Back and Stronger: Alpha's Daughter
Chapter 16

The weekend had gone by in an uneventful blur. To Sophia’s extreme relief, she and Leo didn’t see much of their father. He seemed to be busier than usual.

After ‘testing’ that whip out on her the other night, that had clearly been made for the sole purpose of torturing shifters, it had been a tremendous and very welcome relief to not have had to face him again since then.

But why would he even have wanted to try it out on her? On anyone? Was the question that her mind kept circling back to. She didn’t know what to make of it. And quite frankly, Sophia didn’t want to think about who else he might have intended it for, either.

And much less wanted to know what other tools and devices they were working on over there at Tibald Headquarters.

All she was certain about, was that it was an inhumane and horrible instrument, and that the wounds and bruises it had left on her body had been severe. It had also taken longer to heal than any other inflictions she had received, by either her father or Matthew, since her first shift.

It most likely had something to do with the silver talons that had seemed to have been dripping with a silvery substance her father must have dipped the ends of the sharp pieces of the whip in.

It had almost been like acid, as it ate away at some of her flesh the tiny curved blades had ripped open on her back, and had left a rancid smell in her room for most of the following night.

That silver had burned like hell, and Sophia had no doubt that it was what caused her healing to take so much longer.

As far as she knew, he had slept at the Lucian HQ every night for the whole duration of the weekend. The most glorious weekend since she could remember!

Leo had hardly been home either, as he had gone to spend most of his Saturday and Sunday with that beautiful young girl from his school Sophia had seen him with. But there had been a few occasions where they hung out in the kitchen, cooked food, and even watched a movie together.

However, she hadn’t exactly been able to really enjoy it, as she kept honing her sharpened hearing to the front door in case her father came back.

After such a weekend, Sophia didn’t want to get back to reality again. Which meant school. Where the bullying would commence once more. She’d been spoiled after a weekend of peace and happiness.

But at least she hadn’t been that naive to think that this could carry on through right through this day even. But Sophia’s eyes automatically started their scan the moment she walked through hell’s doors.

Nope, not there.

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Maybe she would see him later, Sophia reasoned to herself. Or maybe it was one of those days where he mysteriously didn’t seem to be working, while his friend, Scott, did.

Maybe he is merely a part-time employee?

Whatever the reason for his sporadic workdays was, Sophia just knew that it was frustrating the crap out of her. It always seemed to be on the days she felt like she wanted to see him the most.

Her morning classes went smoothly at least. Only the occasional glares, sneers, whispers, and snickers were directed at her. She hadn’t seen the overlord yet, but the classes she shared with him were only after lunch.

This reminded her. Sophia was supposed to start her advanced math class today! Shit. She started to wonder if maybe she should just tell Mr. Silvino that she had been wrong and that she would have liked to remain with the ‘bottom feeders’ of the math class rather.

“Yeah, they think a turf war might be threatening our territory borders soon.”

Sophia heard one of the shifter males, that she shared a class or two with, say to his small group of friends sharing a table at lunch. Bobby was his name, she remembered and knew that he was one of the kids at school that didn’t join in on the bullying. She actually always thought him to be quiet and kind-natured.

The slice of pizza she had been stuffing her face with, came to a stop halfway on its journey to her mouth. She didn’t want to make it too obvious, but what he’d said caught her attention, and she listened in on their private conversation.

“My father works at Tibald Headquarters in the Defence Division,” Bobby said in a tone that was something of a mix between pride and unease. “He’s hardly home these days. I’m worried that things are getting serious. He has hinted at another pack that might be pushing their boundaries. What if we go to war soon? My father and brother would be sent to fight on the frontlines…”

Was that why her own father had been so absent lately? This brewing war that Bobby seemed to know about, was that what had made him more aggressive, and even why he had started testing ‘inventions’ out on her?

“I’m sure it won’t turn into a full-on war, Bobby,” his one friend said sympathetically to him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure the Alpha would be able to come up with a way to keep the peace.”

Yeah, right!

Sophia bit her lip when she had just been about to let out a loud snort at that. Thorin wasn’t a peacekeeper. If the other night alone was any indication, he didn’t intend to find a solution in any peaceful way.

No, he was a lot more likely to kill and torture than talk and reach mutual agreements with another pack.

“Who are they, Bobby?” another one of his friends asked from across the worried-looking shifter. “What pack has been making trouble with ours?”

