Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1301 - 56 : The Dark Forest’s Dangers

*Zara*

We took the time to plan things out carefully.

One of the servants who had agreed to help us came to discuss some important details. There were dangers in the Dark Forest that we needed to talk about.

She entered the room, glancing around and out the door to make sure she hadn’t been followed. After confirming there was no problem, we sat around a table and began the discussion.

“You two need to be careful,” the servant woman said. “The Dark Forest is no joke, and you’re going to need to be vigilant.”

Lorelei and I leaned forward attentively.

“Thank you for helping us with this,” I said. “We’re all ears.”

Lorelei nodded in agreement.

“Excellent. The biggest warning that I have for you is about the ghosts.”

I widened my eyes, gulping. “Ghosts?” I asked in a hushed tone, the image of aggressive specters appearing in my mind.

The servant woman nodded. “Yes,” she said softly. “They can cause a fair amount of damage, too. They aren’t to be messed with.”

“Is it true they can possess you and cause more dangerous effects than just mental distress?” Lorelei asked. “Like... permanent debilitating night terrors and hallucinations?”

“Yes, it is true,” the servant confirmed. “But thankfully, you can completely avoid them if you make it through the woods before sunset. You’ll be perfectly safe then, and they will not follow you.”

“Thank you for the advice,” I said sincerely, letting out a sigh of relief that there was a way to avoid what sounded absolutely terrifying.

I’d dealt with enough stress lately, and the journey ahead was daunting.

With that, we subtly gathered provisions so that we’d be set for the journey. Every so often, a guard would check in, but we were well-practiced and didn’t get caught or interrupted.

Phew.

The servants were very precise with the guard shifts, which was also useful for the second part of our plan. We’d need to make our escape during their shift change.

Once the supplies were all situated, we were able to go through the warnings about the Dark Forest one more time before moving out.

The guards chatted back and forth as we stuck to the shadows, making our way through the halls. Some servants on our side spoke with them as well, adding to the distractions.

Perfect.

We avoided being seen, and when we got outside, we came upon a parked car the servant had left for us.

We got inside using the keys provided to us and sped off.

No trouble so far... I let out a sigh of relief as I sat behind the wheel, resting my head against the headrest.

“That went better than I thought it would,” I said to Lorelei, who was riding shotgun.

“I agree. I don’t think they expected us to be so bold.”

“Being quiet and obeying orders helped out for once in my case.”

“Oh, are you normally more outspoken?” she asked.

I chuckled, then nodded. “Yes. I don’t like backing down when I can stand my ground. This time, though, it was better to be careful.”

“Well done. I think there’s a time for both things,” Lorelei said quietly. “I never was good at sticking up for myself.”

She winced, and I glanced over to her.

Surely, she was thinking about Gray right then, which made my heart go out to her. “You did well though, in trying to get through to him, Lorelei. I’m sorry.”

“We were supposed to be true mates. I felt it. It was the most wonderful feeling, and then... I don’t know what happened.”

“It must not be meant to be,” I muttered, my thoughts slipping to Noah.

Conflicting emotions bombarded me, and I tried to chase the thought of him out of my mind.

My wolf still longed for him, I could tell, but we both would need to accept that things were just impossible between us.

We rode in silence for a while as the sun continued to crawl across the horizon, running into no trouble. Thank the Goddess we weren’t followed during the drive.

Eventually, we came upon a dirt road, and the riding became rough. I frowned a bit, then glanced over to Lorelei, who seemed unbothered.

“Reminds me of carnival rides,” she muttered, giving me a faint smile. I returned her smile and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hopefully, ones that are more stable than this road,” I said.

“Hopefully is a good word for it,” she replied with a laugh.

The car came to an abrupt stop, causing us both to gasp in alarm. The whirr of the engine became louder as I tried to step on the gas with no luck.

“Let me see what’s going on,” I muttered, praying to the Goddess that it wasn’t something we couldn’t handle.

At Lorelei’s nod, I got out of the car.

I tried not to feel put off by the dark trees that surrounded me. The sun was blotted out for the most part by the canopy of the woods.

As soon as I began walking, I noticed that I sank into the ground, the squishing noise echoing in my ear. I let out a soft groan as I turned and spotted the problem.

The car was stuck in a sinkhole.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I murmured.

Just great, I thought. Everything had been going so smoothly, but I supposed it was inevitable that something would go wrong. It seemed like a trend for me lately.

I walked around the car, trying to see if there was any way to get the tires free. But there were just thorns around, something I realized when my leg was cut into by them.

Damn it, I thought. I was bleeding.

I ignored some drops of blood that fell onto the ground as I made my way back to the car, grumbling about needing to be more careful.

