Bye, My Ruthless Alpha
Chapter 23: Outsmart Sophia

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Outsmart Sophia

The first night Sophia stepped into the Black Shadow pack, everything went totally sideways.

Just then, I heard footsteps approaching my door, and before I knew it, Beta Jace burst into my room.

He hurried in, turned on the light, and saw Sophia and Joy on the floor. Sophia, still holding the scissors in her hand, stabbing into Joy’s arm, and Joy was bleeding all over the floor.

The blood was a deep, rich red, pooling gradually on the floor. Joy’s screams were gruesome.

Kas, on the other hand, was huddled on the bed, wrapped up in the covers. Her face was pale with fear, and her eyes were wide and innocent. Her bright eyes held a heartbreaking readiness to spill tears.

I had to give it to Kas—she was smart and had a knack for acting. I could see exactly what she was up to.

*****

"They want to come at you? Let’s see if they can back it up." Earlier, Kas and I had cooked up a plan. After cleaning ourselves up, we headed to my room. I slipped into the bathroom while Kas took my place, tucked under the covers on my bed.

I watched as Sophia and Joy came in, ready to attack. But before they could do anything, Kas grabbed Sophia’s wrist and sent the knife right into Joy’s arm.

According to our plan, if things went south, I was supposed to jump out of the bathroom and shout for help. But clearly, I didn’t need to step in this time.

So, sticking to the plan, I quietly climbed out the bathroom window and soon returned with a group of people, acting completely clueless about what had just happened.

*****

Right now, Ava, Cayden, Sophia’s dad, Alpha Marcus, and I were all hanging out in my Luna suite. I was acting like I just heard the commotion from upstairs.

Sophia, with tears in her eyes, pointed at Kas and exclaimed, "It was her! She grabbed my hand and stabbed Joy in the arm with the scissors!"

That was precisely what just happened. In the darkness, Joy might have been a bit disoriented, but Sophia, with the scissors in hand, knew exactly what Kas had done.

It all happened so quickly that Sophia barely had a chance to react. Before she knew it, the scissors were embedded in Joy’s arm, and suddenly, her grip went slack. She just froze there, not able to pull them out.

From the crowd’s perspective, it looked like Sophia was still in the act of stabbing Joy.

Honestly, Sophia’s accusations against Kas didn’t hold any water at all.

Kas sat on the bed, shivering, her long, thick hair spilling over her face.

"Kas, what the heck happened? How did you end up in Tori’s room?" Jace looked completely confused and worried.

"The plumbing at the cottage was acting up, so Tori couldn’t shower. I told her to head down to the second floor to clean up, and I stayed behind to make her bed. I don’t know why it took her so long, but I ended up crashing in her bed," Kas explained, her tone tense.

"Sorry, Beta, sorry, Alpha. I was waiting until eleven to wash up because Miss Sophia and her maid were hogging the bathroom," I chimed in, sticking to the story Kas and I had planned.

"I heard the screams after that, so I rushed down from the second floor," I added.

"And honestly, I have no clue what Sophia was doing on the third floor. She shouldn’t have even been up there," Kas said, her face pale. It was clear she was shaken, suggesting that Sophia was the one who messed things up by taking over the bathroom and then trying to hurt me. Nobody believed Sophia when we told them what happened.

"Someone get Joy to the hospital!" Alpha Marcus shouted.

Joy was still in tears, shouting, "It was Kas who stabbed Sophia with scissors!"

No one replied.

Alpha Marcus bit his lip, trying to hold back his frustration.

"Alpha Cayden, you’ve got to trust me!" Sophia insisted. "I didn’t stab Joy!"

"Are you saying Kas took both of you to her room in the middle of the night and stabbed your maid—using your hand?" Cayden snapped, his temper flaring. "Alpha Marcus, does your daughter really think we’re that gullible?" Cayden grumbled.

"It’s not what you think, Alpha Marcus. Miss Sophia was trying to play a trick on Tori, and we were just going to cut her hair. We had no idea that the person lying on the bed was actually Kas—"

"Enough! I can see what’s happening here!" Alpha Marcus snapped, growing frustrated, and then he slapped Joy hard.

Joy, bruised and out of it, hunched over, desperately fighting back tears.

Alpha Marcus was seriously angry, and it really put him in a tough spot in front of Cayden.

Joy’s arm was a mess, covered in blood, and she was about to black out from the pain.

The ambulance arrived in no time, and they went to the hospital. I was in the room when I overheard Alpha Marcus ripping into his daughter.

"You’ve always been trouble! You probably tried to mess with Tori and, in the dark, ended up hurting Joy instead!" he yelled in frustration. "You two are unbelievable! We were in a good spot, and because of what you did, Cayden has lost trust in all of us!" Alpha Marcus added, clearly annoyed.

