Chapter 6

Alex

My fingers run through Sophia's hair as she sleeps beside me. The sun has set outside, but I have not been able to leave Sophia's side. She's sleeping deeply, curled up against me. She always does this when we sleep together. I don't think she knows that she seeks my body heat in her sleep. Throughout our journey, I insisted on her sleeping right by my side, wanting her covered in my scent from head to toe.

She looks exhausted. There are circles under her eyes.

None of this would be happening if I had just taken her and left. I know I added additional burdens on her, and I regret it.

"I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't forgiven me," I murmur, wrapping a strand of her hair around my finger before releasing it and watching it fall into a smooth curl.

I didn't expect her to apologize. Her words from before are still ringing in my ears, and they hurt even now.

She said I was no better than Noah.

From the wealth of pain she was in, she meant those words in that moment. I was lucky this time, but will she be able to forgive me the next time I mess up?

She's so precious to me. Out of everyone in this world, she is the only person who is truly mine.

I'll speak with Hilda. It's about time I talk to her. I would rather she befriend Sophia; I'm not going to let anybody come between us anymore. Sophia has no reason to be wary of the girl I raised, but she doesn't know her. As far as she is concerned, Hilda is an unmated female around me. I'm sure Hilda will understand.

I also need to speak with Lily. It relieves me that Sophia has the ability to unlink the children from Karina's people. At least, Sophia did say that she managed to untangle some of the dark magic threads. The cost might be too heavy for her to bear, though. I'm going to have a talk with Lily first. The only way I'll let Sophia do this is if Lily is able to yank her back.

The next problem is how to get access to the children without alerting the nannies. The six-month-old girl, Beth, was recently orphaned. Her father resisted the soldiers and was killed. It infuriates me that I cannot even protect my own people! Tomorrow, I will see if Tessa, the baby's mother, is willing to give her up again for a few hours; I want to have Lily check whether the strength of the link between the nanny and the child is the same or if it has weakened due to Sophia's interference.

I don't want to leave this bed, but I have to. There's a lot of work to get done that can only be done in the darkness of the night. Slipping out of the bedroom, I close the door quietly and look over at the two burly shifters standing guard in the hall. I nod at them, and they nod back.

I head to one of the rooms that has yet to be furnished, locking the door from the inside. The whole place looks like a construction zone. It's a very convenient cover. After moving aside the tarp on the floor to reveal a trap door, I pull it open and jump in.

These tunnels were built a couple of years ago through painstaking effort, and only a handful of people know about them. All the digging took place at night; precautions had to be taken at each step to prevent anybody from finding out about their existence.

One of the companies I founded created solar-fueled bulbs for mines and underground construction. These bulbs line the tunnel, guiding my route. I walk underneath the village till I reach a series of tunnels leading in all different directions, a way of escape for my pack. If ever Karina decides to attack us, there are several of these trap doors built all over the village, even in the houses of those unaware of their existence.

This is the only way my people can get away from here undetected. These tunnels open up in various locations quite far away from the village.

As I head deeper underground, I take the tunnel in the middle and shift into my wolf form. It takes me thirty minutes to reach the end of the tunnel, which is a wooden door. I shift back and retrieve the key, which is in my pocket. When I unlock the door, I'm not surprised to see Saul, Jared, and Patrick are already here.

This is a large room containing folders and documents pertaining to Karina and her people, plus our own espionage information that we have been gathering with the help of spies planted all over.

I close the door behind me, asking, "Well?"

Saul looks up from where he's writing something in a ledger. "We don't have a lot to go on. Our spies are lying low for now. But I did get word that Karina has been trying to contact Julia. She hasn't been successful, and she's pissed about that."

I look around at the men standing before me. "There's a chance Julia's dead."

"Ding dong, the witch is dead!" Jared grins. "Good riddance to bad rubbish."

"I wouldn't be so quick to celebrate," Patrick cautions. "If Karina is able to connect Julia's possible death with you, Alex, we're pretty much screwed. And you know that."

He's making sense, but I have a rebuttal. "Karina never told us that she was sending Julia our way, and as far as we know, Julia never told her she found us. By all accounts, we never crossed paths."

Patrick gives me a disgusted look. "You expect that story to fly with Karina?"

"Not really, no," I admit with a shrug. "But it's not like we have anything else we can tell her. We don't even know where Julia is."

"We'll have to figure that out soon." Patrick looks tense. "I've sent out feelers. Even if Karina believes that we never crossed paths with Julia, if she has gone missing, Karina is going to take it out on us. And nobody can stop her."

