Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1304 - 59 : Rescuing Zara

*Noah*

We continued onward, my heart pounding as I frantically kept my attention on her scent. After several minutes, we picked up Zara’s trail again.

‘The scent of wolves goes off this main path, Noah. She must have gone deeper into the forest,’ Caleb told me in the mind link.

That caused my heart to clench with worry once again.

I let out a huff and charged onward, trying desperately to carry on and figure out where the hell she could be. I prayed to the Moon Goddess over and over that she would be alright.

Charging deeper and deeper into the woods, my fur began to stick up as the feeling of being watched washed over me. I bared my teeth and let out a growl, adrenaline rushing through me.

My instincts were right.

From the shadows emerged several gigantic wolves, their fangs glistening in the very limited sunlight pouring through the thick canopy. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

I let out a low growl as one of them leaped for me, setting off yet another battle. My sheer rage and panic about Zara fueled me.

Had these wolves come across Zara? Was she in danger because of them?

Jaws clamped onto my flank as I whirled, my fur spiking up even further as I ripped free from one of the wolves trying to pin me down.

I overpowered him, slamming him to the ground and sinking my jaws into his neck, not letting go until he stopped moving. Satisfaction flowed through me, but we were far from victory.

Snarls and yelps rang out into the night as my warriors and our allies clashed with these aggressive wolves. This time, though, I had a different feeling than when we took on Silver Fang alone.

We were going to win this.

Determination rushed through me as I lunged for another wolf, tearing into them with my teeth and causing blood to splatter onto the ground.

It was payment for Zara’s blood, which may have been drawn by these bastards.

I wasn’t sure, but given that they were on the path toward Zara, I had a sinking feeling that they had come upon her and she was in a lot of danger.

More adrenaline and sheer worry for her and my baby ran through me as I faced off with another wolf, overpowering him, too, and taking him down.

One after another, we took down our attackers. The battle was fierce, but not hopeless like before Midnight Sun had arrived against Silver Fang.

We were left with a lone surviving enemy.

I kept him pinned down as he panted, squirming with fear beneath me. He shifted back and gasped, “I surrender, please!”

Good. I hadn’t been planning on killing him because he had information I needed, but this made things easier.

We gathered around, no longer our wolves, and kept a very close eye on our captive. Two warriors held him in place as I paced in front of him, trying to keep my rage in check.

Finally, I broke the silence. “Where are the two women who were here in the Dark Forest a short while ago?” I snapped.

The rogue winced, recognition flashing in his eyes, telling me all I needed to know. I lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

“Tell me,” I snapped in a low voice, my irritation rising.

The rogue stared at me with fright before clearing his throat and saying, “T-the compound. Our priestess n-needed Zara for... negotiations.”

“So, your lot does have Zara,” I snarled, a mixture of relief and even more anger rushing through me at this knowledge.

I took a deep breath and refocused. “Negotiations?!”

“Y-yes, to stop the Luna Lily cultivation.”

It was the damned priestess who’d been attacking us this entire damn time. I felt annoyance rush through me at the realization.

And Zara was in grave danger because of it.

“Take us to her. Now,” I demanded.

The rogue bent to my wishes, and soon we were off running through the Dark Forest again, my eyes trained ahead. All the dark scenarios rushing through my mind had every muscle in my body tense.

Questions flooded my mind. What had they done to Zara? I knew I would end every last one of them here and now if she was hurt. What about my child?

I knew that all the stress and pain she’d been going through may hurt my baby, which only fueled my rage further.

I needed to get her the hell out of there.

At least we had a lead.

As we got closer to the compound, the sweet scent of Zara hit my nose, and I let out a sigh of relief. This was no trick. She was here.

My wolf stirred within me, anxious and desperate to find and protect my vulnerable mate and unborn child. I was itching to get her out of there right away, but we needed to play it smart.

Night would be falling soon, and it would give us the best cover for what we needed to accomplish. When the time was right, we would strike.

Until then and as we planned, my anxiety grew more and more intense.

Night fell, and it was time to move out. We made our way through the shadows until coming upon an opening we had scouted out hours before.

We used stealth, not wanting to bring unwanted attention to ourselves and endanger Zara by attacking early.

We crept down the long, stone halls, my nose twitching as Zara’s scent grew stronger and stronger. Hope billowed in my chest the closer we got to where she was.

Eventually, we made a few more turns and came upon a door with a window. I wondered if she was in there. My heart pounded with anticipation as I peered into the window.

Yes.

There she was.

Zara had an exhausted glint to her eyes as she worked through a mountain of dirty dishes, a deep frown on her face. Her shoulders slumped, and she was weary and worried, but unharmed.

