Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1125 - 36 : A Question of Trust

Chapter 1125: Chapter 36 : A Question of Trust

*Daphne*

I felt Rion’s hand at the small of my back as he escorted me back to the car. I knew he didn’t mean me any harm, but honestly, I was done being tossed from one messed-up crisis to the next.

“Rion,” I said, stopping in front of the door as Rion held it open. “I want to go home.”

Rion looked down at me. “I can’t let you do that.”

“I’ll have the ransom money sent to you. You don’t need to worry about turning me in yourself,” I sighed.

“Look,” Rion responded, taking my shoulders in his firm, yet warm, hands. “Just stay with me a couple more hours. I want us to go back to the inn and make sure Eva is okay.”

“Make sure Eva–Eva is fine!” I insisted. “At least she will be as long as you let me go back to the palace. If I’m not being passed around like a football, then I’m not putting anyone in any more danger. I shouldn’t be out in the open like this.”

Rion frowned and his grip on me tightened.

I gave him a hard look. “Don’t you trust me?”

“This isn’t about you and me,” Rion said, turning his face away.

“Oh my Goddess, you really don’t!” I gaped. I shook my head and pulled out of his grasp, turning to stomp off on my own.

Rion’s man, Jasper, blocked my path.

I turned back to Rion. “Really?!”

“Like I said, it’s not about you and me. I just want to make sure Eva’s alright. I can’t let you go now. Just give me a couple of hours, please,” Rion replied.

I folded my arms. “Do I have a choice?”

Rion winced. “Not really.”

“Right.” I pushed past him and slid into the back seat of the car.

“Daphne...” Rion began, sliding in next to me.

I turned my chin and stared out the window.

Rion sighed and closed the door behind us.

A moment later, he leaned over me. “What do you think you’re doing?!” I snapped.

Rion scowled at me and made a grand gesture of buckling my seatbelt.

“Glad you’re so interested in my safety,” I snarked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

He might be invested in my safety to a point, but he was clearly more invested in his sister’s. It pissed me off, and made me feel jealous and insecure–two emotions I was not comfortable making friends with.

“Daphne...” Rion tried again.

“Forget it,” I snapped.

Rion sighed and leaned over to his side, resting his elbow on the window ledge and staring out his own side.

I wondered if I was being petty. I probably was. But I was also deeply hurt. I mean, we’d shared so much in the short amount of time we’d been together. And yet, now he still didn’t trust me or value me as he did his sister.

We didn’t speak another word all the way to the inn. Rion leaped out of the car as though I were a hot coal the moment the car stopped.

I told myself I didn’t care. I scooted out behind him.

“Great, I’m here, now what?” I asked bitterly.

***

*Rion*

‘Now what’ was a good question. I had her here, with me, and a large part of me wanted to keep it that way. Mates or not, she was... important to me. It meant something to me to have her with me.

But she was also right–it was time to get her back to the palace.

I ignored her question and just took her by the arm, probably more roughly than I meant to. I wasn’t sure if I was more pissed off at her or at myself.

“Eva? Katheryn?” I called as we ascended the stairs to the rooms above the bar.

Both women appeared and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I see you’ve still got our golden goose,” Katheryn grinned.

“I do,” I grunted. “I just wanted to make sure everything was alright before I got her on her way home.”

“Everything’s fine, as you can see. And the longer we hang onto her, the longer we don’t have our money,” Katheryn groused.

I ground my teeth. “Katheryn, is money really all you care about?”

“Is there any other use for her?” Katheryn countered.

I could think of a few, but I didn’t divulge any of it out loud.

Daphne shook me off and stormed off to the room we’d rented, slamming the door behind her.

Eva and Katheryn both jumped.

“Well, that was rude,” Katheryn said. Her eyes narrowed. “Hmm. Do you think we can trust her now? She seems pretty pissed off.”

I felt a clenching in my gut, but replied, “Yes, we can trust her.” In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if the misgivings were about my trust or....

I didn’t finish that thought. It was going into dangerous territory.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s just get ready to go.”

My men stood guard while we made preparations to leave. Eva was a bit squirrely, but I chalked it up to her ordeal.

Katheryn tapped her foot impatiently while I stood outside Daphne’s door. “Daphne,” I called. “Come on, it’s time to go.”

“Go screw yourself,” Daphne replied.

I sighed, hanging my head. "Daphne, I’m coming in," I called through the door.

When she didn’t respond, I carefully opened it. Daphne sat on the bed, arms crossed, glaring at the wall. Her eyes were red-rimmed.

My heart clenched with guilt. I sat down beside her. "Daphne, I’m sorry," I said softly. "I didn’t mean to hurt you or make you feel like you don’t matter to me. You do."

Daphne sniffed, angrily wiping away a tear. "Well you have a damn funny way of showing it," she said bitterly.

"I know," I admitted and took her hand gently. "You’re important to me too, Daphne, more than I know how to tell you."

She turned further away, more tears falling. "I thought we meant something to each other," she whispered. "But now... I just want to go home and never see you again."

