TO SATE AN ALPHA'S FURY

Alaric's POV

The feast was over. I watched Sophie walk away. Her head held high.

Elara had stormed out behind her. The air in the Great Hall finally felt thin enough to breathe.

I turned to my uncle. Magnus was swirling the last of the wine in his cup. He looked satisfied.

"You have a rare creature in that kitchen, Alaric." Magnus said.

"But we have more pressing matters than poultry. Tell me. How far have you gone in the case of your mother's death? Have you found the ones who offended her memory?"

I looked at him. I respected Magnus. He was the only family I had left. The one who did not try to steal my crown. I decided to speak with an open heart.

"I am working on it Uncle." I said.

I leaned forward.

"I have sent Eunuch George to find the truth. He is digging through the old records. He is looking for the names that were erased."

Magnus paused.

His hand stopped moving. He looked at me with a calculating gaze.

"Eunuch George?" Magnus asked.

"He is a quiet man. A safe choice. Your plans are good. It is time the shadows were cleared from this palace."

Magnus stood up suddenly. He adjusted his heavy tunic.

"I have something to take care of immediately. I must leave." Magnus said.

"Now?" I asked.

I was surprised by his haste.

"Can you not take care of it later? We have not finished our discussion."

"No. It is urgent. It cannot wait for the moon to set." Magnus replied.

"Very well." I said.

"I bade you good night Uncle."

I watched him walk out. His footsteps echoed on the stone.

I felt a strange chill. I pushed it away. I returned to my chambers. I went to my quiet room.

This was the only place where I was not a King. I was just a man.

I sat at my desk. I brought out my journal. I picked up my quill. I wanted to capture the meal Sophie prepared today.

I began to draw the poultry dish. I drew the texture of the crust. I wrote down the explanation she gave.

"Soft inside. Crunchy outside." I wrote.

I looked at the pages. I remembered what Cassian told me. He said the book that brought her to this time was the Ledger of Satiety.

My heart skipped a beat. That was the perfect name for my journal. I had been looking for a title.

I took the quill. I wrote the words in bold letters on the cover. The Ledger of Satiety.

Just after I finished writing. A sharp knock interrupted me. I did not like being disturbed in this room.

"Come in!" I barked.

A guard entered. His face was pale. He was trembling.

"Your Majesty. I have terrible news." The guard said.

"Speak." I commanded.

"Eunuch George is missing. He is gone. Someone had kidnapped him. There is no trace of him in the palace or the grounds." The guard said.

I stood up so fast my chair hit the wall. I felt a roar of fury in my chest. I was devastated. I was angry.

"How?" I shouted.

"He was under my protection! Who is behind this? Who does not want me to know the truth?"

"We do not know, Sire. The corridors were silent." The guard whispered.

"Tell the guards to be alert!" I said.

"Search every cellar. Search every stable. Report to me if anything arises. If he is harmed, the person responsible will hang from the highest tower."

The guard bowed. He rushed out. I slammed my fist onto the desk. My mother's truth was slipping through my fingers again.

Someone was playing a game with me. Someone was afraid of what George would find.

Just as the guard was leaving, Cassian walked in. He did not look at the guard. He looked at me. He was holding a small, colorful bag.

"Alaric. Calm your blood for a moment." Cassian said.

"George is gone, Cassian! I cannot be calm!" I yelled.

"I know. But look at this." Cassian said.

He held up the bag. "I found Sophie's bag. It was caught in the thicket near the cliff where she fell. Everything is inside."

I looked at the bag. It was made of a strange material. It had metal teeth that pulled apart.

I felt a sudden shift. I was devastated a minute ago. Now my mood lightened. This bag belonged to her world. It was a piece of her life.

I touched the material. It was cold.

"This is hers." I whispered.

"Yes. It has her tools. Her 'phone' as she calls it. And other strange bottles." Cassian said.

I looked toward the window. I thought of Sophie. She was the only light in this dark palace.

I wanted to see her. I wanted to see her face when I gave her this piece of her home.

