Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1616 - 58 : Blissfully Unaware

*Briella* 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

I crossed the lavish room Kryzen and I were staying in so I could peer out over the gorgeous community below me.

It had been a few days since we arrived in Lumina Mountain. I had been just as restless as Kryzen at first, but I was quickly falling in love with the magical city.

Spending time among the warm people only served to show me how little I knew about the Embervale Realm. I was under the impression that the realm was made up of smaller communities like Celestial Valley. Maybe that assumption was because when my mother told stories of the realm, it was about the peaceful way they lived, giving me and my brothers the image of small, modest cities.

Lumina Mountain was far from small. That much was obvious as I gazed out over the shimmering icy buildings that lay over a blanket of soft snow. It was fairly early in the morning, but there were already dozens of people milling down different paths.

What really fascinated me about Lumina Mountain was how even with their advanced architecture and obvious economic success, the people were still humble and peaceful. They had a rich, bustling city, yet they didn’t act like it.

Lumina Mountain wasn’t just a beautiful city. I felt as if it had a different kind of magic, a kind of energy that was unique to it alone. I attested it simply to the clear, crisp mountain air at first but quickly determined that it was much more than that.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but this place was special.

I turned when I heard the bathroom door open. Kryzen stepped out, his hair damp from his morning shower. I was still in the pale blue nightgown I had been provided with while Kryzen was already dressed in thick, dark pants and a warm button-up shirt.

Kryzen smiled when he saw me at the window and crossed the room to stand beside me, automatically wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pressing a light kiss to my cheek in greeting.

“Good morning,” he rumbled against my skin, immediately causing little bumps to rise as his breath tickled me.

I sighed with contentment, leaning against him. “Good morning.”

He followed my gaze over the city. “Did you see something out there?” he asked.

I frowned at his tense tone. “No,” I said. “I was just admiring the view. It is nice that the Alpha and Luna can see the whole community from here. They can watch over their people.”

Kryzen scoffed, causing my frown to deepen. “I somehow doubt that the Alpha and Luna are using their vantage point for anything more than their own pleasure.”

“Kryzen,” I scolded, my eyes widening in surprise at my mate’s bitterness. “You shouldn’t say things like that. We are guests in their city and their home.”

Kryzen just shrugged, his jaw clenching as he narrowed his eyes and stared down at the city with me. He seemed lost in thought for a couple of minutes, his arms tightening around me. He finally seemed to force himself to relax and let out a long sigh. “Did you have any plans for the day?”

I looked at him in concern. It had been obvious that Kryzen was growing more restless by the day. He didn’t seem to hold the same appreciation for the beautiful icy wonderland that I did. For some reason, I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet.

I knew Kryzen wanted to leave as soon as we learned Alpha Nova and Luna Lyra knew nothing of the land shrouded in shadows, but we figured we could stay and ask around. We spent the past few days wandering the city, going to museums and shops, and just chatting with the townsfolk.

We learned a lot about the city but nothing that even hinted at a lead to the mystery land we were searching for.

I shrugged and gave Kryzen a sheepish look. “I know you’re probably thinking we should continue on, but I feel like we’re missing something here. Maybe we could stay for just a little longer?”

Kryzen gritted his teeth together and looked away from me. “I don’t know,” he said doubtfully. “We’ve already been here for a few days, and it’s going to take another couple of days to get down the mountain.”

I pursed my lips and gazed up at him for a moment, trying to decide how to convince him to stay for just a little while longer. I hummed thoughtfully, turning in his arms so I was facing him and wrapping my arms around his middle. “Maybe what we need is a break from searching for leads,” I said slowly, batting my eyelashes innocently.

He raised an eyebrow, but I could tell my tone piqued his curiosity. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he said.

I thought maybe “break” was the wrong word to use. I didn’t know Kryzen Stormfall to be the type to relax about anything. “We haven’t trained or worked out in days. We should probably get back to that today.”

I knew Kryzen long enough to know that I was very fluently speaking his language with those words. He was so competitive that it was probably driving him mad that the only physical activity we had been doing lately was walking. I could tell by the way his gray eyes sparked that he liked the idea of brushing up on some of our fighting techniques.

“Shall we go find a place to do some sparring?” I asked eagerly.

Kryzen smirked down at me. “I didn’t realize you were so eager to get your ass beat, Black.”

I giggled and pushed away from him so I could get dressed, throwing him a teasing look over my shoulder. “In your dreams, Stormfall.”

Kryzen and I linked our hands as we walked through the bustling city. I couldn’t help but think that this was exactly what my restless mate needed. He already seemed so much more relaxed now that we were out and about.

I sighed contentedly as we crossed a bridge overlooking the large lagoon, which was surrounded by couples and young families in various recreational activities. Children were romping about in the snow, while couples held hands and sat on crystal benches.

