Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 1009

*Lucas*

It was a relief to know that Sasha existed somewhere in this new reality, I had to find her. Maybe I could snap us out of it if we could reconnect. As far as I knew, she was looking for me too.

At first, I thought she just didn’t exist, and that was why my life was so different. It occurred to me in the middle of the night while Quinn’s on-and-off sobs kept me awake that maybe she had never come to this college in this reality.

Determined to find her, I used all the school’s resources to track down her mom.

When I saw Sasha’s mom’s name and address in black and white, my heart lifted.

If Sasha’s mom existed, there was a good chance that Sasha did too.

That night, while everyone else in the house was asleep, I left. I needed to track down Sasha, starting with her mom.

***

I took a flight to the Light Realm and arrived at her mom’s door ready to knock, but I paused.

In my own reality, her mom remembered me as someone that bullied Sasha and she hadn’t been happy to see me. If she recognized me again, she might refuse to help.

Sighing, I knocked. I had to take the chance.

My knuckles wrapped on the wood door and echoed through the house beyond.

“Just a minute.”

I heard footsteps getting closer to the door and when it opened, Sasha’s mom blinked at me, her smile fading.

“You’re not selling something, are you?”

I creased my brow. “Um… no….”

“Good. Because I really can’t help you if you are.”

“Actually, I’m here because I’m looking for someone and I think she used to live here.”

“Well, you look too young to be looking for me and I’ve lived here a long time. Just me and my daughter, Sasha.”

Relief swept through me, and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.

“I thought you were Sasha’s mother, but I wasn’t sure.”

She tilted her head to the side, giving me a slightly suspicious look.

“You know my daughter?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while, but I grew up nearby. We lost touch over the years, but I wanted to track her down.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Mostly, when a young man shows up at my door, it is to sell me something. Would you like to come in?”

“Sure.”

I followed Sasha’s mother to the living room. It was almost exactly as I remembered it from when Sasha and I visited her mother. The only difference was that the pictures of Sasha on the walls were different.

I went up to one of the pictures and studied it. Instead of catching butterflies, like in the real picture, she was sitting on a bike.

“What did you say your name was?”

“Lucas.” I glanced over my shoulder.

“If you’re trying to track her down, I assume that means you're trying to find out more about the wedding.”

“The wedding!?” I gaped at her mother.

When did a wedding happen? Was Sasha getting married?

That had to stop right the f**k now….

“I can tell you where the venue is, but if you haven’t gotten an invitation, then I’m afraid you won’t be welcome.”

“If you could please give me the venue address….” I ground each word out carefully between gritted teeth.

“I have it here somewhere.”

Her mother went to a nearby desk and started sifting through papers. I wished I could enjoy how kind she was to me. Hearing that Sasha was getting married was almost enough to send me over the edge.

“Ah, here it is.” Her mother turned around and handed me the venue information.

It was a save-the-date notice. I saw Sasha’s name embossed in gold. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the name of the groom.

Donavan.

“Thank you for this. I need to get going.”

I made several excuses to leave and took off as fast as I could. There was no way I was letting Sasha marry that buffoon in this reality or any other.

According to the save-the-date invite, the wedding was going to be held in Elmorn.

I’d be there… to steal the bride.

Elmorn wasn’t a hop, skip, and a jump away.

I got a car that drove me through Midnight Sun territory. The driver insisted we stop in Crimson Village for the night. I didn’t want to, but it was late and we still had a ways to go.

Eliza Crimson was there and I decided to drop in and see her. I had a feeling she’d know more about all this alternate timeline nonsense than me, and she might be able to answer some of my questions.

“It is a little late for house calls,” she chastised when she opened the mansion door and saw me.

“My apologies, Eliza.” I bowed my head respectfully.

She smiled and shook her head. “I’m only teasing, Lucas, get in here.”

I stepped into her home. She hugged me tightly.

“If you’re looking for Jared, I’m sorry, but he’s away.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I’m just passing through. I know to send word ahead of time if I want to see my busy cousin.”

“What can I help you with? I know you’re not the type to come all the way from the capital for a social visit.”

We headed to the kitchen, where Eliza warmed up some herbal tea for us.

I sat at her kitchen island, hands cupped around the warm mug.

“I’m on my way to Elmorn to get Sasha and save her from the worst mistake of her life.”

Eliza frowned. “What mistake would that be?”

“Marrying that slimy, oaf, player of a douche, Donovan.”

