Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1709 - 151 : Boundless Compassion

*Kai*

It was hard to believe it had been nearly eight years since my sister and I arrived in the valley.

It was so long ago that there was a haziness surrounding the memory. It was not that parts of it were blurry, but there was a dream-like quality to it. I had been a scrawny eighteen-year-old at the time, still very much a kid in a lot of ways.

What I remembered most about that day was my excitement for entering the unknown. I loved my initial home in Drogomor, but all throughout my life, I felt like I was something of an outcast. My older siblings seemed to know what they wanted to do in life. Kellan would be Alpha of Drogomor, and Briella always planned to lead their military.

I was a healer but hadn’t always wanted to be one. My siblings seemed to have destinies lined up for them as soon as they opened their eyes at birth. As a shy child, I tended to fall into the shadow of my older siblings, allowing them to take the spotlight and the attention.

My parents were good though. They didn’t allow me to just disappear and fall into the background. They encouraged me to do what I wanted, but I had no clue what I wanted. It was my mother who realized how compassionate and kind I was, suggesting that I go the healing route as soon as I was old enough to comprehend those topics.

I doubted her instincts at first. I hadn’t seen myself as kind or compassionate. I was quiet and shy, often spending my free time reading. However, when I began taking courses to pursue medicine and began training with some of the older healers, I found that my mother had been right. Not only did I seem to be absorbing the material pretty quickly, but I also enjoyed caring for people. There was something satisfying about it. I wanted to help people.

When Briella was asked to go to Embervale to learn about the ancient magic of our mother’s people, stories that we were told as children came flooding back. My siblings and I grew up listening to tales of the magical realm.

The ones that stood out to me the most were the ancient medicinal rituals that were practiced by the valley’s priests. It was like my voice came out on its own when I requested to accompany Briella to the realm.

It felt like my chance was being handed to me on a golden platter. Maybe it was presumptuous of me to assume that I would be welcome in that magical realm, but for the first time in my life, I felt a strong desire to pursue something.

It had happened so suddenly, but I knew at that moment that I was meant to go to Embervale.

I flipped a few pages in the book I had grabbed, a small grin forming on my face. I could have never predicted what my life would become. Briella and I assumed we would return to Drogomor after a few months. In the past few years, I had only been back to Drogomor a couple of times a year.

I heard some light footsteps in front of me and looked up. I couldn’t stop the warm smile from spreading out across my face.

Lillian was across the large room and clearly hadn’t noticed me sitting at one of the library desks. The library would be closing soon, so she probably didn’t notice I was there. She was often extremely unaware of her surroundings.

It was a personality trait that both terrified and endeared me.

I felt a mischievous part of me surface. I quietly closed my book and stood from the desk so I could make my way over to her.

We had been dating for years, but the sight of her still caused excitement to flit through me. She was wearing a light yellow summer dress. Her long hair was twisted into a long braid own her back. She had a small white ribbon tied around the end to secure the hairstyle.

She looked very cute.

I leaned against a nearby bookshelf for a couple of moments, just content to watch her. Her fingers skimmed one of the titles. She took a breath in before stretching even further, barely able to wrap the tips of her fingers around the biding to pull it down. She turned, staring down at the book for a moment before she noticed me standing there.

Her bright blue eyes widened, and she dropped the book in surprise. “Kai,” she said, her tone chiding, as her cheeks dusted a soft pink color. “You scared me.”

I chuckled. “Didn’t you notice me sitting right over there?” I asked, gesturing behind me to the table I had been occupying.

Lillian’s cheeks darkened as she shook her head, looking embarrassed.

My heart warmed at her bashfulness. I had assumed that her shyness would diminish the longer we were together, but she still blushed so easily.

It was one of her many traits that I found adorable.

“You got off work early,” she noted, tilting her head slightly as she smiled. She skipped toward me and tiptoed so I could press a kiss to her mouth.

“A little bit,” I confirmed, wrapping my arms around her waist in a greeting hug. “The delivery went much more smoothly than we were expecting. Mother and baby are doing well.”

I had originally expected to be working overtime that night with one of the women in our village having gone into labor earlier in the day. Thankfully, she gave birth much more quickly than expected, leaving me free to take off a bit earlier than normal.

