Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 143: Letting Go of What's Gone

Soren froze.

I let out a breath of relief inwardly. Based on his reaction, it seemed he knew more about the White

Queen than us.

"What do you want to know about her?" he sighed after his short pause.

"As I mentioned before, Ciana was immune to me, but we don't think she is right now, or at a minimum

not as much as before."

He nodded to let me know he was listening.

"We of course dare not test it by risking her life without knowing why she wasn't impacted by me to

begin with. So far, all the information we gathered leads us to believe she was blessed by the White

Queen somehow, but that's as far as we got."

I sighed, "Only very recently we'd heard of the White Queen and believed that she may exist. Other

than that, we know nothing about her. Whatever you could share would be a great help."

I couldn't read exactly what his mixed emotions were, but whatever they were, it meant only one thing.

Soren Black had not only heard about this mysterious character, he might even know her well.

As expected, he chuckled lightly. “I was planning to tell Ciana when she turns twenty- one. Since she

isn't... ready, I’ll tell you, Your Majesty."

"Please."

He stood up and paced to the window. The sun had started setting, and the bright orange rays warmed

his features. He said in a tone as if he was telling a fairytale story from long ago, but I knew it was his

own memory.

"The White Queen does exist, just as the Dark King does. As crazy as it sounds, there is more than

one realm in this world, and where we are right now, is the Realm of Shadow, ruled by the Dark King

Lycaon and his descendants," he explained.

I added for him, "And the realm that the White Queen rules is the Realm of Light."

I'd heard that from Dottie once, and Jake's study of the scroll also confirmed that.

"Exactly. And that's where I was born!"

I gasped. He didn’t wait for me to say anything, and asked, “You want to know why Ciana was immune

to your deadly power?"

I nodded, waiting anxiously for his answer. However, all of a sudden, his eyes turned cold, and without

any reason or advance notice, he charged at me, a knife in his hand.

I paused for a second, trying to figure out what he was doing and how I should react. But he was too

fast.

Before I knew it, the blade shredded my gloves and then was thrust right toward my heart. Soren’s

movements were like lightning and all I could do was defend myself instinctively by grabbing his wrist.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" I grunted through clenched teeth.

"Not bad, Your Majesty," he smirked as I threw his hand, which was holding the knife, away from me.

He complimented, "You’re indeed a great warrior."

But I was extremely frustrated and didn't understand what it was all for. If he wasn't Ciana's father, I

might've had him thrown out of the palace.

Then I realized something crucial.

"You're also immune to me!" I exclaimed.

"That's right. As you can see, I too am immune to your power thanks to the White Queen. In fact, not

only did I know the White Queen in person, years ago, she blessed me with her blood before Ciana

was born. My daughter carries my blood, so she has the same blessing and immunity."

“Then... why did she lose that immunity?"

"Your Majesty, where do you think your power comes from? What do you think contains the most power

within you?” Soren asked me casually, like a teacher quizzing a student.

"My power comes from my bloodline. The part that contains most power within is...my blood?"

Soren nodded and smiled. "Correct. The same goes for the White Queen and those who accepted her

blessing."

Now everything made sense.

"That’s why Ciana's immunity weakened!" It was like a light bulb went off. I murmured, to him and to

myself, "Because she lost enough of her blood!"

My eyes lit up with hope and I couldn't hold back the trembling in my voice. "Then, does it mean that as

long as the White Queen is willing to help Ciana by blessing her again with her sacred blood, she could

have her immunity back?"

Soren nodded, "I believe so."

"That’s... that’s amazing news!" I started pacing impatiently. It was such good news, and I could sense

the hope in the air!

"Then how can we reach out to the White Queen?" I urged.

"Your Majesty, the two realms are two completely different worlds. They each have their own space and

sometimes even rules. No normal transportation could take you there."

That was what I thought too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have just recently heard of the White Queen and the

Realm of Light.

"The only way to get there is through some sort of a gap between the realms, a magical portal, so to

speak. With the right artifacts, it can take us to the Realm of Light. Not many know of it or how to

access it. I've kept it a secret for a long, long time myself."

Some bothersome thoughts flashed through my mind, but I couldn't catch them. All my being was

overwhelmed by the great news that there was a way to solve the biggest obstacle between Ciana and

I. If this worked, not only Ciana would be safe from me, but also our child!

I couldn't wait even one second longer!

"Alpha Black, when can we leave? The earlier we can get Ciana her immunity back, the safer she

would be from me. By the way, I could not thank you enough for trusting me with this knowledge!"

"I trust you because Ciana is also my daughter," he smiled, "and you are not your father."

I stilled for a moment and was at a loss for words, swallowing a lump in my throat.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. Although we'd only met for a short period of time, and we still hadn't

gotten to an agreement on whether I could court his daughter, Soren had earned my gratitude.

