Lnd lowered his head and looked at Sophie seriously. His hands held hers tightly. He said, "I promise to return as soon as possible. This is an urgent matter and I cannot dy this further."


    There was something in his voice that made Sophie feel suspicious. To the best of her knowledge, Lnd never lied to her, but he had a habit of keeping bad things to himself to protect her and she hated that. She wanted to always know what he was dealing with so she could support him in ways that she could.


    Moments like this were the times when she hated herself for not being fully lycan who could share the mate bondpletely with her mate.


    Between the two of them, Lnd had the upper hand. He could always know what she was feeling and do something to help her. Sophie could only rely on her gut feeling and her own knowledge of him.


    "Lnd, is there something that you are not telling me?" Sophie pursed her lips. "I have a bad feeling about you leaving..."


    Lnd shook his head and chuckled. "Don''t worry about me. I am an adult. You should worry about the kids."


    He looked around them and became deep in thoughts. He needed to go as soon as possible but Lucas was not here to rece him taking care of the pack. He couldn''t rely on Duncan and he nned to take Max with him. Those two lycans were the ones below Lucas that he could trust more than the others.


    He was not worried about the pack as much as he was about Sophie and their children. During his absence, he would always think about their safety. Who could he trust to take care of his family during his ultra-important mission?


    In the best-case scenario, he could find that Jack and Anne were actually still alive somewhere. That would be such a lovely surprise for Sophie.


    The worst-case scenario would be... there was no Jack and Anne. Even though it pained him, Lnd didn''t think it was so bad since they already considered both Sophie''s parents dead. As for Alpha Elias, Lnd wasn''t at all worried. He knew the other Alpha''s strength. It was no match to his.


    He could kill Alpha Elias in a fight, that''s why Eloise asked him for help.


    Sophie gripped his arms and insisted, "At least... wait until Lucases back?"


    "It''s too long. Besides, I will not take him with me. His job is to take care of the pack while I''m away. I am actually more worried about you and the kids," Lnd confessed. "I am thinking..."


    "Thinking of what?" Sophie furrowed her brows. She could see Lnd''s expression was very unwilling.


    "I am thinking of asking Nichs to protect you and the children while I''m away," Lnd said. "Even if Lucas returns, I still don''t feel at ease leaving you here. The only other person I trust to take care of you is Nichs Hannenbergh."


    Sophie''s mouth was agape when she heard Lnd''s words. No wonder Lnd looked so unwilling. He actually didn''t want to ask for Nichs'' help, but he thought he had no choice. However... it was funny to think that finally there came a time when Lnd would actually ask Nichs to protect his mate and their children.


    Maybe what happened in the past few months had truly changed his heart about Nichs and the Hannenberghs, and slowly the animosity between them subsided. This was really good progress since all Sophie wanted was for her family to get along.


    It would be bad for Lucien and Jan if their parents hated each other and they were torn between loyalty to Nichs or Lnd. Fortunately, Lnd was more mature than that and Nichs also learned quickly to show that he knew his ce.


    He tried to avoid anything to do with Sophie, even though he still loved that woman, and Lnd appreciated it. Nichs epted the fact that he was only part of Sophie''s past and the cruel fate separated them in the present.


    He was now just the father of Lucien and Jan, no longer Sophie''s husband. It was better to get his boys and lose his wife than lose them all.


    "You can''t ask a king toe here and protect me and the kids, ahaha..." Sophie chuckled and thought Lnd''s suggestion was funny. The Alpha used to hate Nichs so much, but now he wanted Nichs, the king, his previous enemy, toe here and protect his family?


    "Of course, the king won''t need toe here," said Lnd. "I will take you and the kids to the royal pce and talk with him about what happened. You can stay there and rx while waiting for me. Luciel and Jan will like it because they could see their grandmother again."


    "Oh..." Sophie suddenly remembered Queen Marianne.


    The old queen was so kind and graceful. The first and only time they met was during the royal party to celebrate Princess Karenina''s birthday. Back then, Queen Marianne didn''t know that Sophie used to be married to her son.


    Sophie was wondering what did the queen think about her after she found out the truth. Did she like Sophie still? Or did she resent Sophie for the past? Sophie thought it wouldn''t be nice to stay in the royal pce while she was waiting for Lnd to return if the old queen didn''t like her.


    "What do you think?" Lnd asked Sophie. "If you agreed. I will send a pigeon as soon as possible to the king and exin my intention."


    Sophie quickly thought about the pros and cons of staying in the pce during her mate''s absence. There was the possibility that the queen didn''t like her, also her interaction with Nichs might be awkward because... because Nichs used to be her husband.


    However, she and the kids would definitely be safe because the royal pce was the safest ce in this country. Lucien and Jan would also get more chances to spend time with their paternal family. Lnd would have peace of mind and didn''t have to worry about them.


    Finally, Sophie nodded reluctantly. "Okay... only because you want it."


    Lnd kissed the top of her head and hugged her. Then he said, "You sit here. I will send the message to the pce."


    Lnd let go of her from his embrace and then rushed out to notify Nichs. Sophie could only watch his back leaving until it disappeared from view.


    "Gosh... is this really happening?" Sophie asked herself, massaging her temple. "Lnd asked Nichs to protect me and the children... how weird."


    Sophie decided to speak to her older children and tell them about what happened.


    "Wow!" Lucien was so happy, that he threw a fist into the air. "I like going to the royal pce."


    Jan looked happy too. He was smiling at the mention that they would stay in the royal pce. He could see his father and grandmother every day.


    Sophie''s only concern was just the younger ones. Anne and Jack had never left their home to stay somewhere else. Could they behave in the pce?


    ***


    In the royal pce, Nichs was shocked to receive news that Duke Romanov just sent him a message that he woulde and bring Sophie and her kids to the pce. Nichs was dumbfounded and couldn''t believe his eyes, reading the letter.


    "Jerald, please pinch me," Nichs muttered to one of the knights who were in the throne room with him.


    "Huh?" Knight Jerald was just as confused as the king. "Come again, Your Majesty?"