Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1108 - 19 : The Selenite Pack

Chapter 1108: Chapter 19 : The Selenite Pack

*Daphne*

The wind and the rain slashed against the front of me as we dashed through the dark forest towards the Selenite Pack. I leaned forward to keep from getting bushwacked, but the rain pelting my back stung.

I clung to his torso with my arms and thighs, his clothing underneath me the only dry, warm part. He galloped through the forest, maneuvering around trees with the agility of a skilled runner who had seemingly done it many times prior.

I hoped that the trip wouldn’t last long. The rain was making it almost unbearable at the speed he was going.

I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the rain pelting my back and running down my spine like cold, wet fingernails. As we went further into the woods, more of his memories seeped in. I should have known that touch instigated them.

This vision was immediate, though... powerful. It distracted me from the inclement weather and forced me deep into his memories, away from the stinging cold of the rain, and into the dreadful world of his past.

I flew over his shoulder, a bird’s eye view of his life, again. He was still young, maybe a year or two older but I couldn’t be sure. He worked too hard for a boy, or anyone, his age.

He worked the alleys and side streets picking up one odd job after another. There was a job dealing drugs to junkies on the street corner. It made him streetwise really quick.

But it also got him into fights.

It was a cloudy day and he was on a street corner waiting. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his breath came out in crystalline puffy clouds that glittered beneath the street lamp light.

He glanced around but tried to not make it too obvious. A car drove up to the side of the road. An older man leaned out the passenger side, the side close to him, with his grubby hand out. Rion cupped his hand and dropped something into the old man’s hand.

The old man handed him a paper bag and drove off with a shriek of the tires.

Rion looked into the bag, too distracted as he counted his money to see the shadowy figure looming from the alley behind him.

I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was watch the crowbar come down on the back of his head and see him fall forward onto the sidewalk, where he cut his head on its edge. The shadowy figure dove for the paper bag and ran off with it.

Rion lay there for what seemed too long but finally got up. He searched for the bag, but it was gone. I watched his wounds sew back together as he looked for his belongings as if he had not been hit by a metal bar.

The vision blurred and we were in a different location. It looked like a boxing ring. The stands were all made from metal high school bleachers stacked on top of each other. The box ring was flimsy and the floor shone from wear and tear.

People screamed and cheered from all around me. The smell of popcorn, hot dogs, and sweat permeated the air. I was a bird’s eye over Rion’s shoulder again as he walked to the ring, wearing a tattered robe.

Once he entered the ring, he took off the robe and the bell rang. He collided into the body of a much bigger boy. They both seemed to be in their mid-teens, but I couldn’t be sure. Rion swung hard punches into the opponent’s face and vulnerable areas.

He punched like he meant it.

I watched as he dodged hits or got up from deep blows. He never surrendered. He laid one final blow, sweeping his knuckles across the other boy’s chin so it yanked to the side.

I cringed as the boy flung back and landed on the ring floor, then lay there in a daze. I wondered for a moment if he was dead, but while a couple of guys grabbed him by the shoulders, he blinked, stunned.

The referee held up Rion’s hand and the crowd went wild. Rion walked up to the nosebleed section, where he met an older man with wiry muscles who slapped a fat wad of cash in his mitten and ruffled his hair.

“You’re doing good, kid. Keep it up,” the man said.

“Thanks, Sal,” Rion replied, then he began to count his earnings.

I learned then that Sal had raised Rion and that he’d retired, though that detail would happen years later. It was a short thought, but I could feel the bond between them, like father, like son. Rion fanned his cash and counted.

For me, it was a normal amount of money, but I knew that Rion considered himself a king at that moment. He left the boxing ring and took a taxi back to an apartment complex in the capital’s seedy underbelly.

He entered the apartment, and I recognized the young man named Jasper. I immediately felt their deep connection.

I also realized that Rion had no other friends. Most of his associates were just a means to an end. But I didn’t blame him too harshly.

My vision ended abruptly. I was standing on damp earth. The smell of rain and wet soil wafted up, bringing me back to the present moment. I saw we were in front of a cozy looking cabin and I assumed that it was the safe house.

