Sophia POV
James stands in the hallway with his jaw clenched. His eyes are dark and he's looking at me like he's trying to solve a puzzle that doesn't make sense. I have maybe two seconds to decide who I'm going to be right now.
The old Sophia who was safe and easy to control. Or the new Sophia who knows exactly what he's going to do.
I choose the old one.
I step out of my room and immediately make myself smaller. I drop my shoulders. I soften my expression. I become the girl who needs him instead of the girl who's planning to destroy him. It's easier than it should be. Years of practice at being what people want finally pays off.
"I'm sorry," I say quietly, looking down like I'm ashamed. "I didn't mean to worry you."
James's entire body relaxes.
I watch it happen like magic. The tension drains from his shoulders. His jaw unclenches. He reaches out and pulls me against his chest like I'm something precious that he almost lost.
"Don't do that again," he says into my hair. His voice is softer now. Scared. "Don't hide from me."
I press my face against his chest and feel something shift inside me. This is the moment where I should feel guilty. This is the moment where I should think about how he doesn't deserve this. But I just feel cold.
"I missed you," I whisper, and it's technically true. I missed him because I was busy dying.
He pulls back and tilts my chin up so he can look at me. His hands are gentle. His eyes are searching like he's trying to find himself in my reflection.
"I thought you were getting tired of me," he admits. "The way you've been acting lately. Like you're somewhere else even when you're standing right in front of me."
There it is. The insecurity. The need for constant reassurance that he's enough for me. This is the weakness that's going to help me destroy him.
I reach up and touch his face like he's something fragile. Like he matters.
"I could never get tired of you," I say.
It's a lie wrapped up in the perfect tone of voice. The perfect amount of vulnerability. The perfect amount of love that isn't real.
James believes me completely.
He kisses my forehead and tells me to come downstairs for dinner. He says the family is waiting. He says Victoria wants to see me. I agree to everything, and when he leaves, satisfied with my apology, I wait exactly thirty seconds before my entire face goes blank.
The old Sophia is gone.
Now it's time to become someone new.
I walk back into my room and stand in front of my mirror. The girl staring back at me looks tired and small and exactly like someone who could be controlled. I need to change that. Not drastically. Not in a way that alerts James to something being wrong. But enough that people start to see me differently.
I find the deep red dress buried in the back of my closet. It's the one my mother always said was too bold for me. Too attention-seeking. I've never worn it because the old Sophia didn't want attention. The old Sophia wanted to be invisible.
I pull it on and fasten the buttons.
The dress fits like it was made for this version of me. It hugs my waist and falls to my knees in a way that's elegant and dangerous at the same time. My reflection looks back at me and I don't recognize her. Good. That means James won't recognize her either. That means nobody will.
I leave my hair down instead of braiding it back like I always do. I let it fall around my shoulders in dark waves. I don't wear makeup because the old Sophia never wore makeup, and I need some part of me to stay familiar. Some part that James will recognize as still belonging to him.
Just not all of me.
Dinner is held in the pack dining hall where everyone gathers to eat together. It's tradition that all members come and share meals. It's supposed to reinforce unity. What it actually does is give me a perfect opportunity to watch people and let them watch me.
The room goes quiet when I walk in.
It's not because of the dress. It's because of how I'm wearing it. I move through the space like I'm comfortable taking up room in it. Like I'm not apologizing for existing. It's a small change but it's enough to make heads turn.
James looks proud. He pulls out a chair for me and sits beside me like he's the one who taught me to be confident. Like my transformation is somehow his doing. I let him believe it.
Elena sits across from me with her eyes wide. She's about to say something when I catch her gaze and smile. Not the nervous smile I usually give her. A real smile. The kind that says I know something she doesn't. She looks confused and I like it. I like that I'm becoming someone people have to pay attention to.
We eat in relative silence for a while. People talk around me but not to me. I'm still invisible enough to stay safe. But then someone brings up pack politics and I realize this is my chance to plant seeds.
One of the Council members is talking about a dispute between families over hunting territory. The solution he's proposing is weak. It doesn't actually solve anything. It just delays the problem.
I speak without thinking about it first.
"That won't work," I say clearly. "The families need to merge their territory claims. Create a shared system instead of fighting over borders."
Everyone stops eating.
James looks at me like I've grown a second head. I've never offered an opinion about pack politics. I've never opened my mouth in important conversations. The old Sophia knew her place.
But I'm not the old Sophia anymore.
The Council member looks surprised but he considers what I said. He actually considers it. And then he nods like maybe I have a point.
James squeezes my hand under the table. I think he's annoyed but when I look at him, he's smiling. He likes that I'm becoming interesting. He doesn't realize that being interesting is going to destroy him.
The rest of dinner passes in a blur of small conversations and careful movements. I'm calculating everything. Every word. Every gesture. Every moment where I let someone see a side of me they've never seen before.
I'm building a version of myself that people will want to understand. A version they'll want to get close to.
A version that's irresistible.
After dinner, people start filtering out. Some go to the training grounds. Some go home. I excuse myself to walk through the grounds and breathe in the cool night air. I need a moment away from James. A moment where I'm not performing.
That's when I feel it.
The weight of someone's gaze on me. Not casual. Not accidental. Focused. Intense. Like whoever is looking at me is trying to see through my skin.
I turn slowly and scan the area around the dining hall. Most people have left. But there's one person standing near the training grounds in the shadows. Tall. Built like someone who knows how to fight. Dark hair that catches the moonlight.
Callum Ashford.
James's best friend. The man who, in my original timeline, helped carry out Victoria's orders. The man who will help them poison me at the coronation.
But in this timeline, he's just a man. And he's staring at me like he's never seen me before.
I look directly at him and our eyes lock across the distance. His gaze is dark and hungry in a way that makes my pulse quicken. He's not looking at me like I'm James's mate. He's not looking at me with polite acknowledgment.
He's looking at me like he wants to understand what I am.
I hold the eye contact for exactly three seconds.
Then he looks away so fast it's like he was burned.
But those three seconds are enough.
I feel the impact of his attention settle into my bones. I feel the way his gaze lingered on the red dress. The way his hands clenched into fists when our eyes met. The way he looked away because staying connected to me felt dangerous.
I've caught the attention of exactly the right person.
And he has no idea that he's just become the most important piece of my revenge.