Chapter 17

Sophia

I look at Drew in complete shock. "My mother? Do you know where she is?"

He arranges the other rabbit over the fire, and then he looks at me. "Noah discovered your mother's existence a couple of years ago. When Robert found out, he relocated her. But he was suspicious that Noah knew about the second location, as well, so about a year ago, Robert told me that he had hidden her somewhere in the North, where no one would look for her."

My mouth is dry as I let Drew's words sink in. This means Alex was on the right track.

"Could she be in the Black Alder Wolf Pack territory?" I ask abruptly, my heart pounding in anticipation.

Drew's brows knit together, and he asks, "How do you know that name?"

"I've been looking for her, too. That is, Alex thinks she's somewhere around there. Is he right?"

"I believe she may be. I don't know the exact location, but I have an idea. I was going to go check it out."

A thought strikes me, and while nothing will surprise me at this point, I still have to ask. "Was Robert responsible for the annihilation of the Black Alder Wolf Pack?"

A shutter falls over Drew's face, and that's all the answer I need.

I feel sick to my stomach. "Why? What possible reason could he have had?"

"Their territory," Drew responds quietly. "He wanted free access to their land. When you see it, you'll understand why he wanted to hide your mother there. Not even the Queen of the North Alliance will go someplace that's covered with poisonous plants." He turns the rabbits on their spits, looking pensive. "The leaders of all three Alliances know what Karina has done to the children of the Northern packs. Robert befriended the Alpha of the Black Alder Wolf Pack during an Alliance meeting, and then he convinced her that Karina was bluffing. Robert told him what Karina claimed was impossible, that lives couldn't be linked like that, even using dark magic. The man must've been very distressed about the pups to trust him. Robert also promised to send backup if Black Alder defied Karina and she retaliated. Instead, he simply watched as the entire pack was killed off."

I remember the devastation in Alex's voice when he told me about this wolf pack and how they had grieved their children. To know that Robert had orchestrated the events simply to get access to the land makes me want to throw up. I'm glad I killed him. I wish I had tortured him first.

My hands are shaking now, and I dig my fingers in my thighs. "Do you think my mother is alive?"

"I hope so. The truth is, Sophia, Robert didn't trust anybody with this secret. At least, not till you were sixteen and were sent away. But even then, only the pack security knew about you. We weren't told much about Silver Wolves aside from the fact that you were one, and that you were meant to be our Alpha's mate. The rest of the pack in Oakrest was only told that their Alpha wanted you to be isolated but not physically harmed. As for your mother, right after she gave birth to you, Robert took you from her. She wasn't even allowed to nurse you."

I remember Noah once telling me that he saw my mother a few times, with me in her arms. My eyes flutter shut at the stab of pain. It was a lie. My mother never got to hold me.

"Robert told her that he would let you live in exchange for her giving him power. Of course she agreed, out of love for her child, but I don't think she knew what he actually had planned for you. I never met her, but I do know that while Robert provided her with food, she barely ate enough to stay alive. I don't know what her condition will be like now. We can only hope for the best."

"What were you going to do after you found her?" A seed of doubt has formed in my head. After all, everyone wants to use the Silver Wolf.

Drew gives me a small smile. "I thought you would like to meet your mother. I was going to bring her to you." He hands me one of the cooked rabbits. "Eat. You're fading away."

We sit in silence for a while, and I chew on the meat. Each mouthful gives me some of my energy back, but I'm still exhausted. By the end of my meal, I'm on the verge of falling asleep. I still have so much to ask Drew, though.

Forcing my eyes to remain open, I notice the state he is in. His clothes are torn, and he looks like he's been living rough for a while now. Sitting here with him reminds me of another friend from Oakrest. "What about Elsa? How is she?"

"Elsa disappeared the same night you did," Drew says heavily. "A lot of things have changed, Sophia. You can never go back to the South Alliance; Noah has declared you a fugitive. He was furious when he found me half dead near his father's body. He tried to get answers out of me, but I pretended not to have witnessed anything. As soon as I recovered, I took Tim and fled. I heard Noah say he sent soldiers after you, but I guess they didn't have any luck tracking you down."

"Oh, they found us," I tell him, "but Alex and the others took care of them."

Drew looks satisfied. "Good. Make sure you never cross paths with Noah, Sophia. He's not much different from his father. He's been up to something ever since you disappeared, and whatever it is, I don't have a good feeling about it. Besides, not only have you been accused of the murder of his father, but also of the witch."

