Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 193 Rosalie to the Rescue
“Are you okay?” Soren asked, “You seemed… upset.”
“I’m okay.” I said, though it wasn’t quite true. I was disturbed by the dream. I looked over at Ethan. He was still asleep, but I could see his eyes shifting now…
“I received word that they had pinpointed a few suspects as spies and are monitoring their actions right now. Also, the rescue team is here to meet you,” Soren told me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“I’ve been watching Ethan, and I think he’s about to wake up,” Soren continued.
He was right. Ethan’s eyelashes were fluttering quite a bit too. He was going to wake up. Then what?
“… should go,” I said.
“What?” Soren was confused. “Why?”
Ethan began to mumble a bit, but I wasn’t ready to face him. What if… he really never loved me?
“I gotta go,” I told Soren. My tone was rushed.
“But Rosalie, I can go instead….” Soren grabbed my wrist.
I pulled my hand back and quickly gave him my reasoning. “First, you’re still recovering from your injury from Behar. The fight yesterday didn’t help. You need to rest. Second, my blood can help any of the wounded ones. Can yours?”
He couldn’t argue with me and he let go, seemingly disappointed at himself. I took one more look at Ethan. His dark and thick eyelashes were quivering a lot.
My throat was tight. I was anxious to see Ethan again, but I needed some time to think about how I should face him… “Just tell him I said I’m glad he’s awake,” I said and turned to leave the cave.
I didn’t quite get to the exit before I heard Ethan’s weak voice say, “Soren? Where am I…?”
I said a prayer to the Goddess, thanking her that the flower had worked… and then, I took a deep breath and fled the cave like a coward.
Yes… I was a coward. I didn’t have the courage to face Ethan at the moment. I told myself that it was because I needed to bring his sister and his Beta safely back to him.
Letting out a breath of relief, I was somewhat grateful that I had a valid reason to run away from him for the time being.
Outside of the cave, the rescue team had been waiting for me already.
“Everyone follow me!” I shouted. “We have a day of running ahead of us. Our comrades are waiting for us, and there’s not a moment to waste!”
Howls were the only responses I received. I shifted into my wolf again, ready to do whatever it took to rescue Georgia and Talon.
Then… we ran.
We got back to the open field where Moonlight Lily bloomed as fast as we could, but when I saw a few dozen lifeless wolves laid on the ground, my heart sank. I forced myself to examine the bodies. Most of them seemed to be rogues, thankfully, but I did recognize three warriors from my pack.
I left them here… and they died for me. I howled toward the moon to express my sorrow.
‘Your Majesty,’ Jace comforted me, ‘there’s nothing more honorable than fighting until the last breath on the battlefield against the enemies of their queen…’
I tried to return a smile, but I realized that he might not be able to tell with my wolf face. So, I only nodded my head
Thank the Goddess that I didn’t see Georgia or Talon among the bodies.
We stopped, and I listened carefully. There were no growls or snarls anymore, so the battle must’ve been done already. I pushed my sadness aside and concentrated my hearing and smelling on searching for the rest of our warriors.
Where could Georgia and Talon be?
The footprints on the ground showed that the battle was spread into the woods in different directions.
I found an opportunity to shift back to my human form and put on a change of clothes. There were wolves that I couldn’t mindlink with, and I needed to make sure everyone understood what needed to be done next.
I already knew the answer, but I asked Ethan’s pack members anyway, “Any luck with mindlink?”
They shook their heads. That meant… either Talon and Georgia were not around, or they were not conscious. Either way, it was not good news.
I thought for a moment, then instructed, “Everyone, let’s scatter out in pairs to search for them. If we find any clues, howl three times in a row as the signal if you can’t mindlink, so that the rest of us will go there immediately. If we hear more than one such signal, then let’s all get back here to regroup.”
As I spoke, I handed out vials of my blood tied on thin ropes and hung them on their wolf heads. “Take these and use them as needed.”
They nodded and dashed into the nearby forest in different directions in groups of two. I was quite tired, so I didn’t shift back to wolf.
“Jace, you come with me.” I hopped on his back and we started running into the woods.
I could only pray that we weren’t too late. However, after more than half an hour, there was still no clue.
Where could they be?
All of a sudden, a hint of silver light caught my attention, and I picked up a knife from the ground. I recognized the knife. It was Georgia’s!
Hopefully, they were nearby! I hopped down and checked for footprints nearby while Jace sniffed the air. Georgia, Talon, please be okay…
Jace nuzzled me and started running through the woods. He didn’t go far before I caught up. I saw a familiar wolf laying under a tree-even though he was not moving, his body was wrapped around a female figure. Even in his unconsciousness, he was still protecting her as much as he could.
“Talon, Georgia!” I cried out.
Jace had shifted back to his human body and checked on Georgia, who was covered in blood. I burst into tears when she murmured, “Jace… Rosalie.”
“Don’t move!” Jace helped her up. She was vulnerable now.
She looked at me and urged, “Rosalie, help Talon!”
Talon’s heartbeat was faint. I cut open my arm without hesitation. Thankfully, after getting some of my blood into him, his breathing smoothed and his wound started to heal.
