Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1590 - 32 : Into the Shadows

*Kryzen*

I cursed inwardly as I fumbled with my tie, leaning forward toward the mirror conveniently placed by the front door of the guest house.

The three-hundredth anniversary of the founding of Celestial City was upon us, and Alpha Ray insisted on holding the grand celebration as planned.

“The Alpha is out of his mind,” I grumbled to Roy, who was adjusting his tie with practiced ease. “He knows what happened the last time there was a gathering of this magnitude. The last thing we should be doing right now is celebrating. If anything, we should be evacuating.”

Roy dropped his hands once he finished with his tie and gave me a sidelong look. He messed with his hair, sweeping his fingers along his hairline. “This is actually quite a common practice for a leader and not a bad one either.”

I frowned, giving up on my tie for the time being. I had tied one multiple times but normally, one of the palace servants did it for me. That night, however, I was extremely uneasy about the whole situation. It was clearly messing with my ability to do simple tasks like adjusting my clothing.

“What do you mean?” I asked Roy, deciding I might as well bite.

He turned to face me fully. “It has been several days since the last attack, and the Alpha has already done all he can in terms of precautions. Allowing events like these to take place as normal is a way to keep the citizens calm.”

I could follow that logic, but I disagreed with Roy about one thing. I didn’t truly believe that Alpha Ray had done everything he could in terms of precautions. Sure, he had magic wielders stationed around the city, but maybe there should have been more investigating being done. That task had been left to us and us alone. A little royal help would have been beneficial.

“There better be loads of security at this thing,” I quipped to Roy.

Roy nodded in agreement. “I should hope so, especially since the Alpha went to great lengths to make sure we were attending tonight.”

I sneered a bit at the reminder. We had sent in the written invitations that indicated we would be going to the celebration. That apparently wasn’t enough for Alpha Ray. He also sent one of his personal attendants to the guest house to ask us to verbally confirm we would be at the feast.

Briella had been confused by the extra effort that had been taken, but Roy and I both knew what was going on.

Alpha Roy knew that Briella was capable of holding her own against these shadow creatures. She had demonstrated that at the ball a couple of weeks earlier when she exorcised the entity out of a young woman.

Anger coursed through me. The Alpha expected Briella specifically to be present that night. He would likely want me there as well since I too held some level of supernatural abilities. The Alpha hadn’t witnessed that though.

He wanted Briella to be present to protect the guests.

It was surprising that Briella didn’t realize that, but she had been so preoccupied lately that it wasn’t that shocking in retrospect. Roy and I agreed not to point our theory out to her since it would just add more pressure and stress onto her.

As if she somehow knew we had been talking about her, Briella appeared in the doorway. I was once again taken by her beauty in yet another ballgown. This one was a pale blue and served to bring out the beautiful hue in her flushed cheeks. Half of her wavy dark locks were in an intricate bun, the rest spilling over her shoulders and down her slender back.

“You look beautiful,” I told her at once.

Roy smirked a little, letting me know that it was obvious to him that I didn’t want him to be the first one to say it this time.

Briella’s head snapped up, and her bright green eyes rounded, the color in her cheeks brightening to a breathtaking rose color. “Thank you,” she murmured softly, a shy smile grazing her lips for just a moment before she frowned again, her eyes misting.

A curse bubbled up my throat, but I forced it back down, clenching my jaw instead. I hated seeing her upset, but it made it even worse due to who was causing her distress.

Roy stepped forward and handed one dagger to me and then held another out to Briella. “I have a feeling we’ll need these tonight,” he said.

I took the dagger he offered and tucked it away inside a concealed pocket in my suit jacket. Roy and I had discussed beforehand the likelihood that the demonic shadows would likely strike again tonight. We needed to be on guard and vigilant throughout the night.

Briella put a hand up and shook her head. “I have the only dagger I’ll probably ever need,” she said, patting the side of her skirt around where her thigh would be.

I tried not to show how the simple movement aroused me as I imagined those silky smooth thighs of hers wrapped around my waist as I drove into her. I cleared my throat slightly and raised an eyebrow at her. “Will you be able to access it quickly in case of an emergency?” I asked skeptically, eyeing the layers of skirts that hid her shapely legs from my view.