"Witch?" I blink in surprise. "What witch?"

"Eve," Drew explains. "She was a witch, Sophia. She was working for Robert. I found that out when Robert arrived in town."

So, Eve was a witch! That explains the strange, tingling sensation I remember having in my wolf body when I killed her.

I think about all the other things I have just learned from Drew. "I was never planning to go back to the South," I tell him. "But I do want to look for my mother."

He hesitates. "Would you like to come with me? It'll take us a few days to get to the Black Alder territory."

I swallow hard, seriously considering his offer. I told Alex's soldiers I would meet them back at the cabin; they'll be concerned if I don't show up. But this is a chance to go look for my mother right away. Lily is with the pack; she'll keep them safe. Alex has already arranged everything, anyway. If I'm not there, it won't be a problem.

I let out a gust of air and give Drew a firm look. "I do. I want to go with you. I want to find my mother."

***

Just two days with Drew shows me how much he has gone downhill in the past couple of weeks. If I thought that he became a shell of a man after Katie's death, he's far worse now. He barely sleeps, and he nibbles at his food. He's wasting away before my very eyes. When we stop to take a break from running, he's quiet, just staring at his hands. My heart breaks for him. I don't know what to do. How do you comfort somebody who has lost everything?

The only time he shows emotion is when he asks me how I am adjusting in the new pack and how Alex and I are doing. He seems satisfied at my constant assurance that I'm happy with Alex. I haven't told him what I was doing in the forest fighting off zombie wolves, nor has he asked. His lack of focus doesn't surprise me. He's not all there. Having to give up his son has shattered him.

I've tried to bring up the Tim situation, but Drew shuts down the topic, not wanting to discuss it.

"So, you have no idea what Noah is planning?" I ask instead as I watch Drew slice at the shrubs in our path. We've entered the former Black Alder territory, and Drew is being very careful since the forest is extremely dense and poisonous plants are growing everywhere. I wrap the cloak he gave me around myself, being careful not to get scratched.

"No, I'm not sure," Drew admits. "And I don't understand why he was planning to take you as his mate. I never understood it at the time, either."

"What do you mean?" I glance at him curiously.

He grunts. "Sophia, Noah already has a fated mate. He found her years ago."

I freeze where I'm standing, shocked by this new development. "He has a fated mate?! Who?"

My companion shakes his head. "I don't know. Not a lot of people know about her because he hid the fact. He was afraid she would be used against him. I think—" Drew avoids a branch as it's about to fall on him— "I think it was around the same time he found out about your mother. Yes. Because I was at the old house when I heard Noah fighting with his father. Robert threatened his mate."

I stare at Drew's back. If Noah already had a fated mate when he was actively trying to pursue me, was he intending to leave her for me? He must have cared about her. After all, he'd known her for a long time. Was it that easy for him to turn his back on her?

My silence has Drew looking over his shoulder at me. "Why do you think I was so against you and Noah to begin with? It wasn't out of some misplaced loyalty toward Robert, who wanted you for himself. I knew Noah was leading you on. The whole situation was messed up. I don't actually know if he rejected his mate or not."

"Have you ever seen her?"

He hesitates before admitting, reluctantly, "Once. The same night I overheard Robert and Noah arguing. I saw Noah in the forest with her later. I just caught a glimpse of her face. She was quite young. Almost childlike features. But I could tell he cared about her. It was obvious from the way he was holding her."

He cared about her, yet he was willing to leave her for me , I muse.

Unless he never intended to leave her.

Unless he simply intended to use me.

That would be more in line with Noah's personality.

My head is beginning to hurt as I think of all the possible scenarios.

"Don't worry about it, Sophia," Drew tells me firmly as he continues to break trail for us. "You're with Alex. Now that you're wearing his mating mark, Noah can't force himself on you."

My fingers automatically touch the side of my neck, and I bite my lip. Drew hasn't noticed that I don't have any mating mark.

But still, I refuse to worry about Noah. There are more important things on my mind. Once we find my mother, I will bring her back to the rest of the pack, and then Alex and I will figure out how to go after Karina. Once everything is settled, nobody will ever hurt my mother again. I'll give her a good life. But what about…

"Do you know anything about my father, Drew?"

My friend is quiet for a moment, and when he speaks, his voice is low. "Robert killed him. The two of them were friends, and your father had asked Robert for sanctuary. When Robert realized that your father's mate was the Silver Wolf, he killed your father and took your mother. That very night, Robert also killed his own mate."

