The King's Wife Is The Alpha's Mate

Leland suddenly appeared behind the bear and struck it in the back and then jabbed his fist into its chest.

His arm and hand partially transformed into a werewolf's paw with its long deadly claws. It ripped the heart out of the bear's chest and killed it instantly.

He was furious that a creature would dare lay a hand on Sophie.

His Sophie.

Unfortunately, the sight of blood and the bear's heart lying out in the open and in front of Sophie made the woman pass out. It didn't help that Leland's imposing aura made it so incredible to stand up at all, everyone else would have bowed down immediately because of the pressure. 

"Sophie!!"

Leland quickly caught her with his clean arm and watched the fainted woman with a small frown on his face. There were tears on her face that froze over with the winter winds.

Seeing her looking so pitiful made his heart ache.

"Where's that rogue werewolf?" Leland growled angrily. His eyes were wild searching around the cave. There were no signs of Nicholas and not even his scent.

Leland carefully laid down Sophie on the cave floor. Then he grabbed the bear carcass with one hand and tossed it outside. Blood splattered around on the cave walls and the ground.

He sniffed the air trying to search the woods to find the incompetent man that left Sophie all by herself. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any clues. Nicholas had been long gone from Blackwoods and there was no scent or trace of him could be found.

Initially, Leland made the decision to leave Sophie and Nicholas alone because the couple was happily living together and were at peace. There was no need for him to interfere at that moment.

He was also someone who refused to prolong the pain he experienced by seeing the woman he swore to love and protect being in the arms of another man.

It was torture and he would rather kill Nicholas than deal with that kind of suffering.

However, right before Leland could make the decision to leave for Hastings and finally leave Sophie for good and move on, he remembered something that made his heart stop cold.

How could he be so stupid?

When Leland was fourteen years old, he left the Hansley family because he was summoned back to the werewolf clan. His mother threatened him that she would send assassins to kill Anne and Jack Hansley if he refused to return.

His younger brother died from a mysterious illness and suddenly Isolde Salazar realized she would lose her grip on the pack after her husband stepped down as the alpha because they had no more sons to take over power, except for Leland.

He was the son she despised, but she needed him. He had left the pack for many years, living with the Hansleys, pretending to be part of their family. So, she decided to summon him home and prepare himself to be the next alpha of Blood River Pack, the largest and most influential werewolf pack in the continent.

Alpha Leon was a very respectable alpha but without an heir, many people would be eyeing his position. Leland had to face many challengers in life-and-death duels to earn his father's title.

He actually didn't care if he died. However, his mother made sure he know that if he failed, she would kidnap the cute little girl he had been protecting and give her a slow and painful death.

Having no choice, Leland decided to comply with his mother's order. From day 1, he had never lost a fight. He knew what was at stake if he failed.

The years after he left Blackwoods were hellish, but he stuck by his resolve to not let anything happen to the Hansleys. Anything to make sure his 'true family' was spared.

However, when Leland finally returned to Blackwoods to see them, he would discover that both Anne and Jack Hansely were dead and Sophie was gone.

According to the investigation of the werewolf tribe, the two were discovered by the royal family and were silently killed because it was unacceptable for a love between a human and a werewolf to be found.

Now that he remembered what happened to Anne and Jack, Leland realized, it was too dangerous for even Sophie and Nicholas to be left in Hauntingen to be by themselves. They could be targeted by the royal family secret hunter, just like Sophie's parents.

"I will invite them to join my tribe," Leland said to himself before he left the clan and traveled back to Hauntingen. Even though it would pain him to see the man and woman happily married together, Sophie's protection was still his penultimate goal. 

He knew one werewolf, even if he had the strength of an Alpha, couldn't protect Sophie if the royal family found out about their real identity being lycans.

Finally, the alpha swallowed his bitterness and went back to Hauntingen. Unfortunately, Leland would only encounter Sophie in Blackwoods all by herself and he nearly lost the woman because of that fact.

That werewolf Nicholas was nowhere to be found and this made Leland furious.

How could the man leave Sophie alone????

***

Leland took Sophie back to her home and treated her wounds. He couldn't bear to see the woman in distress and in such a terrible state that even though a part of him wished to take her with him back to Hastings, he decided to take care of her first.

There were scratches on her knees and arms after forcing herself to travel the woods without stopping. Even though Leland had already drawn fire in the hut, it was barely enough to keep the hut at a temperature that would have kept humans warm. 

"Why did you go out by yourself, Sophie?" Leland clicked his tongue. "What are you doing there?"

He removed the cloak that Sophie wore across her shoulders. It was damp from the snow and only made her feel colder.  Her clothes earlier barely stayed off the harsh cold winds and when Leland saw her lips, she had not quite recovered from the pale blueness they had. 

"Nic… where are you…." Sophie shivered and kept calling out her husband's name.

Her pale face and blue lips made Leland feel very worried. He touched her temple and realized she got a high fever but she was shivering so hard like she was feeling very cold.

The man looked around tried to find anything that could cover her body and keep her warm. He couldn't find anything decent. There was only a thin old blanket on the wooden shelf above the fireplace.

Leland sighed. He took the blanket and stood rooted in his place, looking at Sophie who curled up on the bed, trembling and grinding her teeth. 

Leland regretted the fact that he never wore a coat. So, even if he wanted to lend her his coat, he didn't have any with him to give her. Cold didn't bother him, but he should have brought one so Sophie could use it.

Ugh…

Leland stood awkwardly towering Sophie who was lying on the bed, feeling conflicted about what he should do. Her damp clothes must be removed so she could start getting some warmth if he planned to use this thin blanket to cover her.

Once he thought about her health, Leland only took a second to make a decision. Sophie's well-being was paramount. He didn't care about anything else.

So, Leland came to her side and put the blanket next to her. Then, carefully, he took off her clothes one by one. His expression didn't change and his movement was as calm as before.

Sophie was unconscious because of the fever. Leland couldn't let her sleep in her damp clothes. She would get pneumonia or worse.

Of course, he was a normal man with a healthy sexual desire. However, his worry for Sophie's health filled his head that even a single lewd thought didn't cross his mind.

Perhaps, if they were in different circumstances…

Once he got rid of her damp clothes, Leland immediately covered the thin blanket on her weak body. He also took off his shirt and put it over the blanket to give Sophie a bit of extra warmth.

There was another thing actually that he could do to keep her warm, but he didn't want to do it because she was a married woman.

Sigh. 

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From Missrealitybites:

OMG... Thank you so much for sending so many golden tickets to this book. We are now #5 in Golden ranking. I am so touched, I decided to publish a bonus chapter now. I'll still give 10 chapters mass release if we stay in the Top 10. 

PS: Do you know what other thing Leland could do to keep Sophie warm? let me know in the comment. Hehehe... ^^

PPS: Thank you, Despina, for gifting a dragon to Nic, Sophie, and Leland earlier today. xx