Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1189 - 100 : A Promising Sign

Chapter 1189: Chapter 100 : A Promising Sign

*Rion*

I had lost all sense of time since arriving at the Breles hospital. I was sure a lot of it had to do with the number of tests that they were having me undergo. I was wheeled out of my room at least a couple of times a day. It seemed as if I was alternating between various tests and small meals that consisted of dry meats and mushy potatoes or rice.

I sat upright in my bed, getting ready to have yet another X-ray done. I woke up that morning and was shocked to discover that my legs were starting to get a little bit of feeling back. It felt as if I was getting poked in my legs thousands of times with tiny, dull needles.

“This is very promising, Mr. Stormfall,” Doctor Elowen said as he scribbled something down on the pad of paper he was holding. “The nurse will be in soon to take you to the X-ray room. Just sit tight for now.”

I thanked the older doctor as he left Eva and me alone in my hospital room. As promised, a young nurse came in and started to wheel me down the hall and into a larger room full of big metal machines.

Eva stayed with me the whole time, watching with her large gray eyes as my bed was placed onto a part of the floor that moved. My whole bed traveled through a tube that flashed colorful lights over my body. I expected to feel heat or even pain, but I didn’t feel anything as my body lit up under the yellow lights.

The nurse excused herself once the procedure was done, explaining that it would take a few minutes for the images to come through. I just nodded and thanked her. She smiled at me with compassion before informing us that the doctor would be in soon with the results.

“How are you feeling?” my sister asked once we were alone. She leaned toward me so she could look me in the eye.

“Fine,” I muttered, sighing heavily and trying to relax against the clumpy pillows beneath my shoulders.

Over the past several days, I have been trying to get to know my now-adult sister. There was so much time that we had spent away from each other, and I had to remind myself that she wasn’t the little girl that I once knew.

I was cautious as I asked about the last ten years. She didn’t seem too eager to discuss it either. She looked at me almost sadly as she just said that the past was the past and that it no longer mattered. She claimed to just be happy that we were together again.

Apparently, I had lost a significant part of my memory. There were multiple years that were going unaccounted for. Eva seemed almost desperate for me to recall those since supposedly she was in them as well.

Eva told me that I had come to rescue her, saving her from several enemies. She counted herself as one of them but didn’t elaborate much.

The more Eva talked about pirates and caves and our mother’s Grimoire, the more confused I felt. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t place myself in the strange tales that Eva was telling.

And yet, I felt a strange pull from my wolf as Eva described the parts of my memory that I couldn’t access as well.

I could tell that although I didn’t understand a lot of what she was saying, there was truth behind them. My wolf was extremely restless during the tale. It made me uneasy.

I had a sinking feeling that it was because of the Crimson Princess.

“You said earlier that the Crimson Princess was my wife,” I said slowly, barely able to speak the words since they sounded so foreign, but I felt something stir within me as I spoke as well.

Eva wrinkled her nose and actually scoffed at me, and I was suddenly reminded of the little girl that I knew. “Why are you asking about Daphne?” she asked, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. “You realize that you actually scared her off, right?”

I could picture my little sister as a small child again as she took up an attitude with me. I could almost picture her tiny hands flying to her hips.

I quirked an eyebrow at her and sent her an unamused look that I felt like I sent her often as an older brother.

Eva’s lips thinned. “What?” she demanded. She shrugged her thin shoulders. “You literally told her to get out, so that’s what she did.”

I barely held back a grimace as I averted my eyes to the clean white bed sheets. I started to replay that moment in my mind, remembering the way that the princess had recoiled as if I had slapped her. The hurt in her eyes was undeniable as she fled from the room.

“I was just confused, and my head started to hurt,” I explained to Eva, who didn’t seem at all impressed or sympathetic by my words.

“That doesn’t matter,” Eva said firmly, confirming my suspicions. She shook her head at me as if I was a naughty child. “If you wanted her to stay, you should have said something entirely different. You could have even told her that you needed some space because of your headache. Instead, you made it seem like you wanted her to get lost.”

At that moment, I had wanted her to get lost, but I wasn’t going to articulate that right now. Eva already seemed to be growing more and more irritated with me. My wolf had obviously been attracted to Princess Daphne. That much was clear by the way I could barely function when she was in the room.

Before I could say anything else, the doctor entered the room.

“The X-rays are quite promising, Mr. Stormfall,” he said, moving to my bedside and starting to push the sheets off my paralyzed legs. “I’m going to conduct a couple of tests on you after I show you the images.”

