Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1208 - 119 : A Spark of Recognition

Chapter 1208: Chapter 119 : A Spark of Recognition

*Eva*

What my brain registered first was pain—a lot of it. Even before I opened my eyes, my side was screaming with agony. I flexed some of my other muscles experimentally and immediately wished that I hadn’t.

Whatever part of me that wasn’t in pain was just extremely sore and tender.

It took me a little longer to open my eyes. I was momentarily confused when I saw a tan sheet over me. I blinked hard, willing my eyes to focus. My confusion only grew when my ears processed the sounds of birds chirping cheerfully.

When my eyes finally adjusted, I was able to confirm that I was inside a tent. I was lying on a thin mat and had a scratchy blanket draped on top of me.

“Eva?”

I moved and lifted my head slightly with difficulty. Rion came into the tent, his eyes widening when he saw that I was awake. He hurried toward me, lowering himself on his knees by my side.

“Thank the Goddess you’re awake!” he exclaimed, looking me over. When he met my gaze, his eyes turned sorrowful.

I felt my heart pound in my chest as panic settled in. “What’s wrong?” I squeaked. “Is it the boys? Are they alright?”

Rion’s face tightened with regret, but he quickly grabbed my hand and squeezed it consolingly. “No, no. The boys are alright thanks to you. You really had me and Jasper worried there. Please don’t ever put me through that again.”

My heart warmed slightly at his concern, but I shook my head. “I would have done it all over again if I had to,” I said firmly.

Rion’s face softened and he tousled my hair fondly. “I don’t doubt that,” he said. Then his mouth tightened with concern when I winced slightly. “Are you alright? How are you feeling?”

I adjusted my body slightly, feeling stiff, but all the movement did was reactivate the intense pain in my side. “Like hell,” I admitted finally. I gritted my teeth against the pain. Even breathing seemed to set it off.

“I don’t doubt that either,” Rion said, smoothing my hair away from my face tenderly. “You took quite the fall after that bastard Varge swiped your side.”

I nodded. I felt like I’d been hit by a train on top of my side being all torn up. I smirked up at Rion. “Wanna trade powers for a little bit?”

Rion chuckled but then frowned down at me. “Believe me, I would do that in a heartbeat if it was possible.” He averted his eyes then and I watched his face take on the same sorrowful expression as it had just minutes earlier.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to make my voice firm but my throat was thick, so it didn’t sound very tough at all.

“Later, Eva,” he said, narrowing his eyes slightly in a very brotherly way. “You need to rest and not concern yourself on other matters.”

That immediately got me worried. “You can’t do that,” I snapped. “Now I’m going to be freaking out until you tell me.”

Rion sighed heavily before muttering something about me being stubborn before he relented. “A bunch of our men have come down with some kind of illness.”

I felt my eyes widen and I struggled to sit up. “Illness? What illness?” My voice went up an octave as fear caused my throat to tighten up. Were the boys affected?

Rion could read me easily. “The boys are completely fine,” he assured me. “It seems like this particular illness isn’t affecting myself or the boys. Since that’s the case, I feel like it’s also safe to assume that you won’t catch it either.”

I was relieved to hear that the boys seemed to be immune, but we still didn’t know if that was permanent. I felt my heart start to pound again. I braced my elbows against the mat and started to push myself up.

Rion put a firm hand against my shoulder, gently pushing me back against the mat. “You shouldn’t get up, Eva,” he told me, disapproval heavy in his voice. “You got hurt pretty badly.”

I felt tears prick the backs of my eyes. “I can’t just lay here while all the men who helped me save Aster and Tarik are suffering from an illness. I need to see if I can do anything to help.”

Rion held me down, and due to my injuries, I couldn’t really fight him. I felt my lower lip poke out as a couple of tears trickled down my cheeks.

Rion’s face softened and he pushed my hair away from my face again, more tenderly and consoling than he had earlier. “We don’t know everything yet, but it’s possible that Varge is behind the illness. People started to show symptoms not long after we left the site of the battle, and many of the affected men recall being surrounded by the dark magic coming off Varge’s monster form.”

My despair dissipated briefly, making way for my anger to return with full force. I made a move to get up once again, but Rion just held me firmly by my shoulders. “No, Eva,” he said in a hard voice. “I know how you’re feeling, but there’s nothing we can do right now, especially you. You still need to focus on allowing yourself to heal.”

I scowled at him. “My sons,” I said in as strong of a voice as I could muster. “I want to see them. Please, Rion. We’ve been separated long enough.”

Rion gazed at me for a long moment but then finally nodded. He carefully helped me sit up, propping a couple of bags and pillows behind me so I wouldn’t fall back down. It hurt to put any kind of strain on my side.

Rion gave me a stern look as he stood at the tent’s opening. “Stay put,” he said, pointing a finger at me.

“You say that like I can move very easily,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Rion smirked at me. “I still wouldn’t put it past you to try,” he quipped before disappearing.

I shook my head at my brother but then immediately started to get nervous. I wanted nothing more than to see my boys face to face, but I couldn’t help but fear whether they remembered me. They were so young when we were separated, and it had been so long since then. What if they didn’t know me at all anymore?

