The Alpha’s Fated Destiny

5

Elsa Bolyen is a witch, and someone I’ve known since I was sixteen. She took me under her wing when I arrived in Oakrest Town, a traumatized teenager struggling with the concept of blood on her hands. While the town had treated me with disdain, on orders of Robert Black as I later learned, Elsa was the only one who looked after me and offered me a job.

Not once did she reveal her identity to me. I always thought she was human. But now I understand why the other shifters in town respected her so much and feared her to some extent. She was a witch.

But I’ve been through so much in life that I don’t begrudge her for not telling me who she was. She cared for me and that’s what matters to me. She can keep her secrets.

“How can you expect me not to blame myself? Look at her, Elsa. She’s in this position because of me. She had a chance at surviving and living a good life but…”

“She’s in this position by choice,” Elsa cuts me off abruptly. “She’s a mother, Sophia. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her child. You don’t know what your mother has been through emotionally. When she was pregnant with you, she had already anticipated the fate that awaited her. Why do you think I moved to Oakrest Town? It was hardly for the booming economy there. I moved there to look after you at her request.”

Before I can even absorb her words, she continues, “When Robert employed me to look after your mother’s pregnancy, he didn’t know that we already knew each other at that point.”

My head jerks up at Elsa’s words. Until now, she’s not talked much about her past. Nor have I asked her. We’ve all been focused on trying to get my mother comfortable.

“You knew my mother?”

Elsa sits down at the edge of the bed, facing me. “I was a witch in the Central Alliance. Your mother and I grew up around each other. We didn’t see one another daily, but once every few months, she would come by my coven to learn some magic. She was a kind person, Sophia. Like you, she had a soft heart and like you, she didn’t always know where the line was when it came to helping people.”

“My father…” I begin hesitantly.

Elsa smiles softly. “When Grace met your father, your grandfather did not approve. There are too many restrictions on any Silver Wolf born into the Central Alliance. Their matings were arranged. But your mother—she adored your father. She couldn’t live without him. He was a traveling mercenary. I never met him but I saw the glow on her face. She was in love. I was the one who helped her escape. I was supposed to meet them near the South border. Your father had a friend…” Elsa’s expression tightens, “Somebody he considered a friend, at least. But Robert Black was no friend of your father's. As soon as he found out that your mother was the Silver Wolf, he…”

She drops her face into her hands. “By the time I got to the Red Rock Wolf Pack, it was too late. Robert recruited me and all I saw was your mother, pregnant and distressed.”

I force aside my other emotions, focusing on Elsa’s words. “Why did Robert recruit you, someone he barely knew, to look after my mother?”

“Your mother’s condition was not good,” Elsa tells me, grimly. “Your father’s death had broken something in her. There was an item I gave to your mother for both her and your father to know where they were at all times. I had a cast a spell on it. The pregnancy of a Silver Wolf is not an easy one. My coven specialized in dealing with them. The item your father had on him had disappeared. I could no longer track him. The one your mother wore was weak, but I could still sense it. That’s why I was able to track her all the way to the Red Rock Wolf Pack. I told Robert where I was from, that I had left my coven and had become a traveling witch. He knew that your mother’s pregnancy could be dangerous, probably from your father so he recruited me. The only reason he didn’t kill me was because he wanted to use me when he chose to knock you up.”

I stare at her, trying to stay calm.

There’s a lot to unpack and I don’t think I have the mental clarity to deal with it all.

“So, my father is dead, then?” I ask, trying to focus on one thing at a time.

“The item would not have stopped transmitting if he wasn’t,” Elsa replies heavily. “But your mother told me of what happened that night Robert brought them to his home. He attacked and killed your father and then he proceeded to kill his own mate, Noah’s mother. His intention had been to take the Silver Wolf as his mate, but your mother warned him that if he forced his mating mark on her, she would lose her powers. It’s a defense mechanism that all Silver Wolves have inside of them. It’s the Goddess’ way of protecting them from being misused. He tried to play nice with her and win her over but it wasn’t working."

She glances at the still figure of my mother on the bed and sighs, regret in her eyes. "Once Robert realized she would never accept him, he used you to threaten her into sharing her power with him. She was chained to the bed even during birth. She was in so much pain and all my pleas fell on deaf ears. He enjoyed watching her humiliated and in agony. She wanted to hold you once you were born, but he wouldn't let her. He took you away and I saw her soul shatter in front of my eyes. She told me to watch over you, to love you like she would. I did my best, Sophia. I couldn't save my friend but I tried to save you."

There are tears and heartbreak in Elsa's eyes.

I knew my mother must have suffered, but I had no idea of the extent until now. I feel sick to my stomach, and as I gaze at the woman who gave birth to me. My determination to save her grows even fiercer. I've done the impossible before, and I'll do it again. My mother deserves to live her life happily.

I won't let her die like this.

"What about Noah?" I ask, tightly. "How was he able to use my mother's abilities? What role did Tina play in this?"

I see the way Elsa winces.

"I lived in the pack as you grew up. I wasn't allowed to see you, but I would watch you from afar. You must have been about two or three when I fell for an herbalist in the pack. We never mated but I got pregnant. We lived together till Tina was five. He disappeared one day. I never knew what happened and Robert told me to pretend he never existed. I assumed he had begun to notice my interest in you and had started asking questions. Robert never spared anyone who showed an interest in you."

I lower my gaze to avoid hers, guilt settling in my heart.

Elsa knows me better than anybody.