Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 602

Chapter 102 : Escape the Castle

*Lena*

I clutched Penny to my chest and released the full force of my powers of light. I prayed that the burst of sun and heat hadn't wounded her. I heard the Vampire King scream, his voice so shrill it made the entire castle tremble.

I opened my eyes, my breath catching in my throat as I pushed Penny away, holding her at arm's length to check her for injury. But then I felt it, that dark embrace, that blackened net only one person could cast.

I turned toward the doorway just as the Vampire King struggled to his feet, his skin reddened and blistered, some places black with burns. He held up his hands to his face, inspecting the damage with wide eyes.

His eyes turned to me, blazing with fury.

I held out my hand to send my powers forth again but felt them falter, weakened. I didn't let my face show my panic, but the act of raising my hand to him had been enough. He staggered out of the doorway, his expressions washed with pain.

I screamed Xander's name through the bond as I clutched the book and sunstone in one arm and an entirely confused Penny in the other.

“Come on," I whispered, pulling her along as we stepped into the corridor.

The blackened, ashen bodies of the King's guards were scattered throughout the corridor, smoking with heat. I blinked, my chest tightening as I looked down at the c*****e I had caused. I'd killed these… things. They were more demon than person, but still. I'd killed them. My hands were red with their blood.

This wasn't what I wanted to be, but what choice did I have?

“Come," I said sternly, tugging on Penny's arm as we stepped over the bodies and made our way down the corridor. “How do we get out of here?"

“There's a door, and a drawbridge. It's a few levels below."

“Show me the way," I whispered, unsure of how far my powers had reached. How many more guards were coming our way? I needed to find Xander. We all needed to get out of here, and we needed to do it immediately.

Penny was whimpering behind me as we ran through the windowless castle, cloaks dusting the ground in our wake. We reached a sharp corner and a steep set of stone stairs, and Penny pointed frantically downward.

Behind us, voices rang out, followed by growling. All the downy hair on my body stood on end as the sound of snapping jaws echoed through the corridor behind us. I knew that sound–hybrids, maybe many of them.

“Go!" I cried, practically pushing Penny down the stairs as we stumbled, running down the steps into darkness.

I continued to call out to Xander through our bond, but nothing came in response. It was silent, shockingly so for how near he must have been if he was able to cloak Penny and me in his shadow. We reached the bottom of the stairwell and turned into a narrow corridor filled with what looked like the servants of the castle rushing about, all lower vampires in varying states of distress.

“Get out!" I cried. “All of you, run! Get out of the castle!"


Several of them looked at me, wide eyed and frantic as they sucked in their breath. Penny clutched my arm as she said, “Free–you're free, if you can run. Please–"

A thundering screech filled the castle, and we all cowered, covering our ears. I hadn't even fully risen before everyone in the corridor began pushing and shoving in one direction, which was where Penny was directing me to go.

We fled through an inconspicuous wooden door, a tangle of bodies and noise as servants spilled out behind us, some crawling on all fours as they tried to escape the fray.

Xander was a blur of movement as he pushed through a barricade of guards, and to my absolute shock, a flash of red filled my vision as Oliver leaped over several guards, his wolf body gleaning in the moonlight drifting through the open doors to the drawbridge.

“Xander!" I cried, but his wolf was busy tearing a group of guards to shreds.

Servants were spilling out onto the drawbridge, running as fast as they could into the darkened landscape beyond the castle.

Penny screeched beside me as a tall, handsome lower vampire walked up to us, taking Penny by the arm and pulling her away from me. I shoved him hard, my free hand extended to scratch him on the face.

“I'm with Xander," he hissed. “We need to go, now!"

The chaos behind us was fading, but above our heads the castle was still echoing with noise.

“We need to get across the bridge. Hurry!" the vampire said sharply.

I looked back at Xander and Oliver, who had taken out at least two dozen of the guards, and watched as Xander shifted back his human form and ripped the clothes off a vampire and began to put them on, Oliver following suit.

Xander met my eye and gave me a wry, boyish grin.

Thank the Goddess.

***

None of us spoke of what happened before we'd traveled far enough away from the castle that it was no longer in sight. Zeke, the vampire male who had escorted us out of the castle, had ushered us into a narrow cave, and the men barricaded it closed from the inside with rocks while Penny and I lingered in the back of the cave with only a few candles lighting the area.

Xander, Oliver, and Zeke had to duck to fit inside the cave, and in moments we were all sitting down in a circle, listening to the muted screeching of the winged hybrids as they canvased the rocky cliffs that sheltered the castle.

It was an ugly kingdom, nothing but endless rock. I sat in silence as morsels of food were passed around, wondering if the enslaved servants of the castle had made it to safety, at least a few of them.

Xander was seated next to me, his hand resting on my leg. I stole a glance at him, feeling an overwhelming sense of comfort as my eyes met his. We had so much to talk about. I had so much to apologize for.

But we were in the company of others.

Oliver was staring at Penny, his brow furrowed deeply as he watched her pick at a piece of bread. Penny looked absolutely terrified and was refusing to meet the eye of anyone but me. Zeke was seated next to her, a little closer than I would have liked.

“Did she kidnap you?" Oliver asked Penny, and I snapped my head in his direction.

“What?" I snapped, but Penny paled, her eyes lifted to mine with a shrug.

“Goddess, Lena. You dragged this poor girl against her will out of that castle?"

“I saved her life," I growled, and Penny did give a little nod of agreement to that, but kept her mouth shut. “Why the hell are you here, anyway?"

Oliver narrowed his eyes at me, a playful smirk lining his lips. He looked so much like my aunt Maeve, his mother, whenever he was up to something devious.

Xander cleared his throat, casting a quick glance at Zeke before looking at me.

“Oliver believes his mate is in this realm."

“What? How would–"

“It's Abigail's sister," Oliver quipped, wrapping his arms around his knees.

“Abigail doesn't have a sister," I argued, scoffing as I shook my head. “Do you have any idea how dangerous of a position we're in right now? How dangerous this could be for our home?"

“It's Elaine," Xander said quietly.
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