Her words cut me deeply. I had ruined this, ruined what we had started to build between us.

"We probably won’t see each other again, but.... "

I trailed off as she refused to look at me and began sobbing quietly into her hands. My own eyes burned with regret and shame.

A growl thrummed in my chest. “I’m just trying to do right by everyone. This isn’t fair.”

“Life isn’t fai—””

There was a crash and a shattering of glass coming from downstairs.

“Stay here,” I said as I ran from the room. Daphne ignored my order and scrambled behind.

I turned to Daphne, my wolf whining with concern. But screams from downstairs drew my attention.

Eva was down there.

I hurried to the lobby and found that Katheryn was hiding behind a door, just her head peeking out. Eva was....

I blinked and looked around. Where the fuck was Eva?!

I heard chanting coming from outside and followed a trail of bodies clad in the robes of Hestia’s followers. My men had fought many of them back but once I reached the door, I saw they were all outside, including Jasper, bound down by some terrible purple tendrils of magic.

In the middle, on the ground, was my sister, bound down as well, gasping for air as the tendrils of purple tightened around her.

“Give us the princess!” one of Hestia’s followers demanded as the tendrils around Eva appeared to tighten.

I took a step toward the group and the purple magic tightened again. I heard a crack of bone and Eva shrieked.

“Give us the princess,” they repeated.

That snap of bone had ripped right through my heart. My sister was being crushed to death....

I looked at Daphne.

I pleaded silently with my eyes for her to understand what I was about to do.

Daphne shook her head and stumbled backwards. “No. No, you wouldn’t....”

“Daphne...” I begged.

“No. No!” Daphne protested. She turned to run.

I caught her quickly, wrapping my arms around her in an unbreakable bear hug. “I’m sorry,” I whispered into her hair. “She’s my sister. If they want to ransom you, they can. I’ll forfeit any ransom for my sister’s life.”

“And my life?” Daphne asked hoarsely.

Guilt knifed me right in the gut, but I made myself believe my next words. I had to believe them. “I will find you.”

“You don’t know that,” Daphne whispered.

I didn’t answer. All I could do next was guide her toward them. I expected her to put up a fight but she didn’t. I handed her over.

“Here,” I said, pushing Daphne into a witch’s waiting arms. “Now release my sister!”

They stopped chanting over my sister, and the purple bonds disappeared.

One of Hestia’s followers still went over to her and dragged her up by the hair, holding a knife to her throat. “Tell your men not to attack us.”

I looked at my sister, then Daphne, then back at my sister, feeling utterly helpless. “Stand down,” I ordered my men.

They all stared at me as though I’d lost my mind, but when the purple magic went away, they all shifted back to human form and stayed put.

“Excellent,” the witch holding Daphne said. “Now, I suppose I don’t have to tell you not to follow us. There could be dire consequences for all involved.” He circled his hand around Daphne’s throat.

“If you hurt her...” I began with a growl.

There was a derisive snort, and I realized it came from Daphne.

I knew how she must feel. I’d felt this kind of betrayal before.

I hated myself for having to choose Eva over her for the moment. I was going to hate myself for a long time.

“Move out,” the witch said to the others, dragging Daphne out as they exited the inn.

I stood there next to my men, who were all looking to me for orders.

“Give it two minutes,” I seethed. “Then, we follow.”

“What?” Eva gasped. “Why?”

I turned to her. “What do you mean, ‘why’? They just took her!”

“You said you wanted me more than the ransom,” Eva sniffed. “Why does it matter if we go after her?”

Because it’s Daphne. “It’s not about the ransom. They... humiliated us!” I said aloud.

“Rion, she’s one of the royals...” Eva said haltingly.

“And she helped me save you,” I reminded her confused by her reluctance to help.

“I’m with Rion,” Katheryn said, coming down the stairs. “I want my money. And they did humiliate us.”

“Some help you were back there,” I grunted at her.

Katheryn shrugged. “Live to fight another day and all that.”

Eva looked incensed and... something else, something unsettling. “So you will risk me again to go after her.”

“That’s not–”

“Fine. Fine, go after the pretty little princess. We wouldn’t want one hair on her pretty little head to be damaged, now would we?” Eva griped. She started toward the door. “Never mind what those witches will do the next time they come for me.”

“Eva...” I gasped.

“Forget it. Just go save your princess,” Eva muttered.

I did not have time to argue. I was ready to order my men to start the pursuit of Hestia’s followers, but a shrieking in the distance drew our attention and I turned to see Hestia’s followers running back toward the inn.

“What the hell is going on?” Katheryn asked as she braved for a fight.

My eyes widened as I took note of a Royal Guard battalion led by Geoffery chasing the witches back to the inn. I felt relieved and sick to my stomach at the same time.

“Shit! Get Eva to safety,” I ordered Katheryn as I shifted with my men to prepare for a fight.

“It’s the Royal Guard,” Jasper called out. “What do we do?”

“Help the Royal Guard fight the witches and save Daphne,” I said.

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