He has a point. This is something I was afraid of. But the alternative was to bring Julia with us when we left Oakrest, and that was not happening. Julia would have quickly realized that Sophia was the Silver Wolf, and she would have handed her over to Karina.

"Keep me updated on that situation." I look at Saul. "Where's Nathan?"

"He's looking after Tessa," Jared pitches in. "She's rattled. The nanny was angry with her for bringing Beth back so late. She tried to ban Tessa from any more feeding sessions. Nathan had some words with the nanny, and the soldiers got involved. We had to step in. You're going to have to deal with that situation in the morning."

"Don't worry," I say darkly. "I'll have a word with the soldiers. They may be able to prevent the parents from accessing their children, but not the Alpha."

Even though the soldiers are Karina's people, and they can be quite cruel to my pack members, I'm still more powerful than they are. I may not be able to kill them, but I can beat them to within an inch of their life. I've done it once before. Karina decided to show up later and whipped me in front of the soldiers and the pack, a humiliating human punishment, but it takes more than that to break me. The soldiers know that Karina's reprimand didn't have the intended impact, and they're wary of me.

"How are you planning to introduce Sophia and Lily to the pack?" Saul asks, studying me. "Everyone is asking questions, and the fact that they haven't even left the guest house has the nannies and soldiers becoming curious as well. We can't let them get too nosy."

"I'm well aware," I say, leaning against the wall. "Last night, I saw two of the soldiers approaching the guest house. They left when they realized I was there. We'll introduce the girls in the morning. The backstory is that they're from one of the bigger cities, and I brought them here to open up a shop."

"A shop?" Patrick gives me a long look. "That's a foolproof plan you've got there, boss."

I scoff. "Have some faith in me. Lily will be introduced as a witch who specializes in shifter clothing. Since we don't have easy access to any stores where witches enchant clothes for shifters, and since we've already opened many businesses here and in other territories, it's perfectly reasonable that they would be here to survey the area and see if they can set up shop here. That way, our people can also have a selection of our special clothes instead of just getting secondhand pieces sent to us."

"That makes sense." Saul nods. "But what about Sophia?"

"I've already prepared an identity for her. She'll be introduced as a shifter. A seamstress."

"And what if the soldiers try to verify her identity?"

"They don't have the right to do that." I smile sharply. "I'm still the Alpha. They can try to push her around, but they won't be able to demand her identity card. The only one who can do that is Karina. But don't worry about it. Everything is getting ready as we speak."

Jared looks on edge. "This isn't the first time we've people visiting for business-related work," he says. "You haven't forgotten how our most recent visitors were harassed, have you? We've lost two potential deals because of them."

"I'll be glued to their sides," I tell him, well aware of the techniques of Karina's soldiers to prevent anything that remotely looks like progress within our pack. "For now, we have to figure out a way to get access to the children without anybody getting suspicious. I want to see Beth tomorrow, as well, so that Lily can check the progress of Sophia's work."

"She was actually successful?" Patrick looks surprised.

"Nathan didn't tell you?"

"He wasn't really sure." Patrick glances at the others, delight in his eyes. "So, how long do we need—"

I cut him off. "It takes a toll on her. Her body temperature dropped very low, very quickly during the whole thing."

"So, what does that mean?" Patrick asks, concerned.

I explain the discussion I had with Sophia, and he looks relieved. "It's not impossible, then, right?"

I nod. "We're hoping it works."

Silence falls over the room. The others look at each other and then at me. I can sense that they want to say something but are feeling cautious right now.

"What is it? Spit it out."

"We were wondering about the mating ceremony," Jared begins. "When do you plan to give Sophia the mating mark?"

The question is an unexpected one. It's something that's been weighing on my mind, but truth be told, there are certain things holding me back. As I told Sophia, the minute I give her my mating mark, she's going to become vulnerable to Karina.

And as we stand, I don't think her wolf will be willing to accept my mark. Even though our bond has been growing stronger, it's not quite there yet. Giving a mating mark to a female is not as simple as biting into her neck. There is always a possibility that the female's wolf will reject the mark. Seeing how Sophia still hesitates when around me tells me we still need more time.

As a result, my own wolf is hesitant.

My silence speaks volumes to my companions, and Jared sits down heavily in a chair. "It's not going to be anytime soon, is it?"

"I don't think her wolf is going to accept me. Not yet."

Patrick is the only one who doesn't look surprised. But then, my friend has known me the longest, and he's been watching Sophia and me quite intently ever since I met her.

"You have a point," he says, his voice thoughtful. "You haven't courted her yet. And although the wolf may like you, I don't think it's willing to accept you."

