CHAPTER 4

A Face from the Past

Sophia’s POV

She had declared it as if it was a gift, but to me, it felt like a curse. Each connection left me wondering and I was barely coming to terms with Logan.when a new name surfaced: Lucas.

Who was he? Why did his name feel like a whisper I had heard before but couldn’t place?

The house felt too quiet for my troubled thoughts. The sound of my own breath in the empty halls made it hard to concentrate.

I needed to clear my mind, to regain some sense of control. My legs carried me without thinking, through the large halls of the pack house, to the library.

The shelves, heavy with books, always offered me comfort, a sense of order that my very scattered thoughts lacked.

Books were answers, a world of knowing among a world of confusion. I ran my fingers along the dusty shelves, seeking some sense of direction, but the words on the pages were not visible in front of my eyes.

I needed answers, and no book would give me the ones I wanted.

I heard the door open behind me but didn’t turn. I had been expecting Mara, one of the pack members to check in, but when I heard the soft steps of boots on the floor, I looked over my shoulder, not expecting what I saw.

A man stood there, tall and daring, his dark hair falling just enough to cover his face. His sharp jawline and his piercing blue eyes locked with mine, pulling me into his gaze.

It was like being swept away in a flood of memories—memories I thought I had buried deep inside me.

My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn’t breathe for a moment. No, it couldn’t be.

The words came out before I could stop them. “Nathan?”

But the man before me stood still, his brows looking in confusion. He was about to speak, but he quickly composed himself and shook his head, his voice calm and steady. “No. My name is Lucas.”

I froze. The air in the room changed in an instant, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath too. This man—Lucas—had the same features, the same sharp angles, the same deep-set eyes as Nathan, my dead Lover.

How could this be?

“I…” I began, my mind racing, my heart pounding in my chest as I looked at him. “You look so much like someone I once knew. Someone I…” My voice stooped, unable to complete the sentence without the words turning painful in my chest.

Lucas stepped closer, concern showing across his face. “Are you all right?” His voice was calming, like a quiet melody, but it only made the chaos inside me grow further.

“I’m fine,” I managed to say, my words shaking. “You just… remind me so much of someone I loved.”

His expression softened, but there was something else in his eyes. Something unreadable. “Sophia, right?” he asked, his tone almost careful.

I nodded, surprised he knew my name. “How do you know my name?”

He struggled, a subtle movement of his shoulders. “I’ve heard about you.”

I didn’t have time to process his words, before the door opened again, and Mara stepped into the room. Her sharp look swept over the two of us before she froze, her expression changing.

“Lucas,” she said, her tone very careful but measured.

“Mara,” Lucas replied with a brief nod, as if this wasn’t the first time they had met.

“You’ve arrived earlier than expected.” Mara’s eyes went back to me briefly, a flash of concern passing over her face before she quickly covered it with a neutral expression.

“Sophia, we need to talk.”

The air between us was heavy, the tension very hard to go unnoticed. I could hardly breathe as Lucas gave me a small, almost pitiful smile, then excused himself without another word.

It was as if the world had gone off its shape, and I was standing in the eye of a storm I couldn’t escape.

Mara turned toward me, her eyes filled with a seriousness I had never seen.

“What was that about?” I asked, my voice filled with frustration and confusion.

She let out a deep sigh, her eyes going toward the door Lucas had exited. She hesitated, as if she was trying to measure her words carefully.

“There’s something you need to know,” she began, her voice lowering as if we were being watched. “Lucas…he said he’s your mate.”

My chest folded painfully. Four mates. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, as the words hit me like a dangerous wave crashing over the shores of an ocean.

It was all too much. Ethan, Gabriel, Logan, and now Lucas—someone who looked so much like Nathan.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head as if doing so would cancel the reality of her words. “It’s not possible. It just… can’t be.”

Mara’s face softened, her expression a mixture of pity and concern. “It’s true, Sophia. The Moon Goddess herself confirmed it. Lucas is your fourth mate.”

The room turned around me, and I staggered, my legs trying to hold on beneath me as I collapsed into the nearest chair. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, a mix of anger, confusion, and helplessness.

“Why him?” I whispered, almost to myself. “Why someone who looks just like him? Why now, after all this time?”

“I don’t know,” Mara said quietly. “But the Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. Lucas is here for a reason, just as Logan and Gabriel are.”

Her words sank in slowly, like a stone dropping into still water, I felt the walls closing in on me, pressing on me from all sides. Four mates. And now I had to face this man who looked like Nathan—the man I thought I had lost forever.

Later that night, after the house had fallen silent, I sat in my room by the window, looking at the old photograph of Nathan. The one where he was smiling at me like nothing in the world could hurt us.

I traced my fingers over the image, the pain in my chest growing with each passing moment.

But Lucas’s face kept flashing before my eyes. His features, so similar to Nathan’s, made my heart filled with more pain and my mind race. Was it possible? Was there a reason for the connection?

I needed to know. I needed answers. And I was wil

ling to uncover whatever truths that were hidden, no matter how painful they might be.