Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1353 - 108 : The Mirror’s Truth

*Gray*

*Moments after Gray’s escape*

Hope flowed through every vein in my body as I ran along. The wind rushed through my hair as I hurried with the most beautiful, kind woman on this planet resting in my arms.

It’d been years.

There had been so many years of unrequited love, and so much training as a Drogomor warrior. I’d done this pack well and had my heart in it. I always figured I needed to get over Lorelei.

What I did to her was horrible. I deserved every moment of wary looks toward me after how I treated her.

My heart was torn to pieces when I saw just how wonderful she was. When we spoke at that party, something in me clicked.

I realized right then I needed to say goodbye to someone I truly felt a connection to for the first time in my life, but I couldn’t be selfish like my father.

I couldn’t.

Saying goodbye to her, and being as horrible and mean as possible, meant she wouldn’t continue to go after me or want to stay in Silver Fang.

It was a split-second decision, but I had the best night of my life taking her. The reminder of that night in my mind made my mouth water, but I dismissed it.

Now of all times wasn’t the time to think about that.

We could start anew. I hadn’t trained as a warrior in Drogomor for so long to go after her. Truly, I hadn’t. As much as it hurt, I was willing to let her stay with Aaron.

That was until she looked into that mirror and I saw the truth in her expression.

Doubt. There was so much doubt in those beautiful eyes of hers that I simply could not let it go.

My heart sang with hope when I saw her expression. I wondered with worry if I was being selfish, but I couldn’t help it.

Was I throwing away the home I’d had for years now, this second chance they’d granted to me?

Probably.

But I didn’t care.

Strangely, all I felt right now was sheer relief that my emotions were completely validated.

We’d get away from the pack house so I could actually connect to her.

Bursting through the underbrush, I placed her gently onto the ground in a pool of moonlight, panting from the burst of energy I used when fleeing with her.

The first thing Lorelei did was kneel there, holding her chest to catch her breath, the stress of the situation radiating off of her in waves.

My heart clenched.

I was the cause of this, and it made me feel horrible. I hated seeing her like this, especially as she slowly lifted her chin and stared up at me with fearful eyes. She even began to shiver.

“Lorelei,” I whispered in a very gentle voice. “I am not going to hurt you. I promise, with all my heart, I will not. I... I just couldn’t stand watching you marry the wrong man.”

It took a second for my words to click. When they did, she gasped. The spark of fear in her eyes faded to one of wonder, and she furrowed her brow.

“Gray,” she breathed. “How did you know? I mean, with Aaron, I... I thought...”

“I saw your expression change when you looked into the mirror. You didn’t see Aaron, did you?”

“I... no, I didn’t. I wish I did, I felt deeply in love with him. Or... I thought I did.”

Tears began to crawl down her beautiful cheeks, causing me to frown deeply. A sensation of grief washed over me at watching such a wonderful woman cry in front of me.

I reached up and gently wiped away her tears, trying my best to give her a smile. It was awkward. To this day, it was still hard to smile.

But here I was with Lorelei, so I gave it my best shot as I had been lately with everything else. I thought a smile couldn’t be that difficult, right?

Lorelei let out a light giggle and tilted her head, sniffling and reaching up with the other hand, wiping the remainder of her tears.

“What’s so funny?” I whispered.

“You,” she muttered. “You look so awkward wearing that smile. It’s charming and cute, Gray. But you’re not used to smiling, are you?”

“I’m not,” I admitted with a slight chuckle, reaching to rub the back of my neck.

“Thank you,” she muttered, “really, for getting me out of that situation. I hesitated. I just couldn’t accept what wasn’t true. I am not sure what Aaron would think. And...”

I raised my brows, resisting the urge to tense as she reached up toward me. She must have seen me do so and hesitated.

I shook my head.

“No. Please, continue. Please.”

“I will,” she whispered. “You’re so scarred in the mind, aren’t you, Gray? Silver Fang was horrible to you. You deserve so much better.”

She proceeded with her action, now tenderly resting her hand on my face. I leaned into her touch, my heart pounding so loud that I was almost certain she could hear it.

I resisted the urge to tear up right there.

The feeling of this kind, loving gesture was almost too much to bear. It was just pure bliss.

Then, what she said next, made my heart pound even harder.

“Gray,” she whispered, “I didn’t see Aaron in the magic mirror. No. I... I saw your face looking back at me.”

