Alpha Alaric turned back to Sofia, his eyes raking over her chest as it heaved with jagged breaths. "Can you walk? Or do I need to carry you?"
Sofia's cheeks reddened as she shook her head. "That won't be necessary."
Alpha Alaric grunted; he wished she had said otherwise.
"Let's go then," he said, leading the way.
"No... wait..." Sofia's mother screamed, but all Sofia did was stare back at her. She made a mental note that, from that moment on, she had no mother.
Outside, a car was waiting. Alpha Alaric opened the door and Sofia went in before he entered.
Alaric didn't say a word as the car pulled away from the cellar, but his eyes were fixed on the angry red welts circling Sofia's wrists. The sight of the rope burns on her soft skin made his wolf snarl in the back of his mind. He reached out, his large, warm hand covering both of hers.
"You aren't healing," he noted, his brow furrowing in deep frustration. A wolf of her age should have seen those marks fade in minutes.