I got back into the car with a troubled frown.

Lorelei looked at my leg. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll treat this and slap a bandage on it real fast. This is nothing. What I found out, though....”

“Oh no, what’s wrong?”

“Well. We’re out of luck. It’s a sinkhole. I could try a few more times, but I don’t think we’re going to get it out of here. The car also looked damaged.”

Lorelei frowned, letting out a sigh. “We may as well try, but if we can’t get it out, well....”

“We’ll look into our options,” I said. “For now, this one isn’t spent yet.”

In the end, though, it was.

We couldn’t get the car out of the sinkhole, and so, we were left standing there staring at it with contempt before turning to one another, after we got our provisions out, of course.

“What do we do now?” Lorelei asked nervously. “Maybe we should turn back.”

I shook my head. “I’d rather not see what’s waiting for us back at the Silver Fang mansion. They’ll not take too kindly to our stunt here. We’ll never escape then.”

“You’re right,” she sighed. She began to pace a bit. “We could always wait for help. We’re not far from the start of the woods.”

“True,” I muttered, but a pang of anxiety rushed through me. “But what if Silver Fang comes after us and finds us here? That feels as dangerous as turning back.”

“If we don’t go back, and we don’t wait here, that means we can only continue ahead on foot. That’s extremely dangerous.”

“It seems like a better option than trusting we won’t run into our old, horrible friends... or some even worse new ones.”

She sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Alright, traveling on foot it is.”

“Besides, the road should eventually lead out of the forest if we stay on it, right? Let’s just not stray from the path and keep moving forward.”

I saw a bit of hope spring into Lorelei’s eyes as she nodded. “Right. Good idea.”

From there, we set off, making our way down the road, and making sure to avoid any really nasty-looking mud puddles so we’d not suffer the same fate as the car.

I looked down, noting how I could see our footprints and wincing. I really hoped that wouldn’t lead to us being followed. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Fixating on that and worrying wouldn’t help us, though, and so we carried on for hours more. Unfortunately, the dirt road vanished, leaving us to trudge forward without it.

“This may have been a bad idea,” Lorelei whispered.

I sighed. Things around us were getting darker and darker. The hairs on the back of my neck began to rise.

The cricket sounds and rustling in the woods weren’t helping. The splotches of shadows here and there made me feel like we were being followed.

Growing more and more uneasy, I swallowed. “Yeah, it may have been. What we could do is shift and run the rest of the way. That would be our safest bet.”

“Good idea, but what about our provisions?”

“We won’t be able to carry them with us, so I suggest we stop and eat before running off.”

“Alright.”

We set up a quick fire and sat down to rest, taking out some dried meats and nuts to munch on before our uncertain journey ahead.

Lorelei’s eyes were distant as she ate, and I tried to think about something that’d brighten our mood.

“Hey,” I said suddenly. “How about you help me with the lilies?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, focusing on me.

“Well, I will be cultivating Luna Lilies for my business, using them the right way. I could use all the help I can get,” I said.

Lorelei’s eyes sparkled with appreciation. I could see a smile rest on her face, lit up by the fire. “You would really offer me a job when we get there?”

“Sure, I would.” I took a bite of my meal, savoring the saltiness and giving a light yawn. “I’m also sure my parents won’t mind you staying with us.”

“Your parents?” She pondered it. “The ones who sent Alpha Daven after you?”

I shook my head. “I think someone manipulated the situation, and he was lying, or something,” I told her. “My parents are wonderful, a mated pair.” I smiled, thinking of them fondly. “They would never do that.”

“If you’re sure, well, I would be happy to accept the offer, if they let me stay there. I will definitely need a place to stay while I get my feet on the ground.”

“It’s the least I can do. You’ve been through a lot.” I sighed, giving another yawn.

She yawned too and nodded. “My heart is broken. But maybe there is another chance for me out there. Who knows?”

“I hope there is. I’m hoping for some miracle in my case, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s... complicated. I... I—” I yawned again, my eyelids growing heavy. “I feel... off....”

“I do... too. There is... something....”

There was something in the food, I realized. I looked down as everything was starting to get a bit foggy, fatigue hitting me like a truck.

This was a sensation I recognized, having gone through it time and again and waking up place after place.

Here it was once again. I couldn’t do anything as I fell to my side, my eyes staring off into the shadows of the woods.

That’s when some gleaming eyes met mine.

I blinked.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw wolves emerge from the shadows... a pack of them, coming closer and closer.

I blinked again.

Their eyes were locked on me and Lorelei, and there was nothing I could do.

When I closed my eyes this time, I couldn’t open them again.

I was completely out.