Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1169 - 80 : Arrival in Thorn Forest

Chapter 1169: Chapter 80 : Arrival in Thorn Forest

*Daphne*

Alpha Cyrus put Rion and me up in his house. It wasn’t like any pack mansion I was used to, although it was bigger than most of the other houses in Thorn Forest. Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken very good care of the house.

The roof leaked in the corner of our room, which was made apparent when a rainstorm rolled in overnight.

The bed creaked, the mattress was lumpy, and the blankets were scratchy. Rion had no trouble falling asleep, but the drip, drip, drip in the corner of the room had me staring at the log ceiling through the darkness all night long.

We met Alpha Cyrus for breakfast. It was a decent spread, but nothing like I’d expect in the palace. Even Alpha Gareth had more resources than Cyrus.

“I apologize for the accommodations. I’ve spent most of my time focused on the the rest of the pack and I’ve let my own house get a little lax.”

“No worries. Trust me, we’ve had worse sleeping arrangements.” Rion toasted Cyrus with his coffee.

I settled for orange juice and picked out something that wouldn’t unsettle my stomach.

“We’ve done our fair share of sleeping in caves,” I agreed.

“I’d like to take you on a tour of the pack territory today. I know you didn’t get to see much.”

“That would be great,” Rion agreed.

“First, do you mind if I take a look at your inventory records?” I asked.

Cyrus set down his coffee and nodded slowly. “I can assure you, everything is in order.”

“That’s not–I’d like to see where the most attention is needed and what resources we have available to devote to those areas.”

Alpha Cyrus grinned and nodded. “Ahh. I should have guessed. You are an astute one, aren’t you? I’ll have my records brought to you.”

“Thank you.”

Cyrus left Rion and me to finish our breakfast. He reached over and put his hand on my knee.

“I know this doesn’t look like a treasure here, but I can see a lot of potential.”

I smiled at him. “Rion, I’m not worried about what it looks like. You’re right. This pack has a lot of potential. I just wonder... the wars were years ago. This place could have been back on its feet.”

“I don’t know, I saw a lot of refugees out there, people who suffered from the portal wars, most likely. I doubt it is as easy to pick up the pieces after that.” Rion sighed and his eyes grew distant as he gazed out the nearest window.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t focus on the past. I should focus on what we can do to bring this place back to life.”

“Agreed.”

Rion and I went over all the inventory and production records Alpha Cyrus had. He took meticulous records, and it was easy to see that he put a lot of care into things.

“Well, we’ll need more lumber, that’s for sure, based on how much the cabins and houses are falling apart and there isn’t a lot in the pack inventory.” I held up the ledger to show Rion.

“There’s a lot of things on this inventory list that are short. I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves yet. The farms could be our best assets for getting more resources. I want to check them out because if we can restore them, this whole place might transform in one season.”

“I don’t think it will be that easy.” I closed the ledger.

Rion sighed and leaned back in his chair. “No, I don’t think so, either.” He shuffled through the pages on the table in front of him. “There’s a lot to sift through, but we don’t need to do it all now.”

“You’re right.” I stood up and stretched. “I think I have enough to know what I need to know for now. We should get that tour of the pack territory before it gets too late.”

Rion and I met up with Alpha Cyrus. He led us through the main village first and pointed out the residential areas and the small downtown area filled with shops. It didn’t look like most of them were open anymore.

“There are a total of 100 pack members and residents here. That includes the children and elderly. It’s by no means a large pack,” Cyrus explained as we got the lay of the land.

“Have you had much growth over the years?” I asked.

“We had some influx after the wars, but since then, many have left.” Cyrus sighed as we went to the car for a full tour of the farmlands. “I know there are a lot of shifters out there who would like to settle down in a quiet place like this, as long as it could support them.”

Rion slipped his arm around me in the back seat of the car. We left the village area and drove through the farmlands. Yesterday when we arrived, most of the farm workers had already retired for the day.

Now, I could see them out in their fields working.

“If the farms were operating at full capacity, would that provide enough food, lumber, and natural resources for the pack?” Rion asked.

“That was my original design. As you can see, many of the farms are operating at a diminished capacity and aren’t producing enough.” Cyrus pointed to the large, overgrown fields.

