Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1157 - 68 : With Desire Comes Fierce Protectiveness

Chapter 1157: Chapter 68 : With Desire Comes Fierce Protectiveness

*Rion*

I felt the corner of my mouth quirk upward as I watched Daphne eat the breakfast I had given to her. She had been livid when I approached, looking like a wildcat as she swiped at me with her tiny hand. I was fairly certain that I had never seen her that angry before.

She was extremely hot when she was angry.

The orange flecks in her hazel eyes glowed like tiny embers when she narrowed her eyes at me. I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by them, even though she was likely trying to burn a hole through my head with her heated expression.

Even though we had been running from some dangerous adversaries, her slightly wavy chestnut brown hair looked soft and flawless as the strands flowed around her thin shoulders. When she glared at me, her chest heaved up and down, accentuating the curves of her full breasts.

She was completely flustered when I first approached her with the food. It made me want to take her somewhere private so I could see just how much more flustered I could make her.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anywhere I could really take her at the moment where we could be alone. It was too bad since I wouldn’t have minded getting her to myself so that I could make up for being a complete idiot.

It was often difficult for me to swallow my pride. I knew that about myself. It was a fault that I was constantly working on, but it was definitely not without a significant level of struggle. I couldn’t help but feel as if Daphne was attacking me by suggesting that Eva turn herself in. Eva was my little sister, and I couldn’t help but feel defensive when she was concerned.

I had been so caught up in the need to protect my sister that I failed to be rational and truly consider Daphne’s point. I had behaved like an asshole, and she deserved to be angry with me.

That was why I was so relieved when the intense anger in her eyes simmered down to mild annoyance as she nibbled at her food. I could almost feel the tension leave her body as she ate. I couldn’t help but watch her closely, wanting to ensure that she was well considering that she was carrying my child.

I found that that simple fact made the young princess even more hot in my eyes. It could have been my imagination, but I was fairly certain that her breasts had grown since I’d seen her last. The fact that her body was changing because of me was beginning to drive me insane with need.

With that need came the sudden fierce protectiveness over her as well. As I sat beside her, I could make out Daphne’s gentle and delicate features. Her neck was smooth and soft, her arms thin. She seemed so small and fragile. It caused my fingers to curl, already prepared to fight off any potential threats to her.

The dress she wore clung to her frame, and the angle that she was at currently caused the small but perceptible swell to be visible to my eyes for the first time. I sucked in a breath, realizing that I was looking at my child.

I longed to reach out and stroke her belly, but I needed to respect Daphne’s space at the moment. She had just started to forgive me for my stupidity.

I had to work hard to shove my intense desires down. Now was not the time nor the place. I had to focus on protecting my family and bringing them to safety.

When our little crew finished eating, I helped Daphne to her feet so that we could join the others in packing up our little cave camp. Eva stepped to the front of the cave and removed her protective shield before we stepped out into the early morning light.

The forest was still and quiet, the only sounds from the gentle morning breeze and the songs of some tiny birds. I could feel that I wasn’t the only one on edge as we quietly made our way through the trees. We were all on guard, wary from last night’s close call.

I led the way, Daphne just a couple steps behind me as we continued on. Jasper and Eva were right behind us, followed by the rest of our small crew. I noticed that Jasper was keeping a close eye on Eva as well. I would need to confront him about it later. I didn’t know how I felt about my best friend snuggling up to my baby sister so early in the morning.

“Stormfall!”

The ferocious roar broke through the peaceful morning immediately. We looked up toward the hill we were facing to see Alpha Gareth at the top of it, looking down at us with fury in his dark eyes.

I cursed under my breath, my arm immediately shooting out to cover Daphne, despite the fact that it was useless. Of course, the Alpha had already seen her. He was flanked on either side by two of his biggest, fiercest-looking guards as well.

“Get the girls out of here!” I snapped at Jasper, who looked at me with wide, angry eyes. It was clear that he didn’t want to leave me to fight against the Alpha on my own. I nearly growled at him. “Now!”

“No, Rion!” Daphne cried out, clinging to my arm. “I won’t leave you!”

“Neither will I!” Eva spat at me, looking enraged by the very thought. She smirked. “I for one am only too eager to finish what I started.”

I glared at the two young women. Of course, I would be directly tied to two of the most stubborn women on the planet.

