Chapter 22

Sophia

For a moment there is silence in the room. Nobody seems to understand what I just did.

And then Alex's eyes lock onto mine. "Sophia, what did you do?"

"I gave you my mating mark."

My whole body feels different. I have always been able to feel Alex within me somewhere, but just a thread of his existence and his heightened emotions. This is different. It's more extreme. I can feel his presence now as a part of me, melded with my soul.

"There!" I turn to look at Karina. "Alex didn't give me his mating mark. I gave him mine. Now, Alex Stone is no longer the Alpha of the Moonrise Wolf Pack in the North Alliance. He and his people now belong to the South."

"What?" Karina hisses. "What kind of ridiculous gesture is this? The mating mark is always given by the man."

"Not necessarily," one of the delegates from the Central Alliance points out. "While it is more common for the male to give to give the female his mating mark, female Alphas often give theirs, and the same standards hold. Queen Sophia is bringing her mate into her pack, and not the other way around. And since she has played your little game quite well, according to the rules of our kind, Alex Stone is now the Alpha Consort to the Queen of the South."

Karina glares at me. "I won't allow you to—"

"Are you threatening the leader of the South Alliance?" Brian asks coldly. "Because I don't think you can handle the consequences of that."

"She cannot—Alpha Stone murdered one of my people!"

"You have no proof of that," I hiss at her. "The only person you claim is a witness is dead."

"Hilda called me herself!"

"How do you know she wasn't lying?" I challenge her. "How do you know she isn't the one who killed Julia and she was lying to protect herself? How do you even know that Julia is really dead?"

Brian nods. "It is just that one girl's word that you have, Karina. And even if he did kill her, I don't see Alex Stone killing somebody for no reason."

I don't know what happened to Karina's people who did witness Julia's death, but if they haven't made it all the way here yet, they're probably dead. I can hope, at least.

"What about your people?" I whisper to Alex.

"Our packs have blended as a result of our mating. She can't touch them," Alex replies in a low voice, and I feel a stab of relief.

Karina has run out of reasons to hold us here.

I squeeze Alex's hand. "If that is all, we will be taking our leave."

We both know that this is not the right opportunity to go after Karina. Alex gathers my mother in his arms, and we walk away.

Karina doesn't stop us. She can't.

The representatives of the South and the North follow us. We walk through the halls of the palace till we reach the entrance. I still don't fully understand what has happened, but I know that we have to keep moving. We can't stay here.

Brian suggests the same thing. "Karina isn't going to forget this slight, Sophia. You and your mate should leave this place. The rest of us will stay here for a few more days to assess the situation."

"You can stay in my territory for a while, if you want," one of the Northern leaders offers. "Karina will not expect me to house you."

Alex gives the man a long look before introducing him to me. "Sophia, this is Dorian Greyhound, Alpha of the Greyson Wolf Pack."

"I'm sorry I couldn't stand with you, Alex," Dorian says regretfully. "But Karina has us by the throat. But if your mate truly can undo the link Karina has on our young ones, I swear to you that we will support you."

Alex looks at me, and I nod.

"Even if you don't stand by us," I say to the man, "I would still like to free the children of your pack."

Dorian's eyes lower. "You may think I'm just trying to get on your good side, Queen Sophia, but even though I've never heard the prophecy, I do believe that someone like you would be the kind of ruler we would all look up to."

I don't know how to respond to that. Brian, however, does.

"She will be. A word, Queen Sophia?"

Feeling awkward, I say, "It's just Sophia."

He beams at me. Now that I take a closer look, Brian seems to be in his late fifties, a strong, sturdy man with graying hair and kind eyes. We step away from the others, out of earshot, and while I would prefer to have Alex by my side, I know I cannot lean on him in every situation. No matter how tempting it would be to do that.

"I want to discuss something with you, if it's alright?"

Having the King of the South Alliance speak so politely to me makes me uncomfortable. Okay, he's no longer King, but… "Are you sure you're okay with what you just did, stepping down like that? I mean, I have no leadership skills. I have no skills at all, to be honest."

Brian studies me after my little outburst, and when he smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkle. "I have a daughter your age. You remind me of her. Brimming with potential and yet so unsure of yourself. People aren't born with leadership skills, Sophia. You learn them as you go along. And I am confident that you will grow into your role. Giving up the title of King is not something I did lightly. You are a beacon of hope. And I am sorry for what Robert Black put you and your family through. I had been investigating him for a while, but I had no idea how deep the corruption and darkness ran."

I'm silent. What do I say to something like this? Brian seems remorseful, although none of it was his fault.

"The fact is, a few witches have approached me with prophecies over the past two decades. I don't know if you are aware, but prophecies are only handed over to witches when a major shift is about to take place. They kept mentioning the Silver Wolf, and I did not take them seriously. I should have. Perhaps I could have saved your mother and you a lifetime of suffering. I would like it if you would let me stay on as your advisor. Politics have an important part to play in the three Alliances. Let me manage that for you."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Nothing," he assures me. "I expect you to be yourself. A war may be coming, Sophia. One has been prophesied. If war breaks out, the three Alliances will shatter. My belief is that you may be the only one who will be able to prevent that war, by uniting the three Alliances. In the meantime, I will guide you. Wherever you fall, I will catch you. I, too, want to see a change in the Alliances, to see us set our differences aside. And I believe you will be the one to bring about that change."

