Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 364

Chapter 22 We Eloped!

*Ciana*

Darkness surrounded me as I sat there on the dingy dungeon floor-waiting.

Waiting for what, I wasn’t sure. My mouth was so dry, my tongue was practically stuck to the roof of my mouth. My stomach was so empty, it had given up rumbling long ago and now just consisted of a dull ache deep within me.

My dreams, when I managed to doze off, usually consisted of me standing next to a beautiful lake full of water that I couldn’ t get to, no matter how hard I tried, and a feast full of all kinds of my favorite foods that I simply couldn’t taste.

I wanted to tell Jake the truth. In fact, I had told him the truth.

But he couldn’t release me.

At this point, if I had been a spy for that Luther person, I probably would’ve confessed. But I had nothing to tell Jake or Theo or anyone other than the truth.

I had been hoping to find out more information about the state of things in my own pack, and that’s why I’d gone to look for that man who had kidnapped Brook, and nothing more….

Brook. The thought of her made me sad, not because I missed her so much, though it was true that I did, but because I felt so sorry for her. She had to be worried sick about me.

“Ciana!”

Why, even now, I was hallucinating that I could hear the sound of her voice. Goodness, how I missed her.

“Ciana? Are you in there? It’s so dark.”

288 Vouchers.

As quickly as I could get up off of the floor, I rose, stumbling on unsteady legs as I went to the unguarded, but locked, bars that made up a cell door.

“Brook?” I questioned; reaching through to touch her hand. It felt so warm compared to my cold one. “Are you really here?”

She pulled me to the bars, hugging me tightly. “Oh, thank goodness you’re all right. I’ve been so worried about you!” Her tears landed on my cheek, and my tongue darted out to lick them up without me even thinking simply because it was moisture.

She let me go. “Here, I brought you some water.”

“Brook, you’re my angel!”

I gulped down an entire bottle of water. Thank heavens! I hoped that amount of liquid could last me a couple more days in this hideous dungeon.

“How did you get here?”

“I probably shouldn’t say,” she whispered. “But… Beta Jake is not as mean as he lets on.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I figured that must be the truth. While he had denied me any food or water for the last few days while I was a prisoner down here, he hadn’t harmed me, and I had a feeling he could do that if he wanted to.

“I need to find a way out of here,” I whispered to her. As I rehydrated, I could think a bit clearer.

“I had a feeling that Prince Theo would release you soon,” Brook said. I looked at her surprisingly as she offered me her analysis, “otherwise there was no way Beta Jake would allow me to sneak in…”

“Brook, Prince Theo isn’t that forgiving.” I interrupted her. Any positive feelings I ever might’ve had toward Theo, feelings that perhaps he wasn’t as bad as I’d thought, or maybe that he could be kind when he wanted to be, had faded as quickly as the last food I’d eaten had faded from the memory of my discontented stomach.

Perhaps I was important to the prince because of his stupid berry, but I really didn’t care if he never managed to grow another one after the way he’d treated me.

However, I didn’t want to debate with my good friend when she was taking a great risk to pay me a visit.

“Oh Ciana, I wish I could help get you out,” Brook signed, and I could see fresh tears welling up in her eyes, even though it was so dark. “But not very many people have access to the key to your cell door.”

“I know,” I said, thinking it was impossible or far too dangerous for her to try and sneak the key away from Jake or Theo. “Who else would have the key?” I muttered aloud.

Suddenly, an idea came to me. “Brook!” I said, grasping her arms tightly in my grip. “I know who you can ask for help!”

Puzzled, she stared at me as what I was sure had to be a

maniacal grin crested my face. “Who?”

All I could do was chuckle with delirium as I told her my plan.

If we needed to, he could shift into his wolf form, and I could climb on his back so we could travel more quickly, but he was pretty certain no one would be missing him.

“It’s not as if my father ever cares where I go,” he commented, not for the first time. I felt bad for him. It was clear to me that he was the least appreciated of all of his siblings, at least from his father. It was like he was just a spare in case things didn’t pan out with Theo becoming the next king.

It made my stomach twist into knots a bit to think of Theo being king. Someone like Warren would make such a better ruler. He was kind and understanding. He would listen to the people and do what was necessary to keep everyone safe and happy.

Theo, on the other hand, would likely just throw everyone into

the dungeon when he got angry at them….

“Will they wonder where you are, though?” I asked.

Warren shook his head. “No, I told my most trusted personal attendants that I was going away to one of my summer homes for a while. They believed me, and everyone else will because I’ve never lied about it. I’ll get you safely to your pack lands, go to spend some time at my summer home, and then return to the palace. No one will be suspicious of my absence. They won’t even notice that I’m gone. Believe me.”

I wasn’t sure about that. I could think of at least one other person who might very well notice he was gone and call attention to it. But then, if the rumors were that Prince Warren had gone to one of his vacation homes, then chances were even Sophia would have to accept it.

Silence settled around us as we continued to walk. I was careful to watch where I placed my feet with each step, and I was starting to get tired. We’d been walking for a while now, and I hadn’t gotten any rest in the dungeon. I’d fallen asleep there, but it wasn’t restful.

“You seem pretty comfortable out here in the woods,” Warren said to me.

He must not remember a thing about me from before. The thought made a blanket of sadness settle over me for a few moments. “Yeah, I am,” I told him. “Growing up, I’ve spent a great deal of time traveling with my parents or in the woods on my own, and the animals always seem to like me.”

“I noticed that with my brother’s pets as well,” he said. Then, he cleared his throat and said, “You’re a special girl, Ciana

Black.”

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks as I thanked him. Maybe he didn’t remember who I was before, but he knew who I was

now, and he seemed to like me.

And that was promising.