Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1206 - 117 : An Eerie, Shadowy Glow

Chapter 1206: Chapter 117 : An Eerie, Shadowy Glow

*Rion*

I packed a small bag of supplies for the attack, making sure that I had everything I could possibly need, even though I highly doubted that some rolls of bandages and water would aid us much in what could end up being a gruesome battle.

I glanced toward the other side of the room, where Daphne was tucking the girls in for their morning nap. I took this moment to admire my wife and her strength. I longed to remember what it felt like when I fell in love with her, but I also felt like I could imagine what it must have been like.

I figured it must be like when my heart felt like slamming out of my ribcage when I gazed at her, except likely a thousand times that feeling.

I watched her smooth lips pierce slightly as she gave each of our girls a kiss before she tucked a thin blanket around them. Her wide, gold-colored eyes seemed to glow as she gazed at our babies lovingly for a moment before those gorgeous orbs rose to meet mine from across the room.

I offered her a smile of my own, momentarily entranced as she started to move toward me with all the elegance and sureness of a queen. As she got closer though, I saw that her smooth pink lips were turned down and her eyes were wide, her thin eyebrows tense and angled down.

She looked anxious, which wasn’t at all surprising.

It felt wrong to have someone so beautiful and strong look so upset. I started toward her as well, dropping my bag onto the floor carelessly before taking her into my arms.

“Hey, everything’s going to be fine,” I told her, stroking her hair as she buried her face in my chest. I kissed the top of her head. “What can go wrong since this team will have your cunning and powerful husband going with them?”

She didn’t laugh like I wanted her to. Instead, she pulled away from me slightly so I could look into her wide, worried eyes. “I want to be supportive of Alpha Oliver’s plan,” she murmured quietly. “But I have an uneasy feeling in my gut. It just feels like he’s focusing too much on having the element of surprise and not enough on all your safety.”

I frowned, pressing another kiss to the tiny wrinkle between her eyebrows, hoping to make it disappear. “I know,” I admitted, not liking the idea of splitting up either. “But I do believe he’s right when he says it gives us the best chance. We shouldn’t underestimate the effectiveness of catching that bastard off guard.”

Daphne bit her lower lip, signaling that she knew I was right, but she didn’t like it. “I can’t shake the feeling that this could all be a trap,” she admitted finally. “We could be sorely underestimating Varge. Maybe Eva should stay here with me and the girls....”

I hugged her fiercely then, crushing her to my body. I didn’t want to be separated from her either and while I understood her side, we couldn’t back out now. I would have been lying if I told her I didn’t consider the fact that this could be a trap, but I thought our odds were good enough to where we couldn’t quit.

I pulled away to see that Daphne’s eyes were wet with tears. They shone beautifully in the light coming from the window, but I wished she wasn’t crying all the same. I gripped her hands firmly in mine. “I understand your fears,” I said gently to her. “But I’ve got a good feeling about this. We have to try.”

Daphne’s lower lip quivered, and she looked down at the floorboards. I put a couple of fingers under her chin so I could raise her eyes back to mine. “I’m entrusting the safety and well-being of our pack to you until I come back,” I said in a firm voice, but I kissed her forehead softly. “And it should go without saying that I am completely trusting you to take care of our daughters as well,” I smirked at her teasingly, causing her to smile ever-so-slightly.

Daphne let out a deep, shuddering sigh but nodded bravely. I kissed her lips this time. I was so proud of her strength.

“Just promise me you’ll come back,” she ordered when we pulled apart. Her lips tightened. “All of you.”

I pressed my palm to her cheek, smiling gently when she leaned into my hand, her eyes fluttering shut, seemingly of their own accord. “I promise.”

***

I felt uneasy as we moved through the jungle, doing our best to be stealthy despite the fact that our group was rather large. I wasn’t just growing anxious because we were about to infiltrate the base of a potentially ruthless threat, but the jungle around us was lush with life. There was an alien feeling to the area as if every plant and critter had eyes on us.

I stayed close to Eva, feeling my protectiveness rise as we approached our destination. I knew she would throw herself in front of whatever danger there was to rescue her sons. I would need to keep a close eye on her.

Jasper seemed to feel the same way. He moved such in a way that Eva was always right between us as we all moved through the exotic-looking brush and foliage.

We all ducked down when a large cave with a ferocious-looking mouth came into view. Alpha Oliver turned to a group of about a half dozen men, ordering them to go on ahead and find the boys.

Jasper grasped Eva’s hand when it looked like she was going to go in with them. I watched as he bent to whisper something in her ear. She glared at him for a moment but settled beside him.