“I came here to read and wait for you,” Lillian said sweetly. “If I had known you were getting off early, I would have waited at the infirmary cafe or something.”

“It made sense for you to wait here,” I said. “It’s not too far for me to walk over. You would have been bored at the infirmary.”

“I could never be bored where you are,” she said quietly.

I felt any previous tension from the day’s stress completely leave my body. I never expected to find love in Embervale, and I somehow found the kindest woman in existence.

“Have you eaten yet?” I asked. I reached out and gently plucked the book she held out of her hands so I could carry it for her. My eyes skimmed the cover before I glanced over at her, my eyebrows rising. “Another romance?”

Lillian bit her lip shyly before her hands shot out so she could take the book back. “Of course,” she said, sticking her tongue out at me. “You should know that I read these by now.”

I ruffled her hair with a laugh. It was clear that she knew very well that I was teasing her. “Would you like to go out for dinner tonight?” I asked. “I thought we could go into town and get something.”

Lillian beamed up at me. “I would like that,” she said.

I nodded and reached down to take her hand. “The honor is mine,” I told her warmly, marveling at how after eight years, the butterflies that swarmed in me still raged violently when she was near.

Lillian and I were both working at the infirmary the next day. Lillian worked mainly with infants and children, so she usually worked in the morning while I took more shifts in the afternoons and evenings. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

I worked with both children and adults. Once in a while, we had the pleasure of working together.

I grinned at Lillian as we approached the room of the patient we were seeing—the woman who had just given birth the day before.

“I love this part of my job,” Lillian said, skipping lightly as we closed in on the room.

I laughed fondly. “You look like you’re headed off to get dessert instead of work,” I said.

Lillian giggled. “I can’t help it,” she gushed. “I love newborn babies. There’s something so peaceful and sweet about them.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from voicing my opinions on newborns. They were so squishy-looking in my opinion. I wasn’t going to tell my girlfriend that though since she looked so excited.

I opened the door and held it open for Lillian to enter ahead of me. “Good morning,” Lillian chirped.

Both mother and baby were awake. The mother was sitting up cradling her child. She looked exhausted, but I noted that she had a healthy hue to her face and her eyes were wide and focused.

I checked the mother over while Lillian took the baby in her arms and started with its care. “How are you feeling?” I asked the mother.

“I’m doing much better than yesterday,” she said. “I’m just really tired right now and sore.”

“You’ll feel even better by the end of the day,” I promised her. “I’m going to do a quick healing ritual on you. It should help with the pain and give your body the strength it needs to heal the cuts you accumulated during labor.”

“Thank you,” the new mother said with a deep sigh.

I nodded and began the ritual, reaching into my white coat pocket to retrieve the magical serum to spread over her stomach. After murmuring a simple healing chant, I spread the glowing mixture over some of the deeper cuts on her tummy, watching carefully as the skin began to knit itself together more firmly than it had before.

“That already feels so much better,” the mother sighed, her eyes shining with gratitude. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” I said gently.

I turned to go but not before stepping over to where Lillian was retrieving information on the baby. She had the little child on a small table, taking its weight and other vital data to ensure the infant’s health.

“You’re doing so well,” Lillian cooed, jotting down some notes before scooping the little baby up in her arms and swaddling it in a thin blanket.

I felt my whole body begin to melt as I gazed at my girlfriend holding a stranger’s baby. She seemed to be glowing as she cradled the child. Her face was so gentle, her movements graceful as she walked over to hand the baby back to the mother.

Something happened inside of me then. I could only stare at my girlfriend. It was as if I was seeing her for the first time. I had known that her compassion toward others was unmatched. She was the most selfless person I had ever met, hardly ever thinking about herself and always making herself available to help those around her.

“Kai?”

I blinked and shook my head slightly. It took me a moment to realize that Lillian was staring at me oddly.

She tilted her head to the side. “Is something wrong?” she asked, concern creating a little wrinkle between her eyebrows.

I wanted to kiss the tiny divet away, but I held back, knowing that it was a professional setting and I needed to act as such. I settled for giving her a warm, reassuring smile.“Nothing at all,” I said. I nodded first to the mother and then to her before taking my leave.

As I walked down the hall to my next patient, I decided that I was going to ask Lillian to marry me.