Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 1006

Chapter 57 : Two Orbs are Better Than One

*Lucas*

The next morning we were tangled up in the bed sheets together. I held Sasha to me, her back pressed comfortingly into my chest and her hips tucked and curved against mine.

When she woke up, she tried to move but I held her fast.

“I need to wash up,” she giggled while giving me a hug.

“I’ll go with you,” I teased, kissing her neck.

“We still have a lot to discuss with your mother,” she said and I felt my grip on her loosen. “The orb.” She reminded me and I grunted before smacking her backside.

“Lucas!” she yelped, smacking mine in return.

“Sasha!” I growled and began to tickle her. She tried to hold it in but couldn’t control her laughter. I laughed as well and I was glad to feel that I was in a much better mood since dinner.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

“Breakfast is ready,” my mom’s voice called from the other side of the door.

“Be right there,” Sasha called out, getting up from the bed. I was right behind her, scooping her into my arms so we could get in the shower together.

We took the orb down with us and handed it to my mother after breakfast.

She took us to a separate room and held it in her hand. “Hmm.” She turned the orb over and over again in her hands.

“What is it?” I glanced at Sasha. The playfulness of the morning was gone.

She sat in the corner of the room, a distant look in her eyes. I wished I knew what she was thinking.

So much had happened, I barely had a moment to sit with her and really talk about what happened with Alpha Michael. Maybe I was scared to talk to her about it. The power she showed… I’d never seen anything like that from her before.

“I believe that this is one of two magical orbs. They are very powerful and until now, I believed they were a legend,” Mom said. She set the orb in the center of the table gingerly.

“What do the legends say the orbs do?” I picked it up and put it in my pocket for safekeeping.

“Tales vary. Some talk of rewriting history, others speak of time travel. You know how those myths go. Half the time, they are embellished, the other half it is all hyperbole.”

I nodded. “Do you know where the second orb is supposed to be?”

My mom smiled, a little sneakily. “Rumor has it there is a second one hidden in Lycenna.”

“Lycenna. I guess we’ll go there next for more answers.”

I looked at Sasha again. She nodded. I could tell she was listening, but her mind definitely seemed preoccupied.

The darkness I’d seen stirring inside of her faded almost as soon as we got away from Alpha Michael and that immortal being, whatever he was. I could tell the whole situation still weighed heavily on her.

“If you’re going to Lycenna, you’ll need this.” My mom dug around in a drawer for a moment. She turned back to me and held out an old compass.

It was made of brass and had a dent in the side. The needle was bright red. It was definitely old.

“A compass? Can’t I just use a map?”

My mother laughed and placed the compass in my palm. “My dear boy, the place you are going was abandoned. There are no guides. Maps won’t do you much good there. You’ll need this compass.”

“Alright, thank you for all your help.” I bowed my head to her.

Sasha and I left my mother and I could tell that she was still worried about something. I reached out and took her hand, squeezing her fingers.

She looked at me but the worry was still deep in her eyes.

“Let’s go talk.” I tugged her toward our room where I knew no one would interrupt us.

“What’s wrong, my love?” I took her in my arms.

Sasha sighed and leaned heavily against me. Her body was so soft and warm. I kept my arms around her back but it took a lot of willpower not to run my hands down her slender sides and over her lovely hips.

Just having her perfect, lovely form lean against me was enough to get my wolf excited.

I ignored the urge, knowing that she was upset about something and that’s what I needed to focus on.

“Lucas, for the first time, I feel like we shouldn’t have anything to do with these orbs or my power,” she murmured softly.

I slid my fingers through her hair and cupped the back of her head.

She sighed and trembled in my arms. I tightened my embrace, hoping to chase her worries away.

“There’s so much darkness surrounding me. Every time the orb has activated, it hurts you and confuses me. That immortal shifter, he said… he said that my power was dangerous and that it could hurt people, a lot of people.”

I grabbed Sasha’s shoulders and held her at arm’s length, looking deeply into her eyes. She still had the distant, dull look in them.

It broke my heart to see her so worried. I was used to her being feisty, spunky, and full of life. I knew I’d give anything to bring that light back to her eyes.

“Listen to me, Sasha. I don’t want you to worry about that. We’ll figure this out, together.”

She frowned, her brow creasing. “How will we do that?”

“Well, first of all, we will follow the clues my mother gave us in Lycenna. Maybe once the two orbs are together, we’ll know what they are supposed to do. I think you’re not understanding what you see in the orbs because it’s like only seeing half of a picture.”

Sasha shook her head. “You’re just guessing.”

“It makes sense though.” I brushed my thumb along her bottom lip. The skin was warm and puffed out against my thumb.

I licked my lips–stay focused, stay focused.

“We don’t know if what the orbs want is good or evil.” She inhaled a shaking breath.

I put my hands on my hips. “We also don’t know if that immortal shifter was lying or telling the truth. He could have been trying to manipulate the situation for his own benefit. Do you really think the Moon Goddess would give you a power that is evil?”

“Really?” she scoffed. “How many Dark Kings have been tyrants? How many dark witches have caused mayhem over the years!?”

I smirked at her, happy to see that my Sasha was still in there somewhere, even if she was buried deep.

