Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 971

Chapter 22 : Breaking Out

*Lucas*

I wasn't kidding. A claw reached through a slit down the middle of the door.

Time was not on our side. I ran to the window but found it was swelled shut in its frame. It was something that should have been replaced decades ago.

A burning yellow eye and snapping jaws were now visible through a break in the door.

I was going to have to break the window.

“Do you trust me?" I asked Sasha, who was already holding a water pitcher to defend herself.

“Yes," Sasha said, briefly looking over at me.

“Put that down. Come over here," I barked.

Sasha looked at me as though I'd lost my mind, but when the door finally blew right off its hinges, she dropped the pitcher and walked right into my embrace.

“You'd better be sure about this," she warned.

“I hope so." I dragged her over to the window with me, then kept her tight in one arm while slamming my elbow through the glass.

I felt some of the jagged edges catch on my flesh as I took Sasha out of the room. I tried to kick the last of the glass shards down, but I feared she would also have some cuts and scratches to show for this act of insanity.

We tumbled into the bushes below. I popped my head up, looking briefly in the window of the inn. The priestess was there, directing five or six shifter thugs.

“You were right about the priestess," I panted to Sasha before grabbing her wrist and hauling her out of the bushes and down the road.

“You think so?"

I shot her a look and noted Sasha had had the Goddess-given brains to grab the silk-covered orb. For my part, I started to shift as we ran, joints popping, bones elongating.

My clothes tore, and Sasha started having trouble keeping up. “Jump on my back," I ordered her, stopping suddenly.

“Lucas—“

“NOW!!!" I roared, the last thing I said before I'd shifted completely.

Sasha gripped my fur and slung herself over my back, hanging on tight with her legs.

I surged forward, taking us far away from the inn, from the town of Leviss itself. I heard howling behind us and redoubled my efforts. But I had a passenger and the shifter thugs did not. It was a losing battle.

There had to be something… the train!

By some miracle, the train to the capital was heading down the nearby tracks, away from the station. I bolted for it, my claws digging up great clumps of dirt.

I could feel the orb pressed hard against my neck. Sasha curled her hands more tightly into my fur as I approached the train, loping along beside it.

Since she had no wolf, I could only hope she understood what I wanted her to do.

“Lucas, you're insane! I can't jump!" Sasha screamed over the howls that were fast catching up with us.

I snarled at her.

“I'm not going to make it," Sasha yelled.

The door of the train car opened, and a man leaned out, holding a hand out to Sasha. With little other choice, she grabbed it and he hauled her onto the train.

I leaped up behind her, accidentally knocking them both to the floor. The orb went flying.

The man got up first, while I shifted on the floor. He pulled the train door closed, stopping our pursuers from hopping aboard.

The train picked up speed. The other shifters didn't stand a chance.

I sat up, naked, breathing hard.

Sasha was scrambling across the floor, and I realized she was looking for the orb. It had rolled free of the silk I'd used to bind it.

A glimmer of white shone from beneath a fire extinguisher. Sasha dove for it as it began moving again with the pitch of the train.

Her hands closed on it, and she stood, giving me a relieved smile.

I smiled back and opened my mouth to congratulate us on a successful evasion of certain death, or to ask the helpful young man who he was.

Instead, my jaw dropped as the orb in Sasha's hands turned a brilliant blue and began to glow.

“No," I said, reaching for her.

With a look of horror on her face, Sasha disappeared, my fingers meeting nothing but air.

***

I woke in the lumpy, narrow bed in the inn, panicked, but not terribly surprised that Sasha wasn't there. Her bag was gone, and—I rolled out of bed to check, even though I knew—the orb was gone as well.

There was a knock at the door, and the odious innkeeper popped his head in with a jangle of keys and a wide smile. “Rise and shine! The truck will be arriving just outside the post office at any minute."

I wanted to growl at him, but then, in this reality, he'd done nothing wrong. Sasha didn't exist.

At least this time I could avoid seeing the old priestess and maybe actually have some time in Midnight Sun Pack territory. Orb or no orb, Eliza should be able to tell me something.

After all, there was nothing else to do but pace and panic until Sasha returned–if she returned.

I shook the dark thoughts away and gave the innkeeper a tight smile. “Thank you. I'll be on my way now."

The innkeeper nodded and closed the door.

Not five minutes later, I was sitting outside the post office, waiting for the truck and hoping it hadn't broken an axle this time.

Whatever this timeline was, I could see my path would not be impeded. A cloud of dust announced the arrival of a truck… packed tightly with people.

I groaned. I'd be sitting in the back with the dust, it seemed. Clutching my pack, I handed over my ticket and climbed in, wedging my knees almost to my ears in what tiny space there was left.

Dirt made the air nearly unbreathable, but I soldiered through the many hours riding with my tailbone on the wheel well.

