Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1487 - 86 : Wicked Schemes

*Rhys*

“Rhys, we need to talk,” Daxton’s voice cut through my head, waking me up with a start.

“What?” I sent back, half asleep.

“Talk. Now,” he said, keeping his words short and clear. After a short pause, he added, “Alone.”

I opened my eyes. It was still dark in my room, and Saoirse was snoring lightly beside me. She was too embarrassed to believe she snored, but I thought it was cute. Slowly, being sure not to wake her, I managed to extricate myself from her and the bed.

“I’m on my way,” I told Daxton as I threw on some clothes just as quietly.

He sent me his location. I finished getting dressed. I hesitated at the door, looking back at the love of my life lying on the bed. It was hard to leave her, especially without her knowledge. I worried about how she would deal with me not being next to her.

Daxton wouldn’t have messaged me if it wasn’t important.

With a sigh, I walked out of the room and shut the door quietly. The castle was quiet as I made my way through it to Daxton’s location. It was early enough that not even the staff was up yet. My mind whirled the entire time I was walking. By the time I saw Daxton, I already had an idea of what it was about.

“It’s Alexa, isn’t it?” I asked as I closed the door to his room.

Daxton nodded and held up a piece of paper. “I received an anonymous letter claiming a woman closely matching Alexa’s description has been spotted.”

“Where?” I pressed, feeling my anger spike at the mere thought of her.

“Celestial City,” Daxton answered. “The same area that we heard intel of before.”

I could tell that he felt uneasy telling me this. He knew how I felt about her and her escape from us. He almost looked like he regretted telling me.

“So what are we waiting for?” I asked. “We need to capture her now.”

“We have to think about this logically, Rhys,” Daxton warned, calmly shaking his head. “This alleged sighting could easily be bait to ensnare you in another insidious trap.”

I reached out and grabbed the letter he was still holding. It was written pretty cryptically, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t accurate or real. Maybe they were scared of it getting found by Alexa herself. She had proven to be resourceful and sneaky.

“The reported location seems oddly far from Egoren or anywhere of significance,” I said as I examined the letter. “If it was a trap, what would be the purpose of sending me there?”

“I don’t know,” Daxton admitted. “It just makes me uneasy not knowing her motives. If we knew what she wanted, we could plan for it better. We could plan based on what we would expect.”

“I understand that,” I agreed with him. “However, I also can’t sit by as that woman remains free, not after what she did.”

My jaw clenched. Just thinking about the memory was enough for my blood pressure to rise. My thoughts instantly went to Saoirse and the twin lives in her belly. I could not handle sitting back while that unhinged woman was out there somewhere, undoubtedly plotting her next chaos.

Daxton was right. It would have been nice to at least know what she was plotting or her overall goal. She had made it seem like her goal was to get back with me, but I knew it was much bigger than that.

“I have to go after her, Dax,” I said. “I can’t live with her shadow hanging over me and my new family.”

Daxton stared at me for a moment and then gave a sigh of defeat.

“I shouldn’t be surprised. I knew that’s what you were going to say,” Daxton said, running a hand through his hair. “I will caution you that if this is the path you choose, you will have to take some precautions.”

He lowered his voice and looked around, even though we both knew we were still alone.

“I would be cautious to take the Royal Guard with you, and I certainly wouldn’t tell Saoirse about the threat,” Daxton spoke in his low voice. “Openly reacting to this letter or the news of where Alexa is could tip her off.

If she caught wind that we were coming for her, she was smart enough to make a run for it and vanish into the shadows. Or worse, she could spin an even deadlier web and trap us, even if that wasn’t already her plan.”

“Do you think someone here might tell her that we’re coming if they know?” I asked just as quietly.

“I hope not, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it. Don’t you think it odd that she was able to carry out her original plot so seamlessly and escaped just as easily?” Daxton reasoned. “I would be more shocked if she didn’t have some sort of insider help. I believe it is smart to believe that she has spies embedded and eyes everywhere just waiting to alert her.”

“There is no way that my men would turn against me, especially for her,” I spat, my anger escaping me. “And I can’t keep something like that from Saoirse. She’s my wife now and deserves honesty.”

“Fine, then you are signing our death sentence,” Daxton snapped back. “You asked my opinion, and I am giving it. If you want to ignore it and risk our lives and the safety of Saoirse and your children, that is your right.”

“And what do you mean by that?” I asked, raising my voice.

“I mean that if Alexa escapes again, while we are searching for her no less, she will be free to come back to this castle, where Saoirse and the babies will be unprotected,” Daxton stated as a matter of fact. “I am not trying to upset you. I am just trying to get you to see reason, Rhys. Please, be logical.”

I took a deep breath. My anger over the subject of Alexa was clouding my judgment. I needed to calm down before I did something rash.

“If I go, I need to keep it quiet,” I said in a quieter voice. “Or I don’t go. Correct?”

Daxton shrugged. “That seems the safest thing to me. I care about your mental safety as much as your physical. I know that if anything were to happen to Saoirse, it would destroy you.”

