Sophia

“I hooked up with a bear shifter,” she muttered.

A wave of relief washed over me as I let out a long breath, a smile spreading over my face. “That’s it? Why should I be angry? You used to hook up with all sorts of shifters before. I didn’t know that’s against any rules.”

Her face turned pale, and she pressed her lips together into a thin line. The relief I felt only seconds ago turned into a tight feeling in my chest. “It’s that bad?”

Her knees bounced up and down, making the entire car shake. “Not if you don’t go too far.”

I tensed and leaned forward to press my hands onto her knees to stop her from moving them. “What is too far?”

Her eyes met mine, but she quickly dropped her gaze again. “A too far you can’t take back.”

I pulled away, staring at her as I processed what she had told me. My mouth went dry, and I pressed the bridge of my nose to fight the nearing headache.

“How far along are you?”

“Around three months,” she whispered.

I stared out of the window, into the darkness. I was lost for words for a moment while I digested the new information. The silence grew between us like a brick wall, and when I looked at her again, her lip was bleeding from chewing on them.

“You were on fairy powder and drank alcohol the entire time.” The words slipped from my mouth before I could stop them, and I wish I could take them back. The pain in her eyes made my heart clench.

“I didn’t know, though,” she said, grabbing my hands. “I didn’t know!”

I nodded, pulling her into a hug. “I know, I’m sorry. You didn’t do it on purpose. Everything is going to be fine.”

She sobbed and grabbed me tightly, and I let her cry for a while. It was an unfamiliar experience for me. Ashe never showed me her pain and sadness the way she did now, and for the first time, I felt like we were friends.

Eventually, her sobs stopped, and she pulled away, her eyes even more bloodshot, as she let out a shaky breath, offering me a weak smile.

“But promise me to stay away from that garbage. Now that you know, you need to think about another life you’ve to take care of,” I said.

She sighed. “It’s so hard to stop, though.”

Heat flushed through my body. “That’s why I told you to never even start! Drugs are never good, and they ruin your life in the long run.”

“You could give me a bit of your blood. I’m sure I would feel a lot better, and I wouldn’t crave fairy powder anymore.”

My heart pounded as I gripped the steering wheel, the leather squeaking. “You know that’s a boundary we won’t cross. After that, you’ll crave vampire blood, and that’s exchanging one addiction with another. Don’t even suggest that.”

She nodded, but didn’t look as if she understood. “I’m sorry.”

I sighed, dropping the topic. There was no use discussing this any further with her. I had to focus on bringing her somewhere safe, somewhere that wasn’t my place. Pascal would probably lose his mind, and who knew how long I could even stay there myself?

“So, where does papa bear live?”

She didn’t answer me, and I turned to her. She bit her nails as she stared into the distance. My fingers started tingling as I waited for her to say something, hoping the father of the child wouldn’t be someone like Samuel.

She glanced at me, seeing me looking at her, and sighed. “I’m not sure if he wants to see me or if he’ll accept the child.”

“You’ve to try because staying with me isn’t an option, and you also can’t stay with Michelle anymore.”

She nodded, defeat in her eyes. “I guess I’ll have no other choice.”

“Call him then, or better, let me call him. Enter his number,” I said, handing her my phone. She hesitated at first, but she then dialed his number, her thumb hovering over the call button for what felt like ages. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, seeing the minutes pass by. After three minutes, I grabbed the phone and started the call. She tried to grab it back, but I turned away from her.

“Wait! I’m not ready yet.”

I looked at her over my shoulder, the ringing of the phone in the background as I waited for him to pick up. “You’ll never be ready. Let’s get this over with.”

She crossed her arms and pouted, but didn’t attempt to take the phone away from me again. After eight rings, I was almost convinced he wouldn’t pick up, making my stomach feel heavy. If he wouldn’t take her, where should I bring her? How would I find a place she would get taken care of? But yet again, I also couldn’t be sure that the man would. She had interesting taste in the past, and usually more in the ‘not-husband’ category.

“Hello?” a tired and deep male voice echoed through the car. My heart jumped in my chest, not expecting he would pick up after all those rings.

“Hi, I’m Sophia, Ashe’s friend. You know Ashe, right?”

“Of course I do,” he said, sounding wide awake suddenly. “Did something happen? Is she hurt?”

“She isn’t hurt, but you two need to talk. They kicked her out of the pack, and she needs to leave her territory. I want to bring her to you.”

“They kicked her out? Why?” He asked, surprised.

“It’s not something to discuss over the phone, so can I bring her over or not?”

There was shuffling in the line before he returned to the call. “Yes, but I have to announce her to the alpha.”

“But you can protect her, right? And can you keep her from fairy powder?”

“Fairy powder? I mean, yes. Yes, I can. I’ll protect her here.”

I glanced at Ashe, raising my brows, lowering the phone. “He didn’t know about the fairy powder?”

She shook her head, shoulder slumping down even more.

I sighed, returning to the call. “Be prepared for the worst and don’t let her get hurt. She isn’t a strong bear like you.”

Uneasiness spread through my body, gripping my insides like claws. I wasn’t sure if she could be safe in a pack like his.

“We are a mixed community,” he said, his voice barely audible.

“Okay? As long as you can take care of her,” I said, not even sure what a mixed community was, but I would figure it out soon enough, anyway. “Send me your address, and I’ll bring her over. I’m in a bit of a hurry, so it would be great if you could send it immediately after hanging up.”

“I’ll text it to you,” he said, out of breath.