“That is because they chose to use their power for evil, not because the power given to them was evil.”

Sasha stared into my eyes for a moment. They glossed over with hope and she hugged me.

I chuckled and hugged her back, running my nose through her hair. I loved having her in my arms.

“I don’t know, Lucas. What if we can’t overcome this darkness?” Her voice cracked as she spoke.

I tightened my arms around her and kissed her temple.

“Listen to me. No matter what, I love you. And I’m never going to give up on you.”

“Thank you.”

After dinner, Sasha and I joined Brady and Phoebe in the front hall.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us on this journey?” I teased Brady.

He grimaced. “The last time I got dragged in, it was rather uncomfortable. I’m happy to sit this one out.” He slipped his arm around Phoebe’s shoulders.

“I’m happy too. I don’t want anything permanent to happen to Brady before we get married.” She ran her fingers up and down his chest.

“Well, you’ll be missed,” Sasha said.

I could hear the genuine sentiment in her tone, but she still seemed a little off.

“That’s easy to fix. Just don’t stay away too long.” Brady stuck his tongue out at us.

Sasha giggled. I was glad to hear the sound and I took her hand.

“Take care you two.” Phoebe hugged us both.

“I’ll take care of the house while you're gone,” Brady assured.

I scoffed. “Yeah, right. Sure you will.”

We saw them off and headed to our room. It was getting late and we still had some planning to do.

“I decided I’m not going to listen to the immortal shifter,” Sasha declared. “I will use my power for good, even if it wasn’t intended to be used that way.”

I took her in my arms. “I think that is a very good choice.”

We crawled into bed together and I pulled Sasha against me, holding her close through the night.

***

I knew Sasha was exhausted, and still shaken, from her ordeal. My family could be intense at times, so I encouraged her to lay low and rest. I wanted her to recover as much as possible before we headed to Lycenna.

Our journey was just beginning and there was a lot of planning to do.

I met up with Oliver in the supply room. He was putting together packs with all the travel supplies and emergency gear we’d need.

“You do know that it is just Sasha and me, right? How are we going to carry all this?” I smirked and nodded to the table covered in gear. “Or is this just a stress test for the table?”

Oliver shook his head. “I’m sending some of my men with you. You’ll thank me if you need the backup and… it’s the least I can do.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, Oliver. This isn’t going to be an easy journey.”

Oliver chuckled and nodded. “Have you seen a current map of Lycenna?”

“No.”

“Check it out. There’s one on the desk in the corner. Don’t worry, I think I’ve packed everything you’ll need for that terrain.”

“What terrain?”

“Go check it out.” He nodded to the desk again.

I glanced at the map and frowned. No wonder Lycenna was abandoned. It looked like a maze just to get there, not to mention the treacherous mountains and some marks on the map I didn’t even recognize.

“This is the most current map?” I ran my thumb across the date at the bottom of the map. It was at least ten years old. A lot could change in ten years.

“Unfortunately, yes. That’s what happens when an area gets abandoned. People stop going there to update the maps.”

I looked at the table of supplies again. Oliver had stacked up some ropes, grappling hooks, climbing gear, and even ice picks.

“Well, thank you for being prepared,” I grumbled.

“No problem. But if you lose anything, you’ll have to replace it.”

“Sure. Where are these men you’re sending me with? I want to talk to them first.”

“They’re down the hall. I figured you’d want to talk to them and go over the plan with them yourself.”

I nodded and headed down the hall to meet these men.

Oliver picked four of his loyal guards to accompany Sasha and me to Lycenna. They were all tall, strong, and young. That was good; they’d have the strength and stamina for a journey like this.

“You’ve all been briefed on the mission?” I asked.

“Yes. We were studying potential map routes.” One of the guards held up a map with lines drawn on it in different colors.

“Good. I’m looking for the fastest route that is feasible. I don’t want something that is dangerous just because it is fast. We need to get there in one piece.”

“There are a few options, then. They won’t be deadly, but they won’t be easy, either.”

The guard pointed out the routes that met my requirements on the map.

“Good. We can decide on the road. It looks like those three routes split in the same area. We can assess them once we get there and see which one makes the most sense.”

“What is it we are looking for in Lycenna. The area is abandoned, isn’t it?”

Absently, I touched the compass in my pocket. I hoped my mom was right and that would bring me to the orb. Otherwise, this mission could be over really fast.

“We’re looking for a magical artifact, an orb. It is important we find it before anyone else.”

Even if the orb we were going after didn’t help solve the puzzle of what Sasha was supposed to be doing, I didn’t want another magical orb falling into the wrong hands. Sasha needed answers, and two magical orbs was better than one.

If nothing else, I could destroy the orbs and spare Sasha whatever was going on with her. The orbs were definitely a part of it because she didn’t start having these experiences until after we had unearthed the first orb.

I doubted it was the temple that kept drawing her in when she kept walking to the edge of that damned hole. It was probably the orb calling to her.

I thought back to how angry I was when she kept walking to the edge of the hole like she was going to jump in, straight to her death. She looked so bewildered, completely unaware of what she was doing.

If one orb had that much power over her, what would two orbs do?

No matter what happened with the orbs, I was going to stop what was happening to Sasha so that we could get back to the Dark Realm and get back to our normal lives.