Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1235 - 146 : Fighting the Shadows

Chapter 1235: Chapter 146 : Fighting the Shadows

*Rion*

“I wish I could come with you.”

I slung my bag over my shoulder and turned to face Daphne, who was watching me with a somber expression on her heart-shaped face.

I quirked an eyebrow at her and grinned teasingly. “I’ll be back tonight, love. Will you really miss me that much?”

Daphne just frowned at me, crossing the room so she could wrap her arms around my back. “You know what I mean,” she muttered. “I don’t like the idea of you going out to look for Varge without me.”

“I know,” I said tenderly, pushing a lock of hair away from her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. “I need you here, though, to look after the pack and our children. I would be lying if I said I wanted you anywhere near a possible lead toward the bastard.”

Jasper and I were leaving the community early, before dawn, to follow up on yet another lead on Varge’s location. The sightings have been more frequent lately, and it had been beyond disturbing when we would rush out and find no trace of him.

Each time it happened, I became more uneasy, wondering idly if he was toying with us already, but I pushed the thought away. We were being vigilant. We would find him, and he would be begging for death before I was through with him for threatening my family.

Jasper was equally as livid as we met up and started to head out into the forest. I knew the look well. It was the fierce protectiveness that came with being a husband and a father, not just a pack leader. I had sensed a change in him ever since his daughter was born just weeks earlier. He had even more to lose now.

It wasn’t that he didn’t already feel that urge to protect when it came to the boys, because he definitely did. There was just something that happened when a daughter was born. That protective nature seemed to multiply tenfold.

I experienced it with my girls. I wanted nothing more than to shield them as best as I could from the outside world.

As parents, all we could really do was ensure that the world was as safe as it could be since we couldn’t keep our loved ones locked up inside.

“The slippery bastard better show himself soon,” Jasper muttered to me as we neared the most recent coordinates we’d been sent.

“Oh, he will,” I said darkly. “We have eyes all over with all our allies keeping watch as well. He won’t be able to hide forever.”

Jasper smirked at me, but then his eyes darkened. “Rion, do you smell that?”

My eyes rounded as I got a hint of what he was talking about. It was faint but steadily getting stronger as we continued forward.

Jasper and I shared a look before hurrying forward, leading the small team we’d gathered through the trees. My heart raced as the foul smell of something burning became extremely powerful.

I froze when we burst through the trees and were standing over the remains of a recently abandoned campsite.

The guys were murmuring in shock behind us, and I couldn’t really blame them. The scene was a frightening one with smoldering embers surrounding piles of what looked like burned remnants of tents and other supplies.

The stench of death was in the air.

Jasper and I strode through the horrific campsite, our eyes scanning what looked to be bones strewn through the area.

Even more concerning than all that were the symbols etched into the trees bordering the campsite. They glowed faintly along with the embers slowly disintegrating the human remains.

They were complicated symbols, consisting of different geometric shapes and swirling patterns. I could almost feel the dark magic floating through the space. It was like a heavy shadow bringing darkness and fear.

Jasper cursed loudly, kicking a small stone that lay by his feet, causing it to fly and hit a nearby tree with a violent thud. “This is the fourth site that we’ve stumbled on while searching for Varge. What is this coward doing?”

I gritted my teeth, causing my jaw to hurt slightly. I was grateful for Jasper, who had reflected my internal anger with stunning accuracy. I wanted to take my frustrations out on the already destroyed items around us. I wanted to set an even more devastating fire on every single tiny reminder of Varge that existed within a thousand miles of our land.

“We’re going to find him, Jasper,” I said through my teeth. It was meant to be reassuring, but the words came out as a threatening growl.

The past few weeks had been spent in kind, searching tirelessly and chasing after every single lead we could grasp. It seemed like each time we picked up a trail and followed it to the end, it vanished no matter how quickly we chased it down.

It gnawed at me that somehow, Varge continued to evade capture despite being right under our noses several times.

We had been vigilant over the past several weeks, but maybe we needed to be even more so if we wanted a chance at catching him. We couldn’t keep continuing with the same pattern.

Maybe it was our predictability that was causing us to run around in circles.

I turned to Jasper and gave him a grave look. “Gather the warriors,” I ordered tersely. “We need to expand the search perimeter.”

Jasper’s expression darkened further as he nodded seriously before turning and disappearing into the trees to do just that.