We all whirled around when Gareth growled furiously, tearing down the side of the hill toward us at full speed, his two men following closely.

I cursed again, more loudly this time, and looked at the rest of my crew. “Stay with Princess Daphne and keep her safe,” I ordered quickly.

“Rion!” Daphne protested angrily.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You’re in no condition to fight,” I said sternly. She looked down, knowing I was right. I took her hand briefly and gave it a reassuring squeeze before I turned to face my sister. “Let’s finish what you started so we can finally have that bastard off our tails.”

Eva nodded and we took off toward the Alpha and his guards. A growl bubbled up from my throat when the three shifted into their wolf forms. I did the same, relishing in the familiar power that flowed through my body.

It was definitely a good thing that I had shifted. I would be more focused and forced not to worry about Eva as much, although I still glanced in her direction as we made contact with the ferocious shifters.

I immediately lunged for Gareth. He snapped his sharp teeth at me, growling angrily. I narrowly missed his claw-filled paw as it swung through the air toward me.

Eva’s powers allowed her to fight off the other two smaller wolves on her own. She had to dodge them for a while, looking for an opening so she could use her powers. It didn’t take her long to step back and unleash her dark shadows on them, wrapping them in her visible chokehold. The two yelped like pathetic puppies in my sister’s fierce hold.

Gareth might have been slightly bigger than me, but I was faster. We ended up being pretty evenly matched. I dodged his gleaming teeth and razor-sharp claws several times before I finally dove at him and was able to land a good, solid bite to his neck, tasting blood immediately as my teeth sank through his fur and into his skin.

The bastard howled and tried to shake me off, but I held strong, allowing the anger and fear that I’d had once I learned Daphne had been abducted to fill me.

Gareth’s struggles were starting to become more feeble, and I finally jumped off of him just in time to watch him fall over on his side. I stood over him as he struggled and looked up at me with hateful dark eyes. He was breathing heavily, and it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to do much more fighting back.

I turned to where my sister and the other two were. Eva looked ready to finish the two shifters off. I growled sharply at my sister, who turned to look at me with wild, angry gray eyes. She caught my look and reluctantly let the two shifters fall to the ground next to their defeated leader.

I shifted back into my human form and got dressed while the rest of my crew tied up Gareth and his guards once they had shifted back as well. We were feeling merciful and allowed them to dress as well before we tied them up. They were in no shape to try and escape anyway. They were bloodied and bruised.

That didn’t mean I was just going to stand back while Daphne approached her fake fiance though. I grabbed her arm as she started forward. “What are you doing?” I hissed at her, attempting to pull her back behind me.

She ignored the death grip I had on her arm and glowered down at Gareth, who was on his knees in front of her. “If you want to continue breathing, I suggest you give me the names of the spies that you’ve sent to my palace immediately.”

Gareth just continued to glare at her, but a quick threatening look from Eva and me had him obeying and stating some names between his teeth. Daphne listened intently, committing the names to memory.

It took some talking, but we were able to convince Eva to allow the shifters to live. We tied them securely to a tree before continuing on our way. We all gave the three deathly looks as we departed.

I had a firm hold on Daphne’s hand as we passed Gareth’s bound form. I gritted my teeth. “If you ever come anywhere near Princess Daphne or any member of the Crimson family again, I’ll make the beating you took today look like a pat on the head. Understood?”

Gareth didn’t answer, just continued to stare at us hatefully, but I took that as confirmation and we turned to go. I wrapped an arm around Daphne’s waist protectively.

“What now?” Daphne asked once we were a safe distance away from them.

There was no question in my mind of what had to be done next. “We get you back to the palace,” I told her firmly.

Eva, who was walking with Jasper’s arm around her shoulders, looked over at us. “We?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

I took a deep breath before nodding. “I think that Daphne’s right after all,” I said to my sister. “I don’t want you to continue to be an enemy to the Crimson family. They would never rest until they found you. I believe the best course of action would be to surrender and attempt to make amends.”

Jasper gritted his teeth, and it was easy to tell that he was worried about this plan. I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t, but Daphne seemed confident in her parents.

And I trusted her.

As Daphne pointed out, the Alpha King and White Queen had given me a second chance. We could only hope that they would do the same with my sister.