Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1303 - 58 : Captive Again

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Chapter 1303: Chapter 58 : Captive Again

*Zara*

Groaning, I started regaining my senses, feeling myself come to and rubbing my head. At that point, I should be used to waking up in a fog like that. ๐š๐•ฃ๐ž๐—ฒ๐ฐ๐•–๐›๐ง๐• ๐•ง๐šŽ๐š•.๐œ๐š˜๐—บ

The scent of musty hay filled my nostrils as I sat up, taking in the room. We were lying on piles of the stuff, in a small area with bars over a high, narrow window.

I looked over to check on Lorelei, who was still asleep. Deciding that we may be in a bad situation, I leaned over and began to shake her.

โ€œHm?โ€ she murmured.

โ€œLorelei? Itโ€™s Zara. Weโ€™re somewhere else.โ€

Lorelei blinked her eyes open, sitting up and rubbing her head. โ€œSomewhere else? Where?โ€ she muttered.

โ€œI donโ€™t know.โ€

I looked around some more, spotting a heavy wooden door. Without waiting, I got up, stumbling before righting myself. Managing to get steady on my feet, I made my way there.

I tried the handle, but it was locked.

Great.

I shouldnโ€™t have been surprised.

Letting out a sigh, I took a few steps back and collapsed into the piles of hay, staring up at the ceiling. โ€œThereโ€™s no way out of this. I guess weโ€™ll find out what happened soon.โ€

โ€œThey couldnโ€™t have given us actual beds?โ€ Lorelei muttered.

โ€œWe donโ€™t even know who โ€˜theyโ€™ are.โ€

I tried to think about what exactly had happened, and I wondered why we had woken up alive rather than, well, entirely dead. I furrowed my brow, trying to piece together what had happened.

โ€œWe were planning on shifting and running the rest of the way through the Dark Forest,โ€ I said.

โ€œI remember that, yeah. We stopped to eat.โ€

โ€œAnd while we were eating, we got very, very tired.โ€

โ€œYeah, you were going to tell me how complicated things were,โ€ she said.

โ€œRight. And then they got infinitely more complicated,โ€ I said, trying to keep the mood somewhat light, even though I had a sinking feeling inside.

Lorelei managed a chuckle. โ€œUnderstatement.โ€

I gasped as a memory hit me. โ€œWolves. I saw wolves coming out of the woods before I passed out.โ€ I looked around, then furrowed my brow. โ€œWhoever has us didnโ€™t leave us with our provisions.โ€

Lorelei had just opened her mouth to respond when suddenly the sound of a click filled my ears, and the door handle jiggled. Lorelei and I stared at the wooden door as it proceeded to swing open.

We both gasped at the same time when we saw who came in.

It was the servant woman whoโ€™d helped us escape Silver Fang....

โ€œWhatโ€™s going on?! Can you help us out of here?โ€ I asked immediately, trying to stand up but staggering again.

The woman smirked, and I had a sinking feeling that the answer was definitely no. โ€œPoor, Zara. I regret to inform you that youโ€™re in a compound. Normally rogues arenโ€™t the easiest to work with, but this transaction went well,โ€ she said in a mocking tone.

I narrowed my eyes, my entire body tense as the realization hit me that our trust in this woman was going to lead to horrible repercussions.

Lorelei growled. โ€œHow could you? I thought we were close.โ€

โ€œWe were,โ€ the servant girl said with a shrug. โ€œBut this was an offer I couldnโ€™t refuse. You see, the priestess here is very interested in Zaraโ€™s lily operation.โ€

As if on cue, another woman I recognized walked into the room, staring us down with a cold gaze. My heart clenched in fear as my eyes fixed upon the priestess whoโ€™d given me the initial warnings about the lilies.

I thought things had been worked out and that the rogues had been stopped by the packs around the Dark Realm so the lilies could be shared.

Clearly, I was wrong.

The priestess placed a pouch of gold coins into the servant womanโ€™s hand, sending her away. โ€œThank you, your work is much appreciated,โ€ she said in a low tone. Then, her eyes fixed on us.

Lorelei was shaking with rage, but she held her tongue, her eyes falling on me. It was clear Iโ€™d need to be the one to get us out of there. I was the one the priestess wanted to speak with.

The priestess stared at me in silence for a moment before saying, โ€œApologies for your inconvenient detour. But it was necessary.โ€

โ€œInconvenient detour? We were drugged and dragged out to who the hell knows where!โ€ I said in an exasperated tone. โ€œWhat happened to diplomacy?โ€

โ€œDiplomacy didnโ€™t work,โ€ the priestess said. โ€œAnd I said sorry.โ€

I let out a sigh, wanting to mention that the โ€˜sorryโ€™ was clearly superficial and she could shove it right up where realm was the darkest, so to speak.

But I held my tongue, waiting for her to continue.

After another pause, she said, โ€œThis is about your Lily cultivation, as you probably suspected.โ€

โ€œYes, I suspected as much, from the monologue your accomplice gave,โ€ I said.

โ€œGood, so you understand the gravity of the situation, and how I am going out of my way to do this to emphasize the dangers of your Luna Lily cultivation.โ€

โ€œThe message is loud and clear.โ€

โ€œI hope that is true,โ€ she muttered. โ€œI want all production and distribution to cease immediately. You need to comply, and Egoren should agree. Your little trick to get them against my group will not work out in the end.โ€

I thought about arguing my case with her, but there were some battles I just couldnโ€™t fight. As with Alpha Daven, I knew it would be unwise in general to keep pushing.

