Page 83 of The Alpha's Fated Bond

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.”

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