Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 442

Chapter 100: A Kiss of Death
•Theo •
I watched my brother fall to the ground in a lifeless heap.
‘Theo, what happened?!” Ciana asked me.
What could I say? That after killing Maggie, I just had another “accidental” murder?
“Oh Goddess! Warren!” Ciana let out a shrill cry. She went to his side and dropped to her knees, looking horrified. “Warren! Warren!”
He didn’t move.
‘Theo, do something!”
But there was nothing to be done. I’d touched Warren, that meant the worst of my fears. was possible. In fact, it might have already happened.
How much of his life my body had sucked out, I didn’t know. My only hope was that Warren, being a descendant of King Lycaon, sharing the same blood as me, would help him withstand my cursed ability more than normal people.
“l told him not to get close…” The words caught in my mouth and I felt like my whole world was caving in on me.
“Warren, come on, open your eyes! Warren please.” Ciana patted his face, trying but failing to wake him. She pressed her ear to his chest and lifted her gaze to me, seeking my help.
But I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t help anyone. The only thing I could bring was death.
“Theo, are you listening to me?” Ciana tried to get my attention. “Theo!”
I looked at her numbly when Jake burst through the door. “Alpha, sorry, I’m a little late. After getting your order, 1—”
He didn’t finish his words when he realized what might have occurred.
His eyes moved from my bare hands to Warren’s body on the ground. He stood as still as a statue as his eyes continued to look at my brother.
“No.” He gasped slowly.
*Ciana•
Neither of the men before me moved. They both stared at Warren completely lost. I didn’t understand why the heck they Neren’t jumping into action.
Thank the Goddess, I could still feel Warren’s heartbeat nder my palm. He was alive but barely.
“His heart is still beating but it’s really slow. Don’t just stand there, we need to get him help.” I bellowed at them.
“What did you say?!” Jake’s eyes widened and he immediately rushed to my side. We moved Warren to a bed in the
Oea’h nearest room.
A hopeful glimmer appeared in Theo’ s eyes as he snapped out from his trance, “You say he is—”
“Alive,” I assured him. “But I need you to tell me what is wrong with Warren so I can try to help him. What exactly did you do to him?”
Theo fell into silence again.
Jake glanced at Theo, quickly assessed the situation, and looked back at me, sighing, “First thing first, I need to get in touch with Dottie.’
I nodded, watching Jake walk out of the room to send the message. Looking around, I noticed the servants and guards had gathered around us. I spotted Aurora, who almost fainted the moment she saw how weak Warren was.
“Aurora, first, please tell everyone, not a single word leaves this property, otherwise, the consequence is fatal, understand?” I didn’t need Demarco or. Luther to know what had occurred. The situation was messy enough.
She nodded her head.
“Second, could you prepare some clean water and medical supplies? We need to bandage both of the princes up.”
As soon as Jake walked back into the room, he assessed the situation, dismissed everyone, and got the security of the entire property under control.
Warren’s wounds were soon cleaned up, but he remained unconscious.
At this point, all we could do was wait for the royal healer to arrive.
Theo sat on a sofa at the far side of the room, staring at Warren. I couldn’t tell what was going through his mind and thought it might be a good idea to give him some space.
‘Jake, I’m going to get some food. Could you help me?”
Jake gave me a knowing nod and followed me, leaving the royal brothers in the room. Once we were out and away from the door, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and asked, “Now, could you tell me everything?”
He took a deep breath and went straight to the point. “Alpha has an ability to take away other’ s lives if he touches them using his hands, or his fangs.’
His voice was barely above a whisper but I had heard him clearly.
I froze. I had long known Theo possessed dangerous powers, but this was still beyond what I’d expected.
“You mean, all he needs to do is…. touch?”
“Yes. Alpha’s touch drains the life source out of a person. It was so powerful that whoever that comes in contact with him that way would be killed.
No wonder he was invincible.
“l know what you’ re thinking, but Alpha is undefeatable not because of his ability. In fact, he does everything he can to avoid using his power. If anything, his ability is a constraint, not a help for him.”