"How can you say that?" Jared demands, annoyed. "Alex has been protecting her ever since we left Oakrest."

"If you were to pay attention, Jared," Patrick says, meeting my gaze, "you'd see that Sophia's wolf is not entirely receptive toward Alex. Just because they are fated mates doesn't mean it doesn't expect to be properly courted. He hasn't invested enough time in them for the wolf to be completely satisfied. And on top of that, the trust factor is still a problem. I don't know much about Sophia's past, but she certainly has a hard time trusting people completely."

Jared glares at him. "What are you, their love therapist?"

Saul seems to be in agreement. "I haven't seen her have a problem with us. She trusts us just fine."

Patrick chuckles. "Like I said, you need to pay attention. Alex has a long way to go before the two of them will be able to connect properly. I don't see a problem with that, though. The longer they wait, the better.

Saul looks at me. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

I can only shrug. "Patrick's right. Sophia and I have a lot of ground to cover yet."

"Then, how are you planning to court her? In front of Karina's people? How is that going to work? I thought the whole point was to keep Sophia on the down low."

"There's nothing strange about an Alpha falling for a visiting seamstress. Even if word gets back to Karina, she'll think it's nothing but a flirtation. She fully intends to have me mated off to Julia."

Even Patrick doesn't seem to be on board with my plan. "You really think Karina won't interfere in this? What if she suspects that Sophia is the Silver Wolf?"

"It's a risk," I admit. "But we're going to go through all the motions of showing Sophia and Lily the area and discussing business and all that. Karina won't have cause to be suspicious, especially when she finds out that Sophia works at the main shop in the city and that somebody else might replace her here. Like I said, I have it planned out. And as far as the Silver Wolf part is concerned, I'm going to ask Lily to prepare a potion to dye Sophia's fur temporarily."

My companions give me a doubtful look, but ultimately, they don't have a better plan than this one.

"I don't know," Patrick finally says. "It seems like you're putting Sophia right in the spotlight."

"There's no other way to court her, Patrick."

It's not like I can't see the risk in my plan. But throughout the journey from Sophia's town to my village, I considered different scenarios. This is the only plausible one.

"In the meantime," I add, "does Nathan still have all telecommunication services blocked? We have to prevent Karina from finding out we've returned. The soldiers are going to try to initiate contact with her."

"Yup. He taught Hilda how to keep the interference going while we were gone, and he took over when we came back. For now, we're safe," Saul replies. "There is something you should know, though. About the information coming from the South Alliance."

I stiffen. "What information?"

Saul grimaces. "Exactly. There isn't any. An Alpha was murdered down there. Our spies should've picked up on unrest within the pack. Nothing is going on, though. It's like the entire pack has closed ranks. Not even a fly can get in there undetected."

"Is that necessarily bad?" Jared asks, leaning forward in his chair and looking at Saul.

"It is," I answer thoughtfully. "If the pack has cut all communication and no information is leaking through, that means the Red Rock Wolf Pack is up to something. I can only assume that Noah has taken his father's place. And if he has, Sophia's freedom has a time limit. She will only be free from the South Alliance if she wears my mating mark. Once she becomes the Alpha Female of the Moonrise Wolf Pack, the South Alliance cannot touch her."

The silence in the room is heavy. None of this is good news.

***

I've been gone for a couple of hours before I return to Sophia's room, and when I open the door, she's sitting on the bed, awake. I freeze.

She turns her head to face me. "Where are you coming from?"

"I went to meet Jared and the others."

"At this time of night?"

There's no suspicion in Sophia's voice, just curiosity.

"Some things are better done in the dark," I respond. "Why are you awake?"

She shrugs, and I realize that she has the blanket wrapped around herself. Alarm fills me.

"Are you cold?"

She shakes her head. "I had the dream again. About that silver wolf."

For a moment, I don't understand what she's talking about. And then I recall the first night I spent in Sophia's apartment, when I'd been injured and she rescued me. She was sleeping by my bedside, her head resting on the bed, and she had a terrible dream about a wolf with silver fur. She never told me much about it, and I never probed into the matter. But from the way she's phrasing it, it seems that it is a recurring dream and not a one-off event.

"You've been dreaming about the silver wolf?"

"A silver wolf," Sophia corrects me. "It is the same dream, Alex. There's a long corridor with jail cells on each side. The air is putrid; it smells terrible in there. There's no sunlight. It's a horrible place. And in the last cell on the right, there's a silver wolf lying in the corner, chained to the wall. Her fur is silver, but it's dirty, as if it's been ages since she's taken a bath."

