Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 149: That's My Daughter

*Soren*

Hugging my unconscious Ciana tightly, I picked her up, trying to steady her trembling body. Her eyes

were closed, a look of extreme pain on her face. It was pouring rain, the wind howling, whipping

through the trees of the forest, soaking all of us.

The king's Beta, Jake, along with six others had arrived almost the same time as us. From the way they

moved, all top warriors.

The young king uttered. “Thank you, Alpha and Luna Black."

“Let's find someplace dry,“ my wife suggested. I nodded.

'We can use the secret tunnel that Ciana and I found when we were here last time.

Jake, lead the way, I'll tell you where to go." Theo's voice was weak, but just enough for us to hear him

through the downpour.

He was in obvious pain and his face twisted slightly. As he spoke, his body was weakened by the loss

of blood. I could see the stark white of his shirt, now stained a deep red by the stab wound in his chest.

I was worried that if we didn’t get him medical attention soon, he might not make it.

Jake quickly called for one of Theo's warriors, who shifted into his wolf form. The Beta gently helped

his king up and got him onto the warrior's back. I followed behind with my daughter in my arms and my

wife by my side as we made our way through the pouring rain.

Ciana's face seemed to be turning more pale by the moment.

'She is going to be okay," I assured my wife, who was almost as pale as our daughter.

She nodded and whispered, "Yes, she’ll be okay," as if she was sending positive thoughts and prayers

for our baby girl to the universe.

I knew the tunnel Theo spoke of. It would provide us with the shelter we desperately needed. On my

many travels looking to open the portal between the Realm of Shadow and the Realm of Light, I'd

discovered just about every secret this kingdom had to offer, but I hadn't realized it was so close.

It didn't take us too long to get there, but when we did, Theo had also passed out.

The tunnel was narrow and dark, its walls slick with moisture. The air was musty and damp, and I could

hear the sound of dripping water echoing off the stone walls. A few other wolves followed us at a

distance, their panting breaths and soft footsteps blending together in the darkness. Since Jake didn't

seem to be concerned, I had to assume that these were also Theo’s men.

At one of the intersections that lead to four different directions, Jake hesitated. It was obvious that he

hadn't been here before and Theo wasn’t there to direct him.

'This way," I told the group. Jake was a little surprised, but he respected my privacy and didn't ask why

I was so confident about a secret tunnel within the Ortiz pack.

Everyone else followed without questioning as well.

It was quiet and I led the group turning and twisting through the endless underground pathways.

'Hang on, sweetie, almost there,' I murmured.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we came to a small alcove, where we could rest for a few

moments. I carefully laid Ciana down, assessing her wounds. I couldn't see what was wrong with her

physically.

'It’s her mind,' my wife shook her head and said quietly. 'If this is a curse, I'm afraid there's not much we

can do."

"There has to be. On the way here, Alpha gave me some more information over the mindlink before he

passed out,' Jake said while he tended to Theo, doing his best to stop the bleeding.

After cleaning Theo's wound, Jake continued, “Ciana stabbed him. Knowing her, she would never have

done such a thing had she been in her right mind. It was almost like someone had not only modified

her memory, but also forced their emotions and wishes on her. Something that may be done using the

Moonlit Crystal.'

My heart sank. Damn it!

I should've kept a closer eye on her back home. If I had, none of this would happen!

'It’s all my fault!" I looked at my wife, and clenched my fists, "I'm so sorry, honey, I should’ve protected

our little girl better! Damn it, what the fuck was I thinking letting her go to the woods by herself!"

She placed a hand on mine and squeezed it. "Honey, self-blaming is not going to solve anything right

now. Our girl needs you to be calm to help her."

My mate was right. I took a couple of deep breaths in. I needed to find a way to get her help, but now

that Ciana was not in immediate danger, all of us turned our attention to the other unconscious person,

who seemingly was more severely wounded.

"How’s the king?" I asked Jake, not wanting to tear my eyes away from my daughter but I needed to

check on her victim, and potentially her love. "What can we do to help?'

"Alpha should be okay, thank goodness," Jake replied, and then he showed us something stuck at the

tip of the dagger. "It was a little better than we thought, thanks to this."

I was relieved to hear that Theo was alive. It was difficult for me to see what I was looking at from this

angle.

"What is that thing?" I asked, gesturing at the object he was holding in Jake's hand.

"It s a lapel pin," he replied. "Thank the goddess it was there so that the dagger couldn't go right

through his heart! Had it not been there, I don’t know how he would survive the blow. With his strong

bloodline, hopefully he can make it through in a few days."

