Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1642 - 84 : Marveling at Our Closeness

*Kryzen*

I squeezed Briella’s hand reassuringly as the gates to Celestial Valley came into view. It was a bittersweet return for her, I was sure. She loved the valley. It was her home, and I was aware of the great responsibility she felt toward it. That obligation was the reason she wasn’t as excited as she normally would be upon returning.

She had been quiet for much of the journey back, barely speaking unless one of us spoke to her directly. While we were all lost in thought and anticipating the uncertain future that lay ahead of us, Briella was the one who was carrying more than all of us on her petite shoulders.

Alyna frowned sadly at Briella and then gave me a pointed look like I was the reason for her sullen mood. She just rolled her eyes at me when I shrugged helplessly before she threw an arm around Briella’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. Remember, you’re not alone in this. We’re going to be right there next to you, no matter what happens.”

Briella’s eyes widened before she smiled warmly at my sister, hugging her back. “I know you will be,” she said. “Thank you.”

Alyna looked triumphantly over at me as if that’s all I had to do to make Briella feel better. I just rolled my eyes at her.

Briella clearly wasn’t cheered up in the slightest. She was just smiling for my sister’s benefit now. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders with a concerned frown, wishing I could make her feel better, but we would just have to win this upcoming fight.

Kai was there immediately as we passed through the Celestial Valley gates, followed by his friend, Lillian. They both rushed up to Briella and hugged her fiercely.

“We’re so glad you’ve made it back safely, Briella,” Lillian said, her tone reflecting her relief.

Briella hugged the girl back warmly. “I missed you guys,” she said. “I have a lot to tell you both.”

Lillian let Briella go so that the two siblings could hug. Kai hugged his sister tightly. “Not a day went by where I wasn’t worried sick about you,” he muttered, sounding almost annoyed. He pulled away and glared playfully down at her. “You’d better have good news after being gone for so long without contacting us.” 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Briella grimaced. “Depends on what you mean by good news,” she quipped with a nervous laugh. Her shoulders sagged, and her wide green eyes grew serious. “We need to meet with the elders right away.”

“What’s happened?” Kai asked as he led us to the temple. We knew where it was, but it seemed like Kai didn’t want to leave his sister’s side.

Briella flinched. “Something bad,” she admitted. “We are all in danger.”

Kai didn’t press her further, but it was clear that he was horrified by her words. Gentle Lillian was staring wide-eyed between the siblings.

“We’re so thrilled to see you all home safe and sound, Briella,” Mathias said as we stood before the council of elders.

I didn’t miss the way he held eye contact with each of us as he spoke, which I appreciated. He was clearly trying to communicate that he thought of all of us as members of the valley.

Briella offered the elders a small smile. “And we are relieved to be back,” she said. “But I’m afraid we did not return on our own accord. We come with a warning as well as the intent to begin preparations for...” She couldn’t finish, the words seeming to get caught in her throat. Her eyes flew to mine helplessly.

I squeezed her hand reassuringly and stepped forward. “While on our journey, we have discovered something disturbing,” I said. “We happened upon an underground labyrinth where a dark city exists. An enemy of ours, named Tian, was there creating an army of possessed individuals. He plans to bring this army up here to try and take over the Embervale Realm.”

I heard Kai and Lillian suck in a sharp breath of shock.

Mathias’ expression hadn’t exploded in horror as I had expected it might. Instead, he looked grave, his entire countenance darkening. “Is he the one responsible for bringing that ailment to our valley?”

Briella swallowed hard but nodded bravely. “We are almost one hundred percent certain of that, Mathias. He has some kind of power over these shadow creatures. We don’t know if he has created them, but he definitely controls them.”

“Whether he created them or not is no concern of mine,” Matthias said, his jaw clenched tightly. He held my gaze and then Briella’s. “What are the two of you proposing we do?”

Briella and I shared a surprised look, not quite expecting the head priest to ask for our opinion. I thought Briella was hoping that Mathias would take over in terms of proposing a plan of action.

I cleared my throat. “Their dark army is large in numbers. We will need to gather as many allies as we can to help us defend this realm.”

Mathias nodded as if he had been predicting that all along. He straightened. “Then that is exactly what we’ll do,” he announced. “When is this supposed siege going to take place?”

“On the day of the eclipse,” Briella said through unmoving lips. “Tian hopes to use the depletion of magic throughout the land to his advantage. He’s a ruthless tyrant, Mathias.”

Mathias nodded seriously. “We have no choice but to be even more ruthless,” he said. “We will call on our nearby allies immediately.”

*Briella*

I should have been relieved, but I was far from it.