Her voice is unsteady as she continues. "She's sleeping, almost unconscious. Sometimes she's awake and looks at me. But she never shifts into her human form. She just gazes at me so sadly. I've tried to talk to her; I've asked her who she is, where she is. But she says nothing. And this time, she looked like she's lost even more weight, if that was possible. She already looked half-starved but now, tonight, she looked completely emaciated."

Sophia's words are growing softer and quieter, and there's a thickness to them, as if she's on the verge of tears. "I don't want to have this dream again. It's like I know her but I don't know her, Alex. I can't bear to see her like that."

"Maybe she's a figment of your imagination?" I suggest, but it doesn't feel right to me.

Sophia isn't offended by what I say. "No, I don't think so. It's something else. Do you think…" When she looks at me, I glimpse a mixture of fear and hope in her eyes. "Do you think it could be my mother?"

I sit down on the bed beside her, studying her. "Your mother?"

"Robert Black did say she was alive." In her eagerness, Sophia shrugs off the blanket and grabs my arm. "Or maybe I'm going crazy? Maybe it's her. Maybe she's—Maybe—"

She can't seem to get the words out.

"You think she's trying to reach out to you?" I ask her gently.

"It's possible, right?"

"I wish I could say yes," I say slowly. "I can tell that you want it to be true. But I can't say anything without proof, Sophia. I simply don't know."

My words have her grip on my arm loosening. There's a defeated look in her eyes, and her voice turns dull. "You're right. I'm just…It can't be her."

"That's not what I said." I take her hands in mine. "What I'm saying is I don't know for sure. I can't give you a definite answer. But we will look for your mother, Sophia."

Her voice is faint as she looks toward the window. "I have a feeling it will be too late."

"Why do you say that?"

"I've been thinking about it a lot." Sophia twists her fingers together. "What if Robert never told anybody where she was? What if he was the only one feeding her? Now that he's dead, there's going to be nobody to keep her alive. I know it's a stupid thought. It just keeps revolving in my head over and over again."

It's not stupid. I cannot see Alpha Black telling anybody about the existence of Sophia's mother. If that's the case, we are going to be working on a time crunch.

"Don't worry," I try to placate my mate, the gears in my head turning. "I'm going to start looking into Robert's finances and his activities over the past years. See if we can track where he might be keeping her."

But my words are meaningless. Of course she will worry. Of course she will think about her mother possibly starving to death. I wish there were something I could do for her right now, but at the moment, I don't even know where to begin looking.

"Why don't you lie down for now?" I help her back into the bed, covering her with the blanket. "I'll have my people start looking into your mother's whereabouts in the morning. Do you know anything about her? Her name?"

She looks at me, and there's a hollow grief in her voice. "I don't even know what she looks like, Alex. I don't know anything about her. I don't even know what her voice sounds like."

She turns onto her side and pulls the blanket over her head as if to escape from the world. Hatred flickers in my heart for the cruel Alpha who separated mother and child out of sheer greed.

I lie down next to Sophia, cradling her form in my arms. I remove the blanket from her face and just hold her. After a while, I hear her breathing even out, indicating that she has fallen asleep.

We all have our own tragedies that we've faced. I lost my parents to Karina. Within a single day two decades ago, I lost my whole world. I was forced to endure the mercy of a monster. In the meantime, Sophia suffered a different sort of tragedy, separated from her mother at birth and groomed to become the broodmare of her pack's Alpha simply because she was the Silver Wolf.

She was isolated in a small town, and every attempt was made to break her spirit so that she would be grateful for any scrap of affection Alpha Black would throw her way. However, the man never accounted for her personality. Sophia is a survivor, like me. But like all survivors, she is a little broken inside, too.

It's ironic that the two of us were decreed for each other. It's as if the Goddess thought that we would be able to fill the gaps in each other's lives that our circumstances created.

I stroke Sophia's hair. She doesn't ask for anything. She makes no demands. Even now, I wonder if she's running on survival mode. I've never seen Sophia relax around me. It always feels like she's waiting for the other shoe to fall.

I want her to realize that the hard part is over now. She's with me. And I fully intend to try to make her life as easy as I possibly can. It's going to take time. Time for her to trust me. Time for me to understand my own responsibilities and stop royally fucking up.

She makes a sound of discontent and then rolls over, burrowing herself in my chest. I smile, wrapping my arms around her.

There are still a few hours until sunrise, so I decide to get some shuteye as well. Holding Sophia, I let myself drift off, leaving my worries behind for the next day.