*****

Once Alpha Marcus and Cayden were gone, I changed out of my pajamas into something more presentable and settled at the table to wait.

Kas couldn’t help but smile slightly. "Well, our first battle ends here." She quickly wiped the smile off her face and returned to her usual self.

Jace glanced at me for a moment before focusing on Kas, his expression shifting to one of realization that he understood everything. "It was your idea, right, Kas?" Jace broke the silence, his tone carrying a mix of accusation and curiosity.

"How can it be my fault?" Kas shot back. "If I hadn’t stayed in bed for Tori, she would’ve been the one hurt, and Sophia would’ve gone straight for Tori’s heart. Imagine the fallout!"

"So, you and Tori were aware of their plan and even orchestrated the whole thing. Nice work, Kas!" Ava chimed in with excitement, stepping forward to give Kas a hug. "An eye for an eye, that’s genius! They totally had it coming!"

Ava then turned to Jace, who had a serious look on his face, and teased, "Come on, Beta Jace, are you really going to spill the beans to Cayden about what happened?"

Everyone knew deep down that if anything happened to Kas, Jace would be the most devastated and furious. How could he support the villain, Sophia, at the expense of his own sister?

"Sophia’s always been the bossy type, and tonight’s debacle is clear to everyone. No one’s going to be foolish enough to pursue it," Jace said, letting out a sigh of relief. He glanced at me, speaking in a soft and reassuring tone, "Don’t worry, everything’s going to be okay."

"I knew you’d have my back!" Kas exclaimed, leaping into Jace’s arms with glee.

"Just this once, though," Jace replied, trying to look stern, but the fondness in his eyes gave him away. "No more pulling stunts without my say-so."

"Anyway, I really appreciate everyone, especially you, Kas." I felt a wave of gratitude wash over me, and my eyes misted a bit. I knew this night could’ve been a total disaster without my friends stepping up.

Kas wrapped me in a hug and whispered to relax, assuring me that as long as she was around, nobody would pick on me.

"Get some sleep early," Jace advised, looking at me with warmth before turning to Kas, "and you too, hurry back to bed."

Kas playfully winked at me, and I grinned back, signaling that I was fine. Then she left the room with Ava and the others, laughter filling the air as they joked around.

When the door to my room clicked shut, I let out a long sigh and collapsed back onto the bed, relieved that the chaos of the night was finally behind me.

Thanks to Kas stepping in to calm things down, I realized I really needed to keep my guard up with Sophia and her sneaky tactics.

*****

The next morning, I woke up to the soft glow of dawn filtering through the muslin curtains. I climbed out of bed and plopped myself in front of the oak dresser, pushing open the window to take in the view of the tall oak tree in the courtyard. Winter was finally over—the summer leaves were sprouting, and the branches were shrouded in a gentle morning mist.

As I fixed my hair in the mirror, the elegant glass reflected my rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and youthful innocence, which felt so pure. A small smile crept onto my face as I made my way downstairs after brushing my hair.

In the dining room, the maids had already laid out a delicious breakfast: creamy oatmeal, crispy golden cheese pancakes, fluffy whole-wheat bread, and steaming vegetable gumbo. The house was still quiet—no one else was awake yet, and I was the first to settle down at the table. I casually sipped my vegetable bisque, nearly finished when Alpha Marcus strolled in.

He looked worn out, clearly having pulled an all-nighter. "You were a bit freaked out last night, weren’t you?" he said, trying to ease the mood.

He’d really let loose the night before, reprimanding Joy and Sophia for their blunders and saying it’d scared me because he hadn’t trained his daughters and maids properly. But honestly, he was mostly upset because one of his maids had gotten hurt, and it seemed he wasn’t quite ready to confront me about it—especially since he didn’t want to ruffle Cayden’s feathers. So, he just kept a cool head and tried to teach his crew a lesson.

"Yeah," I replied softly, putting down my spoon. "Joy lost a lot of blood, and I can only imagine how much pain she is in. And Miss Sophia, she must be in shock."

"Ms. Tori, you have such a kind heart," Alpha Marcus said, clearly appreciating my concern. "Sophia’s a few years younger than you, so feel free to call her Sophia."

Even with that, he still had the air of authority about him. Higher-ups like him often preferred a little obedience over dissent.

Sophia came barreling down the stairs, spotted me, and instantly looked like she wanted to throw a punch. "It’s you! You stabbed Joy!" she shouted with pure venom.

Before I could even respond, Alpha Marcus jumped in front of me, grabbed Sophia’s arm, and muttered, "Are you done? Hadn’t you made a scene already?"

But Sophia wasn’t having any of it. She was kicking and swinging like a whirlwind.

Alpha Marcus shouted, "Get out of here if you don’t want to eat, and my pistol will not be kind to anyone who causes any more trouble!"

Sophia grumbled under her breath, not wanting to stir up any trouble, and just settled down, keeping to herself for a change.