Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1284 - 39 : Rest and Recovery

*Noah*

Trying to keep my mind occupied, I was reading in my study when the sounds of a struggle hit my ears. It sounded like some sort of fight.

My wolf pushed me to go investigate, not that I needed to be prompted at all. I rushed outside, heading to where I heard the scuffle.

What I saw caused a wave of pure rage and fear to wash over me.

Zara had collapsed and was being dragged away by masked enemies—likely the damn rogues. I wasted no time in shifting, bunching up my muscles and rushing at them.

The rogues were caught by surprise as I slammed into one of them, sinking my jaws into their shoulder and tearing into it. My thoughts were locked stopping them so I could help Zara.

Would she and her baby come out of this unscathed... I wasn’t sure, and that drove my aggression even further.

Shouts rang out in my ears, nothing clear enough that I could focus on until they morphed into growls as they, too, shifted.

My ears were pinned back as teeth sank into my leg, then my flank. I whipped around and snapped my jaws onto one of their necks, jerking my head back and forth.

They barely escaped with their life, having to let out a scream-like whimper and tear away from me.

Damn it. I needed to end this fight as quickly as possible so I could check on Zara.

I focused on the next rogue, sinking my jaws into their hind leg and feeling satisfaction flow through me at the pained yelp that sounded in my ear.

Several rogues bit into me, shedding plenty of blood, but I didn’t care. I leaped onto another one, burying my teeth into their throat and overpowering them with ease.

More teeth clamped onto my legs and flank as I did so, but I turned and took care of them too, bombarding them with my strength and showing no mercy.

Savage growls and snarls erupted from me as they were taken down, soon forced to flee with their tails between their legs and blood pouring from their wounds.

I didn’t have time to bask in the relief of a fight well won.

I rushed over to Zara, shifting back and inspecting her. Without hesitation, I took her into my arms and headed right to the mansion so she could be seen by Healer Calvin.

“What happened?” Calvin asked. “Was this the result of the fight outside?”

I nodded, and he winced.

He set up Zara in the bed immediately as I paced outside, not wanting to crowd him. Now that I could calm down, I could focus on the surge of sheer horror and worry that flowed through me.

Zara didn’t have any visible wounds, but that didn’t mean anything. They may have poisoned her, or inflicted blunt force trauma I couldn’t see.

Every manner of horrible scenario ran through my head, causing an uneasy shudder to rush through my spine. I eventually sat down and put a hand on my forehead, taking several deep breaths.

A Drogomor servant brought some fresh clothes that I put on while waiting, after cleaning off the rogues’ blood, of course.

Thank the Goddess I was able to defeat them, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t be the last of them. This was definitely a sign of war.

I couldn’t help it. I stood up from my chair and began to pace, the worry I had for Zara overpowering me. I couldn’t focus on the idea of the rogues, or war, beyond that passing thought.

I needed to make sure Zara was okay.

Eventually, Calvin called me into the room. I entered, anxious and studying his expression. Noting Calvin seemed passive and relaxed, I tried to tell myself to calm down as well.

“Zara was not injured. She was knocked out with chemicals that didn’t hurt her or the baby. She is otherwise unharmed.”

I nearly collapsed with relief and gave a nod. Exhaling sharply, I said, “I want to wait here until she wakes up.”

“Of course, Noah,” Calvin said, dipping his head. “I will be checking up on her periodically too, and I’ll want to ask her how she feels when she wakes.”

With that, it took a few hours before Zara came to. When she did, she let out a groan, and I perked up, all my attention going to her. “Zara?”

“Noah? Ugh, I feel exhausted. What happened?”

“You were ambushed by rogues. Calvin checked on you and the baby. He said there’s neither major wounds nor permanent damage.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.” Zara sighed, focusing on me and giving a tired smile. “I assume you fought them off? Are you okay?”

I chuckled softly and nodded. “I’m fine. Thank you for asking. I’m far more worried about you.” Then, I narrowed my eyes, my thoughts slipping back to this conflict in general. “They will pay for what they’ve done.”

“I’m glad we could make some progress against them, at least,” Zara reminded me gently. “Thank you for your help with that.”

“Of course. Calvin wanted to see you when you woke. Let me call him in,” I said.

The pack’s healer was summoned into the room again, and he gave Zara an examination once more.

“You’re in the clear, Zara,” Calvin said. “But please rest for a day, at least, alright?”

“I will,” Zara confirmed, giving him a gorgeous, radiant smile.