"Why did my father need sanctuary?" I can't even focus on the other parts right now; my stomach is churning.

Drew has crouched down to sniff a rock, and he looks up at me. "I can smell Robert. He passed by here at some point. And as for the answer to your question, your mother was born and raised in the Central Alliance, Sophia. I don't know how she met your father, but he must've convinced her to leave there for him. The Central Alliance is very strict about mating outsiders. There's no way they would've accepted your father. Especially when the female wolf in question was the Silver Wolf. So, my best guess is that your mother fled with him, and they sought sanctuary within the Red Rock Wolf Pack."

This is a lot of information to process, and my silence has Drew backtracking hastily. "I was quite young back then, Sophia. I don't know exactly what happened. Everything I'm telling you, I've heard from Robert's right-hand people."

"You're lying," I reply, giving Drew a small smile. "Robert wouldn't have trusted anyone else with that information. You found all of it out directly from him."

He sighs and looks away, not denying my words. After a while, he murmurs, "Yes, Robert told me he killed your father. I'm sorry."

I've always known I was an orphan. In shifter communities, when a child's father dies, even if the mother is alive, the child is said to be orphaned. I always accepted that about myself. But the knowledge that my mother might be alive filled me with hope. If she were still living, then perhaps my father…

I follow after Drew, wondering about the man who sired me, the person my mother loved so deeply that she left the safety of her own home to be with him.

It's the early hours of the morning now, the sun rising and painting the sky in beautiful shades of pink, blue, and yellow. It's cold out here, and I wrap the cloak tighter around myself, shivering. Drew is focused on tracking Robert's scent. I am amazed how he's able to pick up a scent that's more than a year old.

"Not a year," he corrects me, making me realize I must have spoken out loud. "A couple of months. He definitely came by here a few months ago. But I'm a tracker. Even rainfall and snow would not hinder me. As long as there is a hint of his scent on the ground, I can catch it."

The poisonous plants have begun to thin out, and we soon enter what appears to be a small town—an abandoned one, anyway. As I look around, it occurs to me that this must be one of the sites of the massacre. The whole place has been burned to the ground. Roofs of houses are caved in, buildings abandoned. It looks like a ghost town, and my skin crawls as we walk through it.

I remember Alex telling me that he came to Black Alder territory to bury the dead after Karina killed everyone and left their corpses rotting out here.

It's one thing to hear about a slaughter taking place and an entirely different one to walk through a town that was once bustling with activity. The inhabitants are long gone, an entire pack erased from history, and for what? So that one man could hide his secret, and one woman who craved power could get more of it.

These people don't deserve to be rulers. They don't deserve to be in power, in control of so many lives.

They deserve to die.

My wolf snarls in approval.

So many mothers must have grieved. So many families must have wept with broken hearts. Did they just stand there as Karina's people murdered them?

My heart aches as I take in my surroundings, trying to imagine what took place here.

"Robert passed by here," Drew says heavily. "Quite recently."

I can see the tension in his jaw. Drew is also affected by what happened here.

"He wouldn't have kept her in the town," I say, studying the buildings cautiously. "What if Karina's people came to raze this place to the ground to build something else here? My mother's presence would have been discovered."

"I agree. The Black Alder pack was spread out over their entire territory. We have two more towns to cover, but I don't think she's in either of them. Robert did pass through here, though. And he was on foot, which is why his scent is so prominent. If he were headed to the other towns, he would have used one of the vehicles still standing in the garages here. And he would've passed through the free zones to get to the towns. No, your mother is somewhere near this town."

Drew starts walking quickly, and I follow closely behind him. Every now and then I feel a bit of hope spring up, but I try to tell myself to remain calm. We don't know what's waiting for us. I don't know what state my mother will be in. If I take those dreams of mine at face value, and if I believe that it truly was my mother trying to contact me through them, then she's not in very good shape at all.

As we cross the town, back into the forest on the other side, Drew is moving even faster. Ultimately, he shifts into his animal form and begins running. Startled, I don't wait around to figure out what he's up to, and I shift, too. I'm able to catch up to him because every couple of minutes, he stops and sniffs around some tree or rock before picking up his pace again. This time, the butterflies in my stomach can't be calmed. He's onto something.

I run as fast as I can, trying to keep up. Finally, Drew comes to a stop in front of what looks like a large rock. He sniffs around it before shifting back to human form.

