"This man…" Lnd grounded his teeth at that thought. He could already imagine how much it must have burned inside of him when the man drank that. His assumption was correct then, all thanks to Sophie''s mumbles in her sleep.


    Sophie''s husband truly tried to cure himself of lycanthropy. So where was he now?


    Lnd searched across the field but could find nothing. His search ended when he came across a river. The lycan''s scent was truly gone by that point.


    What happened to him? Did he fall to the river and drown after being poisoned by wolfsbane?


    Lnd didn''t want to jump to conclusions but… what else could possibly happen?


    "If this man actually managed to drink this much wolfsbane then his insides would be literally burning… I can''t see or even imagine how he would survive it. And even if he did, he left himself out here in the open."


    Lnd didn''t understand what the other man was even thinking when he decided to do this. Irritation red within the Alpha because the decision that Sophie''s husband made was both reckless and dangerous.


    Whether or not Nichs survived drinking the wolfsbane, if he was gone for so long and Sophie tried to search for him, there really only was one conclusion that appeared in the Alpha''s mind.


    If he survived, he would have searched for his wife. Sophie would have found him.


    Yet, it''s been weeks and Sophie was alone.


    "He''s dead," Lnd tly said.


    There was no turning point about it and yet instead of relief or joy at the fact that Sophie''s husband was gone and the idea that he could be the one who could be with Sophie, All Lnd felt was anger because of what happened.


    How could this man easily put himself in danger when he had a woman who loved him and waited for him?


    How selfish was this husband to make decisions without even thinking about his wife?


    Sophie was going to grieve so hard and mourn once she learned that her husband was dead and that pained Lnd to even imagine. The fact that Nichs was already missing had already reduced her to tears made the Alpha upset.


    He didn''t want her to suffer at the realization that Nichs was gone. But this... knowing her husband of only a few weeks was dead not long after they were married... would surely scar her for life.


    "How could I even tell her this?" He felt his throat be so dry.


    It was not even in Lnd''s position to simply inform about Nichs'' death to Sophie because he was unsure of how the woman might react. The two of them hadn''t even seen each other in years and she didn''t even know she was half a lycan.


    Everything would onlye out too suspicious.


    Surely the idea that Lnd approaching her and saying that her husband was dead and that he was her long-lost wolf cub woulde out too bad.


    There were many scenarios that shed in Lnd''s mind. All of them were terrible and ended up with Sophie hating him and shouting at him foring back to Hauntingen.


    Would Sophiesh out at Lnd and me him for the death of her husband? Would Sophie also me him once she realized that he failed to protect her and her family properly?


    Lnd wished that he was around during the time when Anne and Jack Hansley were attacked but he wasn''t. It was something that he never quite managed to forgive himself for.


    The Alpha knew that he left the happy family because there was no other way to protect them from his evil mother and the elders of his werewolf pack, but Sophie''s parents still ended up dying because of the royal family.


    Even though Lnd worked so hard and strove to be the Alpha of his pack so he could protect the people he loved, the truth was that Sophie was going to remain heartbroken. Lnd''s presence was nothing more but a nuisance.


    Would Sophie think that if Lnd never appeared then she and Nichs could have lived happily? He was the reason why Nichs brought Sophie to town and then went out to the forest alone.


    The Alpha did not know if Nichs would have still decided to take the wolfsbane in secret if he never arrived, but all that Lnd knew was that the couple may have chosen to be separated for some time because of him.


    If Lnd hadn''t appeared and disturbed them, perhaps Nichs wouldn''t have left Sophie to look for him at least. Lnd''sshing out his anger on that tree must be the reason Nichs thought ckwoods was no longer safe for Sophie and decided to take her to Hauntingen, and he went back alone to look for the other lycan.


    The Alpha closed his eyes and felt a wave of regrete over him because even after this incident… he still needed to leave Sophie.


    There was still so much work that was left unfinished and there was no hope of bringing her with him. Could he actually convince Sophie to leave the life she knew behind her ande with him?


    It would be a miracle if Sophie didn''t hate Lnd once she knew what happened.


    The Alpha needed toe back at another time and actually avenge Sophie''s family if he could gain the courage to speak with her again.


    The man was never good with words, and now he didn''t know how to tell Sophie that her husband was very likely dead because of his wolfsbane consumption.


    The wind howled again, interrupting his thought process. Lnd knew he had gone out for too long and muste back to check on Sophie. So, he stomped on the pot and destroyed it before he went back to the hut.


    Once Lnd arrived back at Sophie''s home, he found the woman was still asleep, shivering and crying in her sleep. The man sighed at the sight.


    "I have to go, but…" Lnd touched Sophie''s hand right shoulder. His touch was extremely gentle, but he knew what he would do next would give her pain. He took a deep breath. "I will make sure you are safe."


    He bent down and pressed her right shoulder to his mouth. His fangs grazed against her skin and she winced in pain in her sleep, but Lnd continued. His fangs cut through her skin and blood trickled from the small wounds he inflicted on her.


    Lnd left his mark on her. He did it to ensure that Sophie would be safe. This mark protection wouldst until the next full moon. Whatever happened to her, and if she was in danger, he would always know.


    Initially, he wanted to be mates with her, so he could care for her and protect her, just like what he promised to Anne Hansley, Sophie''s mother, many years ago.


    However, now that he needed to leave and couldn''t actually be mates with Sophie, the Alpha could only mark her to keep her safe.


    This way, no other lycan would bother Sophie because they could smell his scent and his mark on her. And if she was in danger, they would actuallye to her rescue if Lnd wasn''t around.


    This was the only way to keep her safe until Lnd could check on her before the next full moon came.


    .


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    __________________


    I like the title of this chapter. "Marked by The Alpha" sounds sexy. What do you think? XD