Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1104 - 15 : Shadows and Dark Corners

Chapter 1104: Chapter 15 : Shadows and Dark Corners

*Rion*

We walked for a whole day underground. The tunnels were dark and chilly, but most of all humid. The sweat beading off of my body from the exertion made my clothes cling to my skin. Although it wouldn’t take very long, it was still very tiring.

I kept my eye open for Brutus or one of his many gang members. Every time I saw a shadow move in a dark corner of the tunnel or something popping out of a corresponding corridor, I flinched.

His men were big guys, an equal match to mine, but I wasn’t worried about my crew so much as I was concerned about the princess.

If she ran off again or if she made the wrong move, Brutus could easily take her. He could scoop her up in his arms and walk away with her.

Not that I was particularly worried about her safety, but if he took her, it would mean another side mission that I simply did not have time for. We were already a little behind because of the misadventures of the previous night, and I didn’t want to go running after the princess again and waste more valuable time.

Time had not been on my side since the start of all of this.

The witch’s words from our last meeting remained in my mind. She only gave me five days to get out of the city and to her meeting point deep in the dark forest, only five days to find her in this Goddess-forsaken entanglement of old woods.

Five days was barely enough to get there without any wrenches thrown into the mix and so far, we had a harrowing escape attempt by the princess. We would have to make double time by cutting down on breaks and sleep.

My men wouldn’t like it, but it had to be done if I was going to make that deadline. It hung over my head, causing me to walk faster. I didn’t want to know what would happen if I didn’t meet it.

Her tight deadline made my stomach clench. I didn’t want to have her waiting for fear of what she may do to Eva. I couldn’t risk her harming my sister as a means to get me there faster.

I pressed the thought from my mind far enough out of the forefront but let it sit on the back burner as a motivation to keep me moving through the dreaded tunnels.

It would be a long walk, though the tunnels were an efficient venue cutting through the countryside. The main streets were old, winding dirt roads with plenty of opportunity to get jumped by bandits.

On the flip side, the trains would have any number of Royals keeping their eyes and ears out for any sign of the princess. The train was arguably much faster than walking through the tunnels, but there was way too much risk of getting caught.

I continued walking and tried to focus on external surroundings to keep my thoughts from drifting into uncomfortable territory.

The tunnel stretched out forever in front of me. From this distance, I couldn’t see a light indicating the other end was near. I glanced at my watch, which said it was around noon.

I sighed. Only halfway through and it already began to lag.

My thoughts wandered again, boredom teasing me inward, but the tunnel’s smell brought me back. It was a mix of earthy grit, gasoline, dirt, and the smells of the forests coming from our destination.

I breathed it in, focusing on the natural scents instead of the smells of the city as they drifted further from me. I followed them, knowing they would guide me where I needed to go, even in the dark.

I glanced at my watch again and groaned when it said only a few minutes had passed. I looked next to me for more distractions from my thoughts and found the princess zoned out, probably just as bored as I was.

But beneath the boredom, she seemed to be thinking. I wondered what was on her mind–probably escape.

I caught myself wondering if she missed her family, and that little brother she mentioned. What was his name, Rice? Ron? I shook my head and tried to take my focus outside of me again.

Bad idea–that only brought my attention to my heels and the balls of my feet, which began to ache. My back hurt from the backpack weighing down on it and my knees hurt from walking so long. I had never walked this much in my entire life.

Not that I wasn’t fit, but I was built for short bursts of extreme levels of physical exertion before quickly going into rest mode. My shifting bouts never lasted very long because of that.

This whole trip taxed me on levels I never even knew existed and worked me in places I didn’t even know I had.

And I didn’t just mean physically.

Holding the princess hostage and planning to hand her over was a mental and emotional drain.

The day dragged on and the trek was long and exhausting. All of us were tired. In the tunnels, it was difficult to determine whether it was still daytime or if night had already fallen on us. There was no sun or clocks with which to tell the time, other than our digital watches. I was lucky mine didn’t shut off and the battery didn’t die.

As we walked, a thought began to gnaw at me. It had reared its ugly head midway through the tunnels and never let go since.

It was the Crimson Princess. I was concerned.

Earlier that day before we left, she showed compassion toward me after all I did to her. It left me feeling uneasy with myself. That had never happened to me before.

I questioned myself, wondering whether or not I could even go through anymore with the wishes of Hestia’s followers and hand over the princess. So much had gotten under my skin about her that it left me second-guessing my intentions.

Was it really worth it? My sister was definitely worth it. I ruminated on this thought throughout most of the day as we walked through the tunnels until I saw a bright light in my field of vision.

