Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 50 : After You

*Lucas*

Distress washed over me as I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The whole “I need to think" thing had made it so I wasn't going to sleep a wink. Still, that amount of fear from my mate would have woken me even if I'd been dead.

The feeling that something was seriously wrong clung to me, sending goosebumps over my flesh and a chill down my spine. It was as if there was a weight on my chest, a pressure that wouldn't dissipate no matter how much I tried to breathe through it.

“Sasha!" I knew I had to go to her, to make sure she was okay.

Throwing back the covers, I got up from the bed and pulled on some clothes. I didn't bother with shoes, the urgency in my gut propelling me forward. I made my way through the darkened ship, my wolf senses on high alert for any danger.

When I reached the deck, about ten men were standing at the edge of a… well, a storm, except it was a storm isolated to the center of the deck.

I could feel the energy emanating from the storm, crackling with power. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before. My heart pounded in my chest as I approached the group, my eyes locked on the center of the storm.

That's when I saw flashes of Sasha followed by her darkened silhouette.

“Dark magic," one of the crew hissed.

Another nodded.

My heart sank as I realized what this meant. My mate, my love, was standing in the midst of the dark magic storm. Someone was trying to harm my Sasha. I could feel my wolf rising to the surface, the urge to protect her overwhelming.

I felt Brady come up beside me. “You always know when to show up," I muttered, staring at the storm myself.

“It's a gift," Brady said. “Also woke up the cavalry."

Oliver came up next to us. The captain showed up in his pajamas. All of us stared at the storm.

Finally, I squared my shoulders. “Sasha is in there. And if Sasha is in there, I'm going in."

The others turned to look at me as though I'd lost my mind.

Maybe I had. Maybe I had lost my mind. But Sasha was in there, and I could sense she was in trouble.

Taking a deep breath, I ran at the barrier of what appeared to be some unholy typhoon.

As I hit it, the wet swirling rain pelted into me before bouncing me away.

I went skidding across the deck, ramming into the opposite railing.

“Well, that went well," Brady observed.

I growled at him. I stood, and tried again, running at the storm.

The storm threw me back every time, no matter how many times I tried to get through it.

“I think maybe you might want to let me give it a try," Oliver coughed after the sixth time I slammed into the railing.

“Well, what are you waiting for?" I responded and he turned to the storm, raising his hands toward it. I could feel the force of his power beginning to break the swirling winds. But there was an immediate response from the barrier that blew everyone on deck back and to the ground.

My head spun as I regained my footing, but my eyes were still fixed on the storm, watching as Oliver was thrown into the air, his body tossed like a ragdoll.

“Oliver!" I shouted, running toward him.

But before I could reach him, I was met with another force that sent me flying backward, my body hitting the deck hard.

The wind was knocked out of me, and I lay there for a moment, gasping for air.

“Lucas, get up," Brady's voice sounded far away.

He came and helped me to my feet and we both went to Oliver as she shook off the impact of the blast against him.

“It's not like anything I've seen before. It's definitely dark magic, but there is something more to it. I can't quite say what it is. It took the energy I put out and threw it right back at me."

I took a step back, panting heavily as I looked at the storm. My mind raced as I tried to come up with another way to get through the barrier. I could feel Sasha's distress growing stronger, and my heart clenched at the thought of her being trapped in there alone.

“I don't know what's doing this, but I have to get Sasha out of there!" I cried desperately.

Brady nodded and tried simply walking up to the storm and pushing his hand inside. He winced and pulled it out quickly. His hand was completely frozen. “Well, good thing I'm a vampire," he muttered, grabbing a lantern and holding his hand over it.

“This is awful," Oliver sighed, starting to pace around the storm, looking for weaknesses.

I howled and let myself shift, my wolf already close to the surface as he was concerned for his mate.

“That might work," Oliver said.

Everyone watched as I gouged great claw marks in the wood of the deck, taking a running start at the storm. I launched myself into the air…

… and landed hard, in human form, half overboard on the opposite railing.

Oliver and Brady quickly ran over and pulled me back onto the deck.

“It's magic, alright," Oliver muttered. “It turned you back."

I howled again, but this time could not conjure my wolf. It was as though the storm was holding him at bay, though he snarled within me to get out.

“I don't know what to do, Sasha!" I yelled at the sky. “Tell me what to do!"

If she heard me, I couldn't tell, because only silence greeted my statement.

“We are supposed to protect her at all costs," Oliver said. He picked up an anchor and threw it at the storm.

The crew got the idea and started coming up with everything from barrels to boat hooks, attacking the storm as though it was a great behemoth of a sea monster.

I managed to catch my breath, then looked at the lanterns… the oil lanterns.

“Captain, forgive me, but I'm about to roast your ship a little," I apologized.

The captain caught my drift and broke open a barrel of kerosene himself.

He and the crew dumped a semicircle in front of the storm. Then everyone stood back as I threw a lantern at the kerosene, the lantern breaking and the kerosene lighting skyward.

The storm shivered, almost breaking, and I saw, briefly through the swirling rain, a man waving his hands at it.

Sasha was waving her hands as well, fighting him.

“Wish we could get in there," Brady said in frustration.

“Indeed." Oliver looked at the captain, and more kerosene was added to the extinguishing flames.

But we just couldn't keep the fire going. The power from the storm drained its oxygen and kept putting it out, and there was only so much kerosene on the ship.

“Sasha!" I tried to yell above the storm when it weakened again. She didn't so much as turn her head.

“f**k," I swore, not knowing what else to do.

Oliver came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Enough, brother," he said quietly. “Enough. We are not strong enough to overcome this magic, no matter what else we try. We can only hope Sasha is."

I sagged to the deck and dropped my face into my hands. Sasha was in battle with some powerful, dark mage, and there was nothing I could do to help her… nothing.

As I sat there, feeling helpless, a sudden realization hit me. If I couldn't physically help Sasha, maybe I could find a way to reach her through our bond. I closed my eyes and focused all of my energy on her, on our connection. I could feel her fear and her determination, her intense concentration as she fought against the storm of dark magic.

Brady sat down next to me and we watched the storm and prayed, while Oliver spoke with the captain and the rest of the crew attended to the semicircle burn on the deck.

“Please," I begged the Moon Goddess. “Please let her be okay."

The minutes ticked by like hours. We all watched the storm, wondering when it would end.

As I sat on the deck, battered and beaten, a faint glimmer caught my eye. It was Sasha, her figure almost translucent as she fought the man. My hope surged as I realized the storm was weakening.

Her movements were swift and calculated, her hands glowing with otherworldly energy. Her face was set in a fierce determination, and I knew that she wouldn't give up without a fight.