Page 58 of The Alpha's Fated Bond

I never took Hilda to be so dense, but her constant denial about the open secret of my courtship of Sophia seems odd. My mate’s words drift back to my mind, and they trouble me.

Surely not.

I practically raised Hilda. There’s no way she looks at me in that way. I find it hard to believe.

“Sophia is important to me,” I tell her firmly. “You need to stop referring to her as ‘that female,’ Hilda. We’ve already talked about this.”

“Well, she’s only here because of the store.” Hilda looks annoyed. “And you can do much better than her, Alex. There are better women out there for you, women who suit you and understand you.”

She gives me a meaningful look, and I ignore it. “Sophia and I are in a relationship, Hilda. I know I haven’t been able to spendas much time with you as I normally do, but I would prefer it if you gave her the respect she deserves.”

Hilda’s expression turns white, and I realize this is the first time I’ve verbally confirmed anything about me and Sophia. Even if it’s not the whole truth, it’s still something. It’ll give my pack enough to go on.

Marjorie chuckles. “Well, well, well. I think I should close the shop for a while. I suddenly remembered I have somewhere to be.”

I grin at her, already knowing what she’s planning to do. She’s going to go spread the word to anyone who will listen, which is basically everyone. But I realize that’s exactly what I want. Let everyone see Sophia as my romantic partner, not somebody whose existence is a threat to Karina. At least, not yet.

“I have to get going, as well.”

“What about the festival tomorrow?” Marjorie asks.

I look around and see that a few of the stores have already strung up fairy lights. Once a year, the pack likes to get together for a two-day event. It’s a good bonding time for the entire pack.

“What about it?”

“Will you bring her?” Marjorie’s eyes are twinkling.

“Sure.”

When I look toward Hilda, she’s already gone.

Marjorie shakes her head. “Don’t worry about her. She’ll get over it. You focus on your young lady. Bring her to the festival.Introduce her to the pack. Not everyone has met her yet, but I know they will all be happy to see you there together.”

While I feel pleased at the idea of finally introducing Sophia to the pack, I also know that the festival will be the best time to gain access to the pups. The nannies and the soldiers like to go running in their wolf forms when they know all the pack members are in one place. Only one soldier is left behind to guard the pups, and we can deal with him easily.

The festival is a tradition that was started by some of the older females two years after I became Alpha. What was once considered a way to bring some happiness into the lives of the shattered children has now become a time of hope for all of us. The event always lasts for two days. The first day, the entire village mingles. We don’t have any humans here, so it’s just the pack. Food is served, and everyone has a good time. On the second day of the festival, stalls are set up with games and entertainment and snacks. Karina’s people only step out on the first day, when they’re sure the entire village will be there. That is the window of opportunity we will have. We may not be able to break the links of all the children, but it is a good chance to be able to free some of them.

Bidding farewell to Marjorie, I carry the packaged bird to my office, planning to give it to Sophia tonight. There’s a pile of letters on the corner of my desk. The village is quite isolated, so our mail is deposited in the human town near us and gets picked up once a week. This is Karina’s only way of communicating with us—aside from showing up out of the blue, which is something she enjoys doing.

As I sift through the envelopes, one of them catches my eye. My blood instantly turns cold.

The seal on it is the insignia of the Cross River Wolf Pack, Karina’s pack. It looks like an invitation, and I have a feeling I know which event it’s going to be for. Opening the envelope, I see the formal invitation card regarding the Winter Banquet that will take place in mid-December.

The Winter Banquet is a week-long event that occurs every three years, where all the representatives of the three Alliances meet. It’s usually the pack Alphas of each territory that show up. The last time I attended this event, Karina spent a good amount of time mocking my parents and laughing about their murders. The room was silent, disapproval etched on every face. But no one uttered a word. Even the South Alliance disapproved of her methods. But it was none of their business, so they didn’t have any reason to say anything. The Central Alliance, on the other hand, simply did not care since they were not affected.

I’m not looking forward to attending the banquet this year. But it does give me a deadline which I have to work against. We have two weeks to get everything together.

A knock on the door has me looking over. Patrick is standing in the doorway.

“Got a minute?”

“I’ve got several, and I have some things to say to you,” I growl at him.

“Don’t bother.” My friend throws himself into the visitor chair. “Sophia already told me that you know. Believe me, my intention wasn’t to stir something up between the two of you. I was simply trying to tell her how much you care about her. This was just after the fight the two of you had when she first met Hilda.” He gives me a curious look. “What did she say, though?”

“Why?” I scowl. “She didn’t tell you?”

He gives me a small smile. “Don’t blame me that you picked a mate who’s more stubborn than you are. She wants to protect you. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.”

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