We were home now and successfully warned Mathias and the entire valley of the coming siege. Mathias was going to call on our allies so that we could begin forming our own army. I should have been feeling better because we had a plan now. We weren’t going to let Tian take us by surprise.

Instead of relief, I felt guilt.

I didn’t want to drag Mathias into this. He was like a grandfather to me. His kind face morphing into horror and seriousness had broken my heart. I didn’t want him to have this burden on him. He should have been living the rest of his life in peace.

A little voice in my head told me he couldn’t live out the rest of his life in peace if we weren’t living in times of peace.

I clenched my jaw and politely told the voice to shut up.

“You’re making that face again.”

I straightened my nightgown before turning to face Kryzen, who was already climbing into bed. I forced my tight expression to relax a bit before approaching the bed. “What face?” I asked casually.

Kryzen’s eyebrow rose, making it clear he knew I was playing dumb. “The one you make when you’re having an internal argument with yourself.”

I drew in a breath, cursing the fact that he had learned to read me so well. I didn’t have a response, so I just looked down at the comforter. If I denied it, he would know. There was no point.

I heard Kryzen sigh heavily. I looked up. He was holding his arms out to me. “Come here,” he commanded softly.

My eyes filled with tears at his tender tone. I swallowed thickly before climbing onto the bed with him, crawling into the safety of his arms. I marveled at how well we fit together, like two puzzle pieces. I shut my eyes, letting his warmth bathe me.

I realized I needed this as Kryzen dropped a kiss on the top of my head. I needed him now more than ever.

I pushed myself up, putting my hands on his smooth, bare chest so I could press my lips to his. He responded to the kiss automatically, his reaction surprised but willing. He cradled my face in his hands, his thumbs stroking my cheekbones.

I leaned into him, parting my lips so that I could tease his lower lip with my tongue.

He froze briefly before gently pulling away. “Are you sure about this?” he murmured. “Are you well enough? Maybe you should rest.”

I knew better than to take this as a rejection. He was just concerned about my health and well-being.

The firm bulge pressing against my legs told me he wanted this just as much as I needed it.

“I need you,” I said in a low voice. “I need to lose myself in you, Kryzen. I need to feel every part of you.”

He needed no further urging, claiming my mouth hungrily, one hand going to the back of my neck to keep me still. His hands were suddenly everywhere once he practically tore my nightgown off of me and tossed it carelessly onto the floor.

I was already breathing hard as I reached down and pulled off the boxer shorts he had been planning to sleep in. His cock was more than ready for me, thick and just begging to go inside of me. I licked my lips before getting on my hands and knees and giving the tip a taste, sucking lightly. I grinned around Kryzen’s length when I felt him shiver.

“On your back,” he ordered tersely.

I could have given him a different kind of lip, snapping that I wasn’t going to take orders from him, but I could already feel my arousal dripping down my inner thigh. I needed him now.

Kryzen didn’t keep me waiting. As soon as I was on my back, he lifted my legs up, parting them roughly, his dark gray eyes glinting when he saw how aroused I was. He bent his head and trailed his tongue along my inner thigh. I gasped, a delightful shiver going through me.

“You’re so sweet,” he said huskily, “and needy.” He grinned teasingly before his gaze became intense as he lined up his cock to my eager entrance.

I moaned deeply as he plunged inside of me roughly. His hands squeezed my thighs as he entered me over and over, sliding in and out of my slick passage.

“You’re mine, Briella,” he growled. “Say it.”

“Yours,” I gasped, once again not even caring that he had given me an order. He felt too good. All my nerves were on fire as he continued to press into me, filling me completely.

I cried out as an intense orgasm washed over me. I dug my fingers into the bedsheets, arching my back.

Kryzen didn’t slow his movements, thrusting his hips in the same intense rhythm, causing my whole body to tingle deliciously. I was dizzy once I collapsed against the bed, completely spent but also not ready for Kryzen’s smooth movements to stop.

He bent down to kiss me, his length still deep inside of me. He chuckled quietly. “Did I wear you out?”

I lifted my hips. “More,” I begged.

Kryzen kissed me deeply and obliged, rocking his hips again, causing me to scream and curl my toes. I dug my fingers into his arms as he finished, trembling inside of me. He collapsed on top of me, kissing me deeply again before easing out of me. I sighed deeply at the sensation and the buzzing in my ears.

Kryzen groaned softly in satisfaction as he rolled onto his back. As if he couldn’t stand even an inch of space between us, he scooped me up and laid me on his bare chest, his arms wounding around me automatically.

I held him close, pressing myself tightly to him. I marveled at our closeness and just how much he completed me.