Free Web NovelChapter 97: Chapter 97
Sophie’s POV
"Stay with me?" He pulled me down beside him.
"Where else would I go?"
Christian wrapped his arms around me carefully, mindful of his healing ribs. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Strong. Steady. Alive.
"I thought I lost you," I said quietly. "When you collapsed after killing Harold. I felt you slipping away through our bond."
"I’m here. I’m not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
We fell asleep like that, tangled together, our bond humming with contentment.
The next morning, I woke up before Christian.
I watched him sleep, peaceful and relaxed for the first time in weeks. No nightmares. No tension. Just rest.
I slipped out of bed and made breakfast—actual cooking, not just grabbing protein bars. Eggs, toast, and fruit. Christian needed real nutrition to finish healing.
When he woke up, I had everything ready.
"You cooked," he said, surprised.
"Don’t get used to it. This is special injured-Alpha treatment only."
He laughed and immediately winced. "Don’t make me laugh. Ribs still hurt."
"Then stop being funny."
After breakfast, Christian insisted on going to his office.
"Christian, you should rest—"
"I’ve been resting for almost a week. I need to check on pack business."
I knew that tone. Arguing was pointless.
I helped him walk to his office, supporting him when his legs got tired. When we arrived, everything was organized and clean. Marcus had clearly been managing things perfectly.
Christian sat at his desk and immediately started reviewing reports.
I pulled up a chair beside him. "What can I do?"
"You’ve already done everything." He looked at me. "Seriously, Sophie. You ran the pack in my absence. Made decisions. Handled crises. Marcus said you were wonderful."
"I had good teachers." I squeezed his hand. "You and Marcus prepared me for this."
"Still. Thank you."
We spent the morning working through pack business together. It felt normal. Domestic. Like maybe we could actually have a peaceful future.
That afternoon, we retreated to our quarters.
Christian needed rest, though he’d never admit it. I could feel his exhaustion through our bond.
I curled up on the couch with a book while Christian dozed on the other end. Our bond hummed quietly between us, content and stable.
I looked up from my book to find him watching me.
"What?" I asked.
"Just thinking about how much I love you."
"You’re such a sap when you’re injured."
"I’m a sap all the time. You just don’t usually call me out on it."
I laughed and went back to my book.
Everything felt perfect. Peaceful. Like we’d finally found our happy ending.
Then the vision hit.
One second I was reading. The next, my body went rigid.
The book fell from my hands.
My vision tunneled. The room disappeared.
Instead, I saw Shadow Ridge territory at night. Fires burning. And Vanessa.
She was coming back.
But not for Christian. Not for the pack.
For me.
The vision showed me alone, walking through the compound. Vanessa is stepping out of the shadows. Her eyes were burning with hatred.
"You took everything from me," Vanessa said in my vision. "Now I take everything from him."
Her claws extended. She lunged.
The vision released me.
I gasped, my body convulsing as I came back to reality.
"Sophie!" Christian was beside me instantly. "What did you see?"
I couldn’t speak for a moment. Terror flooded through our bond so strongly that Christian physically flinched.
"Sophie, talk to me. What happened?"
"Vanessa." The word came out as a whisper. "She’s coming back."
"When?"
"I don’t know. Soon." I grabbed his arms. "Christian, she’s not coming for you. She’s coming for me."
His entire body went rigid. "Explain."
"The vision showed her attacking me. Specifically targeting me." My voice shook. "She wants revenge on you by destroying me."
Christian’s expression shifted from concerned to absolutely lethal in seconds.
"Over my dead body," he said flatly.
"That’s what she’s counting on." I could still see Vanessa’s hatred-filled eyes in my vision. "She knows you’ll do anything to protect me. She’s using that against you."
"Then we increase security. You don’t go anywhere without guards. You—"
"Christian, I can’t live in a cage."
"You also can’t die because you’re too stubborn to accept protection!"
We stared at each other. His fear for me. My need for freedom. Our bond stretched tight between competing needs.
"We’ll figure this out," I said finally. "Together. But we need to take this seriously. Vanessa isn’t done with us."
Christian pulled me against his chest, careful of his injuries but desperate to hold me.
"I won’t let her touch you," he said quietly. "I don’t care what I have to do. I won’t lose you."
"You won’t lose me. I promise."
But even as I said it, the vision replayed in my mind.
Vanessa’s claws. Her hatred. My vulnerability.
I’d survived so much already. Harold. Tom. The battle.
But somehow, I knew Vanessa was going to be different.
Because she wasn’t coming for power or territory or revenge on Christian directly.
She was coming to take the one thing that would destroy him completely.
Me.
Christian’s arms tightened around me as if he could protect me through sheer force of will.
Outside our window, the sun was setting over Shadow Ridge. Beautiful and peaceful.
But I could feel the storm coming.
Vanessa was out there somewhere. Planning. Waiting. Preparing to strike.
And when she did, she wouldn’t fail again.
I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing.
We’d survived everything else. We could survive this too.
We had to.
Because the alternative—Christian losing me, our bond breaking, his heart shattering—was unthinkable.
"Tell me what you saw," Christian said quietly. "Every detail."
So I did.
And as I described the vision, as I watched Christian’s expression grow darker and more determined, I realized something.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close.
Vanessa’s war on the Knight family had just entered its final, most dangerous phase.
And I was the target.