I was shocked. “Why?”
“Ciana, you may not believe me, but Alpha doesn’t like killing at all.”
“1 believe you,” I said firmly. I had no doubt.
Jake paused for a moment and then smiled, ‘You have no idea how happy you would make him had he heard what you just said. No, he doesn’t enjoy killing like the rumor says, especially not with his ability.”
His gaze met mine as he continued, “Because it’s a curse like no other. With the life force, it also pulls all of the worst emotions one would ever experience before their death. There’ s no happiness, peace, or even hope. Only the most twisted fear and the darkest, vicious pain. You and I would never understand what it really feels like, but I’ve seen the suffering that he went through.”
My eyes widened. I would never be able to wrap my head around it, all I could feel was a dull ache in my heart.
“To make it worse, it is not a power he has control over. He couldn’t always choose to shut it off. We spent years trying to find remedies.”
“And that’s why he needs dreamberries?”
Jaye nodded. “Indeed, and it worked for a period of time.”
Now I felt terrible for eating that precious fruit. I caught something that he implied, “It worked? How about now? We harvested the replacement using the Moonlit Crystal, right?”
Jake shook his head, “That was when everything went
Oeath wrong. For some reason, ever since Alpha took the last dreamberry, not only did it not help, it made things worse.”
“What?! Why?”
“We don’t know,” Jake shook his head. “You remember fainting at the pavilion?”
“So did you… but neither you or I were even touching him!”
“Correct, and that’ s exactly why we’ re so concerned. It doesn’t happen often, but according to Alpha, there are rare situations when he believes that he has absorbed others’ lives without physical contact.’
I gasped.
Jake let out another sigh. “He wears gloves and keeps his distance. No one would ever believe that the Dark Prince chooses to be alone not because he’s coldhearted, but because he wants to protect those around him.”
And that was why he kept pushing me away after we returned from the illusional world. That was why his attitude shifted dramatically before I left the palace for the second time!
It wasn’t because he was mean for no reason, but because he was trying to do what was best for me.
My heart started to pound harder in my chest, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
“Growing up, everyone was afraid of Alpha, except the king. He took a special liking to his youngest son, not because they shared a special bond. It’s because the Dark Prince is his
secret weapon.”
He swallowed the large lump in his throat, trying to continue what he needed to say. “One touch and his enemies are dead. There is no need to train massive troops when one man can kill an army. The king uses him to seize territories and force his enemies into submission. To him, Alpha isn’t his son, but a useful tool.’
My hands covered my mouth as I sucked in air.
I couldn’t fathom how a father could be so cruel to his offspring. All this time, Warren held resentment and thought his father didn’t love him and that he was the rejected son. While in reality, Theo was being treated even worse.
And the packs that the king had ordered Theo to take out… I couldn’t imagine how he felt when he was forced to fight those innocent people.
“Did he not try to break free from the king?”
Jake stared at me solemnly for a few seconds. “Ciana, think it through. If you were Alpha, I’m sure you would make the same choice as him by staying in his role.”
As I took a moment to digest Jake’s words, many things flashed through my mind.
Right… With or without Theo, if the king is determined to do something, it would get done, except, it would get done in an even more ugly and cruel manner.
At least, if Theo was in control, he could choose to minimize the loss of lives.
A conclusion jumped into my head. “Theo never truly obeyed the king’s orders. He didn’t wipe out the packs like he was supposed to, he figured ways to spare their lives…”
Jake smiled wryly. “If not, where do you think Luther’ s Shadow recruits came from?”
It felt like my chest was crushed by something so heavy that I couldn’t breathe. How could one man carry the weight of the lives and pain of hundreds and thousands of people?
Suddenly, Jake’s ears wiggled slightly. It was a sign someone was mindlinking him.
“Ciana, Dottie is close, I’m going to pick her up. Keep an eye on Alpha for me, will you?”
I swallowed the bitterness down my throat and gave him a nod. “l will.”
As I approached the room again, I quietened my footfalls.
Theo was sitting in the same spot, talking to Warren as if he could hear him.
“When we were young, you envied me for the attention and praise the king gave me.” Theo looked at Warren’s motionless body. “But what I got was never love or adoration. I was being beaten and trained to be a killing machine. I never wanted this kind of life.”
His voice was quiet. Not cold, not aloof, not sad either, just hopeless. “You get to choose where your path leads you. You get to decide who you love, who you become, and what you stand for. I never had that luxury, and never will. You have no idea how much I envy you…”
I didn’t mean to eavesdrop so I cleared my throat, an nouncing that I’d returned.
His eyes trained on me as if he was searching my face for something.
Fear? Anger? Disgust? I could assure that he wouldn’t find any of those on my face.
In fact, I respected him more than ever for what he had done and my heart ached for him.
I wanted to tell him that he’d done enough, and from this moment on, I would be there for him. No matter how heavy his fate was, I’d be there to shoulder it with him.
“Theo..
“Stay away. Like Jake told you, I can’t control this darkness in me. I’m a monster. Warren and Luther were right. All I do is destroy everything I touch no matter how hard I try not to.’
I shook my head. “We will find a way to navigate this. There is always a way out.”
“There is no way out for me. I shouldn’t be here. It’s better for everyone.’
“Says who?” I walked toward him while he stood up and took two steps back. “Because I know for a fact my life would be worse off without you.”
“It’s only a matter of time before I hurt you too and I will…” He looked away from me for a moment before regaining his composure and looking back at me. “l will never allow that to
A kina’ oeath happen. I’d rather kill myself a million times than see you get hurt. Stay away, please!”
“Theo, let me make my own decision.” I took another step toward him to which he backed away more until his back hit against the wall. Pain flared in his gorgeous dark eyes.

‘Let me follow my heart.”
I was only a few more steps away from him.
“Stay back, Ciana! Fuck! Do you not understand I will kill you if I touch you.”
“No, you will not.’
Maybe the confidence in my voice gave him hope. I took one last step into his personal bubble and he didn’t move away this time.
Then I reached out, grabbed his face in both my hands, pulled his mouth down, and without any delay, sucked his warm and surprised breath into me as his lips covered mine.
His arms went rigid by his side as his lips succumbed to a momentary quiver. Soon I felt them grow still and then relaxed. I moved my lips against his and feared for a moment that my bold move would be met with no response.
His kisses wouldn’t kill me. They didn’t in the past, and I knew they wouldn’t in the future. I didn’t know where my confidence came from. Maybe it was simply because I didn’t care whether or not my life was at risk at that very moment.
I kissed him sweetly, feeling the worry and tension evaporate from his body.
I just wanted to show him that I wasn’t scared of him. He was not the monster so many had accused him of.
As he began to respond to me, a pleasant rush of triumph warmed my flesh. His lips were soft and searching before his tongue plunged deep into my mouth. The sensation was different, deeper and more urgent than the other kisses we shared, taking my breath away as he licked and sucked my tongue.
He turned his body to guide me to the wall. Placing one hand on either side of me, against the wall, he pinned me in place with his body. I moved my hands from his face and pushed my fingers through his hair as my arms made their way around his neck to further deepen the kiss. He moaned with pleasure as his body heat began to rise.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to melt and be carried away into this kiss.
The sweet kiss of death.