Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 1009

Chapter 60 : A Dangerous Ascent

*Lucas*

When Oliver left to return to his pack, he left me the warriors he promised to accompany us to Lycenna.

“Are we ready to go?” I asked the five warriors that remained under my command.

“Yes sir!”

“We have our course plotted and all our gear.”

“Good. Now, I just need to get the star of the show. Meet us out front in half an hour.” I chuckled to myself and went to find Sasha.

She was in the garden, staring at the exterior walls of the compound.

“What are you doing?”

She slowly shifted her eyes to me. “The architecture of this building is beautiful.”

I scoffed and shook my head. “That’s what you’re focused on?”

“Given what we are about to face, I wanted to remind myself what I’m passionate about and what I love.” She smiled softly.

Overwhelmed by her charm and beauty, I reached for her, cupping her cheek in my palm. I ran my thumb over her bottom lip, savoring the feel of her warm, smooth skin.

“I hope you’re not worried about what we’re about to do.”

She shook her head. “Not worried. I’m cautious.”

“Fair enough. If it is architecture you’re after, I’m sure the abandoned territory of Lycenna has all kinds of architecture you’ve never seen before.”

I held my hand out to her.

Sasha gave me a suspicious look.

“Well, alright.” She took my hand and we headed to the front to join our companions.

***

The trek to Lycenna was brutal.

In just a few days, we were in the thick of the mountains–tall, jagged peaks, some covered in snow, others with loose rocks that had a habit of slipping when stepped on.

We had to set up our camps carefully to avoid potential rock slides.

There were paths through the mountains but we couldn’t follow them. I used the compass my mother gave me in conjunction with the maps. It took us in several directions that required climbing gear to get over the peaks.

The terrain was rough but it was absolutely gorgeous. Above the tree line, there were hardly any plants or animals. We saw beautiful landscapes from afar–miles and miles of lakes, forests, fields, and oceans, all the way to the horizon.

At night, the stars were so bright and beautiful. The temperatures were getting colder throughout the day and night and dropped drastically once we got above the clouds.

“How much further do we have to go?” Sasha asked, suspended in her climbing harness.

“I’m not sure. The compass doesn’t have an endpoint on it. I can just tell we are going in the right direction.” I found my next foothold and pulled myself up on the ledge.

“I knew this would be difficult but… rock climbing, every day!”

Sasha groaned and reached for the ledge.

“You got this. We’re deep in the mountains now. I think we’ll be there soon.” I reached for her arm to help pull her up.

“Lucas, my foot is slipping. Can you help me?”

“Yeah, hang on….”

“AHHHHHH!”

Sasha disappeared over the ledge, her scream fading into the distance.

“SASHA!” I reached for thin air, grabbing at nothing. My heart thundered in my chest as I watched her disappear below the clouds.

All the warriors around me burst into commotion.

I whipped around and glared at them.

“What the hell happened!? Who was holding her line?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but the line snapped.” One of the warriors held up a broken rope.

My eyes widened and I felt the world slip out from under me. Sasha fell from the mountains.

She was gone….

My wolf howled forlornly and clawed his way to the surface, desperate to take control and run through his grief.

I felt like someone was standing on my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

“Lucas, sir, should we go after her?”

I snapped out of my daze. “Yes, we are going after her.”

Even though my wolf was going crazy in my head, I didn’t think Sasha was lost completely. I could still feel the mate bond between us. My eyes and my brain knew what they saw but I knew what I felt.

She was alive.

We packed up the gear and headed back down the mountain. I made sure all the lines were tested before we put any more weight on them.

It was slow going down the cliffside. My wolf was anxious. I was anxious. I kept feeling for the bond to see if it was still intact.

It was.

But how could anyone survive a fall like that? It wasn’t possible, was it?

Sasha had all kinds of power that I didn’t understand. Maybe she’d found a way to save herself… I held onto the hope as we descended.

“Look there, on that ledge!” one of the warriors cried, pointing down.

I followed his finger. My heart stopped and I nearly lost my grip on my own line.

“Sasha!” I hurried to lower myself down to the ledge.

She was lying there motionless.

I dropped down on my knees, still holding my breath as I looked her over. She had some scrapes and bruises but nothing looked bent, broken, or punctured.

“Sasha,” I whispered. I was too afraid to touch her, thinking she would break into a million pieces.

“Is she breathing?”

