Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

*Oliver*

Adrian was a stealthy wolf, his fur a blazing gold that caught the moonlight as he trotted ahead of me.

I was much, much larger than him, and he knew it. When Xander had kicked us out of that stolen truck,

and we'd made a break for the hills, we'd shifted almost immediately. I was big, red, and looked rather

intimidating, in my humble opinion. Adrian hadn't looked at me without his ears pinned back against his

head since the second he turned his head to look at me the first time, and I took that as a compliment.

But the dick-measuring contest between us didn't last long. We'd only retreated far enough away to

size up whatever threat Xander was facing so we could shift and fight.

But some unearthly demon from the depths of hell itself had dropped out of the sky right in front of us

and plucked the distant figure of Xander from the ground, disappearing into the clouds in a shadow of

bat-like wings.

Adrian and I couldn't mind-link with each other, being from different packs and, well, different realms.

But the look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

We were fucked–royally. And Xander had definitely been eaten by whatever had taken him, of that I

was sure.

Adrian hadn't wasted any time. I followed him blindly into the rolling, barren hills. I knew he was going

to Crimson Creek. I knew I could trust him to find Lena because she was his Alpha's mate.

But I'd never been this far west before. George had been the one to travel to Crimson Creek when the

Alpha of Breles asked for an ambassador from the Alpha King to follow up on the investigation taking

place there.

Lena was an i***t for thinking George wouldn't talk about the fact she was there. It was the first thing

he'd said when he arrived back in Breles, where he'd met with Alpha King Eugene and my uncle, Alpha

King Rowan.

Rowan damn near burned Morhan University to the ground when he found out, and he had a full

investigation ordered into the inner workings of the university, coming up with stack upon stack of

wrongdoings that eventually cost the dean and the administration their jobs.

But he'd never once stopped Lena. He hadn't sent a single warrior to Crimson Creek to protect her,

even in secret.

He trusted her. Or he was scared of her. I honestly wasn't sure which.

Whatever the case, nothing much had come from the investigation in Crimson Creek… at least, nothing

like what Adrian and Xander had explained to me.

And now we were running right into the thick of it with no backup, no warriors, and no way to

communicate with each other.

It took hours to reach Crimson Creek, and the day was fading into dusk when we reached the outskirts

of the town.

It was barely a town–not even a village. A single street was lined with buildings made of stone; that was

it. Large manors dotted the barren landscape in the distance, but otherwise, it was… desolate and

empty.

It looked like it had been abandoned for a while. Pieces of trash drifted in the breeze, rolling over the

cobblestone street as we padded along, peering into dusted windows that reflected a stunning sunset.

Rays of gold and fuschia blazed in the sky above us as I stopped in front of what looked like a hotel

and pressed my snout to the glass. There was a restaurant, it seemed, but the chairs were toppled

over, rotting food left on the tables and evaporated glasses of wine sat untouched.

Where was everyone? Every single building was empty.

Adrian yipped ahead of me, and I turned my head to see him waiting for me in the distance. He lowered

his head, whipping his tail as he willed me to follow him, and I did.

***

Gideon was not what I was expecting he'd be based on Xander's and Adrian's descriptions. He was a

vampire of sorts, and in my defense I knew very little about their kind, but he didn't have fangs or

molted skin.

He was a small, slight man, and roughly my age. He had a handful of brothers, too. It was his sister

who was the most interesting of the group of pale, dark haired people we'd come upon in the hills on

the very edge of Crimson Creek's territory well into the night, a full day after Xander had been taken.

Alma was her name. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she was striking, to say the least. She'd

nearly killed us both the second we stepped foot, or paw, on the property, and we'd shifted back,

covering our nakedness with our hands while we pleaded with her and tried our best to explain what

had happened to Xander, and what we were doing there.

She'd given us clothes and food, and soon we found ourselves sitting in their somewhat dilapidated

living room in front of a blazing hearth, full and warm.

None of them would speak of what they knew about where Xander and Lena might be. Adrian and I

had spent the entire day combing the town and the hills surrounding it. We'd even gone to the Radcliffe

Estate, where Lena and Xander had spent several weeks working as field hands.

There was no sign of them, nothing… not a single shred of evidence.

Adrian was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, tapping his fingers against his leg.

Gideon was sitting opposite us, watching us both closely as Alma busied herself with tidying up the

room.

“Where is everyone?" Adrian finally asked, and Gideon inhaled, glancing at Alma before crossing his

legs and leaning back in his armchair.

“Gone, and for some time now. I don't know where."

“Everyone just up and left?" I replied, and Gideon's eyes met mine with a steely, dark embrace.

“Yes, as they should have done long ago," Alma said quietly, her voice barely a whisper over the hearth

as she swept the floor with a broom. “I assume it's been explained what we are, and why we're here?"

“Yes," Adrian replied before I could open my mouth and ask the burning questions lingering on the tip

of my tongue.