I gave Georgia a nod and assured her, “Talon should be fine now. Don’t worry. How do you feel?”
Georgia finally let out the breath she was holding and collapsed back into Jace’s arms as he was supporting her. “I’m okay,” she said and gritted her teeth added, “that f*cking Madalynn! Don’t ever let me run into her again!”
“Georgia, I was so worried about you!” Jace gave her a gentle squeeze while I checked out her injuries with tears in his eyes.
Thankfully, most of the blood on her seemed to be someone else’s.
Georgia first said to me, “Rosalie, there should be others nearby. We were all exhausted. Hopefully, most of them also made it through!” Then she turned to Jace and teased, “Hey, I’d never known you were capable of having tears!”
Jace’s face turned a little red and he pretended to snarl at Georgia, who then softened her voice. “Give me a hug. It’s so good to see you again, Jace…” Georgia finally regained some strength and could sit up by herself. While the two of them gave each other a friendly embrace, I saw Talon open his wolf eyes.
I told Georgia and Talon, “Jace and I will go find others now. You two get some rest. We’ll be back soon.”
The rest of the rescue went smoothly. We were able to locate the rest of the group. Six were severely wounded, but at least they would be able to make it through.
We decided it would be best for everyone to get a good night of rest before we take our trip back to the palace
The tents were set up. I walked back to where Georgia and Talon were resting, thinking she and I could share a tent so that we could catch up on Ethan and the situation in the palace.
“Georgia, the tent is ready.” However, my words caught in my throat halfway through
“What the f*ck are you talking about? Why are you acting like this?” That was Georgia’s voice, she was annoyed.
Toward Talon? Why? I always thought the two of them got along quite well, plus, no one could get frustrated with Talon. He was always such a patient and polite gentleman…
Talon must have shifted back to human. His voice was calm, but I could sense pain in it. “You don’t need to stay in the same tent as me tonight. I can take care of myself. I protected you because you’re Ethan’s sister. It’s my role. Jace was really worried about you, and he must have missed you a lot…”
I was beyond confused. Did Talon misunderstand Georgia and Jace’s friendship? The two had been fighting hand in hand ever since Georgia came to Winter Forest pack, they were like best battle buddies.
I chuckled and was about to announce myself when I saw Georgia get up. Her expression was beyond furious and frustrated.
I ran out to stop Georgia from punching Talon in the face, and then…
I was shocked at what I was seeing.
Georgia kneeled next to Talon as he was in his sitting position. She grabbed his face and planted her lips on his. Her weight was on his body and he was slumped against a tree….
Talon was just as dumbfounded as me by the kiss.
My eyes bulged from my head, and I froze there a few steps from them. “Now are you still worried about Jace?” Georgia tried to make herself sound angry, but she probably didn’t know that her tone was so inviting that if I were Talon, I wouldn’t be able to resist kissing her again.
As expected, Talon crushed against her lips again. She looped her arms around his neck, and he held her tightly against his body. The two of them kissed each other passionately.
I stood there and tried to figure out a way to sneak out without them noticing, but as I started to retreat into the woods, my feet crushed a few crispy dry leaves on the ground.
Oh well, so much for sneaking out then. They heard the sound, separated and turned to look at me.
“Busted!” Georgia said, laughing, but her face was turning bright pink. “Sorry, Rosalie.”
“No, no! I’m sorry!” I covered my face, uselessly trying to pretend I hadn’t been there. “You guys…you guys continue!”
Talon’s face was burning red all the way to the tip of his ears, while Georgia burst out laughing
“Rosalie, come back!” She waved at me and chuckled. “Why are you running away? Were you looking for me for something?”
“Oh, yeah, I wanted to wanted to let you know that tents are ready.” I stuttered. She looked at Talon. “So, what do you say? Are you sharing a tent with me? This is the only chance you’ll have.”
Talon’s lips opened and closed a few times. Eventually he nodded, though he still didn’t make a sound.
Georgia smiled and answered for him. “I’m not sure what that nod meant, but I’ll take it as a yes.”
Go Georgia!
That was what I wanted to yell out. I was so happy for her, and so proud of her. She hadn’t gotten her wolf yet, so she probably wouldn’t know exactly who would be her mate. However, it seemed that she knew what she wanted and would pursue her own happiness no matter what.
Luckily, based on Talon’s reaction, he must have been in love with her for a while…
“Are you okay, Rosalie?”
“Ye…yes. I’m just so happy for you,” I smiled.
Yes, I was unbelievably happy for them. I cared so much about both of them, and to know that they had found one another made my heart so happy.
However, seeing them made my mind go to Ethan.
Was he still lying back there on that makeshift bed in the cave, or was he up now? I hadn’t even been able to tell him how much I cared about him. He’d risked his life for me, but he also said he never loved me…
In a day, I’d be back at the palace. How should I interact with him? I hadn’t been exactly nice to him ever since we met again in the northern tier…I’d done many things and said many words to hurt him, just like he did to me…
Was there any possibility that we could start this all over again?
The more I understood my love for him, the more I was afraid to face him, because I knew I couldn’t afford to lose him again…
I sighed.
I wished I could be as brave as Georgia.