Sofia's POV

For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

Then I forced myself to keep reading.

---

"If you received this mail, that means I am dead already."

My whole body froze.

A quiet gasp left my throat, and my hands clutched the phone tighter.

---

"This is a scheduled email.

I set it to be sent to you four months later.

I am writing this so that if something happens to me…

You will not spend your whole life wondering what killed me."

My vision blurred with tears.

Rebecca.

My best friend.

My sister in everything but blood.

She knew she was in danger.

She felt it.

---

Rebecca's Email Continued

"Sofia…

After you left town, a few weeks later, Alpha Damien called me.

He told me you disappeared.

He asked if I knew where you went.

I told him the truth…

I didn't."

My breath shook.

I whispered, "Damien called her?"

My wolf whined softly.

But I kept reading.

---

**"Sofia, I tried calling you.

Your number was switched off.

Over and over and over.

It was like you had vanished.

I worried so much.

I couldn't sleep.

I couldn't think straight."**

Tears slid down my cheeks.

Because I remembered that time too.

I had left without telling anyone—not even her.

---

**"So I returned to Damien's pack.

I thought together we could find you.

He looked for you everywhere, Sofia.

Everywhere.

He called other Alphas.

He asked Seers.

He sent warriors to far places.

After a while…

He finally told me you were alive.

The Seer said you were fine, just hurt.

Just running from him.

So I left the pack, relieved but broken."**

A sharp pain shot through my chest.

Damien had looked for me? He wasn't lying? He really looked—

My eyes burned harder.

---

"On my way back to my country, at the airport, I met someone.

A werewolf.

He was kind, handsome…

And I was lonely.

We fell in love quickly.

Maybe too quickly."

I wiped my face, sniffling.

---

**"He asked me to come with him.

I agreed.

I thought it was fate giving me a second chance.

I moved into his pack—the Thorn Pack.

He is the head warrior there.

His older brother, Alpha Nigel, is the Alpha."**

The Thorn Pack.

I know this pack.

---

**"Our first year together was perfect.

Sweet.

Calm.

But the second year…

Everything changed."**

My heart dropped.

---

**"He started hurting me.

First, with words.

Then with hands.

Then with chains.

The maltreatment became too much.

I tried to leave…

But he locked me in the storage house."**

I covered my trembling mouth.

Tears ran down my chin.

Rebecca…

My Rebecca…

---

**"I didn't know who to call.

I didn't have your number anymore.

I lost Damien's too.

Months passed.

I found out I was pregnant.

I thought maybe—

maybe this will make him soften.

Maybe he will love the baby.

Maybe he will love me again."**

I whispered, "Oh no…"

---

"But he didn't.

He said the child might turn into a human.

He said we would disgrace the pack.

He said my baby was a mistake."

My chest tightened painfully.

---

"Sofia…

I am scared.

So scared."

I let out a broken sob.

---

**"I made a friend here.

A tech guy.

A good man.

He took pity on me and helped me recover your old number…

And Damien's.

I tried calling you.

But your line was still switched off.

Maybe you changed it after you left.

I hope you are safe."**

I cried harder.

---

**"He also gave me Damien's number.

I have been calling him too.

But he never picks.

Maybe he changed his number as well.

Maybe he thinks I am someone else.

I don't know.

But I will keep trying."**

I pressed a hand over my heart.

She had been trying to reach us…

Both of us.

But neither of us picked.

---

**"I am sending this mail to arrive four months before my scheduled date.

If I am alive,

if things get better,

I will delete it.

But if the man finds out what I'm planning…

If he finds out I tried to reach out…

I might not make it."**

I shook as I read her words.

---

**"Sofia…

I hope you and Alpha Damien end up together.

I hope you are happy.

And I hope—

I pray—

you never have to feel the pain I am feeling now."**

The email ended.

Just like that.

A soft sob escaped my lips.

I slid down to the floor, the phone shaking in my hand.

The truth hit me like a lightning strike—

Damien didn't kill her.

Damien didn't hurt her.

Damien didn't lie to me.

Rebecca… was alive after Damien's side of the story.

He didn't betray me.

He didn't cheat on me.

He didn't kill my best friend…

I stabbed an innocent man.

The man who loved me.

The father of my son.

The man who searched the world for me when I ran.

My whole body broke into tears.

I pressed the phone to my chest and cried harder than I ever had in my life.

Because now I knew the truth.

I made the biggest mistake of my life.

My breath broke into fast, painful gasps.

I wiped my tears with shaking fingers and grabbed my phone again.

"I have to call him…" I whispered.

I had to tell him.

I had to explain.

I had to tell him who Rebecca's killer is.

I dialed his number with trembling hands.

Ring…

My heart squeezed.

Ring…

"Please pick up…"

Ring…

"Damien… please…"

Ring…

Tears blurred my sight again.

Ring…

I bit my lip until I tasted blood.

Ring…

Nothing.

He wasn't picking.

He wasn't answering.

Not even after everything.

I tried again.

And again.

And again.

Ten calls in a row.

Still nothing.

My wolf whimpered. "He's hurt… you stabbed him. He might not want to hear your voice."

"No…" My voice cracked. "I have to tell him. I have to fix this."

But each call went the same.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

No answer.

No text.

No callback.

A painful sob escaped me as I clutched the phone.

But then another thought hit me so hard I sat up straight.

Rebecca's killer was still out there. Free and living his life. And who the hell was that man who called me and lied?

I stood up quickly, wiping my face, even though more tears kept falling.

"I'm going back," I whispered.

My wolf perked up. "Yes. Go back to him. Fix this."

"I'm returning to the pack," I said out loud this time. "I'm going back to him."

I didn't know how he would react.

I didn't know if he'd forgive me.

I didn't know if he'd even look at me.

But I didn't care.

I would beg.

I would crawl.

I would kneel.

I would do anything to fix the damage I caused.

I grabbed my suitcase and pulled it open, ready to pack again, ready to leave right then—

But my hands shook, and I froze for a moment.

"I'm coming, Damien," I whispered through my tears.

"I'm coming back to you."