Page 15 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

Alex saw how stressed out I was trying to come up with a way to save my mother. He should’ve told me the minute the representative of the Central Alliance approached him. I could’ve talk to him, negotiated with him. I could have done something. Instead, he and Elsa made the decision for me, taking away the only chance I might have had to save my mother's life.

I'm angry with him. How could I not be?

He hasn’t yet apologized, but then again, that’s probably because I’m not giving him the opportunity to. However, even in my anger, I did not mean to hurt him with my words.

He’s never rejected me before, at least not like this. When he does, my wolf curls up in a ball inside of me, upset.

It’s always been the other way around, with me being upset and Alex trying to win me over. This is the first time I’ve seen him upset with me, and I don’t know what to do. The fact that he’s rejecting my touch means that I’ve hurt him more than I can imagine.

“Alex…"

I can feel my eyes welling up and I furiously brush away my tears. I know that if I cry, he’ll immediately forgive me, but I don’t want to use my tears as a way to manipulate him. I messed up.

“I shouldn’t have said that.” I pinch my arm tostop myself from crying. “It was a stupid thing to say. Especially when I didn’t mean it.”

“A part of you must have.”

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” I say, tightly. “I’ve never regretted meeting you, never regretted being your mate. I’ve never been happier than when I’m around you.”

I grab his hand, my grip tight so that he can't shake me off. “I’m sorry. Meeting you has changed my entire life. Don’t ever believe for a second that I don’t love you or that I’m not grateful that ourpaths crossed. I was just annoyed, and I said the first thing that came to mind. Doesn’t make it true.”

His expression is stony, and my heart is pounding in my chest as Isearch his eyes. Did one-word wreck our entire relationship? How am I supposed tosalvage this?

After a prolonged silence, Alex sighs. “I’m also sorry for what I said. I shouldn’t have kept what the man from Central Alliance said to myself. I should’ve told you.”

“I know you were trying to protect me.”

"I’m your mate, Sophia. I will always be trying to protect you from one thing or the other,” he says abruptly. “You can't get angry with me each time. Being in a relationship like this is new to me as well. We're both going to make mistakes. But you also need to understand that your words do matter. Our bond is still something new. Just because we're bound to each other doesn't mean our bond can't weaken.”

My blood goes cold at his words.

"I didn’t mean…”

“I'm sure you didn’t," he says, quietly. “But it felt like that to me. We’ve not had that much time together for us to really work on our relationship. Even though we are fated mates, our relationship has been far from normal. And that means we have to work even harder on it. I did make a mistake. Yes, I did think you might make a reckless decision. Reckless isn’t really the right word to use, though. You care too much. Not just for your mother. I've seen you, Sophia. When you get drawn into trying to save somebody, you don’t put your safety above the situation. I simply want to protect you. I can’t lose you. You’re all I have.”

“I don’t want to lose you either,” I admit. "You're right. I do get carried away sometimes. But I don’t want to be sheltered anymore.”

Alex puts his hands on my shoulders, gripping them. "Fine. But I will always stand between you and a decision that might put you in danger.”

I open my mouth to dispute that, but maybe he’s right. I have put myself in dangerous situations a lot of times. Just because I’m alive now, doesn’t mean I will survive the next time.

“Fine. But you cannot stop me from saving my mother.”

“I wouldn't dream of it,” he says, seriously. "And if you want to go to the Central Alliance to meet with their leader, I’ll go with you.”

I wet my lips, looking in the direction of the campsite. “Now?”

He shakes his head. "No. We’ll go to the South first and make sure your mother is safe. Then you and I will go to the Central Alliance. I don’t think we’ll be able to take your mother with us. Traveling isn’t good for her.”

“What if something happens to her while we're…"

“Elsa is able to stabilize her, right?” Alex asks.

I nod. “Barely. But it might buy us some time.”

“We can do it, Sophia. We'll try to make the journey quick, but if we leave from here, the Central Alliance is quite far. From the South, we'll be closer to the border, which is near the main pack of the Central Alliance. I’ll have my underground network search for the exact location of the pack, but I know it's near the SouthBorder. By the time you get the information, we will be ready to make the journey.”

“Are you sure you want to come with me?" I ask him. "Your people will need time to settle in the South…"

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