Page 27 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

"She will never do that," I murmur, knowing my mate.

"I agree." Brian follows the direction of my gaze. "Which is why her best option would be to take over the pack. They will be desperate to get into her good graces, and it'll make the transition easy for her."

Once again, Brian makes an excellent point.

I go check on Sophia, who is dozing off now. My fingers thread through her hair, her pale complexion making me anxious. Her pulse is steady, but she looks so fragile. Elsa is sitting at a distance now, creating another tonic.

“What is going on with Sophia?”

The witch glances at me. “I already told her, but she doesn’t want to believe it.”

“Believe what?”

Elsa straightens up. “Don’t try to play dumb, Alex. I know full well that you overheard my conversation with her.”

I sigh. “You think it’s the mating bond? You think she’s growing weaker because of it?”

“Not because of it,” Elsa corrects me. “But I’m noticing a disparity between the two of you. During a battle, your strength and speed are incredible, and they keep growing. Sophia, on the other hand—her capacity for magicis fading. As a witch, it is obvious to me that she is not doing as well asshe should. The only thing that has changed is the mating bond. So, while I don’t think that it is the bond itself, it is definitely a factor.”

My stomach churns with unease. “Surely there’s something I can do.”

Elsa looks over his shoulder at my mate. “I don’t know. Like I said, Alex, I still don’t know what the problem is. Till we get to the root of the problem, we cannot come up with a solution. The only person who might have been able to give you the right guidance is Grace. And she’s in no position to be saying anything.”

Her words have me frowning. “You think this could be a Silver Wolf thing?”

"I don’t know,” Elsa admits. "My coven used to be close to the Central Alliance, and we were the teachers of the Silver Wolves, but I left my coven at a very early age. There’s a lot I don’t know about the Silver Wolf. Right now, I wish I knew what to do. But this is something Sophia and you will have to figure out yourselves.”

I feel a sliver of tension creep within me, and I look toward the unconscious woman on the ground. “How is Grace doing?

Elsa gives me a tightlipped smile. “The only reason she’s still living is because I’m feeding her my life force in small portions. But I don’t know for how much longer I can keep it up."

“These tonics that you are feeding her…" I throw a look at the herbs that she’s grinding. “Are they really helping her?”

Elsa gives me an irritated look. “No. I’m just doing it because I’m bored.”

I wince, and she turns her attention back to the herbs. “Of course, they’re helping her. She’s doing much better. She’s just not getting enough time to rest.”

I crouch next to the witch, aware that she's upset.

"How can I help? Is there a way I can share my own life force with her or is that something only witches can do?”

My question has Elsa lifting her head. She seems to be considering something.

After a moment, she murmurs, cautiously. "Maybe you can do something. The bond between the two of you, since you are fated mates, is intense. If you can have your people guard you for a bit, then you can go a little distance away from here and give her some skin-to-skin contact. It should help her. I've seen dangerously ill shifters recover simply by having skin-to-skin contact with their fated mates. You don’t have to do anything. Just hold her to you. Your wolves will do the rest.”

We are in a rush, but right now, it is more important that I can fix some of the damage to my mate. I go over to Sophia and pickher up in my arms. She doesn't stir. After having a brief word with Brian, I take a few of my soldiers with me. They set up a perimeter, giving us some space.

Gently, I remove Sophia's clothing from her body before getting rid of mine.

My hand brushes against the side of her neck where she would have worn my mating mark. My wolf yearns to mark her, but I know that only one mating mark can be given. I’ve never heard of a dual mating mark. Suppressing my beast's desire, I gather Sophia in my arms and just hold her. Although she has been riding on my back for the past three days, this is different. In her sleep, she presses against me, as if seeking my heat.

As always, her touch is like an aphrodisiac, my skin rippling just from her hands against my chest, but I snuff out the hunger and desire. This is not the time or place.

My wolf paces in my mind, seeking her out, desperate to take charge. Perhaps it’s instinct, but I let it out.

It immediately circles around Sophia, curling around her and covering her with our tail. She burrows into me. After a few moments, to my surprise, she shifts into her Silver Wolf form. Even as a wolf, her eyes don’t open. Both of us are pressed against the other in an intimate manner. I can feel my wolf's affection as it begins to groom her, our tongue running over her fur. Sophia just stays next to us, resting. I don’t know how much time passes, but she soon begins to emit a rumbling sound in her chest, and her eyes finally open. She studies me before her tongue darts out to lick my nose.

I can feel the change in her.

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