Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 104 : Someone Wants Us Dead

*Soren*

I woke up and saw sunlight across the bedroom. It was the first sunlight I'd seen in days!

I smiled and hugged Mila. She was curled into the crook of my body. Sighing, I nuzzled my nose on the back of her neck and slipped my hands over her belly.

Mila giggled and squirmed in my grasp.

"What has you in such a good mood?"

“The sun is out," I said, nibbling lightly on the back of her neck.

She giggled again and turned in my arms, facing me. I gasped and pushed some hair from her face. "And now, it is even better because I can look at your beautiful face.”

Mila bit her lower lip, her cheeks turning crimson. Her eyes roamed over me and she drank me in. I got the sense that she felt the same about seeing me in the morning as I felt about seeing her.

I could feel her heart beating in her chest, erratically. Every now and then it skipped a beat.

“I can't get used to it," she whispered.

“Get used to what?" I arched an eyebrow.

"How handsome you are..."

I chuckled and shook my head. Swooping my arms around her, I hugged her close, burying my face in the crook of her neck.

"Soren."

Mila ran her fingers through my hair and kissed the side of my head.

I growled. “I didn't thank you last night.”

“Thank me for what?"

“Mila, this baby..." I put my hands on her stomach. “It means the world to me. You both do. So, thank you, for being the mother of my child.”

Mila gasped in my ear, her arms tightening around me.

I smiled, kissing her shoulder and her neck. The sunlight seemed to have her in a good mood, too. “Now that the sun is out, we should be able to leave soon,” I told her.

"Good, because I can't wait to go home.”

“Then let's get ready. Charles is awake, he can handle things for now. It is time for us to go. We have a lot to do to get ready for the baby.”

I threw the covers back.

Mila groaned and grabbed at the sheets. “Do we have to?"

“Soren, are you awake yet?" Thomas's voice came through the mindlink.

I pursed my lips. Mila immediately picked up on my change of mood.

"What?" she mouthed to me. She sat up and touched my shoulder.

I tapped the side of my head and put a finger to my lips. She nodded.

“What is it, Thomas?" I mindlinked back.

“We need to talk... like now."

"What happened?”

There were few things in the world that Thomas would classify as urgent but his tone was filled with urgency. If it had him shaken, then it had to be big.

“Long story short... After Charles woke up, he told the others that there are basically no other Norwind survivors, except for the ones here... and Enzo told them that the packland is damaged. Some fighting broke out.”

"What kind of fighting?"

“The kind that split them into two groups. Half of them wanted to stay and rebuild the pack, the other half wanted to leave and make their own way."

I rubbed my forehead.

“That's unfortunate.”

"Well, I tried to tell you last night but when I got to your room... I heard some... interesting sounds from your room," he relayed in a teasing tone. “I figured you were preoccupied with... your mate... and I didn't want to interrupt.”

I cleared my throat.

"Soren, what is it?" Mila asked. “Is everything okay?"

I nodded and cupped her face. Leaning in, I kissed her forehead.

“Don't worry, everything will be fine. Thomas is looking for me... We've got a few things to take care of. Why don't you go back to sleep and rest some more? It is good for you and the baby."

“If something is wrong, Soren, I want to help.”

“It's nothing. I'll talk to Thomas and get breakfast ready."

She smiled lightly and nodded, lying back on the bed. I gave her a quick kiss and got up to take a shower.

Once the water was beating down, I contacted Thomas again through the mindlink.

“I know this isn't great news but we can't fix all of Norwind. Now that Charles is awake, he is an elder and they'll have to sort this out themselves.”

“I know, Soren, but..."

"What did Charles say when the others wanted to leave?"

"He suggested they wait a week to see what happens with the water. Then they can reevaluate the damage to the packland and make a decision together.”

“That's what I would do. If that was the suggestion, then what is the problem?"

From what Thomas said, it seemed like Charles was already taking control of the situation. So far, he hadn't told me anything about Charles being unable to handle things.

"Give me some credit,” Thomas teased. “If all that happened was a little dispute, do you think I'd be interrupting your lazy morning?"

"What else happened?”

I toweled off and grabbed my clothes from the back of the bathroom door.

"Before we knew what was happening, the people that wanted to leave stole our boats and all the food rations we had in storage. They vanished into the night!"

“What!?"

Now, that was news!

"Give me two minutes, I'll be right down.”

“Soren, that's only half the problem.”

I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, glaring. What could possibly be worse than us getting stranded here without any food?

"How so?"

“The people that left... we found them this morning... dead...”

“Damn! I'm on my way."

Mila insisted on coming with me after I told her that half of the refugees had been killed in the night. Thomas gave me instructions on where to find him and the others.

We met them near the border of town where several bodies were scattered.

There was no sign of the boats or stolen food. That meant these bodies were a message. They'd been placed here on purpose, not killed here.

“I know you were eager to leave, Mila, but we need to find out what these deaths mean,” I told Mila after finishing the brief update.

“Il know."

