and Ryan,” he said without slowing down much, “they’re at the pack again, I’m tired of those two, I’ll make sure they understand their place this morning.”

My stomach dropped, “Tyler….”

“They didn’t just come to the pack this time,” he said, stopping briefly to look at me, “they went to the elder, which means this has become an urgent elder meeting, I need to go.”

I swallowed, “I’ll come with you, just give me a minute, I need to….”

He nodded once and kept moving and I stood in the hallway and pressed my hand against the wall and took a breath because the thought of walking into a room with Dylan and Ryan and the elders all at once made my chest feel tight and small, but standing up here hiding while Tyler dealt with my mess alone felt worse.

I needed Ava.I went to her door and knocked, once, then twice, then a third time before I heard movement inside and the door opened a crack and Ava looked at me with an expression that hadn’t softened much since last night.

“What,” she said flatly.

“I know you’re angry at me,” I said quickly, keeping my voice low, “I know, and I’m not here to argue about any of that, I just, Dylan is downstairs Ava, Dylan and Ryan are here with the elders and I’m terrified and I just need my best friend to stand with me right now, that’s all I’m asking, just be there with me, please.”

She looked at me for a long moment and I saw something move behind her eyes, something that almost softened, and I held onto that.

Then she said, “that’s none of my business.”

“Ava…”

“I already told you to go back to your pack Sophie, if you stayed that’s your choice, whatever is happening downstairs has nothing to do with me,” her voice was flat and final, “don’t knock on my door again.”

She pushed the door and I barely stepped back in time before it slammed hard in my face.

I stood there in the hallway with the sound of it still ringing and felt the tears come up fast and sharp, stinging at the back of my eyes, and I pressed my fingers against them and breathed through it and refused, absolutely refused, to walk into that room with red eyes and a falling face.

I wiped my face, straightened up and went downstairs.

The hallway opened into the main hall room and Dylan and Ryan were already there, standing near the far wall, and the elders were seated, serious faced and still, and the whole room had the particular weight of something official and already in motion.

I stepped through the doorway and Dylan’s eyes found me immediately, sharp and certain, and he raised his hand and pointed directly at me before I had even fully entered the room, his voice carrying across the quiet clearly, “there she is, Tyler has been holding my sister as a hostage, I have been trying everything in my power to bring her home and she keeps refusing because Tyler threatened her, he is using her against her will and I am here today to put it in front of the elders so that justice can be served.”

The room went very still.

Every elder eye in the room moved to me.