Page 96 of The Alpha's Fated Bond

“Sophia!” Elsa calls out my name, urgency in her voice.

I turn around and see her holding my mother’s body. Heart crawling into my throat, I dash to my mother’s side. “What happened?”

“She’s drained.” Elsa looks close to tears. “She is completely drained of her powers.”

“But she can recover, right?” I ask anxiously.

“We have healers here—” Brian steps forward quickly to offer help, but Elsa shakes her head.

“She is at a very critical point. Her body is shutting down. There’s nothing anybody can do. I’m sorry, Sophia.”

I slump backward, and Alex is there to support me.

“This is my fault,” I say, dazed. “She was trying to help me.”

“She did what she wanted to do,” Elsa reassures me. “But she doesn’t have long, Sophia. Her body has forced itself into a coma to try to replenish her energy levels, but it’s not going to work.”

Tears are burning my eyes, but I don’t let them fall.

There has to be something I can do. There has to be a way I can reverse this. “If I give her more of my own life force—”

Elsa’s head whips up, her eyes horrified. “Have you been sharing your life force with your mother?”

“Yes,” I reply in a small voice.

“Don’t ever do that again! That’s very dangerous for both of you!”

“What else can I do?”

Elsa sighs. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do at this point.”

No. I’m not going to accept that answer. She has to wake up. She has to wake up so that I can give her a good life. She has to spend time with me. To know what it’s like to live without suffering. She can’t die the same way she lived, in agony!

“Take Alpha Stone into custody.”

Karina’s harsh voice has me looking up. What’s going on? Her soldiers quickly surround Alex.

“What are you doing?” I snarl at the Queen of the North.

One corner of her mouth turns upward. “I am sorry about your mother’s health situation, but I have my own Alliance to manage. I may not be able to touch you, but Alex is still a member of the North Alliance, and he and his pack betrayed me. As a result, they are all going to be put to death.”

“He’s my mate!” I get to my feet, my eyes flashing.

“I’m sorry,” Karina replies in a cloying tone. “But I cannot break my Alliance rules for you, no matter who you may be. Alex Stone has to pay the price for what he did to Julia.”

“If you touch my mate, I will do everything in my power to burn the North down. I am so sick of people trying to take advantage of me. Alex is mine. You can’t have him.”

“You’re not wearing his mating mark,” Karina says with a smile. “So, while he may be your fated mate, he is not your mate. And if he gives you his mark, you will belong to the North. You’ll have to give up your status as the Queen of the South and serve me.”

She sounds way too pleased.

“The choice is up to you. Either you let me follow the rules and execute your precious fated mate and his pack, or you let Alex give you his mating mark, in which case you will live in the North and I will consider forgiving his pack.”

I’m no fool. The minute Alex mates me and I fall under Karina’s rule, we will both be ripped apart, and no one will be able to interfere.

But what if…

I look at Alex, wondering if this has been done before. After all, I am the Queen of the South Alliance now. Surely, I will be able to do what I want to do.

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