Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 373

Chapter 31: Ciana Was in Danger

*Theo*

Ciana and I had discussed the situation, and she insisted on waiting until the scheduled wedding day, when she could get a clear sense of who was on Raymond’s side, and what his ultimate purpose was behind forcing this marriage.

I didn’t fully agree with her plan, but I wasn’t going to pick another fight now that she was willing to talk to me again. Luckily, nothing much had happened since Raymond left a couple of days ago.

The only problem was that, with Ciana’s house arrest, more guards were placed within and around the pack house and the overall security had been tightened in the Alvar pack. As a result, while Jake was able to mind–link me, he couldn’t see me as easily as before.

‘Alpha, are you able to meet in person? I have something to show you.‘

‘See you in forty minutes outside of the town border,‘ I told him via mind–link and turned to the woman sitting next to me. “Ciana, I’ll be back.”

She lifted her gaze from her book to look at me. I saw a hint of concern in her eyes, but she only asked, “What would you like for dinner? I’ll ask them to prepare it.”

Ever since Raymond’s announcement, while Ciana was putting on a calm face, I knew she felt insecure. For example, right now, I could tell she was concerned about being surrounded by Raymond’s men alone, and what she really wanted to ask me was whether I’d be back by dinner time.

“I’ll be back in no more than an hour and a half.” I got up

from the couch and continued, “By the way, if you want to know how long I’ll be gone, you can just ask it directly rather than beating around the bush.”

“I didn’t—”

“And you can make steak for dinner.”

“Why do I have to cook?” she protested. “Between you and me, who is supposed to be the servant anyway…”

I chuckled as I walked out of the room in a pretty good mood.

Raymond’s men wouldn’t allow Ciana to leave, but they didn’t seem to care about where went, which made things easier for me.

J

Glancing over my shoulder, I made my way to the back door of the kitchen, making sure that no one was following me. All of the servants and guards were elsewhere. Since Ciana had been on house arrest and Raymond had decided he was in charge, the pack house was filled with irrelevant people.

I made sure they didn’t feel comfortable staying in the same room with us so that I could enjoy some quiet moments alone with Ciana.

When I arrived at my destination in the woods, I saw a familiar figure in a warrior’s uniform standing there.

“What did you find?” I asked briefly, not having any time for my Beta to waste.

He opened his palm, and I saw a fist–sized clear crystal.

“This is… the Moonlit Crystal?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jake explained. “I was able to locate it much faster than I thought. With its help, we won’t need to wait until the blood moon to regrow the dreamberry. It can create the illusion of the blood moon, which would trick the plant into blooming and growing fruit.”

This was indeed great news. “Well done, Jake!”

The effect of the berry I’d consumed last time had been wearing off, and I could feel I was losing control of my power.

“The best time to use the crystal is in three days, Alpha, during the Full Moon.” He had a crooked grin on his face, and I could tell he was proud of himself. “It would be for the best if this could transpire at the palace, though, Alpha. I believe it will be safer if the situation is handled there.”

“Very well,” I said. I knew his concerns were valid. “Get ready to leave. I’ll fetch Ciana.”

“Yes, Alpha.” With that, he gave the sign of respect and disappeared in the woods.

***

*Ciana*

After Theo left the house, I spent some more time reading, but the longer he was away, the more unsettled I began to feel.

I just had a knot in my stomach as if something bad was about to happen. I didn’t know why I felt this way; they probably would leave me alone until the big day.

It had been over an hour since Theo left the house. When would he be back? Thirty more minutes?

I scoffed at myself. Since when did I rely on him that much? No, I wasn’t relying on him… it was just that the situation was sticky right now. I just really didn’t want to deal with Raymond or Hawke when Theo was not around.

As if my thoughts of the devil had made the devil appear, I looked up to see Hawke standing in the parlor doorway, a smug look on his face. My stomach churned. He was the last person on earth I wanted to speak to.

“There you are, gorgeous,” he said in a smarmy tone as he came in without being invited. He sauntered over and planted himself on my couch, about two feet from me. “I bet you were excited to hear the news, weren’t you?”

“What news?” I asked, looking back at my book. I wasn’t able to concentrate on reading with him there, but I pretended to leave since that meant he’d leave me alone.

“That we’re to be married, of course. I never thought I’d be marrying an Alpha’s daughter, but then, when my father told me the depths that you’ve sunk to recently, I realized that you need me much more than I need you, in order to pull yourself up out of the gutter.”

He had my attention now. I set my book aside and brushed my hair back over my shoulders, trying to decide how to respond to that. Eventually, I said, “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”