"Thank the Goddess!" my wife said a prayer.

"A lapel pin?" I repeated. I wanted to ask something, but I bit my tongue. I didn't want to sound rude to

the king, especially when his almost-fatal injury was caused by my own daughter.

But still, who the hell would wear a lapel pin under his shirt?

Looking at the object more closely, I saw that it looked like something a child would make, with strange

objects adorning the front. Maybe it was a gift from his nephew?

"This lapel pin was a gift from Ciana," Jake explained to me.

Immediately, I felt bad for having such critical thoughts of the craft now. Now that I took a second look

at it, it didn't look all that bad. It just looked... unique.

Alright, admittedly, making trinkets and knick-knacks was not exactly my daughter's forte.

Jake continued, "His Majesty has been wearing it whenever Ciana isn’t around him. It’s like solace for

him. That way he always has something from Ciana that’s closest to his heart."

I was at a loss for words for a moment.

When I met with the young king at the palace, he asked for my permission to court Ciana. I told him I

would need to think about it, but perhaps Theo did truly love her. It wasn't just a romantic whim of a

king.

Everything that occurred tonight reminded me a bit of how Ethan loved Rosalie. My brother was a

tough Alpha, much like the dark prince, but Rosalie had found a way to melt his icy exterior. Was this

the same way that my Ciana had affected the Dark King?

I let out a sigh and told Theo in a voice that only I could hear, "Your Majesty, when you recover, you

have my blessing to court Ciana Black."

'Alpha Black, what did you say?” Jake was confused.

"Nothing," I chuckled bitterly. If Theo heard it, I hoped that it at least would give him something to look

forward to.

I turned my attention back to Ciana’s unconscious form, took her hand in mine and whispered, ’Ciana,

my darling girl. I’m so sorry that you have to go through all of this. But I promise you, I will do

everything in my power to keep you safe and protect you from harm."

I sat with Ciana, holding her hand and watching over her as she rested, praying that she would wake

up soon and be okay.

"Alpha and Luna Black," Jake asked. "What shall we do about Ciana's situation?"

Sighing, my wife tried to explain to him what the problem was. "Her body, mind, and soul have gone

through too much lately," she replied. "She’s lost blood, life essence, and now her memory has been

modified. It’s out of our ability to cure her."

Jake's eyes widened and his brow furrowed, "But Luna Black, there must be something we could do.

When King Theo wakes up, if he finds out that Ciana is still sick like this, I guarantee you he'll lose his

mind!"

I tried to make it sound more positive. "There is only one person I can think of who has the power and

knowledge to heal Ciana’s mind and restore her memories, but it's not easy to get to her..."

Before I could finish my sentence, one of the warriors ran in. 'Look at this, Beta Jake!' he said, holding

a small object out. 'I found it on the forest floor near Ciana.'

It was a Moon Stone. I recognized it immediately. Where had she gotten her hands on this?

"A Moon Stone." I took the gem from the warrior. I’d been resting on the floor with Ciana's head on my

lap, so I gently laid her down.

'Moonlit Crystal," Jake said at the same time.

We both paused for a moment. Then Jake asked me, "Why did you call it a Moon Stone?"

'Because—' I opened my mouth to answer him but then all of a sudden, the rock started to glow in

rainbow colors and illuminated the nearby area.

My eyes widened, and I looked at my wife. This was the sign we’d been looking for for years. This was

a sign that a portal to the Realm of Light was nearby!

"Whatever it's called is not important," I bounced up and urged, 'What’s important is that I may be able

to take Ciana to get help now!"

When the Moon Stone was glowing in rainbow colors, it would lead us to the White Queen.

I told the young king that I was blessed by the White Queen, but I never told him that the White Queen

Rosalie was my sister-in-law, who was mated to my brother Ethan.

It had been so long since I'd been back to my homeland. Was everyone back home doing all right? I

wonder whether Rosalie was still the White Queen, or had she passed the crown down to her daughter

Maeve?

My beautiful wife came to my side. She took off the ring on her hand and put it on Ciana's index finger.

With all the tenderness and faith in the world, she said, 'Take care of Ciana, and come back to me."

I pulled her in for a kiss, pressed my forehead against hers and assured her, "I will, my love."

Immediately, the Beta snapped to attention and offered, "Alpha Black, if you tell me where this person

is, I’ll arrange the fastest transportation."

But I shook my head. "No, you can’t.'

Jake pleaded, "Please allow me to help, this is the least we could do.'

I smirked, "No, not that. Because the only person who can help Ciana is the White Queen."