“Yes, she’s breathing. She’s….”

“L-Lucas?” Sasha blinked her eyes open. She winced and cringed immediately.

“D-don’t move. You fell. Get the emergency med kit!” I demanded, snapping at the warriors.

I touched up her cuts and scrapes as best I could. Sasha was fully away now.

“Does anything feel broken or damaged?”

“No. I can wiggle my fingers and toes. I just feel really sore.”

“Do you think you can move?”

Sasha nodded and rolled over. She sat up, groaning.

“C-careful….”

She nodded. “I’m okay. I’m just sore and achy.”

“How did you survive that?” one of the warriors asked.

Sasha looked up. Her eyes widened and I saw the fear and confusion in her eyes.

“I remember falling and thinking that I wasn’t ready to die and then… nothing.”

“We don’t need to understand it now. We need to get somewhere we can set up camp. This ledge is too small, and I don’t want you outside once the sun sets. I want you to be warm and resting.”

Sasha smiled at me, winced from pain, and then nodded.

I helped her up. She was wobbly on her legs but she could walk, as long as she leaned against me.

We found a clearing in the mountain peaks to set up camp. The warriors worked quickly while the sun set. I made a campfire and kept Sasha wrapped in a big blanket. I gave her some soothing tea and cleaned all her cuts, putting fresh bandages on them.

By the time camp was set up, I sent Sasha straight to bed. She needed her rest after that fall. I went into the tent and sat on a camp chair, watching her sleep. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight.

There was a part of me that thought this was some kind of dream or delusion, but I’d hold onto it as long as possible.

The night wore on and the fire outside burned low. I heard when the other warriors went to their tents and settled down for the night. I was determined to stay up as long as I could keep my eyes open and make sure Sasha was fine.

In the middle of the night, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I’d started dozing and sat straight up immediately.

Soft footsteps on the mountain side whispered around me.

Slowly, I unzipped the tent and peeked out. Several people moved in around the tents. They didn’t look threatening, just curious.

I stepped out of the tent and headed them off.

“What are you doing here!?” I demanded, throwing an arm out to the side.

There were two females and two males. The males were clearly warriors with their big muscles and broad chests.

“What are you doing here?” one male asked.

“We’re on a secret mission to recover missing artifacts.”

“You have no right to be here,” the man grumbled.

“Who are you? We were told this territory was abandoned.”

The man put his hands on his hips and scoffed. “We’ve been here for generations. But we don’t allow outsiders. That’s why no one knows we are here.”

“Well, then, we will be on our way and not bother you again.”

As I spoke, the warriors that accompanied me came out of their tents.

“What’s all this?”

“Just some locals stopping by to check us out. As I was explaining, we aren’t here to bother them.”

The two local males glared at me. One of the females had a different look in her eyes. She gave me a subtle smile when I looked at her.

“Good. If you don’t bother us, we won’t bother you.” The males tried to leave, but the woman that smiled at me hesitated.

“Wait, Gareth. We can’t leave them to fend for themselves. This is dangerous territory.”

“Shut it, Cara! We aren’t getting involved with their nonsense!” Gareth grumbled.

“I assure you, we are well prepared.”

“Oh really, so that wasn’t one of you that fell off the cliff earlier?” Cara challenged.

I stiffened.

She smirked and nodded. “I thought so. We can offer your injured comrade medical aid and get you some fresh food and better climbing gear. You’ll need it if you’re going deeper into the mountains.”

I sighed and looked at my men. It wasn’t like we couldn’t use the help, especially Sasha. Did I trust these Lycenna natives?

“Alright, but we won’t be a burden. We’ll depart first thing in the morning.”

Cara smiled widely. “If you say so.” She winked at me.

As my men broke down the camp, I woke Sasha up and lifted her into my arms, explaining the encounter. She looked a little relieved, and I got the sense that she was in a lot more pain than she was letting on.

When I rejoined the locals, I saw Cara’s eyes widen.

“Oh, I didn’t know your injured companion was a woman.”

“Is that a problem?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

Cara shook her head. “Of course, not. Follow us. We can lead you somewhere safe for the night.”

As I walked by Cara, I noticed that she leaned in a little closely, breathing on my neck. I didn’t want to spurn her kindness, but it felt like she was after something more than just helping out some lost travelers in the mountains.

I made a mental note to keep an eye on her. For now, I just wanted their aid to make sure Sasha was healed.