A soft tuft of air blew on my face and I knew we were nearly at the end. The light of late afternoon was a golden pinprick on our horizon, a sign of hope.

I was feeling better already.

We came to the exit of the tunnels, where the mouth opened wide to the outside. In the distance, the crest of the dark forest spread from left to right like a beautiful, spiny backdrop just below the hazy late afternoon sky.

We walked out of the tunnels, then I saw him.

Brutus was a big guy. He was a thick massive unit of wiry muscles and tanned flesh with a small flat top square of fiery hair on his head. He had his back turned to us.

He was surrounded by his subordinates, all of them standing on the outer rim of the tunnel by a truck. A few barrels sat nearby. If I hadn’t known any better, I could have bet they were smuggling something through the tunnels.

I glanced at Jasper, who met my eyes with a knowing nod, and we walked stealthily further from Brutus and his men.

I then glanced at the princess and saw that her head was bare. Damn. I’d forgotten to put the pillowcase back on before we exited through the tunnel.

If Brutus had heard or seen any of the news about the missing princess, we could have been in for a world of trouble. I glanced at Jasper again, who nodded and we both stood in front of her.

“What’re you doing?” she asked.

“Be quiet. You can’t be seen or we’re in big trouble. Hide behind us,” I whisper.

She ducked behind me, and Jasper and the three of us shuffled to the opposite side of the tunnel entrance until we could get out of sight.

As we awkwardly made our way, Brutus didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he was more preoccupied with barking orders to his men, and for that I was thankful.

Then he saw us.

Great.

“Hello there,” Brutus said.

He was known throughout the local area, but I hoped my reputation in the streets of the capital stayed there. My group froze and tensed up.

“Hi,” I said, and I made a nod with my chin.

I didn’t want to have things get nasty. He didn’t move from his position. He crossed his arms across his chest.

Behind him, his subordinates glanced at us, then began quietly moving the barrels into the bed of the truck.

“Lovely weather we’re having,” he said.

My stomach gurgled, both from hunger and a nauseating sense of worry.

“Lovely.”

I felt the princess breathing against my neck. Brutus’ eyes wandered just behind me, or perhaps it was my heightened imagination.

One wrong look and he could barrel for her to grab her and use her to collect a ransom, and possibly do cruel things to her before returning her to her parents... if they paid the right price.

He tipped his forehead as if saluting to me and turned his back, then walked back to his truck.

“Let’s get out of here,” I whispered to Jasper.

We awkwardly walked away with the princess still behind us until we made it into a sheltered alcove in the forest just out of sight.

I glanced around the edge of a tree to make sure Brutus had left. I watched the car start and move down through the tunnel until it disappeared into the darkness inside.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said, and we began walking through the woods on the way to Katheryn’s.

We only made it a few minutes when we heard approaching footsteps and twigs snapping behind us.

Whoever it was didn’t care for stealth, giving me reason to believe that Brutus and his men had followed us.

I turned around and found him and his men. Sometimes I hated being right.

“The jig is up,” Brutus grinned.

“What jig?” I said as casually as I could, though my poker face wasn’t exactly working for him. He saw through me, and we both knew it.

“I know you’ve got Princess Daphne right there with you.” He nodded to the princess standing behind me. She hadn’t hidden herself very well once we got out of his line of sight, but I couldn’t really blame her.

We both seemed to have thought that the little flat top rat was going to leave us alone. It was foolish of me to even consider that.

Two of his men crept forward closer to us, and the princess moved behind me.

“I’ll be taking her for ransom. I’m sure her parents will pay a pretty penny to have their little girl back in their arms.” Brutus’ grin widened.

Before I could speak, the princess came out from behind me and stood next to me.

“You’ve got it all wrong,” she said quickly. “I ran away.”

None of us said anything. I was too stunned and my men were just following my lead.

She continued, “We decided to elope. My parents didn’t care much for him.” She motioned to me.

I was too shocked to say anything or deny her, but Brutus didn’t seem to buy it. She took my hand and held it, and my fingers tingled on contact.

Brutus was skeptical still and as he was about to call her bluff, she pulled me in close for a kiss.

On the lips.

I exploded into a world of sensations, all of them overriding my ability to fight back or protest what was happening.

My wolf went crazy, and I feared it would go out of control as she kissed me deeper. I fell into a sweet bliss as both of us seemed to get lost in a feeling of excitement and tenderness that I never saw coming.

My arms tightened around her as if they had a mind of their own, and her body clung to mine as if this was more than an act. It was sweet and dizzying.

I kissed her well beyond the point of going breathless, and all I wanted was more.

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