Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1273 - 28 : Another Rogue Attack

*Noah*

Anger surged through me as I realized Zara would have likely been killed had I not been here. The battle was brutal, and I was glad my guards had stayed back with her.

About ten rogues had taken on me and my guards. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

There were no deaths, but the wounds on some of us were great.

I had a large gash on my chest that I knew should be looked at, something that wouldn’t immediately heal.

Some of my guards had chunks taken out of their arms or legs from deep bite marks, not to mention, some loss of blood.

We’d need to stop by a healer to be evaluated after settling in here.

“I can see if my Alpha will send permanent guards for the cave and the local people here,” Zara said. “Are you alright?”

I nodded at the idea, then gave a shrug. “Utterly pissed,” I muttered, “but no worse for wear. And you?” I looked at her with concern.

“I’m fine,” she said honestly. She looked at the rogue we’d captured with disdain, narrowing her gaze. “The attack came out of nowhere. Let’s figure out what the hell is going on.”

We walked up to the rogue, and Zara was no-nonsense, just as I expected her to be. Though the rogue was restrained by the guards, I was completely tense, a scowl plastered on my face.

“Why did you attack us?” Zara said in a calm but firm voice. “This area is within my pack’s territory. Are you trying to challenge us?”

The rogue fixed his glare on Zara and bared his teeth. “You shouldn’t be growing the Luna Lilies,” he snapped.

Zara blinked, furrowing her brow. “Why?” she muttered. “It could help many people, and–”

“You shouldn’t be growing the lilies!” he shrieked, causing Zara to jump and me to growl.

I clenched my fist, ready to tear his throat out of he tried anything.

Zara took a moment to calm down. She took a deep breath, then focused. “Well, we’re not going to stop growing them,” she said in a serious tone.

I smirked, feeling pride swell in my chest on her behalf. I knew her headstrong attitude would show through, even in this situation, where the cryptic rogue was being off-putting.

“Fuck you,” the rogue spat. “You shouldn’t be growing them. It needs to stop, now. You need to stop. Or we will stop you.”

Zara said in a low tone, “You can try to stop us, but it will not matter. How about we negotiate? We can make plans to speak with your leader, and–”

“There will be no negotiations,” the rogue snarled.

“There will be if you don’t want every ally you send to potentially meet a grisly fate,” Zara said.

I echoed that. “You threaten any members of this pack, I will not hesitate to tear them to pieces alongside my guards. The matchmaker will continue to grow the lilies, whether you have a problem or not. You had best start talking, mangy bastard.”

The rogue spat toward me, and it was clear we weren’t going to get anything else out of him. I furrowed my brow, then looked at my guards.

“Tie him up,” I told them, shaking my head.

Zara and I then went to check on the team. Zara told them softly, “If you are concerned about the attack, I would understand if you need to leave.”

I nodded, and added, “You will receive payment for what you have already done.” I paused, then added, “Not a chance to refuse it.”

I winked at Zara, causing her to chuckle and roll her eyes. The leader of the excavation team shook his head.

“No, we want to see this through,” he said. “It’s not every day we have a chance to cultivate what had previously been thought to be a mythical flower.” He gave a smile. “But your protections are very appreciated.”

“And they will continue,” I assured him firmly, wiping some blood from the back of my hand onto my shirt.

I’d been about to add something, but suddenly heard more snarls coming from outside.

My guard shouted, “Sir! More rogues!”

Those people were serious about this. I cracked my neck, then glanced at Zara.

“You stay here like last time.” I looked at my guards. “Stay with her,” I said firmly.

With that, I rushed to the entrance of the cave, shifting and darting outside.

The clouds were gathering above, and rain started to patter as I lifted my nose, scenting the air. As reported, several different scents that most definitely did not belong to Zara’s pack hit me.

My mind remained on Zara, concern locked on my heart. If they got past me, Zara would be in danger. I needed to keep her safe.

I couldn’t figure out why the hell those rogues were so intent on stopping her work. Hopefully, we could get more information other than an angry rogue shouting that we needed to stop.

Maybe I could capture another one, I thought.

Glowing eyes fixed on me from the shadows as suddenly several wolves leaped out from the trees, rushing toward the cave.

I bared my fangs at the rogues, who now numbered about ten. Four of them surrounded me while six made haste toward the cave.

No way was I going to let that happen.

I lunged for one of the rogues, sinking my teeth into them and leaving a deep bite, but I didn’t stop to try and tear into them further.

Rather, I rushed to intercept the others, the thought of Zara getting harmed by those assholes causing even more anger to rush through me. I sank my jaws into the one closest to the cave.

