Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 93 : I Didn’t Look Back

*Xander*

I'd never used my powers before, not like this. That shadow of darkness was a mystery to me still, its presence life-long, but dormant. I'd heard the stories passed down from generation to generation.

I'd been old enough to witness my uncle, who showed much more of a promise to the powers of the Dark Lord than I ever had, overcome the soul-sucking darkness in his veins as he laid his heart before a woman with the blood of the White Queens.

My powers were minuscule, a faint fluttering in my body. But when Lena had marked me, well, suddenly I could feel those powers itching to get loose, to take over, drawn out by her own.

And when I watched more of those gray, molted creatures come out of the forest, followed by their handlers who were more human than hybrid beasts but not by much, I felt my powers surge as anger and betrayal swept over me like a rogue wave.

Lena had planned this. She'd stalled our trek back to the gorge until we'd run out of daylight. She'd cut her hand open, leaving a trail of blood for the vampires who worked under King Nikolas's rule to find us.

And now she was trying to send me back to the pack lands while she went on some foolish hero's journey into the Night Realm, alone.

I think the f**k not.

I screamed at her, throwing the full force of my power forward just as a spray of light erupted around us, splitting the sky in two.

I wasn't a match for her strength, and I had been just a second too late in casting my shadow of darkness like a net over her. Her cry of surprise, then terror, cut through me like a knife as a winged hybrid landed behind her, its oddly human hands outstretched and closing in on her.

“Close it!" I screamed, drawing one of the wooden-bodied blades from my belt as several vampires surrounded me, their eyes burning crimson beneath their black hoods. “Close the f*****g portal!"

I could feel the force of it behind me, invisible save for a magnetic rippling that made the landscape beyond look somewhat distorted. I could step through and save myself. That's what she had wanted, after all.

But she was gone in an instant, the clouds above my head breaking apart as the hybrid disappeared back into the darkening night.

She was my mate–my pregnant mate. I wasn't going to let her sacrifice herself to the f*****g Vampire King.

I kept my eyes on the vampires, who were inching toward me as the last shred of day waned and night fell over the forest. Their hybrids waited behind them, varying in shape and color. I could still see the wolf in them, and I felt a pang of regret as I gazed from hybrid to hybrid, wondering who they had been before they'd been captured, taken, and turned against their will.

The vampires eyed me, sizing me up. They lipped dry, cracked lips and ran their tongues along their long, pointed teeth.

None of the vampires in Brune had looked like this. They had been beautiful, kind, and flushed with healthy, lively color.

These vampires were gray and shriveled, their eyes red and black orbs against their hollowed, sunken faces.

They were hungry. They were kept starved for the purpose of the hunt–this hunt.

I could shift, but I'd have to fight off the vampires and their hybrids with nothing but my jaw and claws. I knew about their speed because Costas had been more than happy to show me his own. I couldn't outrun them. I had to fight. I had to make a stand, even if it was my last.

“You'd better have a f*****g plan, Lena!" I screeched, although it was unlikely she could hear me, wherever the hell she was now.

My only choice was to kill them all one by one and pray to the Goddess that the winged hybrid hadn't noticed the rippling vortex behind me before it'd flown off with her.

These vampires couldn't leave this clearing alive, not with the pack lands only inches away.

The first one lunged forward, and I slashed it with my knife. The smell of burning flesh wafted through the air as it screeched and rolled away. One after another, they tried me, lunging and baring their teeth. I had the upper hand until they ganged up on me, all while their hybrids watched.

I understood the reasoning for the odd, suffocating armor Costas had supplied us with when the vampires began to try to sink their teeth into me. The scaled jacket cracked their teeth over and over as I swung my blade wildly, slashing through whatever was nearby.

But it was six to one, and after half an hour of this dance, I suddenly felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly in the thigh.

Pain ricocheted through me, and I lost my balance as the vampires attacked my legs. The leather that covered my pants wasn't thick enough to totally thwart their assault, and once they had me on the ground I knew, without a doubt, that it was over.

'Adrian!' I screamed through the mind-link, praying the open portal could relay my message. 'I'm dead. It's over. The portal is open. You must warn the Alphas. You must stop these creatures from breaching the pack lands. Egoren–'

My mind began to drift, my heart rate slowing. I was losing blood–all of it. Once they'd gotten me on the ground, it was nothing for them to tear my armor from my body to access my wrists and my neck.

I held on by a thread as I turned to look at the hybrids. I noticed them backing away, bowing their heads to me as they disappeared into the darkened woods without their vampires.

Why? What was happening?

I didn't close my eyes. I held on, unable to move. The only feeling left inside of me was the steady beat of my powers being drained away with my blood.

Maybe I was already dead? I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't see anything other than the stars above my head as I let my eyes flutter against the night sky.

Dying was surprisingly peaceful, I realized. It was alright. Lena would kill that ugly vampire bastard king. She would; I didn't doubt it. I'd be mad at her for a long time, but I had forever to get over it–eternity. Where would I go next? What was waiting for me on the other side? Lycaon himself? What would he be like....

I closed my eyes and accepted death, but only momentarily. Air rushed back into my lungs, choking me awake. I opened my eyes again and found myself completely, and utterly alone.

I was nearly naked; the shirt and pants I'd been wearing beneath the layers of armor were shredded and barely hanging from my body. I sat up, my breath catching in my throat as a searing pain radiated through my body, making my ears ring.

It was full dark, and I could barely see anything. I couldn't even see the rippling portal in the lack of light.

But the clouds were moving overhead, and soon intense starlight filtered down into the forest, giving me a muted view of the damage done to my body, and the damage I myself had inflicted on the half dozen vampires who were sprawled around me, dead where they lay.

Not only were they dead, but they were shriveled. I swallowed hard as I looked down at the vampire who was sprawled out over my legs, face down and covered by his cloak. I shot backward, scooting as far as possible away from the scene, panting as adrenaline coursed through my body and ignited a burning pain in the puncture marks that covered my skin.

The body of the vampire shattered against my swift movements, settling into the cracked ground in a puff of ash.

All of them were dead. All of them.

I looked down at my hands, at the lines of darkness coursing beneath my skin, and I knew with certainty what had happened.

I'd killed them with the dark powers that ran through my veins. That soul-sucking force had poisoned them, turning them into dust, into soot.

I choked a laugh, holding my bare arms up to the light of the stars. These creatures couldn't handle even a taste of my blood without dying.

I felt a surge of what I could only describe as pure, unadulterated confidence as I jumped to my feet, but then I swayed violently and fell back to my knees as my vision went black. I was weak, but not weak enough to lay there in the open. The hybrids had retreated–to where I didn't know. But they were still out there.

I had a decision to make. I could stay here and guard the portal while Lena did whatever the hell she was planning on doing. I could go through the portal and not only warn the pack lands about what was happening but also gather reinforcements to help rescue their princess. I could go back to Brune and ask for help.

Or, I could go get my mate myself.

I ground my teeth as I gingerly rose to my feet, steadying myself on the trunk of the tree. I looked around the forest, then up at the sky above, which was starting to turn a pale blue in the distance as the realm's fleeting daylight returned.

A thought struck me as I watched daylight break overhead.

Henry had told me time worked differently here, that he'd only been in the Night Realm for a week when almost six weeks had passed in the pack lands. We'd been here for three days, maybe four. How much time had passed in the pack lands in our absence?