Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1629 - 71 : The Wave’s Song

*Kryzen*

I stiffened as screams pierced the peaceful night like a knife through paper.

Briella whirled, and I followed her horrified gaze, grabbing onto her wrist when contorted creatures seemed to materialize from the darkness. They were eerily similar to the one we encountered in the forest on our way there.

They were large and hideous with dark scales and pointed faces. I jumped in front of Briella, shoving her behind me as the creatures approached.

I cursed under my breath as a few more appeared behind the others. They were snarling, revealing sharp, pointed teeth as they crouched low, their blood-red eyes focused on us.

“That huge protective shield would prove useful at a time like this,” Roy said from my side. He had my sister tucked behind him as well.

“I couldn’t protect all these people with it,” I said through my teeth. “We’re going to have to fight.”

Suddenly, the biggest creature, the one at the front that seemed to be leading, lunged at us, snapping its teeth. I barely managed to jump back, shoving Briella even further behind me.

People started to shriek and cry out, scattering like bugs that had just gotten their nest smashed. A couple of people ran into me in their panic.

This wasn’t good at all. We needed to get everyone to safety, but that would be impossible if they were all running in different directions in their frenzy.

I cursed loudly as I watched one reptile start to advance on a young woman and her small children. The woman was bravely standing in front of the kids, her thin arms outstretched to cover them as best she could.

A blur of mermaid green flashed by in my peripheral. I gaped when Briella dashed forward, her dagger poised and at the ready as she threw herself between the woman and the monster.

“Briella!” I shouted, lunging forward to help.

Briella had already swiped her dagger against the creature’s ugly snout by the time I got there. “Leave them alone!” she screamed sternly. She turned to look at the small family. “Go! Get out of here!”

The mother quickly obeyed, scooping up the kids and sprinting away.

I watched the creature focus on Briella’s exposed back and was just a second too late as the creature jumped at her. Thankfully, Briella had her eye on it and was able to dodge it, but one of its claws nicked her shoulder.

“No!” I roared when blood began to drip from her arm, immediately staining her glittery green dress.

Briella winced but otherwise barely reacted to the injury and even used her bleeding arm to slice at the creature again. I conjured up my shield, doing so in the shape of a dagger, and stabbed the monster right in the neck, watching with grim satisfaction as it cried out and fell to the hard ground.

Briella let out a breath but didn’t relax. “Thanks,” she said.

“Don’t thank me,” I ground out, reaching for her, my eyes narrowing at her injury.

“Kryzen!” she snapped, batting my hand away. “There’s no time!”

I knew she was right, but she was bleeding, for crying out loud. Thankfully, it didn’t seem too bad or to be bothering her, but it could have also been the adrenaline.

I glanced around to find that a few men had joined us and were fighting as best as they could with sticks and other blunt objects. I grabbed Briella’s good arm and pulled her along with me as I climbed up onto the table, not wanting to take my eye off her.

“Head to the escape route!” I bellowed. I made eye contact with a few of the guys I had met the other day. “Lead as many as you can through the evacuation route we found! Now!”

Thankfully, the men quickly obeyed, yelling at their pack members nearby to follow them. The chaos died down only slightly as children were grabbed, and people fled from the scene. The creatures made a move to follow the large crowd, but Roy and I stepped in their way, our weapons poised and ready.

“Briella,” I ground out between my teeth. “Go with the others. Make sure they make it out of here.”

I wasn’t surprised when my mate just rolled her eyes as she stood on my other side, her dagger gripped firmly in her small hand. “Not on your life, Stormfall.”

I glanced down at her briefly before focusing my attention back on the creatures quickly approaching again. “You’re injured,” I snapped. I adjusted the glowing dagger I had conjured in my hand, making it a bit longer, grunting at the effort. I turned to my sister. “Get her out of here,” I ordered, jerking my chin at Briella.

“I’m staying,” Alyna snapped stubbornly.

Again, I wasn’t surprised. I caught Roy giving my sister a worried look, but he didn’t have time to comment as the creatures started to lunge at us.

I tried to keep Briela behind me. As soon as I attempted, she again jumped out in front of me, her tiny dagger flying as she effectively stabbed it into one of the monsters’ necks.

Unfortunately, she missed its vitals. It jerked away, snapping angrily at her.

I was about to come to her aid despite the creature I was currently fighting snapping at me with its sharp fangs. Alyna dashed to Briella’s side and stabbed her dagger into the creature’s side, finally taking it down.

