Chapter 21

Sophia

"Elsa?" I breathe in shock.

Elsa showing up here isn't something I was anticipating. But now I realize why Lily looked so familiar to me.

Not Lily. Tina.

I take advantage of the momentary distraction and turn to my mother. She cannot breathe. The metal band is already too tight around her neck. It has to be destroyed. Wrapping my fingers around it, I pull. It doesn't break or even loosen. Infusing more of my power into it, I grit my teeth and yank even harder. My mother's lips are turning blue as she struggles to draw in air.

Not like this. She's not going to die like this. I won't let her!

I feel my entire body tingle as the magic flows through me. The band doesn't break, but as the force of my magic increases, it begins to disintegrate.

"No!" Tina howls as she realizes what is happening. "You can't—You fucking bitch!"

"I told you you had potential," Elsa murmurs, only for my ears. Then, her attention turns back to her daughter. "You've caused enough harm, Tina. I told you to stay away from Sophia."

"Oh, shut up," Tina spits out. "I will do what is good for me and my mate. And if he wants the Silver Wolf, he'll get the Silver Wolf. Stay out of our way, Mom, or it won't be pretty."

"Have you taken leave of your senses?" Elsa demands disapprovingly. "You are destroying another person's life just because your mate wants you to do so! Did I raise you to be like this?"

"Raise me?" Tina laughs derisively. "When did you raise me? You were too busy trying to protect your friends. Don't pretend to be my mother now when you never had time for me before."

"I never neglected you, Tina." Elsa frowns. "I always tried to guide you onto the right path."

"I've had enough of this." Tina rolls her eyes. "You know, I've had enough of you, as well. You've never accepted Noah, and I'm not going to let you stand in his way. I may as well get rid of you."

If Tina is a witch, that means that Elsa is also a witch. I know she's not a shifter. She has to be a witch! Confused, I look between the two of them before diverting my gaze to Noah.

He looks mildly annoyed, but not entirely shaken. He still believes he has me in his grasp.

But then Karina calls out, "Guards! Kill them all. And bring me the Silver Wolf!"

"Protect the Alpha Female!" Alex orders his soldiers.

Human forms are shed all around, and the once pristine and stunning ballroom is now a war zone filled with wolves. Alex shifts, too, and faces off against Noah's wolf, who is determined not to give in. As they fight, I realize something.

Noah's attacks are stronger than Alex's.

That doesn't make sense to me. Alex is a seasoned Alpha. He's also larger in size than Noah.

So, why is my mate on the defensive?

The same thing happened before, when Robert and Alex were exchanging blows the night Robert died. And when Noah attacked Alex in the woods back in Oakrest, Noah brutally injured Alex.

"Sophia!" Elsa shouts my name, and I turn my head to see my mother lying on the floor. There's a small sheen of energy around her body. It's very faint, but I can see the telltale glow.

The seed of suspicion planted in my mind, I look at Noah and notice that his entire wolf body has a similar glow. I stare at it, trying to understand what it means. The minute my brain connects the dots, a vicious fury washes over me.

That bastard! He's using my mother! Somehow, even in the state she's in, he's able to draw power from her.

I remember how, during Julia's fight with Alex, something snapped within me, and suddenly, I could feel him inside me as I wrapped him in my own strength. I don't know if I can do that again, but I have to try.

Noah throws Alex to the ground, and his paw lifts, his sharp claws ready to dig into my mate's chest.

My whole world goes quiet.

I remember this feeling, too. I experienced it when Robert nearly killed Alex. I'm not going to have the same thing happen again. The bloodlust within me grows exponentially, and my body starts to shift. Throughout it all, my gaze is fixed on Noah and Alex. It's as if time has frozen for me.

I don't pay attention to the shocked gasps around me, to Karina's screams, to the shouting.

My entire world is centered on these two wolves grappling with each other.

Let him have it all. Everything. Let him have everything.

Alex's fur begins to glow, and it becomes brighter than Noah's. He throws Noah off and goes on the offensive. His attacks are stronger now. Alex is an experienced fighter who is calculating on the battlefield. With my power coursing through his veins, he's moving faster than ever, his attacks on a whole other level.

