The One He Claimed by cooper (Sophie and Hunter) novel Chapter 230

Chapter 230

“Hey, I’m right here. What’s going on?”

“Do you remember when we were at the Committee of Alphas, and I was asking about who each of the Alphas was? Do you remember me asking about him?”

I think back to that time. I had a lot on my mind, mostly preparing myself to fight my way out of the committee to keep Sophie safe if needed.

Then I remember. “You said you saw him catch his mate. That he was the reason you ran and that’s how you ended up back here.”

She nods. “I saw him, Hunter. I saw what he did to her. I saw how brutal he was to her, and I did nothing. I just ran away. I left her there to suffer and she tried to kill herself. If I had intervened…”

I snarl before I can catch myself. “If you had intervened, Sophie, there is no doubt that you would have been forcibly marked as well. I’m assuming that Zahn had a hunting party with him?”

She nods and I feel her guilt weighing on her. “Some legend, huh? I see someone in trouble, and I run.”

“Now, you listen to me, Sophie Reynolds. You were in a very different position then. You weren’t a Luna, and you didn’t have a mate or your family to support you. You were alone and any number of she–wolves on the run have done the same thing.”

“Nikki didn’t. Nikki rushed in and protected Allison. She didn’t run and hide like I did. She could have, but she didn’t.”

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“Nikki came on the scene when Allison was fighting, and Allison had Letti fighting with her. There were three of them, Sophie.”

I can tell my words aren’t making an impact on my mate and I want her to realize that she didn’t let Zahn’s mate down. She did what she had to do to protect herself.

“What was happening when you found them? Was she fighting against the group?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, he had already caught her.”

“He had her pinned down?” I ask, trying to understand what she walked into. I know whatever she saw was traumatizing enough that she had run and she’s been carrying this guilt with her all this time.

She closes her eyes and turns in my lap, needing to be close to me. I wrap my arms around her protectively.

“He was mating her, and the others were watching and cheering. She was crying and he yanked her head up and told her never to run from him again before he marked her hard. He was angry and the whole thing was so horrifying, so violent,” she says, her body starting to shake.

“Okay. Shhhh. You’re safe. I just needed to understand. You’re safe, Sophie.”

She presses her face up against my throat, breathing in my scent. Shaw begins purring at her, calming her.

‘What the fuck does Alpha Zahn think we’re going to do for him?‘ Shaw asks me.

‘I have no clue. If Sophie is this upset having witnessed it, I can’t imagine what his mate feels having gone through it. And then, waking up, still in

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her own personal hell, after trying to kill herself. I have no idea what he thinks coming here will achieve for him.’

I stroke Sophie’s hair in the way I know she likes. I can almost feel Hedda starting to purr at the sensation.

“Do you want me to tell him no, Soph. I will. We don’t have to help him, I say, but she sits up and looks at me.

“No, but we do have to help her. That’s what we do, right? We protect those who need protection. She needs our protection, Hunter. She needs to be protected from him. I don’t know what that means, or what it looks like, and I swear Hunter, if he comes here and tries to hurt any of women under our protection, I’ll kill him myself. But if she’s here, we can help her. She will be among other women who are healing like Kinsley and Brooklyn. I may not understand what it’s like for her, but I can give her a safe place to be with others who do. We could even put her in the survivor center while she’s here.”

“I don’t know if Zahn will go for that,” I tell her.

“He won’t have a choice. If he wants our help, if he wants MY help, then he’ll do what we tell him to do, or he can shove his mate bond up his ass.”

I fight hard, really hard not to smile at my mate’s anger. She’s being very serious, and I know she means everything that she’s saying, but damn she‘ s cute when she’s fired up.

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