Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 1407 - 6 : A Race to Find Her

*Rhys*

I looked at the large clock hanging by the train terminal for what must have been the hundredth time. There were only minutes to go now.

My body seemed to shake in anticipation as the meeting time got closer and closer. I had been so eager to meet Saoirse that I hadn’t been able to stay put in the castle and came to escort her myself.

I wondered if it was possible that she was actually the girl from my dreams.

Not only had the last few days been awful for anticipation, but the dreams had also gotten worse. When I focused on them, I was sure the girl in my dreams was the clumsy girl I had seen on the computer monitor.

But still, I had to see her in person. I had to meet her.

A light breeze blew, pulling my long black hair into my eyes. I huffed in irritation. I should have pulled it up, but I never had the patience. Most of the time, it didn’t bother me. At that moment, I was hyper-aware of everything.

That included the faint sounds of a train on tracks.

Instead of feeling relieved, I felt my anxiety peak.

"What is up with you, man?" Daxton asked from beside me. "I’ve never seen you this keyed."

"I don’t know," I answered.

And it was the truth. As much as I wanted to meet this girl to prove I wasn’t crazy and that my visions were true, it was much more than that. But it was just a feeling, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Daxton was looking at me as if he was afraid I was going to lose my mind, so I took a long steadying breath. I didn’t want to make him worry. If he could notice, I was sure the rest of my close guards would too.

The train pulled up, stopping so slowly that I felt myself getting irritated again. I kept my composure and remained sitting as it came to a halt, and the doors opened.

I stood and adjusted my suit, searching the mass of passengers to find the face from my dreams.

"She’s not here," I announced as the last passengers stepped out. A new feeling of dread was starting to root itself in my stomach.

"Are you sure?" Daxton asked, still inspecting the faces that walked by.

"You can’t miss that hair," I said in response. "Are you sure she boarded the train this morning?"

"Yes," Daxton said. "I confirmed it myself."

The feeling in my stomach grew.

"I’ll search the cars. You talk to the attendant and see what you can find." Without waiting for an answer, I took off for the nearest car.

By the time I confirmed she wasn’t on the train, I saw Daxton hurrying toward me. The expression on his face made me leap onto the train platform and meet him halfway.

"What is it?" I asked quickly. "Tell me."

"It appears that during the layover at the Layton’s Hollow station, Lady Saoirse left and never reboarded."

His words processed in my mind.

"Perhaps she got cold feet and turned back around?" Daxton suggested, but I was shaking my head before he finished his sentence.

"Nobody goes through all of that work to contact me just to chicken out. Come on, Dax, she wrote me a real letter, for Goddess’ sake." My voice was coming out strained. "Does she seem like the type of person to chicken out?"

It was Daxton’s turn to pause now.

"No," he agreed.

"We need to get to the Layton’s Hollow station," I said. "Now."

It only took a few minutes to get Daxton, me, and a few guards into a couple of cars speeding to the station. But that seemed like a few minutes too long to me.

Daxton insisted on driving, which was probably a good thing since I couldn’t keep focused. The land around me flew by, and I didn’t notice a piece of it. My fingers drummed anxiously on my knee as if that would make us go any faster.

I closed my eyes and repeated to myself, “Faster than running. Faster than running.”

"Sir, the station just sent over the security footage for the layover that we requested," one of the guards said from the back. He hesitated ever so slightly. "You’re going to want to see this."

My stomach clenched even harder as I grabbed the phone out of his hand and pushed play on the small video.

Despite that it was on the small screen of the cell phone, it was easy to see when Saoirse stepped into the frame. It was as if my eyes were pulled to her immediately, and they continued to follow her.

I saw it immediately when three men ambushed her. Anger blinded me for a moment, and I had to push pause to calm myself again. But I needed to watch it. I needed to see what happened.

I pressed play.

I found myself impressed by the petite girl’s fighting ability. Her size made me think she would be easy to overtake, but she proved me wrong. Her mouth wasn’t the only feisty thing about her.

A growl escaped my clenched teeth as I saw one of the men give up and grab a rag out of his pocket to shove over her face. Her body went limp almost instantly.

Three men had to resort to drugging a tiny girl to take her. They were pathetic cowards.

I continued to watch the video until she was completely out of frame.

"I want to know who those men are and why they took her," I forced out, handing the phone back. "Dax, how long?"