I didn’t have very long to dwell on those fears. I could hear the boys’ tiny voices as they asked Rion questions that I couldn’t quite make out.

Rion poked his head into the tent first, giving me a nod before two much smaller heads appeared.

As soon as my eyes locked with theirs, all the fears I’d just had dissipated completely. My boys had grown so much. The top of their heads were level with Rion’s hip as the three of them stood in front of me. They were each clutching one of my brother’s hands and peeking at me almost uncertainly.

I felt myself melting as I gazed at them. Aster was looking right at me almost expectantly, while his brother was hiding slightly behind Rion’s leg. Rion crouched down and gently guided little Tarik forward so that he was no longer hidden from view.

“That’s your mama, remember?” Rion murmured to him. He looked at Aster, whose expression was sparking with recognition.

I felt my heart soar as he stepped toward me.

“Hello, Aster,” I said, hearing my voice choke up slightly toward the end.

Aster’s large eyes flashed, widening slightly as he looked at me. Then, his tiny face broke out into a wide grin, and he grabbed Tarik before pulling him across the small space separating us.

I opened my arms to them both and felt my heart soar when they both dove into them, allowing me to crush them to my chest. I felt the pain in my side multiply exponentially at the movement, but I couldn’t care now that my babies were in my grasp.

They were both giggling madly as I wrapped my arms around them and murmured quietly to them about how much I missed them and loved them.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed as I held my sons. Despite the pain in my side and the gruesome battle we were all still recovering from, I didn’t want this moment to end. I relished in the feel of Aster and Tarik’s warmth and innocent laughter as I held them close.

“Alright, careful with your mother, you two,” Rion ordered, gently pulling the boys away slightly.

“Rion, I’m fine,” I said with exasperation.

“Your wounds were deep, Eva,” Rion said with a frown. “You need to take it easy and not move around too much. The boys understand. I’ve already explained to them that you got hurt.” Rion gazed at his two nephews. “Didn’t I, boys?”

“Yes, Uncle Rion,” they chirped in unison.

“We don’t want to hurt Mama more,” Tarik said with widening eyes. He looked at me, his lower lip poking out. “You’re okay, Mama?”

My heart warmed with pride. Little Tarik was so young and already so compassionate. “Yes, Sweetheart. I’m doing a lot better now that I have my boys to help look after me.” I felt my face scrunch up with concern when I locked eyes with my eldest and saw that his large gray eyes were filling with tears. “What’s wrong, Aster?”

Aster’s eyebrows were starting to pull together, and he gritted his teeth. “Mr. Varge lied to us,” he said, his tiny voice shaking with anger. “He told us that you were dead, that we’d never see you again.”

“Shh, it’s alright now,” I murmured, hating the pain that my son seemed to be experiencing. I pulled him into my arms again, stroking his hair. “Varge is a bad guy. Don’t believe anything he might have told you while you were with him. He probably told you all kinds of lies.”

“He said that he would be our dad now,” Tarik added, a deep frown settling on his mouth. “But I didn’t want that!”

I gestured for Tarik to join in our embrace and the little boy did so enthusiastically. “You’re both here now. It’s going to be alright. We’ll never be apart again. I promise.”

I felt both of them relax in my arms and couldn’t help but feel like nothing could go wrong now, not when I finally had my family back.

“I want the boys to stay in the tent with me,” I said to Rion. “Even if they seem immune to whatever illness is spreading over the warriors, I won’t risk it.”

Rion was quick to agree with me. “Sure, I’ll find some bedding that they can use.”

Aster looked up at me, pulling away slightly so he could see my face better. “Me and Tarik know how to help the sick guys.”

I felt my eyebrows go up and I shared a surprised look with Rion, who looked just as shocked. “You do?”

Tarik and Aster glanced at each other meaningfully and they stood up straighter. “We can help them, Mama,” Tarik assured me with an adorable confidence.

Rion and I quickly led the boys out of the tent and over to where Oliver was lying. He looked weak, but he looked up at us from the mat he was resting on.

Rion had an arm behind my shoulders, supporting me so that I wouldn’t be straining my side too much. He looked down at the alpha. “Aster and Tarik want to try and help you feel better,” he explained to the Alpha.

Oliver chuckled before coughing hard. “By all means,” he said tiredly, smiling at the boys.

Aster and Tarik nodded to each other before getting on their knees on either side of the Alpha. They each took one of his hands and then closed their eyes.

Rion and I watched in astonishment as before our eyes, Oliver’s previously pallid complexion bloomed with a healthy color, and his eyes brightened and widened. He stared up at Rion and me with a shocked expression and then down at the boys.

We watched in complete amazement as the Alpha, who had been completely unable to move just seconds earlier, stood up with complete ease.

Oliver looked down at himself for a moment, his brown eyes almost bugging out of his head. “I don’t understand what you boys did, but I feel amazing! Thank you.”

Aster and Tarik just beamed at one another at the praise while Rion and I just stared on in shock.