Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 79 : Chaos

*Xander*

Henry slept, but I couldn't sleep through the screeching that was funneling through the cave's entrance. I hugged my knees and waited, and waited, and waited for Henry to wake up and explain to me what the hell was going on.

The story of what happened to Carly ran through my mind on replay, twisting my stomach into a knot. I'd tell Lena, of course, when I saw her again. I pushed the imagery out of my mind, praying to whoever was listening that I'd have a moment's peace and rest.

But there was no time to dwell, because when he did wake, I was quickly ushered back through the entrance of the tunnel without so much as a word. Pinkish light reflected off the shards of glass he'd propped along the tunnel, showing us the first glimpses of day.

“Days are short here," he said in a muttered whisper, urging me to keep walking forward. “You don't have much time."

“What–"

“Go. Go back to the portal you came out of and get out of here. Do not return."

I tried to explain to him the situation I was in, how Lena had trapped me and the realm I'd come from was nothing more than the product of her mind, but he wouldn't hear any of it.

We reached the entrance of the cave and I gaped over the sweeping, mountain landscape. It was barren–not a tree or scrub in sight. Rocky bluffs rose from the ground beneath us as he pushed me toward the outcrop of scale we'd come down on the night before.

“Come with me," was all I could say, but he shook his head.

“I need to find Elaine. I'm getting close."

Before I could reply, he gave me enough of a push that I had no choice but to step onto the scale and hold on to the mountain's side to maintain my balance, or risk falling hundreds of feet to my death.

He was gone, retreating back into the cave without saying goodbye.

“f**k!" I cried out, filled to the brim with frustration. I climbed back to the peak, an arduous journey that took me nearly an hour and left me coated with shale fragments and sweat. In the light of day I couldn't see the swirling mass that had been above my head the night before, but I could feel the energy of it radiating down on me as I reached the mountain's peak.

What was I supposed to do? Jump as high as I could with my arms outstretched? I rolled my eyes and ran my hand over my face.

I jumped, and nothing happened. I raised my arms over my head and grabbed at the air. Nothing.

“What the f**k am I supposed to do?" I cursed, ruffling my hair with my hands in frustration.

But then a scream ripped through the air above my head. I paused, listening to the whispers of chaos that were beginning to swirl around me, embracing me.

“Hello?" I called out, and was answered by terrified voices and the sound of crunching gravel. “Hello!"

Suddenly, I was hit with a force I don't have the words to describe. I was being pulled through suffocating blackness, the mark on my shoulder burning so painfully I cried out, screaming into the void. Lena's face filled my mind. She was running, a child clutched to her chest as she stumbled and shielded the girl from something coming up behind them.

Then I hit the ground, flat on my back, the air knocked from my lungs and vision going dark.

***

*Lena*

Fire and noise blanketed us as I followed Adrian through the forest on the outskirts of the village. We were trying to get to the bus station, praying there was a bus, or at least a vehicle of some kind that could get us out of the village. It had been Adrian's idea to flee, and he was frantic as we moved like ghosts through the dense woods, the three of us crouching in the overgrowth whenever someone passed.

All around us people were running, some in their human forms carrying children and some as wolves, guarding the families trying to escape the village. I looked up through the trees at the bluff where the castle had once stood.

It had gone up in flames less than an hour ago and now shown like a beckon of amber light among the darkness of the forest below.

The last hour was a blur. We'd walked out of the cottage and stood in shock in the front garden as fire burst through the trees, igniting the village in the distance. For a moment, the flames looked to be nothing but a vivid, violent sunset creeping through the forest, but then dusk fell and cast Cedar Hollow in chaos and bloodshed.

I saw the first creature before we'd fled the cottage; tall and gray with molted skin. It was naked, half wolf and half… something else, the same creature I'd killed in the barren hills outside of the Radcliffe Estate weeks ago.

No. No, no, no–

“Lena! Hurry up!" Adrian screamed as he reached for me, snapping my vision forward.

I'd been looking over my shoulder at the flames licking the redwood trees at the outskirts of the village as we continued to run toward the bus station, which was situated along the highway that ran from Cedar Hollow all the way to Breles, branching off from territory to territory as it made its way south. We were only a few hours from Red Lakes, and my stomach tightened as I thought of my Aunt Kacidra and Uncle Pete and their children.

Were the same creatures in Red Lakes? What about elsewhere? Avondale? Mirage?

Winter Forest?

I gasped as I tripped, knocking the wind out of myself. My ankle snapped, and I screeched as Adrian freed me from a root that arched out of the ground along the forest floor. Abigail was crying, tears staining her cheeks as they grabbed me by the shoulders and hoisted me to my feet.

“We need to get to–"

“There's nowhere to go, Adrian!" I cried, pain radiating up my leg. I could feel my powers knitting my broken ankle back together, but not fast enough. I could barely stand upright.

Screams ripped through the forest, followed by frantic cries for help. People rushed past us in droves, the entire population of the village running for whatever safety they could find.

“What's happening?" Abigail pleaded, shaking Adrian's arm.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him, whispering something to her as she sobbed into his chest. His eyes were fixed on something over the top of her head, those blue orbs glimmering like raw sapphires in the firelight.

I saw it then as I watched him embrace her. The pain in his eyes was severe, and the look of pure agony on his face cut me to the core.

“Abigail," I whispered, reaching for her as I took a cautious step.

Adrian slowly turned to look at me, his eyes full of emotion. “Get her out of here," he said to me, his voice catching in his throat and cracking with heartbreak.

“Adrian–" Abigail pleaded, but in an instant he was gone, his clothes shredded in a pile only a foot from us, his golden wolf body gleaming in the firelight as he sprinted toward town.

“How long have you known?" I said hastily as I urged her to walk with me, to move.

She swallowed hard, choking a bit on the smoke that began to encircle us. The whole forest was burning now, and I could feel the heat penetrating my clothing.

“When he came to Avondale looking for Xander," she whispered, knitting her hand in mine. “I– I just found him, Lena. I can't lose him now–"

“We need to get out of here," I breathed, shuttering as the smoke filled my nostrils and made me lightheaded. “Go, come on. He's going to be fine. We need to hide–"

Something crashed into us, knocking us both flat. Abigail screamed as we were dragged apart by whatever had landed on us. I was flat on my stomach, something large pressing me down into the ground. A wolf ran past us, unfamiliar, and tackled the creature dragging Abigail by the ankles into the darkness. The animal snarled and yelped, letting go of Abigail long enough for her to crawl forward, reaching for me.

“GO!" I screamed, but she shook her head, her eyes wide with terror as they left my face and slowly looked up at whatever was on top of me, crushing me with its weight.

I dug my fingers into the ground and cried out, screaming at Abigail to run. The trees around us creaked and swayed, and Abigail looked skyward as one of the redwoods splintered down its center and began to fall.

“ABIGAIL!" I screamed in frustration.

She gasped a word, but it was drowned out by the tree snapping and cracking as it fell over the top of us.