All this time, I never really understood what kind of power the Silver Wolf is supposed to give to someone. I'm starting to figure it out now, though. I have the ability to increase a shifter's strength and speed. I can give them a massive boost. But as I do, I feel the impact on myself. It tires me out.

My mother is coughing up blood now, and I cry out in alarm.

Both Alex and Noah glance in my direction. That's when Noah realizes that I'm the reason why Alex is suddenly able not only to match him, but to attack him. Without missing a beat, he starts running toward me.

Alex is right on his heels, but Noah is going to get to me first.

That's when I hear a hoarse voice cry out softly, "No!"

My heart squeezes at the sound. I've never heard that voice before, but it's familiar, as if my body knows it, as if I've heard it many times previously. My head swivels around, and I see my mother reaching out to me with one hand, fear and anger in her eyes.

Luckily, Noah stumbles. And as he does, Alex sinks his teeth into his underbelly. Noah's scream of agony is satisfying, but it also reaches his mate, who leaves the battle with her mother and runs over to him, her face white as a sheet. Noah is bleeding on the floor, and as Tina reaches his side, Karina's soldiers surround us.

"That's enough!" The Alphas from the South Alliance step forward, their stances threatening. "Put a stop to this, Queen Karina, or we will get involved. The girl—The Silver Wolf belongs to the South Alliance. We will not let anybody touch her."

I shift back into my human form, as does Alex.

Karina scoffs. "You will risk starting a war over this girl?"

One of them, the one speaking for the group, says harshly. "Why not? After all, you are also prepared to start a war over her, aren't you?"

Karina's eyes narrow, and the Alpha continues. "You may be Queen of the North Alliance, but the South has an army that is stronger and more determined than yours. You have destroyed your own packs and reduced your numbers. No matter how large an army you raise, it will never be enough. The North will fall in front of the might of the South."

Karina goes stiff in the face of the threat, and I realize that there is indeed an imbalance of power between the North and the South.

"Tell your soldiers to step down. Now."

Her face flushed with anger, Karina orders them to stop.

As her soldiers back off, I realize that Noah and Tina have disappeared. She must have taken him away when the South Alliance Alphas first started speaking.

The Alpha who just threatened Karina walks over to me. "My name is Brian Wolfgang. I'm the Alpha of the Blue Fang Wolf pack. It is an honor to meet you."

The name strikes a bell in my head. I know it from somewhere. But from where?

I glance at Alex, who looks shocked for some reason.

I nod at the Alpha.

Brian takes my hand in his. "The Blue Fang Wolf Pack would like to pledge its allegiance to you. May I have your name?"

"Your allegiance? What does that mean?" I feel troubled now.

Alex still looks surprised, but he starts to explain. "It's—" He shoots the man a strange look before telling me, "He's pledging his loyalty to you. He wants to serve under you."

I quickly snatch my hand back from Brian. "Why would you do that? I'm not the Alpha of any pack."

"You are the Silver Wolf." Brian meets my gaze steadily. "Queen Karina isn't the only one who has heard of the prophecy. Multiple witches have been mentioning you for the last two decades. The one who will unite all three Alliances. I never took them seriously, but I know now that those prophecies were true. You will be our leader. And I would like to stand behind you."

"The Shadow Wolf Pack also swears its allegiance to the Silver Wolf."

"The Dark Wood Wolf Pack also swears allegiance to the Silver Wolf."

One by one, all the Alphas from the South Alliance kneel down on one knee, pledging their allegiance to me: a nobody.

"Alex," I whisper, shaken to the core. "What is happening?"

Suddenly, I hear one of the members of the Central Alliance speak. "The Central Alliance will not pledge allegiance to the Silver Wolf. However, we will not let someone who has descended from us be imprisoned, Queen Karina. I seem to understand that this is what your intention is. And I would advise you against it. While the Central Alliance does not get involved in the matters of the North and the South, there can always be a first time."

The warning delivered to Karina is effective. And I have to wonder how strong the Central Alliance is that Karina is scared of it.

"All the packs from the South Alliance have pledged their allegiance to you," Brian tells me, his eyes glittering with excitement. "As such, you are the new leader of the South Alliance."

