Sacrifice

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

                “My name is Gabriel Evans,” said the lion as he took a seat in Sophia’s office after being dragged inside. The alpha had hurried him through, not giving him a chance to see anything else. He caught a brief glimpse of another person, who he thought could have been holding a baby. “I’m a lion.”

                “What are you doing here? And why should I trust you after what your people did to the damn Pueblo pack and who knows how many others? Hell, why shouldn’t I kill you?”

                “Because I know you don’t want to,” Gabriel replied.

                “You don’t know anything about me,” Sophia growled.

                “Okay, yeah, I don’t know for sure, but I figured that you guys are just as rational as anyone else and you’d hear me out.”

                “You don’t know much about alpha wolves,” Sophia grumbled. “But fine. Say what you came here to say and then I’ll decide what to do with you.”

                “My father is the leader of this group of lions,” Gabriel said. “He’s got some crazy vendetta against wolves and he’d decided to get rid of all of you. He’s completely insane, and what he’s doing is wrong. So I came here because I knew you were his next target hoping maybe I could help you stop him. I don’t really know if I can, but whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

                “You expect me to believe you?” Sophia asked.

                “No,” Gabriel replied. “I fully expect you to chain me up somewhere and not listen to a word I have to say.”

                “And once again, why? Why’re you here if that’s how you expect to be treated?”

                “Whatever you do to me, it can’t be any worse than what my father’s done to me,” he said with a shrug. “And if I can help stop him, it’ll be worth it. Even if I just get beat up by someone different for once, it’s worth it.”

                For once, Sophia found herself with nothing to say. She had no idea whether or not he was being truthful, and if he was, she thought it was quite depressing the way he spoke. Something about the way he sounded so sad made her want to be nice to him, as strange as the idea was to her. While she knew she should have him locked up and under guard, part of her also wanted to make him comfortable.

                “What’re you going to do with me?” he asked.

                “Fuck if I know,” Sophia said. “Whatever I do, I suppose you might as well get cleaned up. Don’t need you stinking up the damn place. Or do lions simply not bathe?”

                “I’ve had to sleep in my car for a while,” he said.  “And then out on the street . Haven’t had an opportunity to shower lately.”

                “Well, come on,” she said, walking out of her office. He followed her, and was able to get a better look around that time, but when he tried to linger, Sophia grabbed him and pulled him along until they were upstairs where she shoved him into a bathroom. “I’ll find something for you to wear,” she said, closing the door on him.

                She went into her brother’s old room, hoping he might have left some clothes behind. The lion was a little larger than Talon, but Sophia thought his clothes would fit well enough for the moment. But when she went through the dresser, she found it completely empty. When he had moved out, he had taken everything. Since no one else was currently living with her, she only had her own clothes to give to Gabriel.