Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1351 - 106 : The Dream Begins

*Zara*

Everything was happening so fast.

A whimper escaped my lips as the scent of smoke filled my senses, my vision clouding by the second because of the rapidly spreading fire.

“Lorelei!” I shouted, trying to get to the now panicking young woman.

She wasn’t listening and blindly rushed ahead, knocking over some pots and causing several lamps to fall and break, which made the situation even worse.

Things were getting out of control fast. My heart rate increased as the panic set in. I began to hyperventilate but tried to keep my focus so we both could get out of there.

Faster and faster the fire spread. Our chances of getting out of there alive decreased. I coughed and scrambled to get to Lorelei, her shrieks echoing through the greenhouse.

Suddenly, a crash sounded out next to my ear. I felt a strong hand grab my arm.

“No!” I shouted. “Lorelei, she–”

“Gray’s got her.” It was Noah’s voice. He took me into his arms and rushed the way he came. Trusting in his words, I leaned my head against his chest in a fit of coughs.

Every breath hurt. The scent of smoke choked my senses and caused me to feel extremely dizzy. The corners of my vision were starting to cloud.

I couldn’t do anything more. I was losing myself fast to the smoke inhalation. Noah laid me down on the ground and inspected me.

His icy touch felt so good on my already-hot skin. A shudder ran through my body as my heart continued to pound in terror from the situation.

I had minor burns but otherwise was okay. I turned my head to confirm that yes, Gray had Lorelei in his arms. She was shrieking and crying, burying her face into him and shuddering like a leaf.

Several Drogomor warriors rushed out, quickly rushing toward the source of the fire to put it out. Relief flooded through me that the fire wouldn’t spread too far.

But... something was wrong.

Though the fire was out, the warriors began to stumble in their steps. Everything started swirling, and soon, I couldn’t focus on my surroundings at all.

“Noah?” I gasped, my voice somewhat of a hushed whisper. He was swirling in a mass of colors above me. His scent filled me along with the smoke, which was comforting, and...

Along with... a third scent.

Before everything faded to black, I realized the smoke wasn’t just any smoke.

It carried the fragrance of the lilies with it, and something was very wrong.

*****

What... what happened?

Groaning, I reached up and rubbed my head as I came to. I felt completely fuzzy in my mind, trying to take several deep breaths.

“The fire... Noah, I–” I whispered. “Wait. Where... where are we?”

My eyes swept around an ornate bedroom suite I didn’t recognize. I felt someone tense beside me and turned my head right as Noah jolted awake.

“Zara? Fuck, moon goddess, what happened?”

I leaned down and took him into my arms, burying my face into him for a moment and taking in his scent. After I was sufficiently calmed down, I leaned back and stared into his blazing blue eyes.

“I don’t know.”

“The fire, and... well... Apparently, that’s not a problem anymore,” he murmured, pausing to take in his surroundings as well.

“Yeah. I have no idea how we got here.”

“The last thing I remember was the fire and getting you out of there. Then...”

I gasped, hit with a memory. “That scent, the fragrant scent... We inhaled the smoke from the Luna lily fire. I think you did too.”

“Oh no. Well, the next question is who exactly brought us here.”

“I don’t know... or maybe, it was ourselves,” I murmured. He rose a brow, and I looked around the room again.

Everything was hazy as if a light mist covered everything the eye could see. Every so often, parts of the room seemed to flow and liquify as if part of a screen erroring out.

I felt a bit out of it and wondered if I’d hit my head hard during the fire incident. Something felt so different...

So off.

“Is anything normal for you?” I whispered in a hushed tone.

“Not at all. Everything is... hazy and not quite real. Well, it doesn’t look or... feel... real, anyway,” Noah observed in a faraway tone.

“I’m experiencing the same thing. Noah. This is so confusing.”

Noah nodded and then gasped. “Our first priority should be to find Briella. She was with Estella and now...”

“Yes, we need to go make sure she is okay.”

Without delay, we got up, helping steady each other until we left the odd room and went down the hall.

Other members of the pack walked along, and I noticed something peculiar. A woman walked up to a man and exchanged a kiss, but I knew they weren’t together.

They never had been. They weren’t mates, and they had mates already.

Alarmed, I widened my eyes, noting another couple not mated holding hands, and another still talking about future honeymoon plans.

I shook my head, trying to focus on our objective first and foremost. We asked around for Alpha Issac and Luna Estella and eventually were directed to the nursery.

When we entered, Issac and Estella were in there, sitting on the ground and playing with baby Briella.

“Father?” Noah asked. He then looked toward Estella. “Estella? Is Briella alright?”