I follow suit. "What is it, Drew?"

"Here." There are vines covering the rock, and he pushes them aside, revealing an entrance to a cave. The overgrowth is so dense that, without the vines removed, we never would have noticed it.

After taking a few steps inside, Drew shouts to me, "He was in here. We're going the right way."

I head into the cave after him, my heart beating like a drum inside my chest, about to burst out of it.

It's dark in here, but our shifter eyes are meant to see through darkness.

As we go deeper and deeper into the cave, it's spiraling downward, almost like some sort of crudely cut staircase. We are deep underground at this point, and a putrid scent hits me. I lean against the cave wall for a moment to try to calm myself down. I recognize that scent. I've smelled it so many times in my dreams.

Stumbling forward now, I see the cages on either side of a small, stone hallway. I know exactly where to look, and I push past Drew, gasping, "Mom?"

The word is torn from my mouth. Running to the end of the hallway, I look to my right, and I see her.

She's in her wolf form.

It's the same wolf from my dreams.

I grab the iron bars, and unlike in my dreams, they bend easily. Shifters and iron do not go well together; iron weakens a shifter, which is why Drew looks surprised by my ability to bend these bars. However, there isn't enough room for me to squeeze through. I quickly break the lock on the gate and pull it open. Rushing inside, I wrap my hands around the chains holding my mother and immediately hiss in pain. The sound of sizzling reaches my ears, followed by a painful sensation on my palms. I let go of the chains and stare down at my palms. My skin has been seared off.

"Sophia!" Drew cries out in alarm.

I hold up a badly blistered hand, stopping him in his tracks. "Let me handle it."

I don't care if my tone is harsh. I have to do this.

Magic. Dark magic.

I can see it. There are dark threads wrapped around the chains.

I don't know if this is how magic usually works or if it's different for witches. Lily told me she can't see the magic like I can. It sure is helpful. It's harder to remove the traces of this magic, though, because I have to physically remove the threads from the chains, and my hands burn each time I touch them. But I don't stop.

My mother is unconscious. She has silver fur, like mine, but it looks borderline gray because of how dirty it is. I get the feeling she hasn't shifted in years. She's lying on her side, ribs sticking out. There is a can of dog food in the corner of the room. It's too far away for her to be able to reach it. It's almost as if it was placed far away from her on purpose.

My body quivers with rage.

That bastard. Hasn't my mother been through enough? Did he really have to treat her like this?

I turn my attention back to the chains, and like I did with the undead wolves, I tear away the black magic, ignoring the sensation that my hands are on fire. My body is tiring out, but I don't care. I want these chains off her. I want her freedom. I want her away from this hellhole.

There are tears in my eyes as I grit my teeth. "Drew!"

He knows exactly what to do without me uttering the words. He grabs the chain around my mother's four legs and breaks it off. The dark magic has been removed from it, so his hands don't burn.

I'm panting by the time I'm done with the chain on her legs. Finally, I turn my attention to the collar around her neck. I'm crying now. I can't help myself.

"You've gotten this far, Sophia." Drew pats my back. "Just a little bit more, and she'll be free."

"I know," I choke. "Look at her, Drew. Look at what he did to her. Why did you ever serve such a horrible man?"

"I don't know," Drew murmurs with a bone-deep weariness in his voice that makes me regret my words.

"If he were still alive—" I push through my tears, a terrible fury building up within me— "I would torture him to death. I would do to him what he did to my mother. Even that wouldn't be enough. The fact that he's dead is not enough. I should have made him suffer."

Drew is silent, but his expression is hard.

By the time I manage to get rid of the magic on the collar around my mother's neck, I'm exhausted. I let Drew break it off her, and I gather my unconscious mother in my arms. She's still in her wolf form, but when the restraints finally fall away, I feel her body begin to change shape. Moments later, a woman is resting in my lap. Her silver hair is matted and dirty, and her cheeks are hollow. She's wearing what looks like a hospital gown, tattered and torn. There's dried blood on the edges of it, and Drew frowns, his nose twitching. Almost immediately, a lot of horror crosses his face, but he tries to hide it.

Too late. I saw it.

"What is it?" I demand.

He shakes his head. "It's not important, Sophia."

I growl at him. "Let me be the judge of that."

His expression is uneasy. "That blood. It's yours." After a pause, he adds, "And hers. This is what she was wearing when she gave birth to you."