I looped my arm around her shoulders and reached out to Thomas with the mindlink.

“Thomas, I want you to go back to the mountain and look for any evidence. Be discreet. I have a hunch and I want you to confirm it."

"Yes, Alpha."

Many of the Norwind survivors had gathered, except for the kids. I'd made sure Enzo and my soldiers kept the kids at the packhouse. They didn't need to see this kind of c*****e.

“I don't understand...” someone murmured.

"How did this happen...”

“They got what they deserved. This is the Moon Goddess's justice for what they did to us!"

Lilian was there, too. She stared blankly into the flood waters; her eyes distant.

I could see different reactions from the gathered adults. Some were angry, others looked lost and grief stricken. It was hard to determine what they were feeling and why.

I approached Lilian, keeping Mila at my side.

There was a body in the water that Lilian was staring at. Her sister, Angelica... an arrow had pierced her body and was still stuck through her heart.

“My sister..."

“She wanted to leave?" I asked.

Lilian looked at me and sighed. “I told her we should stay and follow Charles's guidance. As a mother, it made more sense than trying to take my son off into the unknown. She didn't agree... She wanted a fresh start.”

“I'm sorry, Lilian," Mila said, hugging the other woman.

"What are we going to do? If we stay, it means hard work to restore the packland and... but we can't leave, not now..."

"You can't seriously be grieving their loss,” another woman butted into Lilian's sadness.

“They betrayed us! Instead of working to help the whole pack, they stole our food and fled!"

“They left us nothing!"

“Look, I understand that this is an explosive situation,” I said, holding my hands up. “You were mad that they stole the food and ran off, abandoning you. But instead of anger, you're facing grief because they are all dead.”

I could sense the tension among the remaining Norwind members. They were confused about what to feel.

How were they supposed to feel?

Betrayal, anger, and grief all rolled together without any outlet. It had to burn in so many ways. They were stuck and they'd torture themselves for answers about why and how forever.

“Alpha,” Thomas broke into my thoughts with the mindlink.

“What did you find?"

His voice became somber. “I'm afraid your guess was right... they're still here..."

“Thank you. Head back now."

I sighed heavily and held my hands up again to try and silence everyone.

They were a powder keg waiting to go off, and the news Thomas gave me would ignite panic and terror. They'd fully explode.

Mila could sense the change that came over me and she tried to catch my eye. For the moment, I didn't make eye contact.

Charles came over to us, bowing his head. “Thank you for coming. You didn't need to."

"You just woke up from a coma, this is a lot to handle,” I said, waving off his concerns.

"Why did this happen?” Lilian asked, her voice trembling.

"Why? Because those selfish assholes only care about themselves! Stop mourning those traitors!" “She was my sister!" Lilian snapped.

I clenched my fists. Already, tensions were rising. There would be infighting soon and even more panic. I had to try and diffuse the situation.

“They don't deserve your grief, Lilian!"

“Do you think she thought of you as her sister when she left you and your son here to starve?" someone asked.

“She's dead. What more do you want from her?" Lilian snapped.

"How about some food? Sure, they died, but they also took our only food! It is useless now. If they wanted to get themselves killed, that's their business, but they didn't need to leave us to die too!" Murmurs of agreement went through the crowd.

I glanced at Charles and he nodded.

"Everyone, listen to me,” he shouted. “You're focusing on the wrong thing!”

I put my arm around Mila and hugged her close. We gave Charles our full attention to show respect. I hoped it would get the others to fall in line.

“Let's put aside our emotions for a moment and focus on the key problems. First and most importantly, how did they die...?"

"Arrows!" someone snapped.

I shook my head.

“That's not what I meant,” Charles argued.

"What does it matter? They got what they deserved!"

I stepped away from Mila and stood beside Charles. The murmurs quieted and everyone stared at me. My presence was more intimidating than Charles's. I'd help him keep things under control.

“It matters because these people were killed trying to get out of Norwind. Look around, there are no boats, the food isn't here. These bodies were planted as a warning to us. We're all stuck here, me and my men included,” I said.

"Someone wants to bury us, along with any memories of Norwind. We have to be careful or it will be us next," Charles added.

I glanced sideways at him. I wasn't sure if he'd guess who that “someone” was. Charles didn't ask and he didn't offer any theories, so I remained silent.

If they knew what I suspected, they'd panic and emotions would be even more out of control. "Exactly. We are lucky right now... the flood waters are keeping whoever “they” are away from us. In a boat on the water, we'd be easy targets,” I said.

"Sooner or later, the roads will clear. We need a plan before then,” Charles agreed with a nod. Wes”

Lilian clenched her fists and glared. “Who... who would want to kill all of us? What did we do!?" “Perhaps it is the same people that blew up the mountain, " I suggested.

“Do you know who that is?" Lilian asked.

Slowly, I shook my head. I looked at Mila and she nodded. I could see it in her eyes. She'd come to the same conclusion as me.

The one who wanted to kill them all was... The Alpha King.

#