“Is that because there aren’t enough workers?” I asked.

“It’s a combination of things. We have plenty of workers eager to contribute. A lot of the pack members in the village would be working on the farms if they could. The farmlands suffered a step-by-step decline.”

“Meaning–” I arched a brow at Cyrus.

“First the machinery went. We didn’t have the supplies or resources to fix them. Without machinery, we couldn’t yield as many crops. Profits went down, and we couldn’t buy as much seed and livestock every year.”

“The slow march,” Rion muttered.

Sadness crept into my gut as I looked out at the wilting farmlands. In the capital of the Dark Realm, I could easily forget how hard life was on the outside.

Even when Rion kidnapped me and we were on the run from Alpha Gareth, nothing had been this bad. We never lacked supplies or allies.

“There’s no one in the Light Realm to help?” I asked, still staring out the window.

“We’re not the only pack struggling in the aftermath of the wars. Many of the relief programs require traveling to the Light Realm capital, and the process required me to be away from Thorn Forest for too long.”

“I’m really sorry that you had to see your people suffer for so long,” I said.

Cyrus sighed heavily and nodded. “I’m hopeful that the two of you can put your heads together and figure it all out.”

“I am too.” I nodded.

The car drove us into a few of the farms, and we got out and saw their operations. I saw an old granary with rust on the outside. It didn’t look like it had been used in years.

“Hey, many of these people aren’t even shifters,” Rion pointed out, frowning slightly.

“Ah, yes. After the Night Realm portal closed, there were many vampires who were displaced, and when the portal to the Dark Realm opened up, many shifters from there wanted to live in the Light Realm, looking for a better life. Some ended up here, with us.”

Cyrus waved his arm over the field, where a few vampires were tilling the soil. “Thorn Forest became a sanctuary for them to rebuild their lives, too. Many of them have new families now.”

My chest tightened and I realized just how little I knew about the fallout from past wars. Now, I was seeing it in action. I could see the decrepit pack territory, the struggling farmers, the shoeless children, and the torn clothing. I had known there were some rough places in the world, but I’d never witnessed them.

More than ever, I was determined to fix this pack up and make it a place of new beginnings, just like Alpha Cyrus wanted and the people deserved.

Rion and I absconded to our guest room when we got back to Cyrus’s house. I wanted to talk to him in private, even though I knew we were staying and helping.

“I feel so sorry for the pack members here. I want to build them a better village, pack, and life. I think you’re right. Starting with the farms is the right idea,” I told him. I sat on the bed and took my aching, swollen feet from my shoes.

Without a word, Rion sat with me. He pulled my feet into his lap and started massaging them. I leaned back on the pillows and sighed. It felt so good after walking around all day.

“There are a lot of hard workers out there. Even the people in the village have a clear desire to work and contribute to their community.”

“I noticed that too. Everyone has high spirits, even though the place is a mess. I think that’s a good sign.”

“Agreed. Resources are pretty scarce, though. It could take a lot for us to get this place up and running.”

I nodded and bit my lower lip. “Well, there’s a chance my parents could help.”

Rion narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. His fingers stopped rubbing my feet and I frowned. I wouldn’t have said anything if I knew the delicious rubbing would go away.

“Daphne, don’t you think they have enough to deal with right now? The entire kingdom is in danger.”

“Yeah.” I sighed and looped my arms around my slightly rounded belly. “I don’t know how to do this on our own.”

Rion chuckled and got back to work on my feet. “The two of us with our heads together can accomplish anything. We’ll work it out. But look... this could be more than we agreed to take on, especially with a baby on the way....”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about me. If we can’t give these people a better life, how can we give our child the best life? We agreed to have a life away from the palace, and we have to prove to ourselves that we can do that.”

I sighed and sank into my pillows. I’d meant what I said to Rion but I still missed the palace, especially when I tried to get comfortable on these lumpy, stiff pillows.

“We’ll make it work. Tomorrow, we can go over everything in the inventory again and start working on a plan to put this place back together.”

“Okay. I know everyone in the village will be willing to help.”

I squinted my eyes open and looked at Rion. He seemed really eager to get to work. I understood. He never really had a place to call his home, and now he had the chance to make this place the perfect home for our family.

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