The meaning behind his words doesn't register on me for a full minute. I stare down at the dried blood on the makeshift hospital gown. And then it hits me. My mother was imprisoned immediately after giving birth to me. All these years, she's been like this, without even a heartbeat of reprieve.

I want to throw up. Cradling her in my arms, I take in her scent, finding some measure of comfort in it. This is my mother. This is the woman who gave birth to me. And she has spent her life since then in conditions like this.

"Her breathing is too shallow." Drew looks concerned. "We have to do something."

"The food…That rabbit meat we dried. Do you have it? And some water?" I ask him, lowering my mother again so her head is in my lap. Drew takes out the food, but she can't chew anything. She's in no state of health. I force a few mouthfuls of water down her throat, and she stirs slightly.

I remember how I healed Nathan. Maybe if I try healing her…But I don't even know what I'm healing. She's dehydrated and malnourished. Those aren't things I can heal, are they?

What about a boost of energy like Lily gave me when I was unlinking the children? That could work, couldn't it? It gave me my energy back.

Closing my eyes, I try to push my magic into my mother's body, but it doesn't work. Frustrated, I try to focus, wishing I'd asked Lily how she did it. I can feel how weak my mother is and how delicate her core is. I try to warm it up, to give her some energy. My magic follows my desires. That's what it seems like; I can feel the energy leaving me and going into her.

More. Just a little bit more.

She needs to be able to eat and drink, even if not much.

I keep pouring what feels like my life force into her. Every second weakens me, but I keep doing it.

"That's enough, Sophia!"

Drew grabs my wrists, pulling them away from my mother. "You'll kill yourself!"

My eyes fly open, and he's glaring at me. I stare at him, swaying slightly before slumping against his shoulder.

"Are you crazy?" Drew scolds me. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," I breathe heavily. My body feels so weak. "Food. Give me something to eat."

He takes out some of the dried rabbit meat and presses it into my mouth, ordering, "Chew."

He helps me swallow it down with some water. They were only a few pieces of meat left, and he feeds me all of them. I feel slightly better, although I'm still incredibly drained.

I look down at my mother, and while she's still unconscious, her color is slightly better.

"Mom…" I stroke her hair tiredly. "You have to wake up, Mom."

Drew glances around. "This is hardly the most ideal place for healing. Let's get out of here. Maybe some fresh air will help her."

"I'll bring my mother upstairs. You bring the rest of our things."

Drew nods, and I struggle to get to my feet, my mother in my arms. I take a few steps before looking over my shoulder at him.

"Drew?"

"Hm?" He lifts his head.

"Once all this is over, we'll go see Tim. He'll forgive you. I know he will. Maybe the two of you can have a new start in our pack. A new beginning."

"That's a nice thought." Drew gives me a small smile. "But I can't put my son through that again. He needs to live his life without me around. I'm just a reminder of how he lost his mother."

"Maybe. But you can try. I'll talk to him, too. And you will always have a place in my new pack."

He's quiet for a moment, and then his smile broadens. "Thank you, Sophia."

I leave him to gather our bags, and I begin carrying my mother up the dirt steps. My legs are quivering, but I don't want Drew to help me. I want to be the one to get her out of this hellhole. Each step is harder than the previous one, and I'm sweating, my whole body shaking now. However, I force my way up to the entrance. Staggering, I exit the cave, and closing my eyes, I slump to the ground, my mother still in my arms.

It's so hard to breathe right now.

"Sophia?!"

The familiar voice calling out my name has me looking up in disbelief.

I see Lily in the distance, running toward me.

A wave of relief floods me, and tears fill me eyes. "Lily! I've never been so happy to see you." I struggle to get to my feet, and as I do, I hear Drew come out of the cave behind me. Lily has already covered the distance between us and is hugging me.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" she asks. Then, she lets go of me and looks down at where my mother is lying on the ground. "Who's that? Sophia, is this your mother?"

"Yeah," I reply shakily. "We found her. I'm sorry for leaving you guys behind like that, but then I met—"

I don't even get to finish my sentence before Drew grabs me by the wrist and pulls me behind him roughly. "What the hell are you doing here?" he growls at Lily.

I'm puzzled by his reaction to her. "Drew, what are you doing? This is Lily. She's a friend of mine."

Drew's hand tightens on my wrist, his voice turning terrible. "This is not a friend of yours, Sophia. This is the girl I was telling you about."

"What girl?" I blink, taken aback. "What are you—?"

"This is Noah's fated mate."