We hid beneath some large leaves that were shaped like fans, all our eyes locked on the cave’s entrance. No one spoke. Eva fidgeted between Jasper and me but eventually, she too became extremely still as we waited.

For what felt like an eternity, we held our collective breath, listening to the sounds of the jungle, from the squawks of the otherworldly birds to the wind drifting through the strange plants.

Suddenly, Eva stiffened just a half second before some commotion could be heard coming from the cave. My brain couldn’t process the weird sounds immediately. After a quick moment, I realized it was the shouts of our men, followed quickly by some harsh cracking and rumbling noises.

Alpha Oliver stood, sweeping his arm in a wide arc with quick, panicked movements. “Fall back!” he shouted.

We all scrambled to obey right as an enraged roar echoed from the caves and a large mass burst from the opening.

As the smoke cleared, we all cried out in alarm as we stared at the hideous beast before us. It was covered in scales and towered above the trees around us. It looked warped, with jagged horns and claws. It roared, revealing two sharp lines of pointed teeth.

Something was almost human-like about it, though, I realized as I squinted up at it. Those large, dark eyes were familiar, and I reeled back, recognizing the hostile orbs from the picture of Priest Varge.

“Varge,” Eva hissed between her teeth, realizing it as well.

This was what the bastard had become in his madness.

Our men started to flee, but Eva’s enraged cry broke through the air. I followed her panicked gaze up to the top of the vicious beast and a gasp flew from my lips.

There were Eva’s sons, unconscious and chained to Varge’s hard, scaly back.

Jasper was just a second too late, his eyes widening as he looked at Eva. “Eva, wait! Don’t!”

But my sister was already rising into the sky, a dark purple glow surrounding her as she ascended. Jasper and I raced after her on foot, withdrawing the blades that we’d brought for this battle.

I kept my eyes on my sister as she flew at Varge at full speed, her arms extended, her hands glowing brightly with magic energy. Jasper and I cried out when Eva was knocked aside by Varge’s massive, clawed hand. Jasper started to sprint toward where she went crashing to the ground.

I gritted my teeth and raised my blade above my head, gesturing for my men to move forward. “All forces attack the beast!” I bellowed loudly.

I heard Alpha Oliver give a similar command, and we all started toward the beast with our weapons outstretched. A few flaming arrows flew over my head and into Varge’s flesh. He rumbled with discomfort but hardly seemed affected by the sharp weapons.

The battle raged violently. Several of our men attempted to climb the massive creature, only to be thrown off like a bunch of ragdolls. I drowned out the pained cries that filled the air and continued to drive my blade into the beast’s legs.

He seemed to be slowly wearing down, but he had an eerie, shadowy glow around his body that screamed dark magic. His strength was godlike as he shoved us aside like we were a group of helpless baby birds.

I narrowly dodged Varge’s huge claws. I rolled away and was able to right myself, gritting my teeth as I surveyed the sorry state of the battlefield. This wasn’t looking good. I threw my head back, looking up toward the heavens, praying for a miracle to save my nephews and to get us all out of there mostly unscathed.

A growl flew from my lips as my eyes locked onto my little nephews, still unconscious on Varge’s back. I couldn’t wait around for a miracle, I thought to myself.

I felt my whole body shake with rage as I shifted into my wolf form. I tore across the space between me and the beast as soon as my paws touched the dirt ground.

Maybe we couldn’t win this battle, I thought, but perhaps I could distract Varge long enough for the others to free Eva’s children. I sank my teeth into one of his large legs, barely covering any surface area at all, but the beast did grunt with discomfort. I shot out, making eye contact with the beast, and let out a challenging roar of my own.

Varge growled with rage and started toward me. I turned and sprinted between its legs, trying to get the vile thing to turn around so its back would be to our warriors. I was fast but unfortunately, Varge was much larger, and therefore, stronger and faster. He easily reached toward me and swatted me to the side as well, as if I was nothing but a fly that buzzed in his ear.

A yelp flew from my mouth as I landed painfully on my side. I tried to get up, but the harsh blow had me momentarily paralyzed.

This wasn’t good. The beast was heading right toward me, talons outstretched. I glared back, refusing to go down with fear in my eyes. Several more arrows shot toward the beast, sinking into its flesh in various spots. I looked over to see Oliver’s men putting themselves between me and the monster.

Jasper was suddenly at my side, wrapping his arms around me and dragging me away from the battle. I was able to stand shakily and retreat with him, the gruesome fight raging on behind us.