Eliza chuckled and shook her head. “That’s a little over dramatic, isn’t it? Besides, Sasha is happy with Donovan.”

“But he’s not her mate, I am.” I blurted it out before I could even think. Quickly, I clamped a hand over my mouth.

Eliza studied me closely for a moment. I could see the gears turning in her head.

As far as I knew, Eliza didn’t have any major powers, other than some minor psychic abilities. But she was smart, and she knew a lot about magic and that kind of thing.

“Sasha is your mate?”

“I didn’t mean to blurt that out. But now you see, I can’t let her marry Donovan.”

“Lucas, Sasha can make her own decisions. If she’s in love with someone else, mate or not, that is her choice.”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t know what kind of guy Donovan is. He told me once that he was only interested in playing the long game with her, and once he got what he wanted, they’d be done.”

“That doesn’t sound like Donovan. Besides, the ‘long game’ could mean being together forever.”

Bowing my head, I sighed. Why did I think anyone in this reality would be helpful? They only knew the Sasha, Donovan, and Lucas from this world.

“I still don’t trust him. She deserves better than someone that will take advantage of her.”

“If you’re so sure that you’re better for her than him, why wait until they are about to get married?” Eliza arched an eyebrow at me.

“Well… that’s complicated. I’m not sure I can answer that question.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Does this have anything to do with that orb you were worried about before?”

“The what?” I chewed the inside of my cheek and shifted my eyes back and forth. Talking about the orb wasn’t something I did regularly. How did Eliza know about it?

Had the Lucas from this world been on the same track as me?

“It was a few weeks ago. You were looking for Sasha, then, too. Though, the timeline was different, and I didn’t remember her in the strictest sense.”

“I did….”

“You don’t remember telling me about the orb and how it changes the timeline temporarily? You don’t remember us talking about the priestess?”

I shook my head in disbelief. “I had that conversation with you..?”

Eliza leaned across the island, staring deep into my eyes. She squinted slightly.

I leaned away from her, uneasy about the way she was looking at me.

“What?”

“That’s odd. It seems unlikely you’d forget. You came by the house and we had a long chat about that orb and Sasha and how it changed the timeline.”

“Eliza, I was here before with you in this reality? But that time Sasha came back and everything was normal again. What changed?”

“I couldn’t say. But, I’m still trying to determine if you’re a completely insane nut job or….”

I held my breath but she didn’t continue.

“Or… what?” I asked, still holding my breath.

“Or, if you really aren’t from this reality, again.”

My eyes bugged out of my head and I stared at Eliza. The last thing I expected to come out of her mouth was something about alternate realities.

“It’s not just another timeline, but a different reality.”

“Lucas, if that really is the case, then don’t be an i***t trying to change things!” Eliza snapped and she stood up. “You can’t just come to this world and think you can mess things up here. Changing things here won’t change things in your own reality. It only changes them here. Your emotions, your relationships from your reality… they don’t apply here. You could end up ruining fate for this world’s Sasha and Lucas.”

“So, you’re saying I need to just live out my life as the Lucas of this reality and forget about my mate and the woman I love? I have to let her marry some loser scum bucket?”

Eliza gave me a look. “You’ve made your feelings about Donovan perfectly clear. The problem is, when you deviate from this world’s Lucas, it creates a ripple effect. It changes aspects of this world.”

“I don’t understand.”

Eliza’s understanding of realities seemed to be a lot more complex than mine.

“Of course, you don’t. You probably didn’t even realize this was an alternate reality until recently.”

“I didn’t know they existed or that I could travel to them until recently.”

“Like I thought. What do you hope to accomplish by getting to Sasha and stopping her wedding to a man she really loves in this world?”

I shrugged. “I can’t watch her marry someone else. Usually, I get shifted back to my reality in twenty-four hours. That didn’t happen this time. I think Sasha is trapped here with me. If I can get to her, we can both go home and leave your world the way it is. If I can’t… Well, I’m still not going to watch her marry that guy!”

Eliza groaned. She set her hands on her hips and glared at me. Obviously, she was losing patience. But I firmly stood my ground.

“Have you considered what is actually different in this reality than in yours?”

“What do you mean?”

“You must have noticed things are different. Your relationship with Sasha, for one. There are other differences, too.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed how disturbingly different things are here.”

I thought back to Quinn, naked in bed with me, and I shuddered.

“Then consider this. The Sasha in this world might not even be your mate. Do you really have a right to ruin her happiness?”