She rolled her eyes before whirling around to face us again. “I did it just fine at the ball the other week,” she quipped, but then she winced at the memory of the ball and grew subdued.

“Don’t be afraid, Briella,” Roy said gently, stepping forward to rest a hand on her shoulder. “Kryzen and I will be there with you. You won’t be alone, even if something does happen.”

Briella smiled at him and put her hand over his. “I know,” she said. “Thank you.”

We started toward the door to head to the party. I fell into step beside Briella, who was still looking crestfallen. I ducked my head slightly to get a better look at her face. It wasn’t fear that flitted across her smooth features. She looked regretful and a bit pensive as if she was feeling guilty.

I had a pretty good idea as to why she was feeling that way.

“You don’t have to worry about Drius,” I told her firmly. “I’m sure he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself.”

The irony of my statement wasn’t lost on me. How many times had she told Drius that she was capable of taking care of herself? It had to be dozens during his short time with us.

Briella wasn’t at all cheered by my attempts at comforting her. Her lips tightened into a thin line. Her shimmering eyes were large and sad. “I’m sure he’s probably fine physically,” she said finally. “But I’m not sure about emotionally. He probably went back home to Drogomor, but I don’t understand why he left without saying goodbye. He must be really upset with me to just take off like that.”

I had to control my tone so it didn’t sound too hostile. “He would be a fool for believing that you weren’t taking his feelings into account,” I said firmly. I turned my head so I could hold her gaze. “You are kind and always showed how much you cared about him. I’m sure he will come around.”

I was relieved that Briella smiled. She seemed slightly comforted by my little speech. I felt a rush of affection for her and couldn’t help but press a kiss to her temple before offering her my arm.

She blushed brightly but accepted it, looping her arm through mine.

The party was in full swing when we arrived. It was a larger affair than the ball the other week, so the festivities spilled out into the surrounding gardens. Tables with stark white linen dotted the whole outdoor venue with strings of lanterns hovering overhead, casting everything in a golden glow.

We were walking through the throngs of people when I noticed that Briella was pressing herself into my side as if she was trying to hide.

“What is it,” I murmured to her, bending my head a bit so I could speak near her ear.

Briella’s eyes shifted around before they met mine. “It’s nothing,” she said in a soft tone that was nowhere near convincing.

I narrowed my eyes before following her gaze. It was then that I realized people were glancing at her and whispering. I scowled and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. We should have predicted this. It wasn’t shocking that people would be talking about Briella and looking at her as if she were a spectacle. She had put on a show of some sort during the ball.

“They don’t appear to be afraid of you or judging you, Briella,” Roy said softly from my other side. “I’m sure the majority of them respect you for helping to get rid of the shadow creatures.”

Briella looked unconvinced. She seemed to press herself even further into my side, and her actions honestly mirrored my thoughts. When I looked at the clusters of people murmuring and staring at Briella, I saw some respect in some of their gazes but also suspicion and a touch of fear.

I would have to keep Briella close to me all night.

“Let’s just try to enjoy ourselves for a little bit,” Roy suggested quietly. He looked warily over at the dozens of people who were glancing at us once in a while. “We have too many spectators to really be going around investigating or interviewing at the moment. It would only alarm them.”

Briella and I nodded before we decided to make our way inside the mansion so we could amuse ourselves with drink and dance. I allowed myself to enjoy the feel of Briella’s body against my side and was looking forward to having my arms wrapped around her on the dance floor.

Before we could go inside, a loud booming sound had us all jumping. Briella squeaked, and I shielded her with my body automatically.

“Relax,” Roy said from behind me, grasping my shoulder and pulling me back so I was looking up at the sky. “Look.”

A shower of sparkling light rained down above our heads, the purple and red glimmers quickly disappearing into the night sky.

It was fireworks.

I snorted in amusement at how jumpy we all were before I tugged Briella away from the open door so that we could watch the show. People were oohing and aahing around us, their necks craned as they gazed upward as more colorful explosions erupted in the sky.

Briella was looking up at the show, her eyes wide with delight. I smiled, grateful that she had a distraction from the prying eyes.

I looked to the side sharply when a dark, familiar figure shifted in the corner of my eye.

General Tian was slinking through the distracted crowd, his dark eyes moving back and forth as if he was up to something. I followed his form as he slipped away into the shadows.

My eyes narrowed.