Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1118 - 29 : Let’s Find Eva

Chapter 1118: Chapter 29 : Let’s Find Eva

*Rion*

I tried to calm myself as I recovered from the shock of seeing Geoffrey on the opposite side of my cage a few hours ago. He had always been a sniveling punk, coming to the rough area of the capital in order to pay for the “entertainment” provided.

“Well, well, Rion.”

I had been lying on the ground trying to conserve my energy as my body healed from the trauma of being jumped by those wild rogues. I always healed incredibly fast, even more so than most shifters. It was this special gift that kept me alive all these years, but the pain took longer to subside.

When I stood to face him, a lightning crack of rage roiled through me. Even though I was behind bars, that little punk kept the giant right by his side.

“You had me brought here?” I asked through clenched teeth. “Why?”

“Well, there is a reward–” he began.

“If I go down, I’m taking you with me. I paid you.”

“They’re paying much, much more,” he smirked. “With that kind of money, it won’t matter that I will never be the Alpha of Pomeni Pack. I will be heralded as a hero and start a pack of my own.”

I snorted... as if anyone would follow him. “You were the one who helped me into the palace in the first place.”

“Like I had any idea you planned to kidnap Alpha King Xander and Queen Lena’s youngest daughter... besides, who would believe you?”

“Listen, you have Daphne. Just take her and leave. Capture me again later. I need to save my sister.”

“You didn’t look like you were in much of a rush last night at the inn,” he chided.

My wolf snapped as I glared at him. Had he been following and watching us?

“Do you really think you are worthy of a woman like Daphne Crimson? Kidnapping aside, what would her parents say? Rion, you disappoint me. You’ve always known your place, fighting in the dirt of the streets. I made a lot of money on your fig—”

“What do you want?” I cut him off. “You already have Daphne. Just get her to the palace safely. Let me go. Name your price.”

“I want that reward and I want her.”

My wolf bristled, and I felt the stretching of my flesh as he tried to break through, but I held him back.

He smiled wickedly. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her. You know how much I love the ladies.”

I lunged at him, partially shifted with my claws outstretched, but the bars kept me from reaching him. “You lay one finger on her....”

Geoffrey just laughed again.

I shook the bars of the cage, remembering how more than half a dozen women he’d bought for a night ended up bloodied and bruised.

“That is not your concern. The Royal Guard will be here for you in the morning... if I let you live that long. It may be better to just kill you before they get here. You’re a wanted man, dead or alive, Rion.”

I shook the cage once again. “Let me out of here, and I promise to let you live if I ever see you again.”

Geoffrey chuckled, his eyes glinting with malice. “That wouldn’t be very smart of me, now would it? You can threaten me all you want, but this is the end for you, my friend. Face it. Your luck was bound to run out sometime. This is how you were always going to end up.”

I growled, my fingers flexing around the bars of my cage. “You won’t get away with this.”

“Oh, but I already have.”

I narrowed my eyes on him but before I could say anything else, he turned on his heel and walked away, followed closely by the giant guard.

What energy I had mustered up to face him seeped from me as I sank to the floor. My whole body felt like it had been tossed under a truck.

I slumped back against the wall of my cell, feeling defeated. I had no way out, and no idea how to save Eva.

Where the hell was my crew?

If they had been with me at the time of the ambush, we could have made it out fine. But they were nowhere to be found. I wondered for a moment if they had heard us screaming and fighting. They must have.

My next thoughts were strung together and wounded me. The implication that my men simply abandoned me in my time of need was too much to bear. I didn’t want to consider it a reality, but it was definitely a possibility.

They were a band of misfits, my crew, and although they were loyal, I would not have been surprised if that loyalty wavered sometimes.

Then again, I doubted it. They had been with me through the thickest and thinnest parts of my teen years and young adulthood. They wouldn’t abandon me. There had to be a reason. It was just something I had not thought of yet.

My attention drew back to the painful pulsing all over my body. I had taken on so many rogue wolves in equivalent numbers before, but these rogues showed no mercy. I had been covered in bite marks and scratches right after the fight, but those quickly healed up over the course of the trip from the forest to the cages.

The bruises were faded. The cuts and bite marks were barely noticeable. I was achy, but even the pain wouldn’t last much longer.

I heard a soft buzzing of the electric light. The more I listened to the buzzing, the more defeated I felt. Guilt washed over me in waves as I thought of Daphne and all that I had put her through... all for nothing.