When that was taken care of, she focused back on me with a light frown.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“There’s something you should know that happened right before the attack, Noah,” she said. “I was writing a letter for my parents to inform them of our engagement when Merida confronted me.”

I furrowed my brow in confusion. Despite Merida’s accidental slip of the tongue that had gotten us into this mess, I didn’t think she was malicious. That incident surely had been an accident.

As for both the engagement and me clearly breaking things off, surely, she understood. Merida was a go-with-the-flow type of woman and wanted me to be happy above all.

She’d even said when we’d been together in the past that it’d be okay if things didn’t work out, but still wanted to remain friends if they didn’t. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

I said gently, “Go on.” The feeling of unease settled within me as Zara’s expression changed from relieved to worried and speculative.

She had a faraway look in her eyes as she recounted what happened. “She asked if I was proud of myself for taking you from her. She then cussed me out and told me to enjoy my peace while I could.”

I widened my eyes, shock rushing through me. Sweet Merida, saying things like that....

Zara added, “She called you her man, thinking I stole you from her. She may be behind this rogue attack. It happened very shortly after that.”

I bit my lip, unsure of all of this. That didn’t sound like Merida at all. Could she have changed that much after all this time? Was such a thing even possible?

Even if she’d done all of that, though, I didn’t think even in her anger that she’d go that far.

“It could be that,” I said gently, “or it could be the same rogues from the Dark Realm seeking revenge.”

“It could be both,” Zara said in a serious tone. “What if Merida is now working with them for whatever reason?”

“I’m not sure,” I said, letting out a sigh.

That wasn’t something I wanted to dwell on right at that moment, though, as realization dawned on me.

“But either way, it’s clear the mansion grounds aren’t secure enough.”

“What? Noah, this doesn’t mean you’re making one of your pigheaded decisions again, right?”

“You mean the decisions that have helped your reputation despite our past?” I said firmly.

“The ones that have complicated things even further, yes,” she said. Then, she grumbled, “Even if, to give you credit, they did save my reputation for now, yes. But this is different–”

“The decisions have also ensured that you and your baby were healthy. My insistence for you to stay here and rest, for example. This is another thing for the benefit of your health, Zara.”

She sighed. “What is on your mind, then?” she asked, defeated.

“You should get somewhere private and safe.”

“What?! No, this isn’t going to work. I tolerated staying here rather than going home, but somewhere else? Noah, I don’t want to do that.”

“Zara, it’s for your own good,” he said. “Please listen to me. I’m very worried about you. The rogues are dangerous. Next time, they could do even worse.”

This caused her to go silent in thought for a brief moment, which allowed me to focus on actually taking care of the arrangement.

There was no way I was going to relent on this one, so I mind-linked Caleb and said, ‘I need your help with a very important matter.’

‘Sure thing, Noah,’ Caleb replied. ‘What is it?’

‘I’d like my personal residence on the outskirts of Drogomor territory prepared for Zara and me to spend some time there.’

‘Understood. Why all of a sudden?’

I described for him the rogue attack on Zara. ‘It will be safer for Zara there.’

‘I agree. Good decision, Noah. I will ensure that it’s set up for you.’

When I refocused on Zara, she was staring at me defiantly. I let out a sigh and furrowed my brow. “Please, Zara. This is for your own good. I am dead serious.”

“I know you are. I also know you’re not going to budge on this.”

“Nope. I’m not, beautiful.” I gave her a confident grin, and she rolled her eyes.

“You do have a point regarding my health and the baby’s health, which I’m worried about. Alright. I guess there really is no reasonable way to refuse this.”

“Thank you,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief. “We’ll get there immediately. Caleb is setting the place up for us as we speak.”

“You really were confident I’d cave, huh?” she asked.

“Yes, because you’re a very intelligent woman who wouldn’t want to endanger her baby for the sake of being stubborn.”

“I hate to admit you’re right.”

I shot her a dazzling smile, and then I winked. But then I sobered up, growing serious. “Look, Zara. I’m going to keep you safe and get to the bottom of this attack. I swear it.”

I walked over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, which once more sent shocks of attraction rushing through me that I had to ignore.

She glanced over at my head and then met my eyes. She gave me a tired smile.

“Despite my protests, Noah, I trust you. Thank you for this. Really. I do feel a lot safer with your help.”

Her gentle, grateful tone sent warmth rushing through me.

Regardless of our future, I knew I’d make damn sure those rogues didn’t have a chance to hurt her.