Bobby seemed to be uncertain of whether he was allowed to share this information with the rest of them, but he conceded soon after. “It’s the Moon Walkers.”

His group of friends all gasped. Even Sophia had to hold back on her surprise.

The Moon Walkers had been the Lucian pack’s northern rivals for thirty years now, but it had never hinted at an actual turf war before. The two packs had been happy enemies, so to speak.

They had always been a very secretive society of wolves, unwilling to share any information or events of what was going on over there with them. What had been in the news a while back, was that the Alpha had passed away a while back, but the bulletin hadn’t mentioned anything about what happened. His daughter, whose name Sophia couldn’t remember, had apparently taken over the ‘crown’.

Was that maybe why they were suddenly circling the Lucians? This new Alpha might have been more ambitious than her father had been before her.

Whatever was going on out there, Sophia couldn’t bring herself to care about it. At least the problems the Moon Walkers were causing them had been keeping her father preoccupied lately.

Not listening to the group of friends anymore, Sophia made a split-second decision to ditch the rest of her classes for the day. Firstly, she wasn’t exactly excited to be in the same classes as Matthew after lunch break, much less deal with the whole math class problem, and secondly, she felt lighter for some reason. Almost as though the news of her father maybe staying busy for a while longer had given her a sense of freedom.

Her body had had the whole weekend to heal. She didn’t have a single mark, scar, or bruise anywhere on her body for the first time in a very long time.

In fact, Sophia had the overwhelming urge to go outside to the forest again. This time, not in desperation or wanting to go jump off the cliff. But she did fantasize about the meeting they had there. Often. And had wanted to return there, if only to remember that night better. That night he saved her from certain death. A death she wanted.

Driven with an invisible force, Sophia started to make her way toward that same exit door at the back of the school. As she got to it, she remembered the state she had been in when she pushed against this bar to open the double doors, and how she left her blood on it.

It felt like it had happened ages ago already!

Looking back at the school to ensure that no one had seen her going there, she was satisfied to find that all the shifters there seemed too preoccupied with their phones to have noticed her walking by.

Just as she stepped outside, and onto the lush lawn leading up to the line of trees ahead, a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her by the elbow. Not roughly, but enough to make her jump out of the grip there.

“Hey, it’s me,” Scott said with a small smile and his eyes gentle, which were a slightly lighter brown than his unblemished cocoa-colored skin, Sophia noticed for the first time. “You should stop ditching classes like that, you know? I’m sure you would like to eventually pass and leave this place, right?”

Sophia considered him for a moment, having never really spoken to him before. But she knew that he was Neil’s friend, so if he trusted him, then she could too.

“That might have been a hope once,” Sophia confessed. “But since I found out that Matthew is my mate, things have changed somewhat for me.”

He seemed to study her for a moment, his intelligent eyes sparkling behind those strange round spectacles. “You know, Neil has been trying to come up with a plan for that,” he informed her matter-of-factly, as though it was common knowledge. “Don’t tell him that I told you that though, but maybe you should go find him. Neil has never really been the best strategist. I’m more the brains of our little operation, whereas De Boule is a bit more–, well let’s just say that he’s like the hurricane of the team.”

At that, Scott just laughed to himself. Clearly a private joke.

“A hurricane?” Sophia inquired tentatively, not entirely sure she really wanted to know.

“Why don’t you go and ask him,” he smiled, almost slyly, when he must have seen the excitement in her eyes.

“Is he here today?”

Scott just kept giving her that same smile. “He’s down at the lake not too far from here. He likes to go there to think and swim sometimes. You know where the lake is?”

“Not really,” she admitted.

“No problem, just follow the Arrow Head Trail and then turn off of it when you get to a sign painted with blue arrows, you just follow that trail right to the lake. Got it?”

She hoped she did, but Sophia had to force herself to nod her head slowly, so she didn’t appear as eager as she felt at the prospect of seeing Neil.

“Thank you,” she said awkwardly, giving him a hesitant smile, just because she was concentrating on keeping her bubbling energy at bay.

Still that knowing smile. “You’re very welcome, Sophia.”

Even as she walked further away from him, looking back every now and again. Still that damn smile. It was like he knew something she could only dream of knowing. It was infectious as hell, and she found it hard not to smile in return.

It was quite a hike to the lake, but Sophia was looking forward to every moment of it. Every single step. Because it was what would take her closer to where Neil was.

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