I leaned into Kryzen’s side, just enjoying the serenity of it all. He wrapped his arms around me as we leaned against the bridge.

We both jumped when we heard our names being called. We looked up to find a few men and women hurrying over to us.

“Mr. Stormfall and Ms. Black!” one girl shrieked, waving madly at us as they all rushed over.

“We saw your performance at the feast!” another yelled. “You were both fantastic!”

I felt my cheeks burn as we were basked under all the attention. “Thank you,” I said shyly. “But it was really nothing. We’ve both been training for a while now.”

“Oh, it was far from nothing,” one guy insisted. “You are both extremely talented. You ought to think about performing as a career. People from all over the Embervale would love to watch you.”

“That is very kind of you,” Kryzen said, smiling tightly. He put an arm around my waist to lead me away. “We have some business to attend to, but it has been great speaking with you all.”

The group waved cheerfully as we hurried off the bridge.

Kryzen was rolling his eyes once our fans were out of earshot. “They truly have nothing better to do. Here we have these powerful abilities, and these people think they should be used for entertainment.”

I squeezed his hand soothingly. “We have to keep in mind that the Lumina Mountain people have been living in peace for their whole existence. We can’t expect them to understand the real danger that could befall them.”

I could tell Kryzen knew I had a point, but that didn’t keep him from scowling. I sighed and tugged him down to a little clearing on one side of the crystal lagoon. He badly needed to spar.

I stepped away from him before getting into a defensive stance, curling my fingers twice in a “bring it on” gesture.

It worked. Kryzen’s eyebrows rose. He smirked openly at me, his dark gray eyes lighting up as he fell into a fighting stance. “I wouldn’t taunt me if I were you, Black.”

I just grinned cheekily at him. “Good thing you’re not me,” I quipped. Before he could say anything else, I dashed forward, one fist flying upward.

His eyes widened but was able to dodge me easily, stepping to the side. He chuckled once when I attempted to trip him, missing completely. “You’re getting a bit sloppy. We’re probably not training nearly as much as we should be.”

“Hey,” I protested. I stuck my tongue out at him. “You are apparently all bark over there since you have yet to land a hit on me.”

“Oh, I’m just getting started, little miss,” he teased. His eyes darkened as he lunged, causing me to stumble back slightly.

I smirked as I straightened, throwing a fist toward Kryzen’s face. He caught my hand in his and pulled me toward him. I used my other hand to hit his wrist, causing him to release me. We continued that way for a few minutes, trading blows and dodging each others’ attacks neatly.

I stopped suddenly, raising an eyebrow at my mate. “Something wrong?” I demanded. “You’re not as focused as you normally are.”

Kryzen’s lips tightened, telling me I was right. He had other things on his mind. “I just think that we should get out of here sooner rather than later,” he told me.

“Kryzen,” I sighed with just a bit of exasperation. “I think that we should wait just a little longer. I know there’s something that we can learn from these people.”

Kryzen frowned, sweeping his leg out, forcing me to jump away. “But how do you know that?” he demanded. “I understand you have a feeling, but should we really be going off emotion alone for something this vital?”

I tried not to show how much that comment affected me. He was right. I didn’t have real evidence that staying any longer would benefit us. I just had a feeling that we weren’t supposed to leave yet.

I couldn’t quite understand the feeling. I wondered if I was just acting on emotion alone. Maybe I was afraid to keep going, too fearful that doing so would mean actually finding Tian and facing some very real danger. Maybe I wasn’t ready to stop spending my time in this beautiful land where everyone was blissfully unaware of the deranged dark man out there.

Maybe I was hiding.

No, I decided just as quickly. This wasn’t fear. I was certain there was some unfinished business to attend to on the mountain, but it was becoming harder to convince myself of that fact when we had spent the past few days searching for answers and coming up empty each time we returned to the Alpha’s mansion.

“I know it sounds strange,” I started, finally dropping out of my stance so I could face Kryzen fully. “But please just trust me, Kryzen. I’m acting on more than just emotion here. There’s something that we’re missing. I just know it.”

Kryzen’s shoulders sagged, but his gaze intensified as he also dropped out of his stance and crossed the space separating us. I didn’t take my eyes off his as his hand rose to gently caress the side of my face.

“I do trust you,” he said, stroking my cheekbone with his thumb. “I’m sorry if I implied that I didn’t. We can stay a little while longer.”

I melted against his touch, despite the obvious tension still between us. “Thank you,” I murmured. “Maybe we can go talk to the elders. If they don’t have any way of helping us, we can leave.”

Kryzen nodded. He held out his hand to me. I took it, squeezing it determinedly.