I turned to the men who were gazing at the remains with a look of trepidation. We couldn’t afford to let our fear rule us, even for a moment.

“Search the area,” I barked. “Uncover whatever you can. Maybe that bastard left something behind.”

I highly doubted it, but we needed to be even more thorough. My men scattered like ants as they rushed to obey my command. I bit back a curse as I joined them, hoping we would find something, anything to lead us to this monster.

***

We doubled down on everything in the coming days from repeatedly bolstering patrols and installing new border lookouts. Jasper and I left early each morning to travel further from our territory, consulting with mages in bordering pack lands.

Jasper, as my second-in-command, helped coordinate efforts across the pack’s territory to find Varge. I was constantly grateful for his support, especially during these troubled times. My Beta and best friend was a gentle spirit, but he was steadfast and tenacious when he needed to be.

I might have seemed level-headed throughout the arduous process of tracking down Varge, but I had a feeling that I would have unraveled long ago if it wasn’t for Jasper’s help.

Despite all our extra efforts, there was still no trace of the twisted zealot himself, or where he could possibly be hiding.

After another fruitless day of tracking, I trudged up to the mansion, and my body immediately sought out the warmth of my mate as our inviting home came into view up the hill.

There was no sharper contrast than the one between my day and night. My days most recently have been filled with immense frustration and horrifying remnants of our biggest fear. When I stepped through the front door, I was often greeted by Ayla and Selene tackling my legs and greeting me with hugs and kisses. Lucian would have just been put down for bed, and Daphne was often ready to cuddle on the couch with me whenever I returned.

Tonight was no different, except that I was more anxious than I have ever been about Varge. During my nightly bonding time with Ayla and Selene, when we played make-believe games with the plethora of toys they’d collected over the course of their young lives, I found myself distracted and unable to focus fully during our playtime.

While the girls didn’t seem to notice that I was distracted, Daphne definitely did. “Alright, you two,” she said to our daughters. “Daddy is tired, so we’re going to rest for a little bit before dinner, alright?”

Ayla and Selene nodded, seeming unaffected that I wouldn’t be playing with them anymore. Daphne took my hand and led me into the next room so we could sit on the couch together. It was far enough away so that the girls wouldn’t hear our conversation as they continued to play.

I wrapped my arms around Daphne immediately, marveling briefly at how well we fit together as I snuggled her against my chest. I pressed a kiss to her temple and rested my chin against her shoulder as I held her, drawing comfort from her soothing presence.

“Thank you for always working so hard to keep us all safe,” she murmured to me, leaning her head against mine.

I felt some tension leave my body, amazed by how she knew just what to say to help me feel better during stressful times. “I will always protect you, and our children,” I whispered.

We were both keeping our voices low so that the girls wouldn’t hear us, though it was unlikely they would since they were both giggling madly as they played.

“I know you will,” Daphne said simply as if it was a widely known fact. “You’ve never failed us before, and I know you never will.”

I bit my tongue against the arguments I wanted to give. I still hadn’t recovered from Ayla and Selene being kidnapped when they were much smaller. I knew Daphne didn’t blame me for that and we ended up getting them back before they could be harmed, but it was still something that I wouldn’t let be repeated in any way, shape, or form.

“I’m going to find him, Daphne,” I said, gritting my teeth together hard. “He won’t get anywhere near any of you as long as I’m alive.”

“I know,” Daphne said soothingly, moving around slightly so she could wrap her arms around my shoulders. She rubbed my back and I relaxed, not having realized that I had even tensed up to begin with. “I believe in you, Rion. As long as you’re here, I know we’re all safe from anyone or anything that could harm us.”

I wished that I could share in that confidence that she had in me. We were doing everything we could to draw this guy out. I felt my eyebrows furrow. “Maybe the coming winter storms will finally drive Varge out into the open,” I thought aloud in a low voice.

Daphne gave me a wan smile in response and brushed my cheek tenderly with her fingertips before standing up, announcing that she was going to go prepare dinner. She truly was the foundation holding us all together.

I nodded and returned her smile, reaching out and grabbing onto her wrist before she could leave. She looked at me questioningly, but I just tugged her back toward me so that I could kiss her.

“I love you,” I told her.

“I love you too,” she said, her eyes warm before she turned to head toward the kitchen.

As I watched my wife and listened to the innocent sounds of my young daughters playing in the other room, my drive to protect my family steeled my resolve to keep fighting the shadows until Varge was found.