I gasped, feeling something blossom within me that I couldn’t explain. The intense, wonderful emotions almost made me fall over right there.

“C-can I hug you?” I managed to get out.

“I’d love that.”

I took her into my arms, holding her close for a moment and resting my chin on her shoulder. I wanted to apologize and tell her what I did was so wrong.

But I wasn’t going to ruin this moment.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to preserve it despite my efforts to just hold her there. In the next moment, the sound of crashing nearby made me tense.

I gasped, pulling away from Lorelei and looking toward the woods where we’d emerged into the clearing. Lorelei was tense and stood there with wide eyes, looking toward the area in shock.

Seconds later, Aaron crashed through the trees. So much rage filled his eyes that if looks could kill, I’d have been set on fire. I clenched my jaw, especially at what the fucking bastard said next.

“Fuck off, Gray! You stole Lorelei from me! She’s mine, mine! You hear it? I won her fair and square!”

I was shocked that he saw the beautiful Lorelei as a prize to win.

I let out a low growl, pushing Lorelei behind me protectively to not only defend her honor but also our budding affection.

“You will be safe. I won’t let him get you,” I promised, staring at Aaron through narrowed eyes. “Stand down,” I commanded to the future Alpha.

I then drew the sword that had been sheathed on my hip, holding it out in an expert manner. My entire body was tense and ready to draw blood should the damn shifter not listen to me.

“Or what?” Aaron growled. “You’ll...cut me with that sword? Do you really think you can take me down?”

“Yes,” I said confidently. “I am. I’ve trained as a warrior in Drogomor for years, Aaron. But, more importantly, Lorelei does not love you.”

“Bullshit!” Aaron laughed. He stood down but spread his arms, walking back and forth and raising his chin in defiance. “According to who? You, the lame wolf who doesn’t belong here?”

Lorelei let out a gasp behind me but then spoke up. “Aaron, I am sorry. I thought... I thought I loved you. I really did. I don’t want to hurt you. I am so sorry, but I cannot marry you. I love Gray.”

“What? Does he have you under some sort of spell or something, Lorelei? You are mine! We had a future planned out and everything! You can’t be serious!”

“I am, Aaron. Stand down. Please, I need you to stand down.”

“Like hell, I’m standing down. I said what I said. You are mine, and I will take down the bastard in my way.”

He pulled out a sword of his own and lunged for me. I acted quickly, my fighting instincts kicking in as I expertly dodged to the side with no problem whatsoever.

At every stab toward me with Aaron’s sword, I parried it, though made sure to not cut him even once. Despite the rage bubbling within me, I had trained for this.

I wouldn’t throw away all of my training now. I proved I was different from my horrible, evil father. Although Aaron was being a complete dick, he didn’t deserve to die.

He could learn from this. Just like how I learned to control my emotions and become a better person. I didn’t hate Aaron and didn’t want to hurt him.

He wanted to hurt me, though. I saw it in his eyes, pure, red-hot rage with the intent to kill. If he got that blade at any of my vital points, he’d cut with no remorse and slay me.

I couldn’t let that happen and couldn’t approach this with the same attitude either. Even if I was justified, I’d be destroyed for harming a future Alpha of Drogomor.

It would also go against everything I trained for.

I heard something from off to the side, and my heart clenched with panic.

“Gray! Aaron! No! You need to stop this!”

I turned my head for just a moment to see what she was doing, realizing she was trying to get between Aaron and me. If she did that, she would get hurt or even killed.

Aaron’s temper was out of control. He wouldn’t realize what he was doing until it was too late. My eyes widened, but suddenly, Brandon launched out from the shadows, grabbing her arm and pulling her aside.

I let out a sigh of relief as he began holding her back from interfering. The moment of distraction was entirely unhelpful.

I heard a slice.

Aaron landed a deep cut on my cheek.

Another slice sounded.

I sustained a cut on my chest.

Damn it.

It took me just a moment to get my focus back. I returned to parrying and dodging, trying to concentrate as the sharp bite of pain and flow of warm blood from the cuts flowed down my skin.

Aaron was fighting with lethal intent, and that wasn’t stopping anytime soon.

Meanwhile, I needed to match his viciousness to survive, but I likely wouldn’t be able to keep this up without hurting him back much longer.

Shit.