Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1644 - 86 : Paradise Before the Storm

*Kryzen*

I watched as Briella hugged her brother. It seemed as if they were having to say goodbye often nowadays. This time, I knew for certain that they would see each other again. We weren’t plunging into danger. We weren’t doing so yet, anyway.

It was a crisp morning. Briella, Roy, Alyna, and I were about to be sent to the island, the rendezvous point for the coming warriors.

“I feel like I say this every time you have to leave,” Kai said with a wry grin, “but I wish I could go with you.”

I understood Kai’s frustrations. I couldn’t imagine being in his place. He wasn’t a fighter, but his much smaller sister was. That would be like if I had to watch Alyna rush off into battle without me.

I just couldn’t do it. I had to protect the people I cared about.

“I thought you hated camping,” Briella teased, punching her younger brother lightly in the arm. When Kai just scoffed, her expression softened. “Even I won’t be able to find danger where we’re going. Don’t worry about me.”

I snorted, causing the Black siblings to look over at me. I shrugged. “It’s not a matter of you finding danger, Black,” I told Briella tersely. “Danger is the one that tends to find you.”

I saw Kai wince at the reminder. I clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll watch over her,” I promised.

“I don’t need to be watched,” Briella protested while rolling her large green eyes.

Matthias chuckled, walking up to us. We were standing in the sacred gardens just outside of the temple. The old priest claimed it was the best place to create a powerful portal.

“Good morning, Priest Mathias,” Roy greeted politely.

“Good morning,” Mathias said. He had a couple of elders behind him and gestured to them. “We were able to create a portal that will go straight to the island. I’m afraid it will only work from the valley, however, so anyone who wishes to go at a later date will have to congregate here.”

“Understood,” I said, straightening slightly. “Will it be able to send dozens of people at a time?”

Briella mentioned that her brother Kellan was bringing some of the Drogomor soldiers with him. King Rhys was supposed to be sending some of his men as well. I had never heard of a portal sending dozens of people at a time before.

Admittedly, I didn’t have a lot of experience with portals.

“The number of people shouldn’t be an issue,” Mathias answered. “Although, it should go without saying that creating a portal takes a lot of energy. We should do so sparingly. That being said, I will plan to wait until all of our allies have arrived before sending them your way.”

“Thank you,” Briella said. “We really can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve already done, Mathias.”

“Thanks are hardly needed,” he told her gently. “You are family, Briella. And you have already done so much for me and our people. I will always do everything in my power to help you.”

Briella’s eyes filled with tears. She threw herself at the priest, wrapping her arms around his neck. Mathias looked momentarily shocked, but his face softened, and he hugged her back.

Briella reached for my hand when the portal appeared, its soft bluish glow inviting but somehow foreboding as well. I took her hand and gave her an encouraging nod. Roy and Alyna appeared on my other side, standing straight and shooting us with determined looks.

I tightened my hold on Briella’s hand as we all stepped through the glowing passage together. I thought I heard Alyna let out a small squeak at the sudden change in gravity. It ceased to exist as the familiar weightlessness engulfed us all.

I marveled at how many times I had jumped realms in the past few months. I felt like no matter how many times I did it, I would never get used to it. Something strange happened to the body. It was as if I was no longer a physical being. I could no longer feel Briella’s hand in mine, but I still knew we were connected.

I honestly wasn’t sure if I liked the sensation. At the very least, it was no longer terrifying as it had been the first time.

A bright sun greeted us as we were dumped out of the portal. It took us all a moment to adjust to the sudden shift in gravity. I felt so much heavier all of a sudden.

Briella and Alyna both gasped in delight at the sight before us.

I couldn’t really blame them. The island was gorgeous, with white sand and crystal blue waters. Tall trees with large fan-like leaves swayed in the gentle breeze.

“Man, when this is all over, we should come back here for an actual vacation,” Alyna joked, nudging Briella in the side with her elbow.

Briella giggled and nodded in agreement.

Unfortunately, there was a lot to do before Mathias sent the soldiers over in a few days. They were due at the end of the week, and we needed to get the place ready. Thankfully, we had brought enough food to last us for a while, but we would still need to gather supplies and get a fire going so we would be warm at night.

Mathias had prepared us well with food, medical supplies, and plenty of tools. Roy and I set up our tents before the four of us wandered around the island, just getting a lay of the land so that we understood what we were working with.

“You sure you’re going to be okay roughing it out here, Prince?” Alyna asked teasingly to Roy as we walked.

There was a small forest on the island that we were exploring. As Mathias had promised, there was a small stream and a lake where we would be able to get fresh water for our soldiers.