Blinking, Estella looked up toward Noah and smiled. “I appreciate your concern, Noah,” she said softly. “Yes, she is. I know she just got over her cold. You’ve always been so thoughtful.”

Issac nodded, shooting his son a grateful smile and then giving me a dip of his head and a warm smile as well. “This baby may be unexpected, but now we can dedicate all of our time to her in our retirement.”

“Unexpected?” I muttered.

Issac laughed. “Well, yes. Estella had not been planning on her, but we are thrilled nonetheless. Good timing, too. I’m very happy Alpha Aaron will be taking over the pack soon.”

“We can focus more on baby Briella now,” Estella cooed, wiggling her fingers in front of the face of a laughing Issac.

My jaw almost dropped, but noticing Noah keeping his cool, I just nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

We opened it to turn and greet one of the pack’s servants. “Lord and Lady Star, you are expected for dinner in the grand hall.”

I exchanged a surprised glance with Noah, but he didn’t argue, intent on playing along. I did the same, wanting to see how this played out and what in the world was going on.

We needed the full picture. At least our baby was safe with her grandparents.

“Enjoy yourself,” Estella said softly. “But please visit Briella soon. You know how much she adores seeing her brother and sister-in-law.”

That was weird to hear. However, we agreed to do so, and off we went down the hall.

I wondered what in the world could we expect through all of this misty haze. Were we all in a dream, or were we awake and hallucinating?

“I think we’re in some sort of... alternate dream world,” I said.

“What?” He blinked several times, looked around again, and then back at me. “Alternate dream world? Brought on by the lilies?”

“Yes. I think we may be dreaming together. It’s all surreal. Things are just... not right. Mass hysteria? I don’t know.”

I glanced around as some of the pictures on the wall morphed and changed, though not to anything recognizable at all.

This dream state was so incredibly confusing, and I had a feeling the situation would get even more surreal sometime soon.

Well, I wasn’t wrong. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

We made our way downstairs and were faced with something highly unusual. The very odd Alpha Aaron comment was confirmed, at least by the look of where he was sitting.

That wasn’t the only unusual thing. Lorelei was standing by him, her chin held high and her shoulders forward, with an air of authority she had never had before.

At the moment, they were discussing the current situation. “And I am honored to serve the pack alongside my mate, Luna Lorelei.”

I furrowed my brow, biting my lip and trying to refrain from speaking up about it because I knew they weren’t meant to be mates.

Something tugged at my mind that it was all wrong. I tried taking a deep breath to focus on the situation.

Everything in the grand hall was misty, swirly, and wrong. We definitely were all in a dream state, but why did Noah and I seem to remain normal, while everyone else changed?

I wondered if the Luna lilies had made Noah immune. But what about me? I just wasn’t sure, but perhaps it was my powers.

Anyway, Gray was standing prominently dressed, and I realized he was in the Drogomor warrior getup. It was of high rank too. Aaron said, “One of our top warriors here in Drogomor, Gray, will continue to lead our pack to prosperity.”

By his side was Corbin, the beta wolf of the royal palace in Egoren. I wondered what he was doing there. I raised my brow, wondering if he’d been visiting when hit with this odd dream state.

The haze just kept swirling around as Aaron continued speaking, but my focus shifted to someone walking over from the back of the room.

I stifled a gasp as plates were placed on the table by none other than Brandon. Noah’s little half-brother was dressed in the attire of a lowly manservant.

Why had the dream caused that to happen? I studied Noah from the corner of my eye, who had his own locked on his brother.

His expression was bemused, clearly as taken aback as I was by this role Brandon was playing in this very strange dreamscape.

Aaron looked toward us and nodded, finally taking notice. “Noah, Zara. Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence,” he said, his gaze one of amusement.

Noah forced a smile and nodded. “Happy to, Aar–Alpha Aaron. I am so happy to see you rise up like this and take charge.”

His voice was unwavering, and he was playing his part well. I gave a respectful nod, sitting down as we were directed to do so.

Aaron then stood up, raising a glass of wine.

“I would like to toast my fiance,” he said in a strong, confident voice. Once more, I had to remind myself not to wince.

The “Alpha” continued, causing my heart to clench and my stomach to twist in sheer surprise. Considering how odd this dreamscape was, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised.

“May we prosper and enjoy ourselves tonight on the eve of our wedding.”

Aaron’s words seem to echo in every corner of my mind. I turned to stare at Noah, whose jaw was clenched tight.

I looked at Lorelei, who clung happily to Aaron’s side, blissfully unaware of how wrong all this was.