Roy and I were back to back as we fought a handful of overgrown reptiles. The clashing of metal against scales echoed through the night as we struck the creatures. We were surrounded. I was quickly growing weary from using my powers nonstop, but we couldn’t stop. We would be done for if we faltered.

I spared a glance at the girls to ensure they were holding their own alright. They seemed to be doing so. Briella, despite her petite frame and injury, was fighting with a fierce fire in her bright green eyes. She flew forward, her dagger like a strike of lightning as she switched between the two creatures they were up against.

Although she had quite a bit less training than Briella, Alyna was holding her own, her movements quick and calculated. I felt a surge of pride as I watched the most important women in my life watch each others’ backs and defend themselves well.

Roy always had my back as well. He was ferocious when he needed to be, his movements sure and calculated. The blade he swung glinted as it sliced through the flesh of our enemies.

The four of us made a good team, rising up where the others fell short. We were going to survive this. We had to.

We were surviving, keeping the creatures at bay, but our bodies were starting to tire. I could tell we were all starting to wear out, Briella especially due to her injury. Her movements were a bit slower, and her strikes were slightly less calculated. The fire in her eyes had died down as well, but the stubborn curve to her mouth remained as she continued to fight.

“We need to fall back!” Roy shouted over the chaos, his voice strained from exertion.

I ground my teeth together. I knew he was right, but I wasn’t sure what we needed to do next. There were too many of them. If we ran, they would just follow, and turning our backs on them would only make us more vulnerable.

We had no choice. We couldn’t keep fighting indefinitely.

Just as I turned to give the order for us to retreat, deep battle cries echoed from above us. About half a dozen Astral Haven men jumped down from the cliffs. One of them met my gaze and gave a smirk and a nod before they started attacking the creatures.

Relief coursed through me. After nodding to Roy and the others, we all continued to fight. We were still outnumbered, but this was much more manageable.

It became apparent that while the Astral Haven members were a huge help, they weren’t going to be enough. We seemed to be evenly matched now, barely able to hold our own. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

I stayed by Briella’s side, ready to jump in if she struggled even slightly. It was clear she was tiring even more, her arm still bleeding in thin rivers down her pale skin.

“You need to get out of here,” I gritted. “Go find cover. We’ll take it from here.”

Briella’s stubborn gaze met mine. Her green eyes suddenly lit up. “I have an idea,” she said. Without warning, she sprinted off, catching the attention of a couple of scaly beasts. They snapped at her as she ran past.

I cursed before following her, my eyebrows furrowing when I realized she was headed toward the waterfall. We made our way behind the biggest one, which was covering the mouth of a cave.

“I don’t know if this is going to work,” she admitted, looking at the wall of water. We could see the chaos through the other side.

“That seems to be a theme lately,” I couldn’t help but say despite the circumstances.

She held my gaze seriously. “When I give the word, we need everyone to sprint this way as fast as they can and not stop until they are behind the waterfall in this cave.”

I nodded firmly but could feel the worry and doubt in my eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“Just trust me,” she said. “Go back to the others. You’ll know when it’s time for you all to run back here. Run fast, and don’t look back.”

I nodded, grabbing her good shoulder and kissing her firmly. “Good luck. Be careful.”

“I will,” she said.

I sprinted back out of the cave, returning to Roy’s side. I looked around and jumped back up on the table. “When I give the word, we’re all going to run toward the waterfall!” I yelled. “Be fast, and don’t look back! Don’t stop running until we get inside the cave!”

Our group didn’t stop fighting, but it was clear from their expectant expressions that they heard me.

Now we just had to wait for Briella’s signal.

She didn’t keep us waiting. My head whirled toward the cave as Briella’s voice came from it, loud and powerful.

She was singing.

Briella’s voice echoed through the chaos, her melody hauntingly beautiful as it washed over us all. As her voice rose up, something else did as well.

A wall of water was coming from the large lake in front of the cave. It rose quickly, a tsunami prepared to wash away the creatures.

It was time.

“Now!” I bellowed. “To the cave!”

They needed no coaxing. Roy grabbed my sister’s arm, and we sprinted quite literally for our lives. I slashed at a couple of creatures on the way, ensuring they would be behind us.

Thankfully, it was a quick sprint to the cave. The creatures had been so unprepared that they stayed quite a distance behind us.

Briella was still singing loudly when we got there. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her mouth was gaping open as the beautiful crescendo flew forth. She glanced at us briefly, ensuring we were all there before she stopped singing, the silence deafening.

The large wave crashed down, taking the creatures beneath its dark watery depths.