Roy smirked at her, his blue eyes brightening. “You need not worry about me,” he said to my sister.

“What experience with roughing it do you have, Alyna?” Briella asked teasingly. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I grinned at the lighthearted banter but continued to survey the area. This was going to be our home for the next few weeks. We needed to make sure that we had everything we needed.

“Whoa, check it out,” Briella said, waving us over to the opening of a cave she had discovered behind a small waterfall.

It was a surprisingly large cave. I put it on my mental map as a possible place we could use as shelter in case a bad storm came in.

By the end of the day, we had made a lot of progress. We had gathered enough wood for a fire and to start building some simple dwellings. Roy and I would have to start those projects the next day.

I stretched after I dropped a load of firewood next to the piles we had collected.

Alyna did the same, dropping her much smaller stack beside mine. “Can’t we wait until the others show up to do all of this?” she asked, her tone teetering on a whine.

I was suddenly brought back to our childhood, remembering how our father treated her like a little princess. She was a bit spoiled because of it, but I had to give her a lot of credit for still helping out and deciding to come on this trying journey.

“We need to get as much done as we can before they arrive,” I told her patiently. “It will be much more vital for us to train with them in combat and magic-wielding than collecting firewood.”

Alyna just rolled her eyes with a small scoff. “It would be so much quicker with a bunch of extra hands,” she muttered under her breath.

I sighed but then ruffled her hair teasingly. “I’m glad you’re here, Alyna,” I told her honestly.

Alyna straightened and looked at me in surprise for a moment before grinning. “I wouldn’t miss it,” she said. I laughed. She sounded like she was talking about some kind of graduation ceremony or birthday party.

I nodded. “Just don’t forget that you aren’t trained in combat like the rest of us are,” I warned her firmly. “I won’t stop you from fighting, but I would prefer you stay with one of us at all times.”

Alyna rolled her eyes again. It seemed like she did that almost as much as she breathed. “Roy has already given me a similar spiel,” she informed me. “Sounds like I’m going to be sticking with him.”

That surprised me. I knew that Roy cared about my sister, but I couldn’t really imagine him lecturing her. He had to really care about her.

I was about to ask her about Roy when the man in question came wandering over. Briella was just a step behind him. “It’s starting to get cold,” he announced to me. “Should we start getting a fire ready?”

A little while later, we were sitting on the sand around a fire. It was getting a bit chilly as the sun started to set in front of us. Briella leaned her cheek against my shoulder. I wound an arm around her, tucking her into my side.

“There’s something really surreal about all of this,” Briella said suddenly, her eyes on the setting sun.

“You mean the fact that we’re in some island paradise, preparing for a potentially deadly war?” Alyna asked flatly.

We all laughed at the way she said it like it was no big deal.

“Yeah, basically,” Briella said with a giggle. Her voice dropped a bit, turning thoughtful. “I guess I was thinking more about just everything. I never imagined that I could be a part of something this large. I guess I always hoped I could help people but never thought I would be in the situation I’m in now.”

I could feel us all sobering at Briella’s revelation.

“Fate does have a funny way of operating,” Alyna said.

I rubbed my hand against Briella’s arm as I held her close. “We’re all here for a reason,” I told her. “We can’t predict how everything will go, but I do know that I’ll be beside you no matter what.”

She leaned against me even more and then moved so she could kiss me. “I know,” she said when she pulled away. “Thank you.”

Alyna stood suddenly, causing all of us to stare at her. “This is getting way too serious,” she said. She held her hand out to Roy. “C’mon, Prince. Let’s go for a swim.”

Roy’s eyebrows rose. “It’s getting pretty cold, Alyna,” he said, his voice heavy with disapproval. “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow–”

“Briella will go with me then,” Alyna said with glee, grabbing my mate’s arm and pulling her up. Before Roy or I could protest, the two were giggling madly as they ran toward the ocean. Roy and I had no choice but to follow them.

I was thankful for my sister at that moment, even though Roy was right about it being too cold. Briella squealed when her bare feet hit the water, sending sprays in all directions. She and Alyna chased one another in the shallow water. Briella looked genuinely happy. Maybe this was exactly what she needed.

Roy gave me a helpless shrug before running in after them.

I laughed before crouching low and sneaking up behind Briella. Alyna met my gaze and smirked before slinking away to chase Roy. Right as Briella straightened, I snagged her around the waist and spun her around. She shrieked loudly, her mouth in a wide grin.

I couldn’t even feel the cold as I held my mate tightly in my arms.