Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1682 - 124 : Waiting Lifetimes

*Briella*

I lay on the plush bed, the softness of the feather mattress offering little comfort to my aching body. The potion the healer had given me sat on the nightstand, its once potent magic reduced to a mere whisper.

It had worked at first. I had been sleeping better. The dreams had lost their power over me, but it had been a brief respite.

Sleep and I were still not finding common ground. I was more exhausted than ever with the pregnancy progressing, I was starting to run on fumes.

Kryzen had put his foot down. He had been so firm, his gray eyes clouded with concern as he commanded me to relinquish my duties.

"Rest, Briella," he had said, tucking a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. "The kingdom can wait. You cannot. Our child cannot."

Despite his orders, rest evaded me, always just out of reach. I moved from side to side, trying to find a position that eased the tension in my lower back. My growing belly felt like a heavy stone, filled with the precious life that stirred and kicked within. I could hardly believe that soon I would be holding our baby in my arms, but the anxiety gnawing at me was as relentless as the lack of sleep.

"Can’t you find peace, love?" Kryzen’s voice interrupted the silence of our chamber. He had been sitting quietly in a chair by the fireplace, the flickering flames casting shadows over his solemn face.

"I wish I could," I whispered, meeting his gaze. "It’s just... I’m so tired, Kryzen, and nothing seems to help."

He rose and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, his presence a solid reassurance. His large hand found mine, enveloping it with a warmth I clung to like a lifeline.

"Maybe another potion..." his voice trailed off, uncertainty etched into the lines of his face.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "They’re not working anymore. And I don’t want to risk anything that could harm the baby."

Kryzen’s jaw set, the muscles tensing as he grappled with his helplessness. "Then we’ll get through this together," he said firmly. "Every sleepless night, every moment of discomfort... I’m here for you, Briella."

“And when do you sleep? When do you get rest, Kryzen? Because if you’re up watching over me all night and then seeing to your duties as king all day, I can’t see when you find peace either.”

“I always find peace with you, wife.”

His words wrapped around me, woven from threads of love and loyalty, but I could feel the anxiety twisting tighter inside me. The due date loomed ever closer, each day a march toward an unknown future that I longed for and feared in equal measure.

"Sometimes I think that maybe..." I paused, my heart pounding against my ribs. "Maybe there’s something wrong, Kryzen. This isn’t normal."

He squeezed my hand, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss. "We’ll see it through," he murmured against my skin. "Whatever it is, we’ll face it. You’re not alone."

"Kryzen," I murmured, feeling the weight of his gaze upon me even with my eyes closed. "I need to be strong for our child. Our baby deserves all of me, not a mother haunted by shadows and secrets."

His hand found mine, fingers entwining with a tenderness that spoke volumes. "You will be, love," he assured me, voice thick with the emotion he so rarely displayed. "You are the fiercest woman I know. This, whatever this is, won’t stand in your way."

I wanted to believe him. Every fiber of my being screamed for it to be true, but doubt lingered, a bitter taste on my tongue. It wasn’t just about me anymore. Our child needed me whole, undistracted by whatever forces tugged at the seams of my consciousness.

"Sleep now," Kryzen whispered, brushing a lock of hair from my forehead. "I’ll watch over you. Let the dreams come. We will face them as we do everything else—together."

His words were a lullaby, soothing the turmoil within. I moved on the soft bed, a groan slipping from my lips as I tried to find a position that eased the discomfort in my back. Rest, they said. As if sleep were a loyal hound that would come trotting at my call. These relentless dreams, these whispers in the dark, clawed at the edges of my mind, leaving me weary and frayed.

Kryzen pulled me closer, his firm hands massaging my lower back until all the knots and tight muscles started to release, and I finally found comfort.

Darkness enveloped me. It felt like the fabric of reality was woven from the void itself. I was adrift, floating without direction or purpose.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, a sense of weightlessness took over. I realized I was suspended in a vast emptiness. It was like being lost in an endless sea of nothingness with no sense of time or direction.

Panic set in as I struggled to find solid ground or any sign of life. It was as if the world had disappeared, leaving only me and the ominous void.

Silence reigned supreme until a whisper shattered it. It was a voice like the rustling of leaves, impossible to discern as male or female, yet undeniably there.

"Who are you?" I called out into the nothingness, my voice barely above a breath. "What do you want from me?"

The whisper curled around me, a secret shared between old friends, but its meaning slipped through my grasp like water. My heart thudded, a drumbeat of alarm as I reached out, searching for something, anything, to anchor me.