“Okay, see you soon,” I said and hung up, turning to Ashe. Her face was flushed, and silent tears ran down her face.

“You might not deserve him,” I said.

She winced, but nodded. “I know. He was the first dude I met who actually cared about me. The real me, not the party me. I think he always wanted to have more than just a short fling.”

“Then why are you concerned that he wouldn’t want to see you?”

She wiped more tears away, a staggering breath leaving her throat. “Because I stood him up and ghosted him for the last two months. It all got too real, and it scared me.”

“He didn’t sound like he was angry, and even if he was, I’m sure you can work it out somehow. But you’ve to take him seriously now, and that baby, too. I don’t want to see you or your child in questionable places, pumped up with strange drugs.”

We sat in silence for a moment, my words hanging in the air. I was worried Ashe would be angry with me for what I had said, but a smile spread over her face as she turned to me.

“Sophia, I don’t think I ever said this to you before, not from the bottom of my heart, but thank you.”

Warmth spread through me at her words. She never said anything like that before, and it made me happier than I thought it would. “It’s okay. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

She shrugged. “Honestly, I never took you seriously. You’re a vampire, and we all know around here how vampires are so full of themselves, but they are also loaded with money. I thought if I would stick around you, I would also get the chance to live a more luxurious lifestyle. All I wanted was to be away from the rural and cheap way my pack lived because I thought it would make me happier. Only now do I realize that I never saw you for who you really are. I could always count on you, and you always took care of me, but I was just a terrible person towards you, and never really cared.”

I wish it wouldn’t hurt to hear those words as much as they did, but the stabbing pain in my heart almost made me gasp for air. I knew her intentions all along, and I also knew that I meant nothing to her, but hearing it out loud from her mouth was making it so much worse.

“I want to be a better friend to you,” she said, grabbing my hands in between hers. “I want you and I to be actual friends.”

I pulled my hands out of her grip, clearing my throat, avoiding her gaze. “Focus on yourself first and get better. When you settle in, and you aren’t high on fairy powder anymore, we can try to start over.”

She nodded, turning away from me with a soft smile. I sighed, unsure if this friendship was salvageable, but honesty was a good step in the right direction, and who knew what else life had in store for us?

“At least you get to leave the pack. That’s what you always wanted.”

She chuckled. “Indeed. I’ve got to see the positive.”

After papa bear sent us the address, I quickly dropped it into the navigation of my car, and without another word, I started the car and drove to the location, around 45 minutes away.

It didn’t take long, and soft snoring reached my ears and I glanced to the side. Ashe’s head was tilting to the side, mouth wide open.

A feeling of calm ran through me in soft waves. After all those things happening lately, seeing at least one constant in life was somewhat comforting, even if I hoped that Ashe’s life won’t include any drugs anymore, and for that, I had to hope the man she met was the one who would be willing to help her with that.

After a thirty-minute drive, the lights on the side of the roads disappeared, the night swallowing us. Unease crept up my spine, and I couldn’t help but check if the doors were locked. A sheer layer of sweat covered my forehead, the hot air still blasting through the ventilators of my car, but I didn’t want to lower the temperature, seeing Ashe still shivering. I drove a little faster, hoping to reach the ominous destination faster.

When I finally arrived at the top of a mountain, a small village came into view, dim lights enlightening the darkness. I stopped at the side of the road and woke Ashe.

She rubbed her eyes, looking out the window. “Are we there?”

“I guess,” I said, leaving the car, the cold air hitting my face. The sudden switch in temperature caused my teeth to chatter against each other, and I rubbed my arms, trying to stay warm.

A tall man walked toward us, his shirt tensing over his broad shoulders and his dark hair all over the place. He stopped a few steps away from me, eying me warily, his hazel eyes glistening in the light.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Sophia. We spoke over the phone,” I said, and reached out my hand toward him.

He arched a brow, grabbing my hand and shaking it firmly. “I’m Pierre. I didn’t expect a vampire to drop Ashe off.”

I let go of his hand. “Is that an issue?”

He shook his head. “Not at all, but I’m surprised. You guys usually don’t hang around with other communities.”

I shrugged. “Don’t worry, I won’t be here for long. But I had to make sure Ashe would be in good hands.”

He smiled, white teeth surfacing. “Ashe has a wonderful home here. At least for as long as she wants to stay.”

His focus dropped behind me before he passed me in a hurry. I tensed and turned around, following his every movement, seeing him taking the heavy bag from Ashe. She sheepishly smiled at him, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“It looks like you’ve a roof over your head for now, and it doesn’t seem like Pierre would hurt you either. Are you good to stay here?” I asked, watching them awkwardly step from one foot to the other. “I’m sure you guys have a lot to talk about.”

Ashe blushed as she pulled me into a tight hug. “Thank you for everything.”

I wrapped my arms around her, bathing in her warmth and the familiar smell of strawberries. I yet had to figure out how she always smelled like a field full of strawberries, and so natural, too. “Please stay safe and don’t do anything reckless. You’ve more than yourself to watch out for now.”

She chuckled, pulling away and smiling at me, her eyes watery. “I will.”

I nodded. “I have to head home now. If something happens, anything, call me. It was nice meeting you, Pierre. I hope you know if you hurt her, I won’t let it slide.”

He grinned, wrapping an arm around Ashe. “Warning received, but don’t worry, I won’t. I’m glad she is here.”

I smiled, watching them for just a few more seconds, before going back to my car, hoping Pascal was still out. Otherwise, who knew what punishment he would think of next?