Chapter 7

The very next day Sophie had her first opportunity to show just how capable she was now. After yet another night with very little sleep, she was feeling out of sorts and agitated when once again the sound of a car coming up her road intruded on her solitude.

"What the hell!" She muttered to herself, her anger mounting. After her visitors yesterday the last thing she needed or wanted was another confrontation. But it looked like she getting one if she wanted it or not.

As the truck drew up outside her home, this one in much better condition than the one Ron and his sidekicks drove, she almost blew a gasket when Zack stepped out and walked up onto her porch.

Not even giving him a chance to knock she threw open the door and snarled. "Did I not make myself clear yesterday to your henchmen when I said I had no problem filling the next person that showed up at my door from your pack with buckshot?"

Zack frowned looking confused and lifted his hands out in front of him in a peace gesture. "Whoa hold on Sophie I don't know what you are talking about, who came here and when?" He asked, and for a second Sophie almost believed that he didn't know what she was talking about. But they had said their Alpha had sent them and the alpha was Zack. No way was she falling for his innocent act.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't try to pretend you don't. You sent three of your pack mates here yesterday to threaten me into returning. Well I told you and your parents last week that there was no way I was coming back and you sending three males to try and intimidate me isn't gonna change my mind."

"Sophie please stop, calm down, tell me what you are talking about I honestly don't know who or what you are referring too." He said firmly.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe they took it upon themselves to come here and tell me how selfish I was being not coming back? I might be a lot of things Zack but stupid I'm not!" Sophie stepped back and took hold of the door readying to close it.

"Please Sophie can I come in and talk to you?" He asked. "I promise, I didn't send anyone here for any reason let alone to threaten you. I need you to tell me what happened." He all but pleaded.

Sophie looked closely at his face and the confusion in his eyes was obvious. Could it be that Ron and his friends had came here without his knowledge. She didn't know what to think but she was starting to wonder if the three stooges had come without their Alphas permission.

Sophie stepped back opening the door wider in silent invitation. Deciding for the moment to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Zack stepped over the threshold and said quietly. "Thank you Sophie, I appreciate your talking with me."

"Don't thank me Zack, I don't want you here but I don't want others from your pack here more so you are the lesser evil."

"They were your pack once also Sophie." He said softly.

"They were never my pack! If they had been my pack they would have protected me, helped me, because that's what pack does. Or at least that's what I thought." She said, growing angry one more.

"You are right Sophie, pack is supposed to protect. And I'm sorrier than you will ever know that we didn't protect you. If I had know what you were to me and what was happening to you I would have done everything I could to stop it."

"It shouldn't have mattered what I was to you, it only should have mattered that a child was being abused and you all stood back and allowed it to happen." Sophie gritted out through clenched teeth her anger growing at her mates attempt at an apology.

"Sophie most of us didn't know what was going on." Zack said pleadingly. "It was only my parents and their most trusted officers who knew the truth of what was going on. Yes we all could see you were unhappy but your Uncle........."

"Don't call him that!" Sophie screamed. "He was my torturer and my jailer and I will never acknowledge him as family!"

"Ok I'm sorry." He held his hands out once more in a peace gesture. "Frank told everyone that you were a wilful child that missed her parents terribly, one who needed a firm hand. None of us approved of him hitting you but you were his responsibility and pack law says that another person can not intervene when a parent is disciplining their young unless there is evidence that they are taking it too far. Your unc......sorry, Frank was clever enough to hide most of it from the pack."

"He was not my parent! He was a monster" Sophie raged. The thought of that monster a parent was sickening.

"I know Sophie, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. Look I promise you most of the pack didn't know what was happening to you. But you are right. We failed you and there is nothing I can do to change that no matter how much I wish I could."

Zack stood abruptly and Sophie couldn't help the flinch that his sudden movement caused.

Zack paled at the sight of her almost cowering from him. "Sophie, I would never hurt you, you are my mate."

"You did hurt me Zack!" Sophie said sadly, firming her spine once more. "Every day for two long pain filled years. Every day since I realised you were my mate."

"I didn't know you were my mate." Zack said. "He was putting a drug in your food that masked your scent. To me you didn't scent of anything. Although that in itself should have made me question what was going on but it never occurred to me that you could be mine." Sadness lined his handsome face, sorrow evident for her to see.

Sophie realised a second later what Zack had said. Finally she had the answer to the question that had tormented her for four years. Why her mate not recognised her as such. Her torturer had drugged her. She remembered the pill he had given her to take those first few days after her eighteenth birthday. And to think she had thought he had given her pain relief.

But it really didn't surprise her, after everything that had been done to her, and everything he could have done to her after finding out Zack was her mate, slipping drugs into her food was probably the best she could have hoped for.

Zack looked at Sophie and she gasped at what she saw. Sorrow. So much sorrow that he looked almost desolate.

Zack cleared his throat roughly. "I'm so very sorry Sophie. I know I've said it before and I will keep saying it till you forgive me. I know it will take time but I will never give up trying to earn your forgiveness. I stayed away from you for two years. The hardest two years of my life because I thought it was the best thing for you, and if it was what you wanted then I would continue to stay away because I know you have been hurt enough, but the choice has been taken out of my hands." He sighed sadly and looked up at Sophie.

"I have to ask you to help me do the thing that we failed to do for you. I have to ask you to help me protect the pack."