Do you drink blood? Can you read minds? If you walk by a mirror, can you see your reflection?

“Then you'll know the kind of danger our class of Vamps are in," Gideon said as he crossed his arms

over his chest. I raised my brows, looking at Adrian for clarifications, but he had his eyes narrowed

suspiciously on Gideon.

I waited for someone, anyone, to speak.

Finally, Adrian asked, “Why are you still here, and everyone else has gone?"

“Because our family has held this property for longer than most packs in this land have been in

existence," Gideon replied, stone-faced.

I glanced at Adrian, still wondering what the hell they were talking about. Vampires? In the pack lands?

For how long?

“Prince Oliver," Alma chimed in, her voice low and gentle.

I looked up at her as she leaned on the broom, her dark eyes piercing mine as though she could see

my thoughts, my very soul. “What happens now is war, and your kind does not have the forces to

defend themselves. Once King Nikolas finds a way into this realm, he will unleash hell."

“Of course we have the forces to defend ourselves," I said, not bothering to hide the hint of malice in

my voice. “We already have an army in Breles–"

“That is barely holding onto the territory during the day, let alone at night when the hybrid beast attacks

your camps." Alma's voice cut through the air like a knife, and I surrendered to the darkness that fell

over the group.

“How many?" Adrian asked, looking exceedingly exhausted.

Gideon bit his bottom lip. “Tens of thousands of lower vampires, like myself, who still reside in the realm

of night and will be forced to fight. The High Vampires, the lords and gods… hundreds, maybe less. But

they will be the ones commanding the army, and their power is out of the scope of what you can even

comprehend."

“Then we need to know what we're up against," Adrian bit out, running his hands down the length of his

thighs to rest on his knees.

I swallowed as I looked from Gideon to Alma, to the two unnamed brothers who watched us as they

leaned against the far wall.

“What are the hybrids, exactly?" I asked, thinking of the winged beast who'd taken Xander the night

before.

Alma adjusted her weight as Gideon cleared his throat, a look of terror flashing momentarily behind his

eyes.

“Shifters, like yourself. They're turned into what they are by High Vampires, by the Lords. Something

about the combination creates… mutants. Beasts with extraordinary power that can only be controlled

by the Lord that created them. The winged beast you saw," Gideon said as he pointed at us, his face

flushing with color, “was created by the king himself. King Nikolas has the power of flight, and he

passed that on to his chosen hybrid. That beast in particular… his name used to be Seamus. He came

to Crimson Creek a hundred years ago or so–"

“Immortal?" Adrian asked, his voice all business, but I could see the apprehension in his eyes.

A flash of a smile touched Gideon's lips, but he shook his head. “Not like the Lords. But they do live a

long time like we do."

“How old are you?" I asked without a moment's hesitation.

Gideon met my eye. “Two hundred something. I've lost count."

“How long does your class live?" Adrien pressed, and it was Alma who replied.

“Centuries, if we have enough food. Our family doesn't pray upon shifters, but we do hunt animals and

take blood root. It's enough for a long life."

Xander had explained what blood root was, and I had noticed an odd, acrid taste to the food we'd been

served when we arrived at Gideon's house. I ran my tongue along the inside of my lower lip, my

stomach clenching at the leftover metallic taste. Alma was watching, and huffed a short laugh.

“It's not harmful to you, prince. Not with your White Queen blood."

“What about him?" I said, jabbing a thumb toward Adrian, whose brow was furrowed in sudden shock.

Alma sighed deeply as she set her broom against the wall and walked around the couch, sinking into

the cushions next to Gideon.

“There was once only one realm, the realm of the gods. Legend has it they were bored, and created a

new realm as their plaything… your realm, to be exact," Alma began, smoothing the fabric of her skirt

over her thighs. “They created people in their own image, and for thousands of years people toiled and

struggled, until Leto."

“The Moon Goddess," I cut in, and Alma nodded.

“Before she was the Goddess, she was only a mere, mortal human. The God of the Night fell in love

with her and gifted her with his powers under a cloak of secrecy. But with his gift, she found her mate, a

mortal man who was not the God of Night. The God of Night felt her despair and gifted her the

moonstone, cementing her status as one of the gods, which infuriated the others. The God of the Night

was cast out of their realm, doomed to rule in a realm of Nightmares from which he couldn't escape.

Through his fury, his powers twisted and turned sour and deathly. He created the people of his realm in

his new image, and thus vampires were born–"

A thunderous shutter rang out through the hills outside the house, followed by a shockwave that

shattered the windows. We dove to the floor, covering our necks as glass rained down on us. Gideon

was up in an instant, running toward the window.

I rose to my knees and looked over the top of the couch as a great white light faded in the distance,

followed by what looked like a waterfall of stars.

Gideon turned around, his face twisted in terror.

“She did it. She opened up the realms to each other."