Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1632 - 74 : Nestled in the Trees

*Kryzen*

It took more than a day’s journey to make it to Ethereal Grove. Maybe it was my imagination, but even time seemed to have a different meaning in Embervale. The day felt just a little bit longer to me, the sun sticking around for more time than in the Light Realm.

Briella looked up in wonder at the trees surrounding us. It was quiet except for the birds high up in the leaves above our heads. “This place is like something out of a fairytale,” she said in awe. “I’ve seen so many little woodland creatures. Are there not any predators around?”

It was true. The tiny rodents and other furry animals didn’t seem to fear humans at all. A couple of them scurried right up to us, tilting their heads as if we would give them little goodies just for existing.

Briella and Alyna had cooed at them, immediately digging into their bags for some bread we got from the Astral Haven bakery. They crouched down and fed the little animals right out of their hands while Roy and I watched in amusement.

“You are so sweet,” Briella cooed, picking up one of the chubby creatures. The round animal sniffed the air by her face, its tiny nose twitching. It rubbed at its circular ear with its paw.

“It’s strange that they don’t seem to fear us at all,” Roy said.

“It must have something to do with the Ethereal Grove members,” I said, stroking the side of the little rodent with my index finger. It curled around my digit in response, causing me to chuckle. “They look pretty chubby. I’m under the impression that they get fed by human hands more often than they should.”

It took a little bit of coaxing to get the girls to let the little critters go so we could continue on our way. I had to physically pull my mate away so we could continue down the path.

“We must be getting close,” Briella said excitedly, hurrying down the path. “I wonder what it would be like to have an animal companion.”

Alyna got all starry-eyed, clasping her hands together. “I bet it would be amazing. From what Alpha Azure said, it sounds like the animal companions are friends for life.”

“I wonder how the bond between human and animal companion works,” Roy wondered aloud, tilting his head slightly.

We all fell silent as we pondered that. I was curious to know the answer to that as well. Were they able to communicate with one another to the point where humans could?

“Kryzen, look,” Briella said, gesturing down the path.

I followed her gaze to a couple of teenage girls. They were looking around wildly as if they were searching for something, peering under bushes and behind trees. They both had long brown hair and similar facial features. I wondered if they were related somehow.

“Hi!” Alyna called to them, waving.

The two girls froze and stared wide-eyed at us.

Briella stepped forward. “We didn’t mean to startle you,” she said. “We’re looking for Ethereal Grove. Do you happen to know where it is?”

The girls didn’t answer. Before we could press them further, one grabbed the other and turned, breaking into a sprint.

We just watched them go for a moment, shocked by their sudden move.

“Wait!” Briella called out, breaking into a run after them.

“Briella!” I snapped, following after her. “You shouldn’t go chasing young girls like that!”

Briella ignored me, chasing after the two while the rest of us followed closely behind.

Briella was extremely fit, which meant she was also very fast. She caught up to the girls easily and, thankfully, didn’t reach out to grab them like I feared she might.

“Hey, you don’t have to be afraid,” Briella told the two.

It was actually a pretty comical sight. Briella was running alongside them at a respectable distance. The two girls were clearly running as quickly as they could, but they just weren’t as strong as Briella was.

“Irina,” gasped the slightly smaller girl. “I think it’s fine. She seems nice.”

Irina stopped running but pulled the other girl slightly behind her. “We don’t know that, Raya,” she scolded. “You know we aren’t supposed to be talking to strangers.”

The rest of us finally caught up, which just made the two even more nervous. They slowly backed away.

“We mean you no harm, girls,” Roy said, holding his hands up in a placating way. “We are just looking for Ethereal Grove.”

The girls’ eyes widened, causing me to suspect that they knew where it was because they lived there themselves. It was the only explanation since we were likely a ways away from any other community.

“We no nothing of such a place,” Irina snapped. “Now, go away to wherever it is you came from.”

“Irina, maybe they can help us,” Raya said, her eyes wide and on the verge of tears. She turned to Briella, looking shy and a little scared. “We are from the grove. My sister and I are searching for our animal companions.”

“Raya,” Irina gasped. “That’s enough. You’ve said far too much.”

“Don’t worry,” Briella said softly, smiling kindly at both the girls. It actually seemed to work. The two visibly relaxed slightly, Raya more so than her sister. Briella hesitantly reached out and put a comforting hand on Raya’s shoulder. “We’ll try to help however we can. That’s why we are here.”

I raised an eyebrow at the lie until I realized that Briella was entirely serious. I shook my head slightly. Just two minutes with these girls and Briella was already set on helping them. I knew that determined look on her face. She would do anything.

“Do you really think you can help?” Irina asked, sounding so young and lost as she gazed up at Briella. “They always come back no matter what, and now they’ve been missing for days. We don’t know what to do.”