I’d bitten into his leg, and I jerked back, causing his whimper to ring out through the air. More rogues tried to get to the cave, the ones who had been attacking me also following their companions, though they were targeting me.

The Drogomor guards successfully intercepted and chased off any rogue that got close enough to the cave to almost breach it.

In my case, my jaws locked on one of the rogue’s throats, nearly tearing through his jugular. He jerked away just in time to avoid fatal damage, but I didn’t press.

Rather, I moved on, leaping toward the next wolf trying to get into the cave. My teeth sank into another rogue, causing more whimpers to cascade through the air.

Jaws sank into my legs and my sides, clamping down and shaking. They were trying to tear me to pieces, but I knew it sure as hell wouldn’t work.

I overpowered them with my strength and teeth, which sent them running back into the woods with their tails between their legs. Panting, I shifted back, clenching my jaw.

Worry rushed through me again at how stressed this could be making Zara. Immediately, I returned to the cave. One of my warriors tossed me a spare shirt and pants, which I got on quickly before approaching her.

“You alright?” I asked.

“I was helping the others keep calm,” she said. “As for me, yes, I’m fine, but I’m worried. I should be asking if you are alright after an attack that followed so quickly after the first.”

“I’m fine,” I said honestly. I looked toward where the captured rogue had been tied up, only to let out a frustrated grow. He was gone. “But our captive got away.”

Zara and I walked over, inspecting the ropes that’d been chewed through.

One of the Drogomor guards approached, letting out a sigh. “Sorry, Noah,” he muttered. “We–”

“You were busy helping me and preventing the rogues from breaking into the cave. That’s what matters in the end,” I said firmly. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure this shit out.”

Zara rubbed at her arm. “Two rogue attacks... is this a good idea? I really want the Luna Lillies to keep on growing, but–”

“You have us,” I said firmly. “We’re not going anywhere, and I’ll fight off a hundred rogues to help you, Zara.”

The twinkle in Zara’s eye made my heart leap.

I sent a few guards to patrol and ensure no more attacks were coming. Thankfully, nothing further happened for the rest of the day.

When dusk fell, we would be getting ready to head back to Zara’s house. I walked with her through the temporary cave and the beginnings of the setup for the lilies for one more check.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her, knowing worry had been settling into her mind for a while now.

Zara rubbed her arm. “Anxious,” she muttered. “But appreciative of your help, Noah. I need to figure out how we’re going to move forward with this problem.”

“You?” I snorted. “What, are you going to snatch up another rogue when they attack again and propose a visit?”

“If that’s what it takes, yes,” she said.

I shook my head.

“Stubborn brat,” I said softly, without much bite to my words. Then, I grew serious. “Zara, you can’t take all of this on your shoulders. You have a baby to think about.”

“I can’t trouble the Alpha on this,” she said. “He has too much on his plate already, and I won’t be a hindrance to my pack.”

“That’s why you’re not in this alone. I’m coming with you.”

“What?!” she growled, turning to stare me down. “You have your own problems, you’re here to–”

“To gain experience, yes,” I said. “I want to go with you to negotiate. That will be good experience.”

I gave a confident grin, causing her to sigh.

“You’re something else. You know that?” she said.

I nodded. “You have your baby to think about, Zara. Can you really wait for the several months it will take for her to be born, and then you find someone to watch her while you negotiate?”

“No,” she said, letting out a breath.

“If you’d rather wait for your mate to come and help you with it, fine. I will stay here and guard the cave for you until that happens,” I said.

She shook her head.

Hesitating, she said, “No, that’s not needed. You can come help me, Noah.”

I wondered if she had anything else to say on that.

My wolf was agitated at the idea of her ‘mate’ helping her. Some mate—he hadn’t even shown up for her since she’d been here. Now, times were more dangerous.

I doubted that he even knew she was pregnant. I wanted to press the issue but decided that it would be too stressful, especially now, after the rogue attack.

But her expression told me there was something on the tip of her tongue.

“Have something to say, beautiful?” I asked, trying to keep my voice more gentle than curious.

“No,” she sighed. “Not yet. Let’s head home. Hopefully, we’ll get an opportunity to figure out what these rogues wanted.

“I’ll have scouts here in the meantime during the night so that our efforts aren’t interrupted,” I assured her.

We started to head back to her home.

I had no idea what to expect from the rogues in general, but they took a huge risk clashing with me and my guards.

I wondered what could be even more special about the Luna Lilies to cause this, and why the rogues were guarding the area... and why they were trying to stop us in the first place.

There were so many questions.