Page 14 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

I make sure she has enough to eat.

Once everyone retires, my soldiers are still onduty. Sophia seems to be unable to sleep, a restlessness exuding from her.She's twisting and turning on the ground near her mother. I'm leaning against one of the trees, watching her. Once the Alphas are out like a light, I get to my feet and hold out my hand to her. She stares at me and hesitates. Elsa, who is also leaning against a tree, her eyes closed, murmurs, “Nothing's going to happen to your mother. Go with him.”

My mate hesitates. But I’ve had enough. Picking her up easily because she weighs next to nothing, I drop her on my shoulder like a bag of potatoes and begin walking.

To her credit, she doesn’t scream, waking everybody up in the vicinity. Instead, she pounds on my back with a fist. The blows are weak. That’s another thing I’ve noticed. Sophia is physically weaker than me. I doubt she could even take on one of my soldiers. It’s a little worrying, but I’ve seen her fight. She may lack the strength, but she’s a sneaky fighter who plays dirty. Perhaps that’s due to her time as a cage fighter.

I see a few of my men get up to follow us, but I give them a discreet shake of the head. I need time alone with my mate.

I know the North quite well, so I know exactly where we are. Heading into the forest, I take a shortcut to a small hot spring in this area. We are traveling in the free zone, which is an area between territories that belongs to no one.

Once we are out of earshot, Sophia hisses, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Going on a date," I reply calmly.

"Right now?" she cries out, indignantly. "This isn't the time or place…"

"I think it is."

An outraged sound escapes her. "Put me down, Alex! I'm not going anywhere with you! You're an ass!"

"And your mate," I remind her.

"Unfortunately," she mutters.

I come to a standstill, her words piercing through me like a knife.

"You don't mean that." But I can hear the uncertainty in my own words.

Sophia is quiet for a moment before sighing. "No, I don't."

My feet don't move as I try to process this pain. "Are you sure?"

When she wriggles in my arms, I let her escape. She lands on her feet and one look at the stiffness on my face has her approaching me. "I didn't mean that."

My wolf is hurting at her careless jab.

"Maybe we should return." I turn around, feeling an emptiness within me. I can feel myself shutting her out, something I've been very careful not to do. Shutting out a mate is usually a defense mechanism of the beast residing within us. The only time I have ever shut Sophia out was when I had been forced to kill Hilda, a girl I had raised since she had been an infant, and who had betrayed the pack. I hadn't wanted my mate to feel any of the distress and anguish I had been feeling then. Tonight is the first time after that incident that I’ve felt this kind of pain. This time it's my wolf shutting her out.

"No!" Sophia has clearly realized she's made a terrible mistake because she blocks my path, her expression tense. "Not like this. I didn't mean it. You know I didn't."

I just stare at her, feeling numb. "It's fine."

She looks at me, her eyes distressed. "I'm sorry, Alex."

When she tries to touch my hand, I step out of her reach. The color leeches from her face as she realizes I just rejected her touch.

"Alex?"

The tremor in her voice breaks my heart.

Chapter 4

Sophia

Alex always goes the extra mile in his attempts to protect me. Both he and Elsa don’t seem to understand that as the situation around me keeps evolving, I’m also growing with it. If they keep trying to shield me from each and every thing, I’m never going to learn and grow. And right now, I’ve been forced into a position where being sheltered is only going to have negative repercussions.

Alex doesn't seem to understand that. He also doesn't seem to grasp that all my life I have been controlled by the man who tortured my mother. I have lacked control and autonomy since I was a child. I was manipulated, controlled, and lied to. I wish my mate would understand why I can't bear to let anyone else make decisions for me. I want to feel in control for once in my life. I thought he could read me like a book, but clearly, I was wrong.

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