The sensation of both relief and awe settled in me as I looked upon Zara, my heart pounding as I kept my eyes locked on her.

She was as beautiful as I remembered after waking up in Drogomor. Caleb said I’d been with her in Silver Fang.

Guilt rushed through me, knowing that I couldn’t remember seeing her there... guilt and frustration.

As I dwelled on that, and how to get her the fuck out of there, I spotted some guards stomping into the kitchen and approaching her.

Zara winced, causing me to choke back a low growl as I saw them roughly grab her by the arm and drag her off.

I kept my stealth, trailing them to a laundry room full of piles upon piles of clothes. I wondered how rogues could possibly have so much laundry... and so many dirty dishes.

Were they this lazy?

It definitely reflected in their fighting. They needed many more wolves than us to stand a chance and even then, we managed to overcome them.

As I watched Zara settle in, an older servant of this damn place approached her and looked around, then scowled deeply.

“What the hell have you been doing?!” he snapped. “Why are you working so slow, you useless harlot?”

Zara whimpered, “I’m exhausted, I’ve been working all–”

“Doesn’t matter. Work faster!”

Then he grabbed her arm roughly and tossed her toward the laundry. Zara stumbled toward one of the counters, letting out a whimper as the corner jabbed into her side.

That did it.

I sent out the signal to my warriors to begin the attack, then shifted and lunged for the guards now rushing to intercept me. I downed them quickly, my thoughts squarely on Zara and getting her the hell out of there.

My eyes fixed on the servant who’d hurt her just now, and without hesitation I lunged for him too, knocking him down and forcing him to lose consciousness upon impact.

I didn’t bother ending him there. Instead, I turned to Zara, shifting back and panting.

“Noah!” Zara gasped.

I nodded, scooping her into my arms and holding her close to my chest.

No one would get anywhere near her on my watch. My stare was as cold as steel toward anyone who tried intercepting me on my way out of there.

My warriors and those of the Midnight Sun stopped anyone in our way, and soon, we were out of the compound.

I took a seat on the ground in the shadows and fixed my eyes on Zara, my eyes sweeping over her to check for any injuries that I may not have noticed.

My eyes fell upon her belly, and desperation rushed through me. Was she alright? Was the baby alright? What had she gone through?

“What happened, Zara? Are you alright? Are you in need of a healer right away?”

Still in my arms as she gazed up at me, I felt a sense of satisfaction at the relief that flooded her expression when she stared at me with those beautiful emerald eyes.

“I’m just very tired and bruised,” she explained. She rubbed her belly and winced. “I think the baby is okay. They knocked me out with chemicals, likely the same as the first time this happened.”

“The first time this happened?!”

“Yes, this same group of rogues tried to capture me a while ago, and I was seen by Calvin, who determined that the baby was alright.”

“Thank the Goddess,” I breathed.

A bit of hurt flooded her gaze again, and I realized that was likely knowledge I just couldn’t remember. I winced, but Zara didn’t dwell on it.

Rather, she said, “The priestess captured me and Lorelei, a woman from Silver Fang I’d been helping, as leverage to stop the Luna Lily cultivation. Noah, we need to get Lorelei out of there too.”

I frowned deeply. “But–”

“No buts. She is with me. We need to rescue her before fleeing. Please, Noah.”

I let out a sigh, reluctant but nodding in agreement. I wasn’t going to disobey her wishes on that. We had the ability to do so, and so, we would.

I called over two Drogomor warriors to stay there for her protection. I was the strongest of the wolves there, and we’d need to fight to find this woman.

With that, I set her down and shifted.

I was on to round two of clashing with the rogues.

The fight was once again brutal, with the density of the rogues more concentrated now that we were in their compound. I overpowered several, driven by my need to get back to Zara as soon as possible.

We fought through the compound and down the hall, rushing about and looking for this woman who would clearly be in dire straits as well.

Eventually, we came to a wooden door and entered it, fighting our way down into a dungeon area and coming across a few guards.

I defeated them with ease, though I was reaching my limit for how many fights we’d been thrown into lately. I panted, shifting out of wolf form and snatching up the keys.

“What’s going on?” came the voice of a woman off to my left.

I turned my head to fix my eyes on someone cowering in the back of a cell.

“Are you Lorelei?” I asked gruffly.

“Y-yes....”

“I’m here to get you out.”

From there, I unlocked her cell and offered her a hand. “Come on. We need to get out of here.”

After a bit of hesitation, she accepted my hand, and soon we made our way through the compound as the battle raged around us.

We were slowly overpowering the rogues of the compound, and confidence flowed through me at that realization... that, and relief that Zara was okay, and safe now with my guards.

As I made my way back to where she was, I confirmed as much with my warriors.

Thank the Moon Goddess.