"Cassian. Inform the Chief Guard." I said.

"Tell him to find Sophie. Tell her I have a surprise for her. Tell her she should meet me at the royal farm when she is done with her kitchen duties."

"Are you sure?" Cassian asked.

"The palace might be dangerous tonight."

"The farm is mine. It is the only place where the snakes do not hide." I said.

"Go. Now."

I sat in silence. I thought about who might be behind Eunuch George's kidnap.

I couldn't think of anyone who knows my plan. Grand Prince Magnus never showed interest in the throne. He is too weak to think about politics.

I must find out who is behind this.

Sophie's POV

The steam of the final broth had barely cleared.

Cassian entered the kitchen. He ignored the other chefs. His eyes found me immediately.

The urgency in his posture made me a little nervous.

"The Alpha would like to see you at the royal farm." Cassian said.

His voice was low.

"He expects you as soon as your duties here are finished."

I wiped my hands on my apron. I nodded slowly.

"I'm done now. I was just about to head to my quarters."

"Don't keep him waiting." Cassian advised.

He turned to his heel.

I headed for the farm. The night air was cold. Shadows stretched across the stone path. I smelled earth and horses.

Alaric stood in the clearing. He did not move as I approached. I knew he heard my footsteps.

"There you are." Alaric said as he turned slowly.

He kept his hands behind his back. His shoulders were stiffed. I paused a few feet away.

"You called for me, Your Majesty?" I asked.

I tilted my head. I tried to see what he was hiding.

"Why are your hands behind your back?"

He took a step closer. His golden eyes searching mine in the moonlight.

"Tell me, Sophie. Are you scared of dying?"

The question was blunt. It hit me like a physical blow.

I let out a dry laugh.

"This place had thought me not to fear death anymore." I replied.

I meant it. Between falling off cliffs. Being caught in nets. Facing off against Lady Elara. My fear threshold had been pushed to the limit.

"In this kingdom, death feels like a shadow that follows everyone. Why do you ask?"

Alaric looked away.

"Speaking of death... I think someone might have killed my trusted messenger, Eunuch George. I sent him to the archives to find the truth about my mother's last draft. Now, he is gone. Vanished into thin air."

The gravity of the situation settled over me. George was the link to his mother's past. The truth Alaric had been hunting for years.

"You should send someone to search for him." I said immediately.

"The longer he is missing, the colder the trail gets."

"I already sent some guards to comb the lower town and the palace perimeter." Alaric said. His voice laced with frustration.

"No." I shook my head.

"Guards in armor make too much noise. They represent the crown. Whoever took George is clearly hiding from the crown. You need to send someone who operates in secret. Someone who can move through the shadows. Someone without a badge or a uniform. Make sure no one knows about the operation. If not, you'll never find him."

Alaric stood still for a moment. He stared at me. Like I had just spoken in a language he had never heard but perfectly understood.

"Why haven't I thought about that?" He whispered.

He took a step toward me. The intensity in his gaze softened. It turn into something like admiration.

"It seems like you have a solution to most of my trouble even without being in the kitchen. You see the world through a different lens, Sophie."

"It's nothing." I said. I felt a flush creep up my neck.

"I'm just helping out."

"I thank you for your idea." He said.

He finally brought his hands from behind his back.

"And because you have been a loyal chef to this crown... I found this."

My breath hitched.

In his large hands was my bag. My colorful synthetic fabric. It was the bag I had lost at the cliff.

"My bag!" I gasped.

I moved forward. My hands outstretched to grab it. Alaric was fast. He raised his hands high above his head. He used his massive height to keep it out of my reach.

"Not so fast." He teased.

A glimmer of playfulness in his eyes.

"Alaric, give it to me!" I cried.

I began to jump. I tried reaching upward. I tried to snag a strap. I was focused entirely on the bag. My feet leaving the ground as I lunged for it.

On my third attempt, I lost my balance. I stumbled forward. My chest colliding with his hard, muscular torso.

Alaric's arms came down instinctively to steady me. He trapped me against him.

