The days would be a bit more peaceful afterward with both Dinah and Duncan doing their best in keeping Sophie safe according to their Alpha's order.
Dinah did a very good job of letting Sophie stay in her room and kept busy with some unimportant paperwork and also the bookkeeping exercises that her tutor, Katherine, left for her.
The woman seemed to have taken a leave to go visit her family.
It all seemed like the days that their Alpha Leland was gone would be uneventful and only peaceful, but they were mistaken. Sophie soon realized that she now had some spare time to go out and do what she intended to do.
Ever since Sophie found out that she was pregnant, the physician told her to come and visit for a check-up. Since Sophie didn't tell anyone about it, now was a good time to go without arousing suspicion.
She asked permission from Dinah, if she could leave the castle. "Since there doesn't seem to be a lot of work to do… would you mind if I go out and head into Hastings town center? I will be back soon."
Dinah raised a brow and then crossed her arms. She was aware that their Alpha probably had someone looking over Sophie but it was a lot safer if she stayed in the castle even because it was easier to ensure her safety.
"Why do you need to go to Hastings? Why not stay here instead?" Dinah asked Sophie curiously.
"It's really important, don't worry about it, Dinah." Sophie urged her. She knew she couldn't just leave the castle without permission from someone and so she hoped that her fellow maid who worked longer and knew the others would say yes. "Please… I won't be long. This is really important for me and I have made the appointment before I accepted the job here."
Dinah looked conflicting. She wanted to say no, but something in her heart told her that she must try to always be on Sophie's good side since the Alpha was interested in her.
Finally, seeing Sophie's pleading look, the female lycan didn't have the heart to say no.
"Fine. Just be quick about it, okay?" Dinah said.
"I will, thank you." Sophie smiled broadly and gave Dinah a hug. Then, she prepared to leave.
Elsewhere, Duncan was having breakfast with Max in the hall of the castle. He was eating and savoring the food prepared by the cooks and the flavorful spices. There were more garnishes and flavors for the food used by the humans than the ones made by his tribe.
Max glanced at him and asked. "Wasn't this your turn to watch over the half-lycan more properly?"
"I know." Duncan swallowed some of the food and looked at his friend. "But she's always around her room and with Dinah. I can get some time to eat before I start hanging around outside of her room, okay?"
While the bodyguard was still eating breakfast, unknown to him, Sophie would leave the house and go outside to head into Hastings. When Duncan was finally finished and headed into the woman's chamber and snuck a peek through the window, he found it empty.
"Wait. Where is she?!" Duncan immediately panicked and soon searched for Dinah to ask about Sophie's whereabouts. He was hoping that Sophie was still around the castle, but to his shock and horror, she was not there.
"What do you mean… you weren't around when she said she was leaving?! I thought you are always shadowing here." Dinah shouted at Duncan. "Go look for her now!"
"Do you know where in Hastings she went to?"
"No! She didn't tell me either, so go!" Dinah pushed the lycan to leave now and search for Sophie. Unlike other Lycans, Sophie's scent was very weak and hard to find that Duncan would end up trying to search for her using the mark of their alpha.
However, when he finally found Sophie, he came too late.
***
The visit to the physician was brief but helpful.
Sophie was given something to drink and she managed to buy it with the remaining money she had left and then she decided to go straight to Wolfstone castle. There was a relief on her chest and she pulled out the wedding ring that she tied across in a string.
A faint smile appeared on her lips as she thought about her and Nick's child. It was something that gave her hope and strength.
While Sophie was about to head back to the castle of Duke Romanov, however, she would encounter the people that she desperately didn't want to see.
Valerie and Lucia actually happened to be in the market place and saw her.
"Well, look who still happened to be here, sister." Lucia tossed a look at Valeria as she blocked Sophie's path. "The thief is still here and yet she's also showing off her stolen jewelry, isn't she?"
"Should I call for the city guards?" Valerie added loudly and soon the townspeople would all look at the trio in the streets.
Sophie hid back the wedding ring that Nicholas gave her underneath her clothes and gave a hard look at her cousins.
While it was true that she retrieved Nick's grandmother's ring… and may have also taken some other jewels, the truth was that they all belonged to her father.
"This isn't your mother's, Lucia, and if we're talking about thieves, it's your mother who took away my inheritance," Sophie spoke boldly. Now, she had already figured out the truth.
The reason why her aunt took her in many years ago was not because she cared about Sophie, but because she wanted to take all Sophie's inheritance. Sophie was no longer afraid to speak up.
Murmurs erupted between the townsfolk who recognized who Valerie and Lucia were. They were the daughters of Stefan and Helga Limberg who owned a successful business here in Hastings where Stefan often traveled to the capital and other larger cities to trade.
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