Four hours later, Sophie sat next to Zack as they drove the final few miles to Hollow Ridge. Her arm was throbbing and she was so tired. It didn't bode well for how the rest of the day would go.

After attempting to get her to talk to him when they first set off, only to be met with stony silence, the drive had been completed with her not uttering one single word. In fact, Sophie had not even so much as glanced his way from the moment she climbed into his truck.

Zack once again looked over at his beautiful mate, and was nearly overcome with feelings of regret and guilt at the haunted expression on her face.

He knew his actions today would most likely mean she would never truly accept him, and become his mate in anything more than name only. Oh he knew, given the circumstances, he would be able to convince her to complete the mating ritual, but she would never truly be his. But he had to do this, for the sake of his parents and his pack. He had to make her understand what would happen if the wolf council believed their mating was anything other than normal.

"Sophie, I know you are angry with me, but we must present a untied front before the wolf council representatives. If we are to get the young back and protect the rest of the pack they have to believe us. They have to believe ours is a normal mating." Zack said.

Sophie turned incredulous eyes to Zack. "Are you kidding me? How the hell am I supposed to convince anyone I want to be here, when everywhere I look, and everyone I see, I despise?" She huffed out a scathing laugh. "You must really think I'm a better actress than I am, because right now I don't even want to look at you never mind be with you here."

Zack sighed, his frustration mounting. "We have to make the best of this situation Sophie, and try to get along. The lives of too many pack members depend upon the council representatives recommendations. My parents lives depend on it."

"And tell me again why I should care what happens to your parents Zack? Why the hell should I help them? After what they did to me, they should be left to rot."

"I know you are angry at them, and so you should be. But they are not bad people. Yes they made mistakes. Yes they should have helped you. There is no question what they did, or rather didn't do was terrible, but I need you to please try and put that aside for the moment. Just until the council representatives leave, and then we will deal with them together. Please Sophie, just help me now and I promise you, whatever you what, if it's within my power as Alpha to grant, I will."

Sophie laughed, but it wasn't a nice laugh. It was full of scorn and disbelief. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you plan on punishing your parents? You must really think I am a fool. Well I tell you what Zack. You say you will grant me whatever I want if I play your little game of subterfuge. Well I will tell you exactly what I want! I want my freedom. I want away from this pack and your parents. And most of all? You Zack. I want away from you! I never want to set eyes on you again!"

Zack's felt as though a dagger had been thrust through his chest and into his heart at Sophie's venomously delivered demand. For a few seconds he could not draw enough breath to even speak past the pain searing through him. But honestly, he should have been expecting this. He had forced her into coming back to a place she hated and an incredibly dangerous situation. The wolf councils punishment, if they were not convinced of their mating, would be harsh and he knew the toll the next few weeks would take on her.

He swallowed the lump lodged in his throat and sighed sadly. "If that is truly what you want Sophie, then that's what will happen. As soon as the wolf council makes its decree and the representatives leave, if you still want to go I won't stop you." I will just have to do my best to change your mind he finished to himself. He would do all he could, while he could, to try and convince her to stay with him.

"We are nearly there. When we arrive we will go directly to the main pack house and get you settled. The council members that are here are staying there. They know we have not completed our mating so don't worry about that, but they will expect us too in the next few days. I will give you as long as I can to get comfortable with me but I can't give you too long."

Sophie began to sweat and her heart started pounding in her chest, her breathing laboured. The rush of fear immediate at the thought of what she would have to endure to complete the mating ritual. She had tried to not think about it, and Zack so casually mentioning it, brought it to the forefront. Goddess! How was she ever going to be able to go through with it when she couldn't even stand close to a male without almost having a panic attack. Although she did acknowledge in some deep dark part of her mind that she had been sitting next to a male for over two hours without panicking. But that fleeting thought was quickly and ruthlessly pushed aside.

Zack frowned at the look of fear and panic on Sophie's face. "Sophie what's wrong? Calm down and talk to me."

Sophie tried to pull herself together. She could not look weak in front of him or his pack. She took several deep breaths and looked at her mate, who was gazing at her with concern and worry. "I'm fine!" She said abruptly. "Lets get this sham of a mating underway shall we?" She said waspishly. A thought occurred to her and she looked over at Zack. "What did you tell the council, when they asked why I had left and why we had not already completed the mating?"

"I told them that after everything that had happened to you, you needed time away from the pack to heal. I may have let them believe that we had been in touch the whole time and that I had approved you being away."

Sophie's jaw dropped at his audacity. "You truly are unbelievable Zack!"

"What would you have me do Sophie? I couldn't admit I didn't know where you were. If I had told them you had ran, there would have been no investigation. They simply would have executed my parents and disbanded the pack. I did what I thought was best at the time and I won't apologise for it."

"No of course you won't!" Sophie muttered sarcastically.

Zack pulled up in front of the pack house and turned the engine off. He looked at his mate and told her quietly. "I would have found you eventually Sophie, I never stopped looking for you. The councils involvement only made it so I found you quicker."

He open the door and climbed out, moving quickly round to open Sophie's door and extended his had to help her climb down. "Come inside, I will bring your bag in shortly. The council members are waiting for us."

Sophie ignored his outstretched hand and clambered out of the truck herself. "You only found me because you made Rose to tell you where I was. She would never have betrayed me if you hadn't forced it out of her."

With her head held high, Sophie turned and walked ahead into the pack house and Zack rushed to catch up. As they entered the entrance hall, two large men stood talking at the bottom of the imposing staircase.

At the sound of Zack and Sophie's footsteps both men turned. Sophie stopped so suddenly, Zack almost ran into her before he managed to stop himself. He looked down at his mate. She was looking at the wolf council representatives with a look of loathing on her beautiful face. "Sophie are you alright? What's wrong?"

As the two council members walked towards them, Zack frowned. "What's going on?" He demanded

Sophie drew herself up and pulled her shoulders back. Her face twisted in scorn she spat, "Alpha Thomas!"

Zack frowned in confusion. "That's right, Alpha Thomas is a member of the wolf council and one of the representatives here to conduct the investigation. How do you know him?"

Sophie looked at Zack and said quietly, disgust clear in her voice. "Because he is the one who sent me to live with that monster. He is the one who sent me here me to be raped and tortured! He used to be my Alpha!"