The Alpha’s Fated Destiny

Alex

“Sophia, that’s quite enough,” I growl at my mate who is holding a one-year-old infant in her lap.

Her body is glowing.

I’ve seen my mate practice magic before, but ever since she gave me her mating mark, I feel it has opened my eyes to something far more delicate about the process. There’s a sheen of light surrounding her body when she uses her magic. None of the other shifters can see it.

I would know. I asked them.

Instead, they just look at her in awe, overwhelmed by the idea of a wolf shifter using magic.

“Just a little bit more,” Sophia murmurs, like a child bargaining for an extension on their bedtime.

I sigh in exasperation and decide to take the time to admire my mate's beauty. Her long, gray hair is tied in a thick braid, which currently rests over her left shoulder. The infant in her lap is playing with the tail of the braid, trying his best to chew it. She looks so natural, holding a child in her arms.

My wolf paces inside me, rumbling in appreciation. What would she look like with our child in her arms? Will he have her piercing gray eyes or my cerulean blue ones?

I would like our child to inherit her delicate features, but perhaps not her recklessness. My dark hair and her gray eyes would be ideal. Or maybe my blue eyes and her gray hair. Or just her gray hair and those beautiful eyes of hers. In fact, I wouldn't mind having our child be an exact copy of my mate, I decide.

“Why are you staring at me like that?" The wealth of suspicion in Sophia's voice has me blinking.

“Like what?"

She glowers at me, her eyes narrowed into slits. “Like you’re planning something, and I’m not going to like it.”

I walk over to her and kiss her on top of her head. "You really should do something about that paranoid streak of yours.”

“Why?” She smirks. “You’re stuck with me for life now. If anything, I should crank up my paranoia to extreme levels just to test your patience.”

The devious side of my mate as she teases me is a new side of her and it has me chuckling. “I’m sure I can handle you.”

She lifts up her face, silently demanding a kiss, and I press my mouth against hers. The child in her arms gurgles before grabbing the front of my shirt.

Forcibly reminded that we have an audience, I reluctantly pull away from her. “I think it’s about time to stop. You look exhausted.”

“There are five children left.” Sophia glances toward the door.

“Yes," I agree. “But you cannot push yourself this hard. I know you want to help Dorian Greyhound because he’s hosting us in his pack territory, but not at the expense of your health.”

Sophia holds out the little boy in her arms and the shifter guarding the door walks over, taking the child and heading out of the room. Once the door closes behind him, she gives me a tired look.

“It’s not about returning the favor, Alex. It’s about protecting these young lives. If I could, I would go through the entire North Alliance and get rid of this filthy magic that bitch put on the pups."

I raise my brows at the harsh language, not that it's undeserved. Queen Karina, the leader of the North Alliance, one of the three alliances on this continent, has controlled the shifter packs under her rule by linking the lives of their youngest and most vulnerable to a handful of individuals that she has sent to each wolf pack. Any attempt to harm the nannies who have effectively taken control of the pups and separated them from their parents has resulted in their swift deaths at the hands of the soldiers keeping them “safe”.

The wolf packs who had once thrived under my father's rule two decades ago, have now been completely subdued, the lives of their pups leveraged against them. It is the only way Karina, who seized the leadership of the North using unfair means, can maintain her control. She's also forced every witch coven in the North to work for her.

So, perhaps, “bitch” is a fair title for her.

However, my mate, who will fight for everyone but herself, is perilously close to working herself into a state of anxiety. "Slow down. We can’t catch too much notice. We’re here for another two days and then we have to return.”

My words have her pausing, and I see the uncertainty in her eyes. She fidgets with her fingers.

"Where are we returning to?”

“The South Alliance.” I give her a small smile knowing she's been anxious about this topic for the ten days that we've been here. "You’re now the Queen of the South Alliance, Sophia. Your place is in the South. And my place is next to you.”

“But what about your revenge?" Sophia looks away from me and I don't have to see the emotion in her eyes to know that she's feeling guilty for something she can't control. "Don’t you want to rule the North? It was your birthright. Your father was King of the North Alliance before Karina killed him.”

I shake my head. “Revenge takes many forms. Just because I want Karina to pay for the massacre of my pack, doesn’t mean I want the title."

My mate doesn’t look entirely convinced. "I thought you wanted to seize control of the North again. After all, Karina…"

I study her, wondering if she realizes how her mere existence has changed my entire world and my perception of it. "There was a time when I did. Now, while I want my revenge, I also want to be with you. And since you are the Queen of the South Alliance, I cannot see myself vying for the leadership of the North. I don't want to be separated from you. I can have my revenge without being greedy for the throne."

Sophia gets to her feet, approaching me. Her arms settle around my neck as she hooks her fingers together. My hands come to rest on her waist as I search her eyes.

"If the King of the North and the Queen of the South are mates, wouldn’t the two alliances become one?"

After a prolonged silence, I ask, “Were you always this clever?”

She chuckles, laughter dancing in her eyes. "I try to hide it. I don't want to give you a complex."

"Very funny," I drawl but I yank her closer to me, our bodies now pressed together. "Do you know that you've begun to smile more and laugh more than you used to back when we first met? It's been what, three months now?"

"Has it?" Sophia murmurs, thoughtfully. "Being around you makes me happy. I feel complete, cringey as it sounds."

"Very cringey," I agree and groan when she pinches me lightly.

"You shouldn't be so violent with me," I rub my shoulder where she pinched me. "It makes my wolf want you even more."