SONIA’S POV

I opened my eyes slowly. The first thing I saw was a high ceiling, familiar in its simple wooden beams, just like the one in my old room back at Silverpaw. For a brief moment, warmth filled my chest.

"Dad?" I called softly, half expecting that if I turned my head, I would see him there.

He used to sneak into my room at night and stroke my hair while he thought I was asleep. Every single time, I secretly looked forward to it. He didn’t come every night, but on the nights he did, pure happiness would settle over me like a warm blanket.

"No, me."

I wiped the sleep from my eyes with the back of my hand and blinked. Ramon’s face came into focus, sharp and intense, watching me closely.

"You’re awake, finally," he said, his voice low.

I tried to sit up, but he placed a firm hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me back down onto the bed.

"Carl said you must not move. You’re exhausted and you need to rest."

"Yes, but Ruby. She needs my help," I protested lightly, trying to rise again.

"Hey." He moved fast, toppling over me and pinning my body back against the mattress with his weight. "You can’t, alright? Ruby can wait."

I stared up at him in confusion. He was choosing me over one of his own wolves. That felt like an entirely new development. Something had shifted.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked before I could stop myself.

If I remembered our last conversation correctly, he had said he couldn’t help hurting me. Yet here he was, hovering protectively.

And you promised to teach him how to change, a small voice reminded me in my head.

I froze for a few seconds as the memories rushed back. He had accused me of betrayal again. It made me wonder why that thought was always at the front of his mind.

"I’m just trying to do the right thing," he said.

I knew he was lying. There was something deeper, something he wasn’t telling me. Just like Ivy had been hiding things from me, he was doing the same.

His hand moved to my forehead. He began stroking it gently, the same way my father used to. The simple touch broke something inside me. I choked back the sudden wave of tears gathering in my throat. I was so exhausted. Everything hurt—my body, my heart, my soul.

"Do you want to get some more rest, Sonia?" he asked, staring intensely into my eyes.

"The kind of rest I want, you unfortunately can’t provide it."

I turned my face to the side, hoping he would let me be. But he didn’t. He turned my head back so I had to look at him again.

The tears I had been holding finally spilled down my cheeks.

"It’s not fair," I said, my voice thick with emotion.

"What’s not fair?" he asked softly.

"That I’m your fated mate. I wish I wasn’t. You could have killed me already and called it even," I explained.

I had been carrying that thought for a while now, and it had only grown heavier with time. If the moon goddess hadn’t decided we were fated, he could have ended my life without the weight of guilt on his conscience. What was the point of staying alive if I couldn’t find happiness for more than a fleeting minute?

He wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumb. The expression in his eyes was one I couldn’t quite read, something raw and conflicted.

"Do you want to die that badly?"

"Yes," I replied, surprising even myself with how honest the word sounded.

"Nah." He shook his head. "I think you’re lying."

"Why? If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you want to die and end the pain?"

"No. And didn’t you say you were going to teach me how to stop hurting you? Why do you always contradict yourself?"

"Because I’m exhausted, Ramon!" I let out in frustration.

My outburst startled him. His eyes narrowed as he studied me.

"That’s why you need to rest. Look, I know it’s not easy. I wish things were different. But there’s nothing you could possibly do to erase the damage your father did to this pack. Absolutely nothing."

"My death could," I whispered. "You would have taken something important from my father. Then you could call it even."

"Really? That simple, huh? And what about the curse?"

My brow furrowed. "What curse?"

He let out a short snicker. "Don’t tell me you already forgot about the curse you kept talking about."

"The curse!" My eyes widened as it all came rushing back.

I tried to sit up again, forgetting he was still hovering over me. He pushed me back down gently but firmly and leaned closer, his face inches from mine.

"You really need to stop trying to move," he breathed against my skin.

I swallowed hard. A raw heat began creeping through my entire body. My wolf stirred awake inside me, squirming with excitement. Being this close to Ramon was everything she had always wanted. She welcomed him with open arms every single time.

Sometimes I couldn’t blame her. He really was a beautiful man. My gaze drifted to his bare, bulging muscles and broad shoulders. He was still shirtless, just like he had been back at the house with Ivy and me.

"I should," I managed to say.

"Good girl." His voice had dropped lower. "Now, about the curse?"

"You don’t even believe in it," I let out a nervous laugh. "Are you just trying to stop me from moving by pretending to be interested in the ramblings of a crazy woman?"

"Honey, if I wanted to distract you, we’d be doing something way different on this bed," he said. His eyes raked over me slowly, openly, filled with heat.

My wolf kicked with wild excitement, but I managed to hold her back before she could purr out loud.

"So you don’t really want to hear about the curse?" I asked.

"I really want to hear about the curse, Sonia," he replied seriously.

"Do you mind?" I glanced down at his body pressing against mine. "You’re kinda heavy."

He chuckled, the sound deep and warm, then rolled to the side of the bed.

"I think the word you’re looking for is huge," he said with a smirk.

"Lorena is there to tell you that, I guess."

I bit my lip the second the words left my mouth. It was always like this with me. Things would be going fine, and then I would say something stupid.

"Are you jealous of Lorena, or is this your way of trying to distract me so you don’t have to tell me about the curse?"

I turned onto my side to face him fully. Feeling a sudden burst of boldness, I smiled.

"Honey, if I wanted to distract you, we’d be doing something way different on this bed," I mimicked him, throwing his own words back.

He looked taken aback for a few seconds. Then he blinked and swallowed hard.

"Don’t—"

A knock sounded on the door, cutting off whatever he was about to say.