"Leave me be!" I wanted to scream and demand answers, but my throat tightened, the words trapped behind a wall of fear. I couldn’t afford these distractions when our child’s arrival was so near.

"Please," I begged instead, a single word filled with the weight of my desperation. "Let me go."

I received no answer, but I could feel them there. I tried to swing around to find whoever it was that was metaphysically stalking me, haunting my nights and disrupting my days.

The whisper returned, more insistent this time. It set goosebumps crawling across my skin. I still saw nothing, but this time, I could hear them quite clearly.

“We have been waiting for you,” it breathed into the hollow space around me, “Oh, how we’ve been waiting for you Briella Black, Luna of Embervale. For more than one lifetime now, but we will wait no more.”

A chill raced down my spine. I felt the stirrings of panic within my chest. “Waiting for me?” My voice wavered, betraying my growing fear. “Why? What do you want from me?”

I could almost feel the darkness lean closer, the presence behind the voice growing thick around me like fog. But no answer came, only the heavy silence that seemed to pulse with unspoken words.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” My scream pierced the stillness, echoing into the void. “I don’t understand! Please, tell me what you want!”

No reply came, only the sense of being watched and evaluated by an unseen force that held all the cards but refused to play a single hand.

My eyes snapped open, breaths coming in short, sharp gasps. The dream had released its grip, but the terror it invoked clung to me like a second skin. I lay there, heart pounding, trying to will away the remnants of fear as my surroundings slowly came into focus.

I sat up, clutching the bedcovers to steady my trembling form. Kryzen’s silhouette was etched against the moonlight seeping through the curtains.

The room was shrouded in darkness, save for the soft glow of moonlight that slipped through the drapes, casting long, ethereal shadows across the floor. Kryzen sat beside me, his gray eyes reflecting concern and the quiet strength that always seemed to surround him.

"Kryzen," I whispered, my voice hoarse from the screams that had not truly sounded outside my dream.

He reached out, his touch warm and grounding against the cool sweat on my brow. "I’m here, Briella. You’re safe."

"Safe..." I repeated though the word felt empty. "These dreams... they aren’t just dreams." My breath hitched as I tried to piece together my thoughts. "Someone is trying to reach me. There’s a voice in the darkness, and it knows me. Somehow, it knows me."

"Who is it?" His question was soft but carried the weight of his own fears.

"I wish I knew." My gaze locked with his, pleading for understanding. "It says it’s been waiting for me for lifetimes. But why? What does it want?"

"Could it be Tian?" His voice broke the silence, a hint of an old fear resurfacing.

I shook my head, more out of intuition than knowledge. "No, I don’t feel his presence. This is different." My voice sounded foreign as if the dream had laced it with shadows. “And I told you in the end, I didn’t feel a darkness from him. Something, or someone else, was in control. Maybe...maybe that’s who this is.”

Kryzen’s hand found mine, intertwining our fingers. "We’ll figure it out," he said firmly, though I saw the flicker of worry in his eyes. "Whatever or whoever it is, we’ll face it together."

"I need help, Kryzen.”

“Then we’ll see the healers again. Someone, anyone, Briella.”

“Our healers are wise, but I fear they lack the depth to navigate these waters."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" he asked, his gaze never leaving mine, searching for a path forward.

"Kai," I said without hesitation. "He understands things beyond the physical. Healers in the valley learn from energies and connections that most cannot even sense. If anyone can unravel these dreams, it’s him."

Kryzen nodded slowly, the lines of worry softening around his eyes. "If you believe Kai can help, we will send word at first light. He is your kin. He shares your bond with Embervale. Maybe he can shed light on this darkness that haunts you."

"Thank you," I whispered, feeling a fragile peace settle over me. Kryzen knew as well as I did that the connection between siblings in the Embervale was profound. Our shared experiences with the light magic of the valley ran deeper than blood.

"Rest now, Briella," Kryzen urged gently, tucking a strand of dark hair behind my ear. "We’ll face this together. You’re not alone."

I nodded, drawing comfort from his presence and the resolve in his voice. Even though sleep seemed like a distant promise, I lay back down.

Sleep was pulling me under, but I was terrified to let it take me back into its embrace. Each time I closed my eyes, the dreams crept back in, whispering dark secrets and foreboding omens. I didn’t want to face the darkness again, even if it would bring answers.

But I couldn’t stop myself from drifting off, and sleep finally overtook me.