Resigned, I nodded. โ€œAlright,โ€ I said. โ€œYouโ€™ve made your point loud and clear. Cultivation and distribution of the Luna Lilies will stop immediately.โ€

โ€œGood,โ€ the priestess said, sighing in relief. I raised a brow, hoping this would be the end of it and weโ€™d be released.

Unfortunately, that was not what happened.

โ€œBut with how stubborn your lot is with us, I do not believe it will be upheld. More must be done before you can be set free.โ€

โ€œShe agreed to your demands,โ€ Lorelei said in a soft voice.

She wasnโ€™t as outspoken as I was, and I felt a pang of appreciation for her trying to stick up for me.

The priestess fixed her eyes on Lorelei and shrugged. โ€œAnd she got everyone else in this mess involved,โ€ she said with a snarl. โ€œI donโ€™t believe for a damn second that her word will fix all.โ€

โ€œIf Iโ€™m able to communicate my situation and the dangers of the Luna Lily, they will,โ€ I said. โ€œCan you tell me specifically whatโ€“โ€

โ€œDoes it matter?โ€ she asked, her eyes snapping back to me.

I gulped, then shook my head. โ€œNo. You said your terms are to stop it due to it being dangerous. Therefore, we will. What more do you want from us?โ€

โ€œFrom you? Nothing more. I have what I want from you. You are not the ones with your fates in your hands now.โ€

She was being cryptic as hell again.

โ€œDo you ever say anything clearly?โ€ I asked her.

She glowered at me, then continued. โ€œUntil I get the same agreement from the Alpha of Drogomor and the palace of Egoren, you are to stay here. Clear enough?โ€

โ€œYes,โ€ I said, putting a hand on my forehead.

Now we were in a hostage situation, and once again, I was captured against my will. I wondered when I would ever be able to return home.

โ€œTo ensure cooperation while awaiting formal agreementsโ€”and trust me, word has been sent out by nowโ€”you and Lorelei of Silver Fang will remain imprisoned as leverage,โ€ she stated.

Lorelei winced, no doubt hating this situation and being described as a Silver Fang member as well. I had no doubt that she wanted to get as far from her pack as possible.

โ€œWhen we are set free, I would like to join Zara, not any Silver Fang pack members that may come here.โ€

โ€œFine,โ€ the priestess said. โ€œFor now, you two will need to make yourselves useful.โ€โ€™

I wondered what she meant by that.

I got my answer seconds later when a few rogues poured into the room, seizing us and dragging us out of the smelly chamber.

We were taken down a stone hallway, the rudimentary building dark and foreboding. Eventually, we were dropped into a musty room with piles upon piles of clothing.

โ€œYouโ€™ve got to be kidding me,โ€ I muttered.

โ€œWash,โ€ ordered one of the rogues gruffly. โ€œCook. We are behind. Youโ€™re going to fix that.โ€

With that, we were set to work on the laundry for the damn rogues. At first, I tried to make light of the situation. It could be worse, I thought.

โ€œWhat do rogues do that they have so much laundry?โ€ I muttered, glancing over to Lorelei.

โ€œRoll in mud? Have a contest as to who can dirty up their clothing the most?โ€ she muttered, wrinkling her nose at some piles of laundry. โ€œI donโ€™t want to know why the stains there are that color.โ€

I gave a half-hearted chuckle and got to work, the amount of dirty clothing there staggering. Lorelei and I tried to make conversation and joke back and forth for a while as we got to work.

We got about halfway through the exhausting laundry work when one of the rogues came in, growling, โ€œWeโ€™re hungry. Get to work in the kitchen. Now.โ€

Pots and pans clanged as we worked, rushing back and forth to prepare some stew, then the main course, then some extra helpings, then additional appetizers, then....

โ€œAre they bottomless pits?!โ€ Lorelei exclaimed. Exhaustion was radiating from her, emphasized by the deep frown she wore.

โ€œAt this point, it feels like it.โ€

โ€œHonestly, I regret leaving Silver Fang.โ€ Her tone was so bitter that I paused in my food preparations, looking over at her with misery in my gaze.

Weโ€™d been working for hours and hours with no breaks. When we tried to take a rest, the rogues didnโ€™t appreciate the silence and barged in, demanding that we get back to work.

I wanted to think that Silver Fang was worse than that, but I knew Iโ€™d be kidding myself. I couldnโ€™t blame Lorelei. She would be stressed being near Gray, but at least she wouldnโ€™t be slaving away for rogues.

My thoughts turned to Noah, and I closed my eyes, feeling a tear trickle down my cheek. Any attempt for humor or making light of the situation died, and I continued on in silence.

This nightmare just kept getting worse, with no end in sight... no relief.

Well, there had been relief offered to me, but I had turned it down. I cursed myself inwardly, despair swirling in the very pit of my soul at this point.

I knew that I should have gone with Noah when I had the chance. My feelings had been so negative, so heartbroken, that Iโ€™d foolishly thought Alpha Daven would keep his word.

It was obvious that Silver Fang was twisted and terrible, but ever the optimist, I had thought things could work out and Iโ€™d just be able to go home after the wedding.

I wished things had worked out between Noah and me. And I desperately wished Iโ€™d gone with him to at least give it more of a chance.

But it was too late for that.