Page 68 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

A strange expression crosses over the shifter’s face. “Grace is alive?”

So he knows my mother. And from the look on the faces of the other soldiers, she is known to them as well. “How do you know my mother?”

The shifter tries to smile, but doesn’t quite manage it. “She was the Silver Wolf before you. Of course I know her. We all do. Come. We will not waste any time. The journey to the Silver Mist Wolf Pack would take a couple of days, so we will use a portal.”

“A portal?”

He doesn’t answer me, instead turning to the soldiers behind him and gesturing toward someone. A woman walks out from behind them, wearing a green cloak. She doesn’t interact with anybody, but simply knows what to do. Her voice is whisper-soft and I soon realize she is a witch when she gestures with her hands in the air, murmuring something. Within minutes, the air around her hands begin to shimmer. I see a small ball of light being formed.

Unlike the others, I can see her drawing magic from nature. I alone have the ability to be able to visualize magic. I see her add more threads of magic onto the small ball. She keeps adding tendrils of magic to it, until it solidifies and stops glowing. Iwatch in unabashed fascination. So far, the only magic I’ve been able to do is imagining what I want to create. It hasn’t taken me very far.

Once it’s done, she holds it out to us, and the shifter in charge says, “You simply have to touch the ball, and it will transport you to the Silver Mist Wolf Pack. From there, we will arrange a meeting between you and our king.”

The whole thing seems pretty straightforward. The shifter says, “Your companions and I will go first, and then the others will follow. You just have to touch it with one finger.”

Logan, Alex and I reach out with our fingers, as does the shifter. As soon as my finger touches the ball, I feel a strange, tugging sensation.

I squeeze my eyes closed at the building pressure. It feels like I'm going to burst.

And then it's gone and my feet are on solid ground.

I let out a shaky breath and slowly force my eyes open.

I'm standing before a large gate with soldiers guarding it. There's a wall extending from the gate and its height is such that I doubt even Alex would be able to jump over it in his wolf form.

The guards immediately go on alert after seeing us, but when the soldier with us steps forward, they relax.

"The Queen of the South Alliance is here to seek an audience with Alpha Cyrus Regas."

"Kian." One of the guards shoots us a wary look. "What are you doing?"

"She's Grace's daughter," Kian, the shifter with us, informs the guards who both turn to stare at me.

"So, the rumors are true then," one of them murmurs, looking shocked. "The Queen of the South is the Silver Wolf."

"Open the gates, Harry," Kian says.

The two guards open the gates just as the others show up behind us.

Whatever I imagined the Central Alliance to be like, it hadn't been this. Unlike the North and South Alliance, where packs live in their territories which are broken into towns and villages, as we enter the Silver Mist Wolf Pack, it's pure forest. Paths have been carved out and paved, but the nature within their territory has been preserved. Not only that, it is obvious that this pack maintains its trees and territory. Certain trees have been marked as heritage sites as we walk past them. Animals roam around, carefree. I see a deer approaching one of the guards, who takes out a packet of grass from his pocket to allow the deer to happily nibble on the grass from his hand. I don't know what is more incredible: the fact that the shifter is carrying around packets of grass in his pockets, or that the deer isn't afraid of a dangerous predator. The guard pats the deer on the head after it’s done eating and then the deer bounces off.

Kian sees me watching and smiles. “We don’t hunt within certain limits of our territory. We hunt outside of it. The Central Alliance practices the olden ways. We believe our land should be a safe haven for every creature we share it with.”

I could never see either the South Alliance or the North Alliance living in harmony with animals this way. I always assumed that the Central Alliance lived in secret, their advancements hiddenfrom the world. But it seems quite the opposite. If Karina ever invaded this beautiful little world, she'd destroy it.

We walk for quite a while before the road divides into two paths. Kian and the soldiers take us on the right path, which leads to a mansion that puts Karina’s palace to shame. It is large and glorious, the white, shining marble defining its beauty. Unlike Karina’s palace, this place is not closed in by walls. Large and thick marble pillars support the structure and flank the door, which is held open for everybody to pass through.There are guards stationed at every corner, but I can see people are allowed to pass through, there are young children running through the halls, and the sound of laughter echoes through the forest.

This place seems to be something out of some kind of fairytale book. Everything I know about shifter packs is violence and betrayal. That's how I was raised. But this place seems so peaceful that my heart yearns to stay here. How was my mother able to leave this place?

Nobody stops us as we enter the mansion. Kian gestures toward our shoes. “Please take those off."

He’s doing the same.

That’s when I notice that everybody within the mansion is barefoot.

The marble is cool on our feet and then I let out a sigh of relief. It’s not hot here, and the weather is pleasant. Which is strange, because it almost seems as if something is keeping the weather moderate. Is it magic?

Kian sees the question in my eyes and asks, "Are you wondering about the weather?”

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