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" I look over at all the seasoned leaders, and here I am, just the Silver Wolf. Even my education is lacking.

Brian's smile widens. "Because I see the potential in you, the determination. I have an eye for talent. And you, my dear, are brimming with it."

Brian nods at me before going back inside the palace with the others.

His words are ringing in my ears. I don't know if I will prove to be a good leader or not, but I don't think I have a choice anymore. I'm now stuck with this title of Queen.

***

Despite Elsa telling me there's nothing that can be done, Dorian's healers look after my mother. The Alpha of the Greyson Wolf Pack is determined to give it a try.

He also brings me the children linked to Karina's people, and I've already been able to remove the magic from quite a few of them. While he's anxious for them all to be freed, he's letting me do this at my own pace. And the more I use my magic, the easier it comes to me, and my stamina for it increases.

Alex has taken these past few days to contact the pack members hiding in the human cities. His soldiers are residing within Greyson Wolf Pack territory with us, but Dorian has asked us all to keep our presence here a secret from the rest of the pack. I can understand that he fears backlash from Karina if she discovers that he's hosting us.

A few Alphas of the North Alliance know we are here and have stopped by to meet us, though, all of them hoping for my help with their pups. I want to help everybody, but I can't do it all at once. I am mentally and emotionally exhausted, and when I need a break, I spend it with Alex in the small backyard of the guest house we're staying in. It's been hard. We've achieved a slight victory, but our hearts are heavy.

At least I finally have the time to grieve the loss of my friend and consider the possible loss of my mother. Drew's death is still sitting heavy on my heart. It gnaws at me that his body is out there, open prey for wild animals. I have asked one of the Alphas whose territory borders the Black Alder Wolf Pack territory to retrieve and bury Drew's body. Everyone is bending over backward to please me, so I know they will get it done.

That's all I can do for my friend right now. Once the world has settled down, I'll check on Tim and remind him how much his father cherished him. I won't let the memory of Drew die.

And then there's Alex. He has grown quiet. He spends time with me, but he doesn't talk about what happened after I left him back in the village.

After two days, I finally say something about it to him.

"Alex."

He looks up at me.

"I'm not the only one hurting right now," I begin, trying to be both tactful and blunt at the same time. "I've given you space, but I need to know what happened back in the village as I entered the tunnel. I know it has something to do with Hilda. I felt your grief in that moment. I tried to go back to help you, but I couldn't."

"It's good that you didn't," Alex murmurs. "I—I had to kill her, Sophia. She was out of control. I didn't even recognize her. I think the murder of her parents broke her in some fundamental way. She was actually a lot like Julia, but I never saw it. I never realized that her obsession with me ran so deep. She was willing to destroy the entire pack just to have me."

I have never seen Alex cry, but the agony in his eyes has me wrapping him in my arms. "I know you loved her."

His voice breaks. "I was still a child myself when I started raising her, Sophia, but to me, she was my child. Or my little sister. And I had to kill her with my own hands. How am I supposed to live with that?"

The crack in his voice makes me want to weep for him. "I'm so sorry," I whisper, wishing I could take away his pain.

"Don't be. You were right. Everybody was right. I was just so blind that I didn't see it, and because of that, I let her do this to the pack. So many good men lost their lives. Even when she saw our people falling, she didn't seem to think she'd done anything wrong. I tried to make it as painless as possible for her. She didn't see it coming."

His head is resting on my shoulder now, and he's squeezing me tight. Hatred blooms in my heart for that girl. Although I feel sorry for her, I'm also furious that she put Alex through this. "What happened wasn't your fault," I tell him. "You were dealing with so much. I can understand why you didn't want to believe Hilda's feelings for you were so twisted."

But at the end of the day, my words cannot comfort him because his grief is his alone to bear. I can only try to help him through it. We sit like this for a while, in silence, each of us dealing with our own broken heart.

Finally, Alex lifts his head and looks at me. "Queen of the South Alliance. The title suits you."

"And you are my Alpha Consort."

A small laugh escapes him even as his eyes look heavy. "Does this mean I get to just sit around and look pretty for you?"

He's teasing me, and I'm glad he's able to do that now. "It's more that you will be teaching me how to do what you do. My title may be Queen, Alex, but this is not something I can do alone if I even know what I'm supposed to be doing."

I tell him about what Brian said to me, and Alex's expression grows serious. "A war? We'll have to discuss this with him in more detail."

I study his face, feeling a hint of uncertainty. "Alex, does it bother you that you are now my consort? At least in the eyes of the Alliances?"

He appears confused by my question, but clarity enters his eyes after a moment, and he chuckles. "You mean, am I feeling insecure that you're in charge? No. I told you before, Sophia. You are my whole world. We can go anywhere and be anything, as long as we're together."

He takes my face in his hands and kisses me, a long, deep kiss that makes me melt in his arms.

I sigh happily before grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down on top of me. "Alright, Consort, clothes off!"

Alex laughs before tapping the side of my butt playfully. "Maybe I should undress you first."

Despite the grim circumstances, we create our own bubble of happiness. As Alex picks me up in his arms and carries me inside, I know the next few days will be tough, but we'll get through them. As long as we're together.