Everything went silent. My hands were planted on his chest. I felt the heat of his skin through the fabric of his tunic. Our faces were inches apart.

The air between us felt electric. It was thick. With a tension that had been building since the moment he caught me in that net.

Alaric leaned in. His grip on my waist tightening. He was ready to seize the moment.

I felt a wave of heat wash over me. Then a sharp realization hit. I wasn't just a girl in a forest. I was a girl with a missing life. I forced myself to break the spell.

Cough, cough.

I made a loud, awkward coughing sound. I stepped back. The contact broke instantly.

Alaric cleared his throat. His face turning a shade darker in the moonlight. He quickly adjusted his tunic. He was smoothing the fabric with unnecessary force.

"Right." He muttered.

His voice gravelly. "The bag."

He handed it to me. The awkwardness was so thick. You could cut it with one of my kitchen knives. I took the bag. I immediately dropped to the grass. I pulled the zipper.

"Where is it?" I muttered.

My heart racing for a different reason now.

I tossed aside a stray granola bar wrapper. I threw my spare hair ties. I reached into the deep pocket where I always kept it.

Nothing.

I turned the bag over. I shaked it aggressively. My heart sank into my stomach.

"The Ledger of Satiety... it's not here." I whispered.

I looked up at him. Panic rising in my throat.

"And my phone. It's gone too."

Alaric frowned.

"Who found the bag?" I demanded.

"Cassian brought it to me." Alaric admitted.

"He found it caught in the briars near the water's edge."

"Where is the ledger? Where is my phone?" I asked.

My voice rising. "He must have seen them!"

"I cannot answer that." Alaric said.

He looked toward the stables. "Cassian!"

Cassian stepped out from behind the stone wall. He had been waiting nearby the whole time. He walked over. His expression guarded.

"Sophie wants to know about the contents of the bag, Cassian." Alaric said.

I stood up. I grabbed Cassian's arm.

"The book, Cassian. The old journal with the leather cover. And the black rectangular device. Where are they?"

Cassian looked uncomfortable. He shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"I didn't see any book." Cassian said.

"The bag was open when I found it. But I saw the black mirror. I picked it up. It suddenly flickered to life. There was a figure inside it... a girl that looked exactly like you. But she wasn't moving. Her soul was trapped in it."

My blood ran cold. He must have seen my lock screen. A selfie I took back home.

"And?" I pressed.

"I panicked." Cassian admitted.

He is now looking at the ground.

"I thought it was a soul-trapping mirror. I thought the girl's spirit was crying out. I got scared... and I threw it away. It fell into a pit."

Alaric's eyes widened.

He looked at Cassian with utter disbelief.

"Why would you throw the... the pi-hon... away?"

Alaric struggled to pronounce the word. His brow furrowed.

I didn't hear the rest of their conversation.

The world felt like it was tilting. My phone was my only link to my world. And the Ledger... It was the only thing that could explain how I got here. Without them, I was truly a ghost.

My life was shattered. Every hope of finding a way back. Every clue I had to what brought me here. It was lying at the bottom of a pit.

I felt strength leave my legs. I fell to the ground. My knees hitted the dirt with a thud. The tears I had been holding back finally broke through.

"I just want to go home." I sobbed.

My voice breaking into a thousand pieces.

I buried my face in my hands.

"I just want return home!" I yelled.

Alaric's POV

I couldn't watch her sob. It cut through me like a blade. This was not a servant crying over a broken dish. It is not a soldier weeping for a lost comrade.

It was the sound of a soul being hollowed out. I could not bear to see her cry.

She looked so small. She looked fragile. I left Cassian standing like a fool. I moved to her. I grabbed Sophie from the cold dirt. I pulled her up. Until she was steady on her feet.

"Stop." I said.

My voice softer than I ever intended it to be.

"I promise you. I will make sure I find the book that brought you here."

She looked at me. Her eyes red with grief. Her hands were trembling. She clutched the straps of her bag.

"It is the only proof I have, Alaric." she whispered.

