Sophia POV
Callum sits across from me like he's made of stone.
His chair is rigid. His posture is rigid. Everything about him screams that having me here in his private study is torture and pleasure mixed together in a way that's killing him. I watch the way his hands grip the armrests of his chair. The way his knuckles turn white from the pressure.
I'm sitting forward slightly, making sure he has a clear view of my face. Making sure he has to work to look away. I'm talking about a family problem that's completely fabricated. A pack family that needs resources. A situation that requires his help because he's in charge of enforcement.
It's all a lie.
I'm really here to be in his space. To let him breathe the same air I do. To let the obsession grow stronger until it consumes him the way it's starting to consume me.
That last part surprises me. I didn't plan to feel anything for Callum. I planned to use him. But somewhere between our eyes meeting and our skin touching, something shifted. Something real started growing underneath the strategy.
I don't have time to think about that right now.
"The family is struggling," I say, making my voice soft and concerned. "They need help but they don't want to ask because they're afraid Victoria will see them as weak."
Callum nods like he's listening but his eyes have dropped to my neck. He's staring at the hollow at the base of my throat like it's the most interesting thing in the world. His jaw clenches and he forces his gaze back up to my face.
I notice everything. The way his breathing got heavier when he looked away. The way his hands clenched tighter on the armrests. The way his entire body is vibrating with something he's trying to control.
"I can help them," he says, his voice rough. "You don't need to worry about it."
"I know I don't need to," I say quietly. "But I wanted to ask you personally."
The subtext hangs between us heavy and loaded. I wanted to see you. I wanted to be alone with you. I wanted you to feel this the way I feel this.
He has to look away again because the intensity is becoming too much. He looks out the window like the view is fascinating. Like he's not dying inside right now.
I keep talking about the family problem. I give him details. I tell him their names and their situation. But really I'm just watching him. Watching the way his jaw works. Watching the way he's trying to keep himself still. Watching the way every muscle in his body is pulling toward me even as his mind is screaming at him to stay away.
This is what I came for. This moment where he's caught between loyalty to James and something he can't name that's pulling him toward me.
"I really appreciate this," I say softly.
He finally looks back at me and our eyes lock. For three seconds neither of us moves. Neither of us breathes. We just exist in this space where everything is electric and dangerous and real.
Then the door opens.
A messenger steps inside with a stack of papers. The moment is shattered. Callum stands up so fast his chair scrapes back loudly against the floor. I can feel his frustration radiating off him in waves. He wanted that moment to last longer. He wanted more time alone with me.
"My apologies for the interruption," the messenger says nervously.
Callum takes the papers without looking at them. Without looking at me. His entire body language has shifted back into enforcer mode. Back into someone who has control.
"I should go," I say, standing gracefully like I'm not affected. Like this didn't matter to me.
It's a lie but it's a useful lie.
"Thank you for your time," I tell Callum, meeting his eyes one more time. Just long enough for him to remember what just happened. Just long enough for him to feel the loss of me leaving.
I walk out of his study with my head held high.
As I move through the hallways of the Ashford Estate, I'm aware that I'm being watched. Not by servants. By someone else. Someone whose attention feels different. More calculating.
I turn a corner and there's Victoria Ashford.
She's standing in the hallway like she was waiting for me. Her smile is cold and polished and dangerous in a way that makes my skin crawl. She's older than me by decades but there's something ageless about her. Something that comes from knowing she has power and enjoying how it feels.
"Sophia," she says, moving closer. "How lovely to see you. What brings you to our estate?"
I don't hesitate. I've been preparing for this conversation my entire life in the future timeline.
"Callum was helping me with a family matter," I say smoothly. "Pack business."
Victoria's smile doesn't change but something shifts in her eyes. She studies me like she's trying to see through my skin. Like she's trying to understand what I really am.
"How thoughtful of him," she says. "He's always been so helpful to pack members in need."
There's something in her tone that suggests she knows exactly why I came here. She knows it wasn't about a family problem. She knows I came to be alone with Callum. She knows I came to feed the obsession that's been growing between us.
And instead of looking angry, she looks pleased.
"You're becoming quite interesting, Sophia," Victoria says softly. "I've been watching you change over the past weeks. It's fascinating really. Almost like you've become a completely different person."
My blood goes cold.
She's been watching me. She knows I'm different. She doesn't know why but she knows something has shifted.
"I'm just finding myself," I say carefully.
Victoria laughs. It's a light sound but there's nothing light about it.
"Oh I think it's much more than that," she says. "I think you're becoming dangerous. And I think you're planning to use Callum to do it."
She doesn't wait for me to respond. She just walks past me toward Callum's study. Her hand brushes against my shoulder as she passes and it feels like a threat wrapped in elegance.
I watch her knock on Callum's door. I watch him open it. I watch the way his face changes when he sees her.
And I realize that Victoria has just figured out my biggest weakness.
She knows I'm using Callum. She knows he's important to my plan. And now she's going to use that against me.
"Callum dear," Victoria says, stepping into his study. "I need to speak with you about something urgent."
The door closes behind her.
And I'm left standing in the hallway realizing that I've just made a terrible mistake.
I've let Callum become too important.
And Victoria has noticed.