Page 60 of The Alpha's Fated Bond

It strikes me that I never would have met Sophia had Karina not sent me to Oakrest to search for the mysterious Silver Wolf. The Queen had received a prophecy from a witch who told her about a Silver Wolf who would unite all three Alliances and who was the source of great power. While I don’t see Sophia uniting the three Alliances, I do know that my mate is incredibly gifted. She learns quickly and adapts to every situation, and despite the circumstances of her life, her resilience is startling.

As I replace the carving on the shelf, I hear a fluttering noise and a loud tapping on glass. These are familiar sounds; I leap over the desk to reach my office window, which I throw open.

In front of me is a gray pigeon. On its leg is a small piece of paper, rolled up and tied with a thin ribbon. The bird holds out its leg to me, and I unfasten the message.

When I unroll it, I see that it reads as follows:

“Prisoner was removed over a year ago. Secondary location empty. Movement in the North. Free zones. Black Alder.”

I stare at the words, my eyes narrowing.

This cannot be coincidence.

Black Alder is the name of the wolf pack that Karina most recently massacred.

What was Robert Black doing in Black Alder territory around that same time?

Chapter 13

Sophia

I’ve cleaned enough second-hand furniture that I’ve bought at flea markets and yard sales to know what I’m doing. But as I squat in front of the high-back chair that I’m beginning to realize is not olive green in color, I wonder if I’ve met my biggest challenge yet.

The chair is blue.

It’s blue. Not green.

I’ve been scrubbing at it for two hours now, and the light blue shade is starting to show.

“You haven’t won yet,” I say out loud, glaring at it. “I know your true colors now.”

Snickering at my own wit, I start scrubbing again.

I don’t even bother glancing at the black paint sitting ignored, just a few feet from me.

Lily is the living personification of the word “lazy.” I asked her to touch up the carving on the frame of the chair, and the young witch began sighing after two minutes, complaining about how her delicate wrist wasn’t meant to hold a paint brush. Now she’s upstairs, napping.

Although, to be fair, we did spend the entire morning and afternoon sneaking into homes and unlinking children from Karina’s people. What had once been a difficult and time-consuming task now takes a mere thirty minutes. It also no longer drains me to the extent that I’m close to passing out. However, I still need boosts of magical energy from Lily. Not as much, but especially during the last session today, I found myself fading.

I lean back, studying the new color emerging from the chair. Maybe I’m being harsh. Lily must be exhausted. I’m starting to sense that her stamina for magic vastly differs from mine. I wonder what Alex will say when he finds out what we did today.

I glance at the wall clock before turning my attention back to the chair.

I’ve spent my whole life trying to survive, unwanted by the people I believed should have cared about me, deceived by the ones I trusted. So now, having Alex constantly trying to protect me is a foreign sensation. I don’t know how to react. A part of me is thrilled that he cares so much, and the rest of me is flustered and defensive. It’s a strange feeling to have someone be so concerned about you when you’ve spent a lifetime being pushed away. Sometimes, I’m overwhelmed and scared, with doubts filling me. And then there are times when I’m deliriously happy.

I hum to myself as I begin touching up the chair’s frame with the black paint. For a change, I feel more relaxed tonight, doing something I’m familiar with.

Lost in my secret little project, I don’t hear the footsteps behind me till Alex’s voice reaches my ears. I nearly jump out of my skin.

“What are you doing?”

I tilt my head back from where I’m sitting on the floor only to see him looking down at me from above, the question in his eyes.

“Cleaning your chair.”

“That’s not my chair,” he responds quickly. But I see the doubt enter his expression almost immediately. “Is it? Wasn’t my chair green?”

I hold out my hand, and Alex helps me up. I grin at him. “You never actually cleaned this thing, did you?”

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