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"Patri…"

“What do you mean our home town?” he blurts out, his face pale. “Karina destroyed it. She said she built something on it.”

“She lied,” I tell him. “No resort, nothing has been built on it. It was sealed away by one of her dark witches. That's where she buried me.”

"Buried you?” Sophia turns rigid. “Like in the ground?”

I wrap my hand around hers. “It's fine. I'm all right. But we can take your parents there. It’s close to here. It’ll also give us time to sort things out here before we take them to another, more secure location.”

Jared and Saul have also reached us at this point, obvious relief showing on their faces upon seeing me.

“You can stay here,” one of the humans offers.

Sophia looks like she is about to agree, but I shake my head. “I'm sorry, but not all the humans in your city will be welcoming toward us, especially after an attack like this.”

The humans may not have suffered any losses but the panic that Karina's unexpected attack caused will make them hostile toward us. When the humans exchange a look saying nothing, I know they've considered the possibility.

“Thank you for your offer,” I continue, “but we can protect our own.”

We've lost a lot of people, I muse silently as I look around at the witches being rounded up by Marlene's coven, and the dead shifters on the ground. The entirety of Karina’s army is gone.

“Why don’t we ask one of the witches to open up another portal to the South?” Nathan demands. “We can simply go to—”

“Portals don’t work like that,” Elsa says as she holds Grace’s head in her lap. “It’s very strong magic. It can exhaust the witches. One portal is hard enough, opening up multiple is very hard on the physical body as well. Look at them. They’re already exhausted.”

She’s looking toward a group of women who are tending to injured white wolves. One of them is using healing magic and I can only assume these women are the witches from the Central Alliance.

“They are,” Cyrus admits. “They’ve opened multiple portals. And Sophia needs to stay in the North till everything is sorted. I can take Grace with me…”

“And my father.” Sophia suddenly looks up, her eyes flashing. “Don’t forget about him.”

I see Cyrus grimace. “How can I?”

“We’ll take them to our old hometown till we arrange something else. Grace and Logan aren’t going to the Central Alliance.”

Cyrus bristles but Sophia nods in agreement.

I’m about to pick up Logan, when Patrick steps forward. “I’ll do it. You go talk to Sophia.”

His voice is low, meant only for my ears.

It doesn’t seem that Sophia is focused on me right now. She is watching her parents. She tries to help her mother, but Elsa denies her that opportunity, asking Nathan for help instead. The witch nudges her toward me. “You should talk.”

I wonder why both Patrick and Elsa’s urging sounds so ominous.

Sophia isn’t meeting my gaze, her fingers fiddling with each other.

“What’s going on, Sophia?”

I’m beginning to feel a different sort of fear. “What happened?”

She shakes her head. “It’s nothing. How did you escape? Karina said that there was no way you could get out of the place she had…”

“She put me in a cage under my hometown.” I run my hands over her shoulders, arms, my voice anxious. “What is wrong, Sophia? Whatever it is, just tell me. Don’t keep me in suspense.”

We have stepped away from the others and Sophia finally looks up at me. “I didn’t go after you.”

The guilt in her eyes is enormous, and I realize that it is weighing down on her.

“You mean when Karina’s men took me?”

She hesitates. “I wanted to go after you. But I didn’t. She used a portal to transport you. I knew I would be going on a wild goose chase, so I returned to the pack. I didn’t even try to look for you.”

I cut her off before she can begin spiraling. “I’m glad. I’m glad you didn’t come to look for me because that is exactly what Karina wanted.”

My mouth is dry as I look at the tired and guilt-ridden eyes of my mate. “That is the one thing I prayed for the most, that you would not come after me. Karina told me what she had planned out for you. She told me that she would force you to surrender. And I was terrified that you would.”

“I didn’t, surrender that is,” Sophia whispers. “If it had been you, you would have done it in a heartbeat. I tried to do the logical thing. I tried to consider the pack. I convinced myself that if I stopped the war, I could look for you. But none of it matters. When you needed me, I wasn’t there.”

I force her to look at me, my thumb and forefinger holding her chin and lifting her face. “You did the right thing. You did what I wouldn’t have been able to do. You’re right, I would not have been able to control my impulses, and I would have gone after you. but if I had done that, I would have ruined everything.”

She doesn’t look convinced. “You’re just saying that because…”

“If you hadn’t stepped up and done what you did, the three alliances would have been destroyed,” I tell her firmly. “You would never have found me. Karina would have imprisoned you within your own mind.”

She looks away, her eyes wet. “You don’t understand, Alex. You’re always there. If anything happens to me, I know you’d search for me. I know you’d come. And when it was my turn to do that, I failed you. I failed you.”

“You didn’t fail me.” I take her in my arms, breathing in her scent and wanting to laugh at how soft my mate’s heart is where I’m concerned. “You don’t have to prove your love to me, Sophia. I know how much you love me. I can feel it in your every breath. You are part of me now. Our bond tells me how much you care.”

Pulling back slightly, I look down at her. “You once asked me why Brian thought you had leadership potential when you didn’t see it. Now you do. You didn’t let your emotions guide your decisions. You put the lives of everyone in front of your desires. You were logical, you were practical. I’m sure it sucked doing that. I have plenty of experience, and it is the worst feeling in the world. I’m proud of you.”

Jared chooses that moment to butt in. “I wouldn’t feel so bad, Sophia. You had more faith in him than we did. Karina was convinced that you would be traumatized, but Sophia told her she was underestimating you. It was very romantic.”

Saul and Patrick loop their arms around Jared’s neck, dragging him away. “Sorry. I forgot this one needed watching.”

I look at my mate. “This was necessary, Sophia. You knew that coming after me was dangerous and could destroy everything. You made the absolute right decision. Don’t second-guess yourself. You saved us from a terrible fate.”

I don’t have her completely convinced, but she does accept my words. “I’m glad you’re safe. How did you get out?”

It’s my turn to wince. “About that. I had some help.”

“Help? From whom?”