The defeat hurt me both in body and mind.

But thankfully, Daphne would soon be safe back at the palace.

No doubt she was being cared for until the Royal Guard arrived. I tried to remember the last time I saw her. That giant man had taken her in a different direction.

Perhaps she was now being comforted by Geoffrey... I roared and pulled my hands over my head. My imagination went wild with the horrible possibilities. What if she fell for his hero routine? No. She was smarter than that, right?

I pushed down the raw emotions that sprang up, but all of my thoughts conjoined into a horrible, disturbing stew of her and Geoffrey together that left me spiraling. It was all too awful.

I inhaled a breath and pushed the thoughts away until I felt numb.

I gritted my teeth, feeling helpless. I had to come up with a plan. I couldn’t just sit here and wait for my execution, but my mind was too clouded with rage and worry for Eva.

But then I heard a commotion coming from outside the room. Voices were shouting, and I could hear the sound of a fight breaking out.

Suddenly, I heard the creaking of the outer door and stood thinking Geoffrey had come back to kill me after all.

A cloaked figure of a small person emerged through the door. I couldn’t tell who the figure was, but something about them seemed vaguely familiar. I jumped to my feet as the door to my cage swung open and Katheryn pulled off her hood.

Seeing her stopped me in my tracks, stunned. Her face was covered in sweat and dirt.

“Come on,” she said hurriedly, holding out her hand. “We have to get out of here now while the guards are distracted.”

“Why did you come back for me?” I asked as we ran.

She huffed, a fine film of sweat glistening over her forehead.

“The princess promised to pay me to get you out.”

I tensed. “She’s with you?”

She nodded. “I helped her escape already to a safe space. She’s waiting for us. Shut up and run.”

I followed her through the thin passageway between the towering stacks of cages. We wandered through the labyrinth of a fortress, then we made it outside and darted across the clearing until we reached the other side, where the edge of the territory ended with a line of trees.

When I saw Daphne’s familiar shape in the trees, I picked up speed and almost ended up colliding with her. She jumped up from where she sat at the base of a tree and wrapped her arms around me.

We hugged each other tight for several minutes and finally stepped back. Our eyes met, and neither of us was able to turn away.

I was wholly absorbed in Daphne. She was a breath of fresh air after a long wait in that horrible cage. I even forgot that I was in pain. She was all I needed to see at that moment. Nothing else mattered outside of us.

“I can’t believe you paid her to rescue me,” I finally said. “You could have left me to rot. Even my own men were nowhere to be seen. Listen, I want you to go and be free—”

But she interrupted me, saying, “Let’s save Eva.”

“Come on you two,” Katheryn grunted. “We’re not far from the dark forest, but we’ve lost another day. We’ll have to get transportation and travel the main roads if we plan to get there by tomorrow.”

Katheryn turned an eye on Daphne. “But she’s too recognizable to take into the public, and I hear that you are a very wanted man.”

“What do you suggest?” I asked.

“The two of you wait here. I’ll go get a car and supplies,” Katheryn answered. She shifted and picked her clothes up from the ground with her jaws before running toward the nearest town.

Daphne and I settled into the underbrush. I was surprised at how close she sat next to me and even more surprised when she rested her head on my shoulder. I was still baffled that she hadn’t just saved herself.

I looked at Daphne and swallowed my emotions. I didn’t want to put her in another minute of danger, but she was still willing to help me... and to help Eva.

“I never met anyone like you, Daphne Crimson.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes, it is.”

“When this is all over—”

“I will disappear with Eva,” I said quickly and she pulled away.

“What?”

“I’m wanted, dead or alive.”

“Yes, Geoffrey did say that. But—”

“There is no future for us, princess, unless it’s on the run for the rest of our lives.”

“My parents might–”

“No,” I said firmly.

“Rio, I know you’ve been alone and too scared to trust people your whole life. I know you blame my parents for that. But they are not the heartless people you think they are.”

“When Eva and I went missing, do you think they put out a reward to find us? Daphne, when this is over just forget about me.”

“Rion,” she sighed and she turned away, her shoulders slumped. “Fine, if that’s really what you want.”

She pushed away from me and we waited for Katheryn’s return in silence. My heart ached with the thought of how empty my life would be without Daphne. I wanted to tell her how much I wished we could stay together.

But I held it in, knowing it was for the best. I’d brought enough darkness and chaos to her life.

How could I possibly ask her to stay with me after everything that had happened?