A large screen suddenly lowered in front of us. I stared in wonder at the black-and-white pictures of my skeleton. One was of my upper body and the other one was the lower.

The doctor gestured to the left screen. “These images are already showing some significant improvement compared to when you first arrived the other week,” he said. He gestured to some cloudiness around my spine. “There is still some swelling around your spine, but this much I expected considering the extent of your injuries upon your arrival.”

I nodded in understanding. "When can I get out of here?" I asked curtly.

Doctor Elowen chuckled lightly. "You in a rush to leave so soon?" he asked. When I didn’t laugh at his joke, he cleared his throat. "Well, a lot of that depends on how well you do with the treatment we have planned for you. It could take weeks of physical therapy before you’re able to function normally."

I gritted my teeth with frustration. I was growing extremely restless since the day I’d woken up in this place.

The doctor moved to the floor of the bed and took out a pen-like instrument. He instructed me to look away and to let him know if I felt anything as he carefully prodded my toes.

I looked away as instructed, waiting for the feeling of the small instrument touching my feet, but none came. I waited.

"Nothing?" the doctor asked.

I shook my head, and the doctor sighed and straightened.

"The fact that you’ve started to gain some sensation back is a promising sign," he said. "I look for that swelling to continue to go down. Coupled with some physical therapy, and I believe there is a good chance you’ll be able to make a full recovery."

Eva beamed at me, and I returned it with a small smile of my own.

I honestly just wanted out of this place.

***

*Daphne*

I leaned against the gentle mare beside me as a fresh wave of nausea fell over me.

My pregnancy symptoms have been progressing steadily over the past week or so, leaving me feeling extremely fatigued and nauseated most days.

I spent just a couple of days in the mansion, barely able to move without the room spinning. Alma was kind enough to help me with the girls on those days.

The symptoms didn’t compare to the heartache that weighed me down when I thought about Rion. I tried to bury myself in pack affairs but in the end, I just missed my husband so much. I spent most nights crying myself to sleep in our large bed, the loneliness seeming to pin me against the plush mattress.

After the second day of nursing my pregnancy symptoms and even more so, the wounds from missing Rion, I decided that it was better for me to be outside the mansion.

I was only kind of regretting it now as I surveyed the improvements that had been made to the barns at the edge of Thorn Forest. The short horse ride took a lot out of me, and I felt like there wasn’t enough air anywhere to fill my lungs.

"I think you’ll be impressed by the progress we’ve made, Luna Daphne," one of the farmers boasted as we walked around the new building. The smell of fresh paint wafted through the air.

I nodded politely. "Seems like you’re just about ready to start welcoming animals back into it," I noted, eyeing the freshly painted facade.

The guy nodded. "We still have quite a bit of work to do on the inside of the barns, but we’re hoping to bring the animals back in by the end of the month."

"And how are the animals in terms of health?" I asked, remembering how thin and malnourished the animals had been when we first arrived in Thorn Forest.

"Much better," the man said proudly. "That new feed that you helped design has been doing wonders. Would you like to see some of the animals?"

I opened my mouth to answer when the sound of a running horse met my ears. I turned to see Jasper atop a dark brown stallion, riding steadily toward us.

"Jasper, what is it?" I asked, alarmed at the fact that the Beta had clearly been looking for me.

"Sorry, Daphne," Jasper said as he came to a stop and skillfully jumped down from his steed. "I felt this news was too urgent for me to wait for you to return."

He pulled a folded-up note from his pocket, and I felt my eyes turn round. "Is it Rion?"

"No, no," he assured me. "A report arrived from some of the warriors we sent to go after the Lycaons."

I sucked in a breath and stumbled slightly. Jasper’s eyes widened in alarm, and he grabbed my arm to steady me.

"Are you alright?" he demanded, suddenly sounding like a stern older brother. "What are you still doing out anyway? It’s late and due to your condition, you should probably be resting more."

I giggled slightly despite the situation. "You’re starting to sound like Rion," I quipped but then I glared up at him. "Continue. This is important."

He sighed and gave me a disapproving look before obeying. "The head of the investigation is strongly urging us to look into Alpha Gareth."

"Gareth?" I echoed, confused. "But why?"

Jasper looked grim as he answered. "They’ve reason to believe that Alpha Gareth provided the Lycaons with the information that led them to us, and to your daughters."