Any adventurous explorers were obligated to inform the royal court of new territories. Soren, however,

kept it a secret to himself. I was sure he had many reasons to do so, but one of the most important

reasons was probably to protect the Realm of Light

from the Lycaon bloodline, people like Sebastian and me.

Yet, he chose to be honest about his homeworld with me. I'd forever be honored and grateful for that

trust.

"However, young king, unfortunately, the portal isn’t something that stays in one place waiting for

anyone to walk in and out at will."

"You mean, it moves?"

He nodded. "Yes, and while I was able to go back and forth between the two realms, the last time I did

that was many years ago. The next time I tried to go back there again, it was already gone. I have been

looking for it ever since but I haven't been able to find the portal again."

I remembered the stories that the 12-year-old Ciana told me about her family trips all over the world,

and the recent years when the Alpha and Luna of Alvar pack would "travel" a few months every year.

Was that because he'd been investigating the location of the portal?

My heart sank. It was a cold bucket of water dumped right over my spark of hope. Soren had spent the

last twenty years without luck, how much longer would we need?

Five years, ten years? Even if I would be patient, was it fair to Ciana and our unborn child that I couldn't

even touch them?

"Also, please handle the portal subject with delicacy. It should not be public knowledge."

Then I suddenly remembered what that bothersome thought was. This wasn't the first time I heard

about a "portal"!

“Alpha Black, does the portal always connect to the Realm of Light?"

"In my experience, yes."

"Then does it feel all dark and cold, and.Jifeless?"

He paused for a moment and asked surprisingly, "Not to my knowledge. Why do you ask?"

I explained what we saw that day in our final battle with Luther and that Warren and Jake had also told

us that the source of the chill-to-the-bone darkness was also a “portal".

His face turned deadly serious. "Under no circumstances should two moons exist at the same time. I

don't know it for sure, but if what you said was truly a portal, I'd say it is not meant to be opened at all."

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Warren burst into my office without waiting for a reply.

I noticed Warren's windswept, frenzied appearance.

"Warren, what's wrong?"

"Ciana has run away!" he panted.

"What!?" Soren and I cried together.

***

*Ciana*

I couldn't stay in the palace anymore, and if Dad was on his way, I might as well run into him on my

way out.

I couldn't stay in a place I had no memory of. I couldn't live with everyone else telling me who I was

supposed to be and what I was supposed to feel.

Especially, I couldn't allow myself to fall for the king who used to have a harem, yet tried to convince

me that I was the most important woman in his life.

I slipped out of the gardens, smiling to myself. It was easy to sneak away while the king was busy.

Whoever he was meeting with, that person must be important, and I owed him or her a big thank-you

for keeping Theo distracted.

As soon as I made it out of the palace walls, I giggled giddily and held my arms out to the world.

"I'm not going to be trapped in a palace. I want the whole wide world. Hooray!" I cheered triumphantly,

jumping into the air with a whoop.

Traveling on foot was a little slow but I remembered the roads from the maps I'd studied in the library.

With a grin on my face, I skipped down the road, looking forward to all the places I could go and

explore. I was free!

After a short while on the road, I spotted the outskirts of a town and hurried towards it. I could rest my

feet and grab a drink and maybe a bite to eat. As soon as I stepped onto the town square, the outdoor

market sucked me in.

I had enough coins on me to pick up a cool drink that was fizzy and sweet. The taste of mango and

honey lingered in my mouth after I finished it and went to look over the dresses and accessories. Just

being out here exploring was so much fun and I'd

definitely been missing it!

As I lifted a string of pearls to my neck and looked at myself in the mirror, a strange movement in the

corner of my eye caught my attention. A slow feeling crept over me. It felt as if someone was watching

me and I wondered if Theo's royal guard had followed me. I decided that it was time for me to move

along.

I took several twists and turns through town to lose whoever might be following me and darted into the

woods as soon as possible. It took several minutes of walking amongst the cool foliage before I began

to relax, but I was too optimistic.

Rustle. Rustle.

I froze and glanced sideways at the bushes by the side of the road. There was no wind and only one

bush was rustling.

Someone was following me.

My father had taught me all kinds of self-defense. I knew not to let them know that I knew they were

there too soon.

Shrugging, I started walking again, acting like I didn't think anything was wrong.

I only made it a few more steps before someone lunged out of the bushes and tackled me.

"Ack!" I cried as their body slammed into me.

My brain rattled in my skull as I hit the ground hard.

"Fuck," I groaned, grabbing my head. I sat up slowly, feeling a little woozy.

When I looked up, I saw Hawke standing over me. His eyes were bloodshot, spit flying from his mouth

as he exhaled.

His arms hung limply at his sides, twisted at an impossible angle. Like they'd been broken and healed

all wrong.

"Hawke?" I asked, squinting up at him, the sun started to dim behind him.

"I've been waiting for the chance to get you alone," he snarled.