Leland 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 delay this further."
There was something in his voice that made Sophie feel suspicious. To the best of her knowledge, Leland 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 bond completely with her mate.
Between the two of them, Leland 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.
"Leland, is there something that you are not telling me?" Sophie pursed her lips. "I have a bad feeling about you leaving..."
Leland 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 replace him taking care of the pack. He couldn't rely on Duncan and he planned 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, Leland didn't think it was so bad since they already considered both Sophie's parents dead. As for Alpha Elias, Leland 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 Lucas comes 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," Leland confessed. "I am thinking..."
"Thinking of what?" Sophie furrowed her brows. She could see Leland's expression was very unwilling.
"I am thinking of asking Nicholas to protect you and the children while I'm away," Leland 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 Nicholas Hannenbergh."
Sophie's mouth was agape when she heard Leland's words. No wonder Leland looked so unwilling. He actually didn't want to ask for Nicholas' help, but he thought he had no choice. However... it was funny to think that finally there came a time when Leland would actually ask Nicholas to protect his mate and their children.
Maybe what happened in the past few months had truly changed his heart about Nicholas 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 Nicholas or Leland. Fortunately, Leland was more mature than that and Nicholas also learned quickly to show that he knew his place.
He tried to avoid anything to do with Sophie, even though he still loved that woman, and Leland appreciated it. Nicholas accepted 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 to come here and protect me and the kids, ahaha..." Sophie chuckled and thought Leland's suggestion was funny. The Alpha used to hate Nicholas so much, but now he wanted Nicholas, the king, his previous enemy, to come here and protect his family?
"Of course, the king won't need to come here," said Leland. "I will take you and the kids to the royal palace and talk with him about what happened. You can stay there and relax 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 palace while she was waiting for Leland to return if the old queen didn't like her.
"What do you think?" Leland asked Sophie. "If you agreed. I will send a pigeon as soon as possible to the king and explain my intention."
Sophie quickly thought about the pros and cons of staying in the palace during her mate's absence. There was the possibility that the queen didn't like her, also her interaction with Nicholas might become awkward because... because Nicholas used to be her husband.
However, she and the kids would definitely be safe because the royal palace was the safest place in this country. Lucien and Jan would also get more chances to spend time with their paternal family. Leland would have peace of mind and didn't have to worry about them.
Finally, Sophie nodded reluctantly. "Okay... only because you want it."
Leland kissed the top of her head and hugged her. Then he said, "You sit here. I will send the message to the palace."
Leland let go of her from his embrace and then rushed out to notify Nicholas. Sophie could only watch his back leaving until it disappeared from view.
"Gosh... is this really happening?" Sophie asked herself, massaging her temple. "Leland asked Nicholas 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 palace."
Jan looked happy too. He was smiling at the mention that they would stay in the royal palace. 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 palace?
***
In the royal palace, Nicholas was shocked to receive news that Duke Romanov just sent him a message that he would come and bring Sophie and her kids to the palace. Nicholas was dumbfounded and couldn't believe his eyes, reading the letter.
"Jerald, please pinch me," Nicholas 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?"
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