Page 115 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

I glare at her. “You must have me confused with my mate. Unlike her, I don’t think with my heart. You saved my life, notbecause you wanted to, but because you wanted something from me. Sophia may be easy to fool, but I’m not. How did you know where I was?”

She snaps her mouth shut.

I take a step toward her. “You knew where I was the whole time, didn’t you? Were you part of this whole plan? Where is Sophia? You better start talking, Tina, or so help me…”

In a town where not even animals reside, I hear a muffled sound in the silence. My head turns to the left, and from the corner of my eye, I see Tina turn pale.

“What was that?”

I’m about to go investigate when she stops me. “Let’s just get out of here. It’s nothing. It must be some wounded animal.”

I shake her off. “I don’t think so.”

Her desperation to stop me can only mean that she’s trying to hide something.

Is it Sophia? Does she have Sophia stashed in this place?

I ignore her protests and follow the source of the sound. The muffled groaning is getting louder as I reach a small house. Opening the door, I see a sparsely furnished room with a table and a chair, and a bed in the corner. On that bed is a familiar figure.

“Is that Noah?” I narrow my eyes.

Tina immediately steps in front of me, spreading her arms, protectively. “You can’t hurt him!”

“Hurt him?” I push her aside to go see what is going on. A horrible smell reaches me and I cover my nose. Noah’s face is pale, and there’s a large hole in his stomach that is rotting away.

“How is he alive?” I ask in growing shock.

When Tina doesn’t reply. I look at her. “What happened to him?”

When she speaks, her voice is trembling. “You’re right. I saved you because I need your help. I need Sophia to heal him.”

“Heal him?” I stare at her. “What happened to him?”

Tina grits her teeth, tears in her eyes. “Karina. Karina happened to him. She needed help getting access to the South Alliance. She told Noah that we could join hands. I was against the whole thing from the very beginning. I don’t trust that woman. But he wouldn’t listen to me. He went and helped her out, and in return, she injured him and had one of thewitches cast dark magic on his wound. It will never heal. I can’t interfere because the spell is cast byanother witch. But Sophia can. She can get rid of the dark magic so that he can heal.”

I stare at her and then look back at Noah, who is writhing in bed. His eyes are dull, and he doesn’t seem to be completely conscious. “Why would Sophia help either of you? You betrayed her and you hurt her mother. She doesn’t owe you anything.”

I’m about to walk out when Tina stops me. “She would never have found you without me. This place, this entire town has been sealed by a dark witch. That’s why nothing lives here. I was able to get in because I followed Karina’s people here. I watch them bury you here. Even if something happened to Karina, Sophia would never have been able to find you. She’ll help me. She’ll help me because I’ll bring you back to her.”

“She can save Noah so that he can turn around and stab her in the back again?” I demand. “I will not let Sophia help you. Let him die.”

Tina crumples to the ground, clutching onto my legs, tears in her eyes. “Please. She’s my only hope now, Alex. Don’t let him die. I can’t live without him. He’s all I have.”

I stare down at her, shocked. The woman I remember was too prideful to beg. But the woman in front of me is broken. “I can’t lose him. I don’t know life without him.”

“I won’t…”

“I can help you get to Sophia. She’s in danger. I can help you” She looks at me, pleading. “Just tell her to save my mate. We’ll go away from here, somewhere far away. You’ll never hear from us again. Just don’t let him die. I can’t see him suffer like this. It’s killing me.”

I want to walk away from her, but her words make me pause. “What do you mean Sophia is in danger?”

Tina’s eyes are wet. “Karina is trying to capture her. She’s attacking the humans as we speak. And Sophia went to stop her. You don’t know what Karina has done. Nobody can stop her now. She’s going to destroy Sophia. I can get you to her. I can help you save Sophia. In return, you have to convince her to save my mate.”

There’s no time to consider my options. “Fine. I’ll talk to her. Take me to Sophia.”

I pull her to her feet. “Let’s go.”

“Y-You’ll have to shift. It’s not that far from here.”

---