Page 11 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

It’s obvious Elsa disagrees, but then again, she’s looked after Sophia for so long that maybe it’s hard for her to believe that the young teenager she helped raise is now capable of making her own decisions.

“She needs guidance,” she argues with me. “Sophia is somebody who will dive headfirst into a situation without thinking of the consequences.”

“Then I’ll be there to think of the consequences.” I retort. “I don’t want to damage my relationship with her, Elsa.”

“Her safety comes before your relationship.”

“Yes, it does.” I agree with her. “But she will never be happy if we treat her the same way the Central Alliance treats the Silver Wolves.”

My words have Elsa startling back, shock written all over her face.

“I am not…”

“We are,” I murmur, feeling guilty. "I understand that she has a reckless streak, but it’s not my job as her mate to protect her from the consequences of her choices. Instead of controlling her decisions, it would be better to discuss things with her."

Elsa looks towards where her friend is lying and shakes her head. “I promised Grace I would protect Sophia. I need to keep my word."

I realize that arguing with the older woman is pointless. But Elsa is no longer in a position to force Sophia to do anything, not that she has done so before. While I understand her concern, Sophia was right. There is an imbalance of power between us, but she’s not using it against me even though she can. Instead, she’s fighting to keep me on equal footing with her. I owe her this much.

*****

We still have a few hours to leave, but I can’t find Sophia anywhere. Assuming that she's avoiding me, I get theremaining soldiers together and begin gathering some food items for the journey to the South Alliance. My heart feels heavy. Leaving the North is harder than I had imagined.

But Sophia belongs to the South now, and I won't leave my mate.

However, when the sun sets, there’s still no sign of Sophia, and I begin to worry.

I try to search for her using our bond, but it seems she has blocked me. A wave of panic and worry wash over me. Why would she do that? No matter what kind of fight we had, surely it could not have been so bad that she needs to block off her emotions from me.

I don’t get time to dwell too much on my worried thoughts, however, because I see her walking toward the guest house, next to Dorian. It occurs to me that I've not seen the Alpha of the Greyson Wolf Pack either since Sophia stormed off.

An unpleasant feeling forms in the pit of my stomach as I approach them.

“Where are the two of you coming from?”

Dorian exchanges a look with Sophia before replying. “We went to see if we could get a hold of the representatives of the Central Alliance. Sophia wanted to speak to them.”

I stare at my mate, who is deliberately not meeting my gaze. “Why didn’t you take me with you?”

Instead of replying, she just walks past me.

Dorian looks uncomfortable. "I don't want to get between whatever is going on with you two…"

I growl at him. "You had no business going anywhere with my mate.”

The Alpha bristles. “I wouldn’t have had to, but she approached me to ask for a favor.”

The insult that I feel is one thing, but the hurt is another thing. She didn’t even trust me enough to ask me to go with her. Did she think that I would try to stop her?

“Well?” I look at Dorian, irritated. “Did you meet them?”

He shakes his head. “They left earlier today. We tried to follow after them, but it was pointless."

“I see.”

He tries to walk away from me, but I put my hand over his shoulder, my claws digging into his skin as a warning. "She may be the Queen of the South and a powerful witch in her own right,but at the end of the day, Dorian, she is still my mate. Next time learn to say no. Or I can make life very difficult for your pack."

Dorian stares at me.

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