Briella’s eyes were warm and sympathetic. “We are going to do whatever we can,” she promised. “It isn’t safe for you two to be wandering on your own. Do your parents know where you are?”

Both girls bit their lips guiltily and shook their heads.

“Alright,” Briella continued gently. “We’ll escort you home, okay? Then we can figure out what’s been happening so we can try to help.”

The girls agreed, not looking afraid of Briella at all anymore. However, they did look at Roy and me with some wariness as they led the way down the path.

Ethereal Grove was a community hidden among the trees. I doubted that we would have been able to find it without the girls’ help. Intricate homes were built on the branches of the trees, although many others were built into the trees themselves, with the thick trunks serving as the entryways into different dwellings.

“Irina! Raya!”

The girls were suddenly grabbed and shaken before they were hugged fiercely by who I presumed to be their mother. She had their eyes and long straight brown hair. “Your father and I have been worried sick. How dare you leave without telling anyone.”

Both girls blushed at being scolded in front of strangers. “We’re really sorry, Mother,” Irina said. “We were looking for our Nia and Sila and got a little lost.”

Their mother sighed deeply and loudly. “That is precisely why you shouldn’t leave without an adult with you. You are lucky that you weren’t hurt or worse.” The woman stopped when she finally noticed us standing there. She ducked her head. “Thank you so much for bringing them back here.”

Briella nodded. “It was no trouble at all,” she said. She smiled at the girls. “They were very brave. I can tell they are smart and passionate young women.”

The woman looked startled. “Yes, they are,” she said. “Although, they tend to be reckless at times. May I ask who you are? We don’t normally have outsiders coming into the grove.”

Briella opened her mouth to answer, but I stepped forward. “We are from Celestial Valley, sent my Mathias. We are hoping to gain some insight into some strange events that have been happening throughout Embervale. We believe the disappearance of your animal companions may be part of that.”

The mother’s eyebrows rose, her brown eyes wide. “I’m afraid I must get my daughters home. If you continue up this way, you will find Alpha Thorne and Luna Arboria’s mansion. I believe they’ll want to hear everything you know.”

We thanked her and were able to find the Alpha’s mansion, built into what had to be the largest tree in the whole forest, possibly the entire Embervale. It was about the size of the temple back in Celestial Valley.

The Alpha and Luna were in a meeting when we arrived, but the kind housekeeper led us inside and asked us to wait in the sitting room. We stared around the home, which had high ceilings. The fixtures were made of smooth, polished wood of varying shades of brown. It looked like a wooden palace, but the walls seemed to shine despite being made of wood.

“Who are you, and what business do you have here?” Alpha Thorne demanded.

He was by far the most intimidating Alpha we had met so far with dark eyes and short-cropped brown hair. He had a scowl on his face that I had a feeling was permanent.

I stepped forward, placing myself in front of Briella, growing nervous beneath the Alpha’s murderous look. “We mean no harm, Alpha Thorne,” I said, ducking my head for effect. “We come from Celestial Valley, searching for insight on some strange events that have occurred across Embervale.”

Before Alpha Thorne could react, Briella jumped in. “We want to help find your missing animal companions as well. We have reason to believe they are being used for a dark purpose.”

The Luna, who seemed far more agreeable than her husband, was the one to respond. “We have no reason to believe anything you have to say. Kindly leave, or we will be forced to call the guards.”

Maybe I was too quick to consider her more agreeable. I decided it was time to pull out our greatest weapon. I gestured to Briella. “This is Briella Black, granddaughter of Amara, Great Priestess of Celestial Valley.”

Briella stared at me in shock, but it seemed to have the desired effect. The Alpha and Luna gaped for a moment before the Alpha stepped down from the platform they stood on. “Forgive us for our rudeness, Miss Black,” he said. “We are humbled that a descendent of Priestess Amara would come to our aid.”

Briella stiffened but managed to smile. “It is my great honor to do whatever I can to help.”

An hour later, we were settling into our gorgeous guest house nestled in one of the tallest trees in the grove.

Briella dropped her bag onto the bed before glowering at me. “You shouldn’t use my name like that to manipulate people,” she scolded.

I just shrugged, smirking at her. “We needed a place to stay since we are going to be here a while. And it’s not like I lied or anything. You are Priestess Amara’s granddaughter, and we are going to help these people while finding the land of shadows. We did nothing wrong.”

Briella’s shoulders sagged, but I could tell she knew I was right. She shivered suddenly, wrapping her arms around herself. “Sorry for snapping,” she said. “I just have a bad feeling that Tian has something to do with this.”

I wrapped my arms around her, not daring to tell her I had the same bad feeling.