Page 92 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

I am going against my instincts right now by returning here and not going after Alex. It’s not easy to make decisions when I am forcing myself to be rational and level-headed. I don’t want any of this responsibility tossed my way. I only want the responsibility of finding Alex. Screw everything else.

But the weight of all these lives depending on me is too heavy a burden.

Sighing, I rub my eyes, tired and hurting.

"You'd better be alive and in one piece when I find you, Alex," I sniffle, making my way to my mother’s room, "or I'll kill you myself."

Chapter 21

Sophia

I knock on the door softly before opening it.

My mother and Elsa are staying in one room with twin beds. Elsa refuses to leave my mother's side. Even now, she’s sitting in a chair beside my mother's bed, a book resting on her chest as she sleeps. Had she been reading to my mother?

Oddly touched, I gently pick up the book and set it aside. However, as soon as my fingers brush against her hand, she startles awake.

"G-Grace!"

Now that I know the past she shared with my mother, having grown up with her, my heart breaks when I see the hope in her eyes.

"It's me, Elsa," I murmur. "I just got back."

She looks at me, uncomprehending, and then gets to her feet, wrapping her arms around my neck. "You're back. Thank the Goddess. How did it go? Did you get the cure?"

I give her a bleak look. "No. I should have listened to you."

Elsa just holds me tighter. "It's all right. You did your best. Grace knows that.”

“How is she?” I look toward the still figure in the bed. “Any change?”

“I’m sorry, honey.” Elsa gives me a sad look. “She’s getting weaker by the day.”

I walk over to my unconscious mother and stroke her hair, studying her features. My heart is aching, a terrible pain seizing it as I speak hoarsely. “I’m still here, Mom. I’ve not given up on you yet. I’ve got you.”

Elsa puts her hand on my shoulder. “Did Cyrus give you any trouble?”

My eyes don’t shift from my mother. “It would have helped if you had told me that the king of the Central Alliance was also my grandfather.”

“I did tell you.” Elsa blinks at me.

“No, you didn’t,” I respond, lightly. “He tried to separate me and Alex. He wanted to break my bond with him and have me mated to another man. It would also have helped if you had told me the full extent of what was done to the Silver Wolves in the Central Alliance. But it’s okay. I dealt with it.”

Elsa sits down heavily, beside me. “I’m sorry. Seeing Grace, and with everything going on, I thought I told you everything. But my mind is a mess as well. I’ve lost my daughter. I’m losing Grace. I’m clinging on to my only family right now and my mind is a jumble of emotions.”

“You still have family, Elsa,” I comfort her. “And I’m not just talking about myself.”

I reach into my bag, bringing out the photographs I’ve been carrying with me. “I met your aunt Marlene. She gave me these. She told me she missed you and that you’re welcome home any time.”

Elsa’s eyes well up, emotion thickening her voice. “How is she?”

“She’s well.”

I tell her about the week I spent in training and Elsa just listens. She flips through the photographs with great care, a soft smile on her lips. “This is one of me and Aunt Marlene.”

She holds out one of the photos where a young Marlene is standing with her arm wrapped around a child’s shoulders. Elsa chuckles. “And there’s your mother, in that tree. She was determined to be part of the picture.”

I then see a girl hiding in the leaves of the maple tree beside which both aunt and niece are standing.

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