"Without it, I am just a ghost with no home."

"You are no ghost to me." I replied.

I held her shoulders firmly.

"Go have some rest. You have worked enough today. I will send out the guards tomorrow in search of the book. We will scour every inch of this kingdom until the ledger is back in your hands."

I could see relief wash over her. It was subtle. She slightly loosen her jaw. Her breath was becoming stable. She believed me.

She gave a tired nod. She began to walk. She walked slowly back toward her quarters. I watched her until she was completely gone.

I turned to face Cassian. He was leaning against a wooden post. His arms crossed over his chest. He had a look on his face that I did not like.

Before I could speak. He opened his mouth.

"I see you love her more than Lady Elara." Cassian said.

I felt my jaw tighten.

"You are unserious. We are dealing with a missing Eunuch. A kidnapping for that matter. A girl is falling apart. Here you are trying to crack jokes."

Cassian did not look intimidated.

He stepped into the moonlight.

"It is no joke, Alaric. I am your childhood friend. I have seen you with Elara for years. I have never seen you look at any woman the way you look at Sophie."

"You are imagining things." I said.

I started walking back toward the main keep.

Cassian followed me.

"Am I? Then tell me about the ledger. Did you see it when I brought the bag?"

"I didn't check the bag." I said.

"No, you did." Cassian said.

His voice dropping.

"I know you. Even if I had found that book, I know you wouldn't want her to find it. Because if she finds that book, she finds her way home. And if she goes home, you lose your heart."

"Shhh!" I hushed him.

I looked around the empty farm.

"Who told you that? Keep your voice down."

Cassian laughed.

It was a humorous sound that grated on my nerves.

"No one had to tell me. It is written all over your face. You still try to deny it, but you are not good at lying, Alaric. You are a King not a performer."

I knew I was guilty. I felt the heat in my face. I am the Alpha, the ruler of Blackwood. Yet a kitchen girl from another time had made my emotions as transparent as glass.

"Go have your rest, Cassian." I snapped.

"Tomorrow will be a long day. We have a search to organize."

"I will go." He said.

He was still smiling.

"But remember Alaric. Secrets in this palace have a way of coming out. Especially the ones you keep from yourself."

I left him there and walked back to my chambers.

The halls were silent. The air felt heavy with the things I was not saying. I entered my room. I sat at my desk.

I looked at my journal. I thought about the ledger. If I found it, would I give it to her? Or would I hide it to keep her here? The thought made me feel like a villain. But the idea of her vanishing back into the thin air was worse.

I pushed the thought away. I had a kingdom to protect. I remembered what Sophie had said earlier at the farm. She told me to send someone who moves in secret. Someone who no one would suspect.

I walked to the door. I signaled the guard.

"Get me Thomas the Jester." I commanded.

The guard looked confused.

"The Jester, Sire? At this hour?"

"Do as I say. Bring him through the servant's entrance."

Thomas was a man of many masks. Most people saw him as a fool who jingled his bells for a laugh. I knew him as a man of secrets. He knew every crawl space in the palace. He heard the whispers in the wine cellars. He was exactly what I needed.

Thomas arrived just in time. He was not wearing his bells. He wore dark, simple wool. He bowed low. His eyes sharp and alert.

"Come closer." I said.

He moved until he was a foot away. I leaned in. I whispered into his ear.

"Eunuch George is missing. He was taken from his room without a sound. And before that, a rogue tried to kill me in the forest when I went hunting. They used a silver arrow."

Thomas did not flinch. He just nodded.

"The guards are too loud for this." I continued.

"I need you to find that person. I need you to go where my soldiers cannot. Find the one who is after the crown. Find the one who wants to stop the truth about my mother. Whoever they are, they must be punished for treason."

Thomas looked at me. His face was dead serious.

"I will find the thread, Your Majesty. And I will pull it until the whole tapestry unravels."

"Go." I said.

He vanished into the shadows of the servant's hall.

I stood alone in my chamber. I was a King surrounded by enemies. But I'm in love with a girl who belonged to the future.