He wasn’t wrong there. I wished he wasn’t right about everything else too.

“Fine,” I said. “We will keep the investigation a secret.”

I would have liked to keep this news from Saoirse anyway. I would have just felt guilty doing it. Now that she was carrying our precious twins, I couldn’t help but want to protect her all the time. Despite how well she seemed to be doing emotionally now, I didn’t want to push her too hard. Stress and anxiety were not good for pregnancy, or so I had read in one of the books I had found in the library.

As with all things, I liked to be informed and prepared.

Saoirse would forgive me for the secrecy I would have to enact when I eliminated Alexa once and for all. She probably wasn’t going to be happy about it, but she wouldn’t be able to deny that getting rid of Alexa would finally banish the toxic doubts and fears that felt like they were still plaguing us underneath it all.

We would finally be able to fully embrace the blissful new beginnings.

However, keeping this all a secret from Saoirse was not enough to make me feel confident that she was still safe.

“I will follow your advice and keep the investigation a secret, but I will have to enlist at least a few of the Royal Guard to accompany me,” I told him. “And I ask a favor in return.”

“If it is within my power, I shall do it,” Daxton confirmed with a nod.

“You already acknowledged that if anything were to happen to Saoirse, it would destroy me,” I told him.

“Yes,” he said slowly.

“To ensure that doesn’t happen, I ask that you stay behind and protect her for me,” I finished.

“What?” Daxton responded. “I’m your Beta. I can’t stay behind on a mission such as this.”

“As my Beta, it is your job to protect the Alpha and Luna,” I reminded him. “She is your Luna now, and you are the only one I trust with the job of safeguarding her.”

Daxton stared at me, indecision clear on his face.

“If I am the only one you trust, then I should be by your side,” Daxton continued. “The king and queen will be here. They can protect Saoirse.”

“They don’t have the time for it or the skill that you have,” I countered. “I can handle myself, but Saoirse has gone through enough and has been taken from me too many times. I can’t let it happen again. And I can’t stay behind and wait for it to happen.”

Daxton stood there, staring at me, his mind at war with itself. He was a loyal friend. I had to give him credit for that. But my words had been true. Now that I was married to Saoirse, he had as much responsibility to protect her as he did me.

“Please, Dax,” I said softly. “Please grant me this one small piece of mind.”

“Ugh, fine,” Daxton said. “I want the final say on who goes with you, and I better get regular correspondence back.”

“Thank you,” I said. The relief I felt was real.

“You are right. She is my Luna,” Daxton said in response to my gratitude. “It is my duty to protect her, and I will do so at any cost.”

I walked forward and clasped him in a one-arm hug for a millisecond.

“How did I get so lucky to have you as a Beta?” I asked, trying to make the tone lighter.

“You’ll have to ask the Moon Goddess that one,” Daxton replied, but I did see his lip twitch slightly. “Let’s get to work setting up a team.”

We walked over to the small desk that sat along the one wall and started to go over who from the Royal Guard I would be able to trust with my life. We needed a combination of warriors who were skilled both in combat and keeping their mouths shut.

There was no time to wait. If we waited too long, Alexa could be long gone, especially since it would take us some time to reach the location she had been spotted in. It was rough terrain that wouldn’t allow for planes or most compact vehicles.

With Daxton to help me, it was easy to select a small handful of elite soldiers I had experience with over the years. I had been on covert missions with every single one of them over the years and knew how they responded to pressure.

We devised a tactic to not tell the men exactly what we were going after either. All they would know was that we were pursuing an unspecified but dire security threat to Egoren developing outside our borders.

I was feeling more confident the longer we discussed the plan and the more people added to it. It was a good plan and a good group of people. As the sun began to rise, Daxton left to gather the men. I wrote a small note to say goodbye to Saoirse.

It pained me not to go and say goodbye in person, but I knew that it would be harder for me to lie to her face than it was to lie in a letter. Besides, once I saw her, it would be much harder for me to want to leave again. A small part of me didn’t want to say goodbye because that would make it seem more real.

I was just sealing the letter when Daxton returned.

“The men are briefed and waiting in the great hall to depart,” Daxton announced.

“Thank you,” I said, standing up and walking over to shake his hand. “I will see you soon, friend. Please give this letter to Saoirse once you are sure we are too far away to follow. I don’t want her getting any wild ideas.”

“Of course,” Daxton said, grabbing the letter and tucking it inside his shirt. “And don’t forget to keep me informed as often as possible.”

“Of course,” I replied.

There was a moment of silence between us. It was odd to be heading out on a mission without my Beta. It rarely happened. Neither of us really seemed sure about what to do. With another handshake, I turned and simply walked out of the door.

It didn’t take me long to find my men and get them set to leave. There was no time to waste. Every second we wasted was another second for Alexa to escape. Despite how the secrecy with Saoirse and the men pained me, I knew it would be worth it once we caught the witch. Everything would be made right by this adventure.

I turned and led them out the door. This was our first step on the journey to Alexa’s remote location.