"What?" Everything is happening very fast. "I'm what now?"

"King of the South Alliance," Alex says, his voice strange. Then he corrects himself. "No. You are Queen of the South Alliance."

"What about the current leader—the current King of the South Alliance?"

Brian smiles at me. "I will be stepping down."

That's when I realize that I've been talking to the King of the South Alliance this whole time. And Alex clearly knew it. That's why he was so taken aback!

"Would you like to tell us your name now?"

Overwhelmed, I clutch Alex's hand for support as I say, "Sophia. Sophia Hope."

The person who had spoken for the Central Alliance declares, "The Central Alliance acknowledges Sophia Hope as the new Queen of the South Alliance."

All eyes turn to Karina, who is red in the face and quivering with rage. She doesn't look happy about this in the slightest. Grinding her teeth, she mutters, "The North Alliance also recognizes the new leader of the South."

"Sophia!" Elsa calls out my name, urgency in her voice.

I turn around and see her holding my mother's body. Heart crawling into my throat, I dash to my mother's side. "What happened?"

"She's drained." Elsa looks close to tears. "She is completely drained of her powers."

"But she can recover, right?" I ask anxiously.

"We have healers here—" Brian steps forward quickly to offer help, but Elsa shakes her head.

"She is at a very critical point. Her body is shutting down. There's nothing anybody can do. I'm sorry, Sophia."

I slump backward, and Alex is there to support me.

"This is my fault," I say, dazed. "She was trying to help me."

"She did what she wanted to do," Elsa reassures me. "But she doesn't have long, Sophia. Her body has forced itself into a coma to try to replenish her energy levels, but it's not going to work."

Tears are burning my eyes, but I don't let them fall.

There has to be something I can do. There has to be a way I can reverse this. "If I give her more of my own life force—"

Elsa's head whips up, her eyes horrified. "Have you been sharing your life force with your mother?"

"Yes," I reply in a small voice.

"Don't ever do that again! That's very dangerous for both of you!"

"What else can I do?"

Elsa sighs. "I don't think there's anything we can do at this point."

No. I'm not going to accept that answer. She has to wake up. She has to wake up so that I can give her a good life. She has to spend time with me. To know what it's like to live without suffering. She can't die the same way she lived, in agony!

"Take Alpha Stone into custody."

Karina's harsh voice has me looking up. What's going on? Her soldiers quickly surround Alex.

"What are you doing?" I snarl at the Queen of the North.

One corner of her mouth turns upward. "I am sorry about your mother's health situation, but I have my own Alliance to manage. I may not be able to touch you, but Alex is still a member of the North Alliance, and he and his pack betrayed me. As a result, they are all going to be put to death."

"He's my mate!" I get to my feet, my eyes flashing.

"I'm sorry," Karina replies in a cloying tone. "But I cannot break my Alliance rules for you, no matter who you may be. Alex Stone has to pay the price for what he did to Julia."

"If you touch my mate, I will do everything in my power to burn the North down. I am so sick of people trying to take advantage of me. Alex is mine. You can't have him."

"You're not wearing his mating mark," Karina says with a smile. "So, while he may be your fated mate, he is not your mate. And if he gives you his mark, you will belong to the North. You'll have to give up your status as the Queen of the South and serve me."

She sounds way too pleased.

"The choice is up to you. Either you let me follow the rules and execute your precious fated mate and his pack, or you let Alex give you his mating mark, in which case you will live in the North and I will consider forgiving his pack."

I'm no fool. The minute Alex mates me and I fall under Karina's rule, we will both be ripped apart, and no one will be able to interfere.

But what if…

I look at Alex, wondering if this has been done before. After all, I am the Queen of the South Alliance now. Surely, I will be able to do what I want to do.

I stride purposefully over to Alex.

"No, Sophia! Absolutely not," Alex snarls. "I'm not giving you—"

I ignore him, grabbing his shoulders and pulling myself up onto my toes.

"Sophia—?"

I let instinct guide me to where the spot for the mating mark should be, and without a second thought, I sink my teeth into his neck, giving Alex my mating mark: the mating mark of the Queen of the South Alliance.