Rion stood over me. He was naked with one hand over his privates and the other held out toward me.

“Clothes?” he said, snapping his fingers.

I fumbled and looked around to find that his clothes were stuck to my thighs. I hurriedly tossed him his clothes and turned around to give him his privacy.

I thought about the visions and wondered if they would continue to persist, and why I was seeing them in the first place. It seemed that some unknown force was leading me to help him, but I didn’t know why.

He turned me around and I saw he was fully clothed.

“Come on, let’s get out of the cold,” he said, and he led me to the house’s veranda.

The smell of pine wafted in as the door opened and we saw an elfish-looking woman with a pointy nose, freckles, and bright red hair.

“Hi Diane,” Rion said.

She smiled at him and went in for a hug. “Hello, Rion.”

“She’s sick. May we come in?” he said hurriedly.

Her expression changed, and she quickly motioned for me to come in.

A fire crackled in the fireplace the moment I entered. There was a rug surrounding a cluster of soft couches with the rest of the crew sitting on them, as if they had been waiting for us this whole time.

“Come with me,” Diane said, taking my arm gently and pulling me down a hallway lined with family photos and a long rectangular rug.

We came to a small bathroom. It looked more like a closet than a bathroom to me, but the candles and potpourri were inviting.

She opened a medicine cabinet on the side and filled up a cup of cough syrup, then handed it to me.

“There you go, hun,” she said.

I took it. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. What’s your name?”

“Daphne.”

“Well, Daphne I’ll fix up a bath for you and you can soak for as long as you need to. Once you’re done, you’ll have some hot soup waiting for you in the dining room.”

She bustled past me in that tiny bathroom and turned on the water.

“Holler if you need anything,” she said before leaving me alone with the water still running.

I drank the cough syrup and gagged a little. It was not flavored very well, but it would probably do the trick. I had to trust that it would.

I sighed a deep, relaxing, cleansing breath as I settled into the hot water. The heat soaked down through my pores and helped soothe my aching muscles. It was very much needed.

I let myself soak in the soothing waters for what seemed like hours, but I didn’t want to leave. I scrubbed myself clean and decided it had been more than enough time, and I got out.

I noticed a pile of clothes on the counter that were not mine and wondered if Diane had slipped in while I had my eyes closed. I had probably fallen asleep in the bath water. I certainly needed it.

I stepped out of the tub and dried off, then put on the clothes provided, a sweatshirt and sweatpants, a cozy and comfortable outfit that fit loosely. I was feeling grateful to be clean and out of the dirty cargo pants and T-shirt I wore.

When I returned to the dining room, the smell of chicken soup filled the whole room. The crew talked to each other on the couches, but I found Rion on his own sitting on an armchair, his eyes glazed over, deep in thought.

“Hey hun, are you feeling better?” Diane’s voice startled me.

I turned to find she had already served up a bowl of soup and a thick slice of homemade bread.

“Thank you so much,” I said, and I meant every syllable.

She smiled warmly. “It’s nothing, enjoy.”

I took the food, walked over behind the couches, and pulled up a chair next to Rion.

“Oh, hi.” He shook his head and smoothed his fingers over his face like he had just woken up from a restless night.

“Hi,” I said, and I pulled a small table in front of me to set the food on.

“Did you eat?” I said after a short pause. I cooled the spoonful of soup before taking a sip. The salty chicken flavor and crisp carrot and celery slices were inviting.

“Everyone ate,” he answered.

I was quiet as I slurped a few bites and dipped the bread in the soup. I was halfway through the bowl when I decided to speak again.

“So I was thinking....”

I trailed off. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to bring it up. But maybe it was. I was on that path for a reason, I was sure of that now. The visions happened way too often for me to consider them coincidences.

He waited for me. I watched him from the corner of my eye, his chin resting on his knuckles.

“I understand why you’re doing this.” I looked up at him. “I understand why you kidnapped me.”

His face was unreadable.

I continued. “I promise to go willingly and pay for what my parents have done to you and your sister.”