When we finally reached Crimson Village, I was hobbled over like an old man, rubbing my lower spine as I got out of the truck.

“Rough ride?" a familiar voice asked.

I turned and grinned at Jared. “You have no idea."

Jared let the dust settle a bit, then walked forward, clapping me on the shoulder. “It's good to see you, even if it is some sort of emergency. I'm surprised you came alone."

“I didn't," I sighed, and braced myself for the inevitable.

Jared looked around me at the disappearing truck and people who were shuffling away. “Umm… your letter did say you were coming alone… is there someone else here I should be rounding up?"

“Not right now. We'll see what happens later," I mumbled, falling into step beside Jared as he led me to the home he shared with Eliza.

They'd added on since I'd been there, I noted as we approached the cozy cottage. “Expecting more little ones?" I teased.

“Always," Jared laughed. “Now, what do you mean about someone showing up later?"

“She would have shown up now except for the orb," I said, all teasing gone.

“Oh yes, you did mention some artifact that you wanted Eliza to look at," Jared replied with a nod. “Can I see it?"

“It's gone for now," I explained.

Jared blinked. “For… now?"

“Sasha Wentley has it, wherever it's taken her," I continued, knowing I sounded like a raving lunatic by this point.

“Who?" Jared frowned.

“I did write ahead, though I'm sure that letter changed as well. That orb pulls her out of time, like she never existed, and disappears along with her. It's the second time this has happened. I'm just hoping it brings her back." I stepped over the threshold of the cottage to see Eliza standing in the living room.

Some unspoken communication passed between Eliza and Jared, probably something along the lines of “this guy is nuts." Eliza's gaze went from welcoming to wary.

“You don't have the artifact?" she said.

Ah, good. A little wolfy communication to save me repeating myself. “It's gone, along with Sasha."

“Sasha… Wentley," Eliza responded slowly.

I turned back to Jared. “Good memory."

“Yes, well, it seemed relevant. I was hoping my Eliza might know who you were talking about," Jared said.

Eliza shook her head. “Not a clue."

“I kind of figured. It was just like this last time, too. You won't know Sasha. No one will." I paced the floor, wondering how long Sasha would be gone this time.

“Uh-huh," Eliza murmured as she and Jared watched me wear a path on their wood floor.

“I know how I sound," I sighed. “For me, it's yesterday, and Sasha has completely disappeared with that damn orb. This time it turned blue instead of white. Goddess only knows where it's taken her. I mean, well, last time it took her to the Goddess, so that's a possibility. Maybe she'll be less cryptic this time and we can figure out what to do with the damn orb and then chuck it out of our lives forever."

Jared began to chuckle. I snapped my head in his direction. “What?" I asked peevishly.

“This girl must be real, cousin, because you've got it ba-ad," Jared said.

“Jared, do be quiet," Eliza cut in before I could blow up at him. “Lucas is here because of some kind of emergency. And if it has some poor girl disappearing and reappearing all the time, then that really is a serious problem, especially for her."

Something unspoken passed between them again, and Jared finally threw up his hands. “Fine. Fine. I'll go weed the flowerbed. You two figure this out." He stormed off.

Eliza turned back to me, concerned. “Now, Lucas, this is all very jumbled. Please start from the beginning."

It took the better part of the morning and afternoon to tell the tale and to answer all of Eliza's questions as best I could. Snacks and drinks came and went, and I took no notice of whether it was a servant or Jared himself bringing them.

When she stopped asking questions and just went silent, I found myself fidgeting impatiently with a delicate teacup. I didn't even remember drinking the contents dry.

“So?" I asked before five minutes had passed.

“I'm thinking," Eliza said, raising a finger to shut me up. She looked out the window, and I could see angry clumps of dirt flying through the air as Jared “weeded." It must have been code between them for “I'm going to go terrorize the garden so I don't destroy something in our house."

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Any chance you could think a little faster?"

“If it lasts a whole day, Lucas, we still have plenty of time before your Sasha reappears," Eliza reminded me. She sighed. “Speaking of which, this orb clearly has something to do with time. Maybe every time it takes Sasha, it also pushes you into a timeline where she doesn't exist." She patted my hand. “I can see how that would be very disturbing for you."

“I just want it to stop happening," I grumbled, not quite comfortable with where she was going with her sympathy.

“I'm sure you do… and Sasha, no less," Eliza said. “But it seems the Goddess has given her some kind of mission. I can't tell you any more about the orb. I can't think of anything like it having been mentioned in our history books, nor have I ever encountered anything like it in any of my own research. But that could just be because, in this timeline, the orb itself also does not exist. It's hard to say. Maybe you could find that priestess again and get her to tell you more?"

“Pretty sure we burned that bridge," I grunted.

Eliza squeezed my hand. “Not in this timeline."

“You're right. You're right!" I said, standing suddenly. “I need to get back to Leviss."