Sophia's POV
The guards arrive at seven in the morning.
I don't sleep all night. I sit on Maya's couch with Marcus, listening to him explain things that don't make sense. How Victor Blake has been removing records from the pack archives. How the council has been lying about the Alpha Queen bloodline. How my family has known the truth this whole time.
By the time the sun comes up I'm angry and terrified and completely numb all at once.
The knock on the door is loud and official. Marcus opens it and there are four uniformed guards standing in the hallway. Their eyes are hard and trained.
"We're here for Sophia Park," the one in front says. "Alpha Logan Cross has called her to the compound immediately."
My stomach drops.
Logan never calls for anyone. Logan doesn't notice people like me exist. So why is he calling for me now?
Marcus steps aside and lets them in. He catches my eye and something in his expression tells me this is part of the plan. Whatever he and Logan talked about in those texts, this is the next step.
"I'll come," I say before the guards can push the issue. "Just give me a minute."
I grab the jacket Maya hands me and follow them downstairs to a black car that screams official pack business. Inside it smells like leather and expensive cologne. Nothing like my world.
The drive to the compound takes thirty minutes through roads that wind deeper into the forest. Deeper into pack territory. The car pulls through gates and past guards who bow their heads as we pass.
Everyone knows the Alpha's car.
The compound is huge. Stone buildings surrounded by manicured grounds that hide the wildness underneath. This is where powerful pack members live. Where the council meets. Where the Alpha conducts business that changes lives.
I've been here before but I've never belonged here.
The guard escorts me through hallways that are all stone and shadows. Past walls covered in portraits of past Alphas. All of them looking stern and dangerous and nothing like someone who would notice a girl like me.
The war room doors are heavy oak. When the guard pushes them open the sound echoes.
Logan is waiting on the other side.
He's sitting at a massive table covered in papers and maps. His grey eyes look up from whatever he was studying and lock directly onto mine. Like he's been expecting me. Like he knew exactly when I would walk through that door.
I forget how to breathe.
Logan is the Alpha. I've seen him at pack gatherings but he's never been this close. His face is sharp and beautiful in a way that seems unfair. Dark hair. Powerful shoulders. Eyes that look like they can see inside your skull and read every secret you're hiding.
He's the most beautiful man I've ever seen.
That's the worst part because the beauty makes everything more complicated.
"Sophia Park," he says and his voice fills the entire room. Not loud but commanding. The kind of voice that makes wolves listen. "Thank you for coming."
Coming. Like I had a choice. Like guards didn't show up at my best friend's apartment and order me here.
"I didn't know I could refuse," I say before I can stop myself.
Something flickers in his expression. Surprise maybe. Or approval. It's gone too fast to tell.
He gestures to the chair across from him. "Sit."
I sit.
Up close I can see that he looks exhausted. Dark circles under his eyes like he hasn't slept. His jaw is tight with tension. Something is wrong. Something bigger than just my attack.
"I've been briefed on what happened at Ridgeline Road," Logan says. His voice is clinical and precise. "I need you to tell me everything. Every detail. Don't leave anything out."
He pulls a pen from his jacket and starts making notes. He's not interested in how scared I am. He's not interested in anything except the facts.
I tell him about the delivery. About the tingling in my chest. About the rogues appearing like they were coordinated. About the attack and the pain and the moment everything changed inside me.
When I describe my eyes his entire body goes still.
His pen stops moving. His jaw tightens. His eyes narrow and suddenly I feel like I'm under the microscope of something that could destroy me with a thought.
"Your eyes," he says slowly. "Tell me again. What color exactly?"
"Silver," I say. My voice is quieter than I want it to be. "Like liquid metal."
Logan leans back in his chair and studies me. Really studies me. Like I'm a puzzle he's trying to solve. Like I'm something important.
"How did it feel?" he asks.
"Like coming home," I say honestly. "Like something inside me that was sleeping just woke up."
He's quiet for a long moment. Then he asks about the rogues. Were they organized? Did they seem to know who they were hunting? Did I get the sense they were sent deliberately?
Each question is designed to pull out information. To understand the tactical situation. To figure out what threat level I represent.
I answer carefully. I don't mention the video. I don't mention Marcus. I don't mention anything that would reveal that I know more than I should.
Logan notices my careful answers. I can see it in the way his eyes track mine. He knows I'm holding something back. But he doesn't push.
Instead he stands up and walks to the window. He looks out at the compound grounds and says something that changes everything.
"You're staying here," he says. Not a question. A statement delivered with finality. "Until we understand what happened to you and why. You're not safe in town. You're not safe anywhere except here where I can protect you."
"I'm not a prisoner," I say.
He turns to face me and the coldness in his expression is terrifying. Beautiful and terrifying at once.
"No," he agrees. "You're not a prisoner. But you're also not leaving until I understand what you are. Your transformation wasn't natural. Something triggered it. Someone triggered it. And when I find out who, they're going to answer for it."
He walks closer to me and I have to look up to meet his eyes. He's tall and powerful and absolutely in control of this moment. Of me.
"You had a power inside you that shouldn't exist," he says quietly. "A bloodline that was supposed to be dead. And now you're here in my compound where everyone can watch you. Everyone can want something from you."
His hand reaches out and for a second I think he's going to touch my face. But instead he just lets it fall.
"Get some rest," he says. "Tomorrow we start training. You need to learn how to control what's inside you before it controls you."
I stand and walk toward the door because I have no other choice. As I reach the doorway he calls my name.
"Sophia."
I turn back.
"Don't go anywhere near Victor Blake," he says. His voice is dangerous and quiet. "No matter what he offers. No matter what he promises. Stay away from him."
The guards escort me to the family quarters. The rooms where I grew up. Where my parents still live and pretend I don't exist.
I'm walking down the hallway when my mother steps out of one of the rooms. Her face is pale. Her eyes are red like she's been crying.
"Sophia," she says. She reaches for me but stops short. Like she's not sure she's allowed to touch me anymore. "I need to explain something. About your family. About where your power comes from."
Before she can continue my father appears. He puts his hand on her shoulder and shakes his head. No.
"Don't say anything," he says. His voice is hard. "We've already said too much."
He turns and walks away. My mother watches him go and then looks at me with something that looks like regret.
"Be careful," she whispers. "Now that Logan knows what you are, everyone will want to control you. The council. The rivals. Even Alpha Logan himself. Don't let anyone close enough to use you."
She disappears into her room before I can ask what she means.
I'm alone in the hallway and I realize something that makes my blood run cold.
Marcus said the guards would arrive by afternoon. He said Victor would come for me. But Logan arrived first. Logan got to me first. And now I'm locked inside the compound with an Alpha who's studying me like I'm a problem to solve.
The question is whether Logan is protecting me or controlling me.
And I have no way to tell the difference.