"Even at the speed we are going, it will take us a couple of hours. But I will get us there as fast as possible," Daxton answered, and I felt him accelerate the car.

The guards continued to dig into any information they could find. Since we were in and out of cell service, it was taking much longer than I would have liked. I even pulled out my phone, trying to see if I could find anything myself.

"Sir," one of them interrupted.

"Tell me."

"It appears that Lady Saoirse has a bounty on her to be returned to Hunter’s Glen," he said.

"What? Why?" I asked in surprise.

"It doesn’t say."

"Who is paying the bounty?" I asked, pressing for more information.

"It doesn’t say."

"Ugh!" I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration and then took a deep breath. I needed a level head.

Usually, I was more level-headed.

"Do you think they looked like bounty hunters?" I asked. "They were a little rough."

"I’m not sure, sir," he answered. Sensing my growing frustration, he continued, "I sent the video to the men in the castle, and they are working on analyzing it right now to determine the culprits. It shouldn’t take them long with their resources."

I nodded in understanding. At least we had that going.

Finally, the car pulled up to the midway station. I opened the door and jumped out before the car had come to a complete stop. I heard the guards following close behind me. I was focused on getting to the workers and didn’t pay attention to anything else.

"Your Highness," the man behind the window said with a small bow. He had obviously been expecting us.

"Have you found anything else out about the missing passenger?" I asked without hesitation.

"Um, no," the man said, but his eyes shifted, causing me to frown.

"Prince Rhys, look at this," Daxton said, catching up to me and gesturing to the board next to the window.

Dead center of the corked surface was a picture of my dream girl surrounded by the words, “Bounty: Return to Hunter’s Glen,” with a phone number along the bottom. I reached over and grabbed it, ripping it down and pressing it against the window.

"What is this?" I asked. "Do you know who put it there?"

"I’m not sure," the man said, but he still wouldn’t look me in the eyes.

"Do you know who took this woman? Were they looking for the bounty?" I pressed.

The man shifted from foot to foot, still not looking at me or answering my question.

I sighed. I needed a better tactic.

"I am royal, so I can give you lots of gold." He finally looked up at me. "All you have to tell me is their names."

"Argent. He’s a local thug. He saw the sign and grabbed her," the man answered without hesitation. "He terrorizes this area. If he knew I told you..."

"You won’t have to worry about him for long," I promised. "Do you know where he took her?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head for emphasis.

I believed him. I gave a thankful nod and stepped away. After being stuck in a car all day, I was itching for some movement.

I walked to the edge of the station, where the woods met the tracks, and looked up. The knot in my stomach squeezed again as I looked up and saw the growing darkness.

"They are looking at maps in the area to find any possible locations," Daxton announced, falling into pace next to me.

"I know." That was all I could manage to say through the knot in my stomach.

We kept walking in silence.

"We’ll find her. We have more resources than anyone," Daxton said. I could tell he was trying to comfort me.

"It’s already been hours, Dax. If this were a simple bounty, then she would be home." I ran my hand through my hair again. "Those guys are not the type to go easy. What if we’re too late? What are they doing to her?"

I also wondered why it mattered so much to me.

I cared about all of my subjects, but this was something else. If something happened to her...

I stopped suddenly. Daxton stopped beside me.

"Do you smell that?" I asked.

I looked around our surroundings and was surprised to find ourselves in the same area as the security footage. The security camera was even hanging in the corner, confirming the location.

Daxton sniffed beside me. "Is that strawberries?"

A strong smell of strawberries and sunshine had hit me in the nose. I didn’t know how, but I knew it was Saoirse.

Without any more explanation, I stripped all of my clothes off and threw them to Daxton before running to jump over the tracks and shifting in midair. My large black paws thumped the earth silently on the other side.

“Follow me in the cars,” I mind-linked Daxton. “I’ll lead the way.”

I didn’t need a response to know he would do as I said.

As a wolf, my senses were much stronger, and Saoirse’s scent was even more potent. I didn’t have to search for the trail at all. It practically jumped out at me.

I pushed myself faster. The thought of how long she had been gone was still swirling in my head, and the pressure was still present in my stomach. Running and directing Daxton were the only things I focused on.

Out of the darkness of the night, I heard the sounds of a struggle. My breath hitched as I followed the sounds.

It wasn’t far now.

I was close.

I was on the edge of some trees when I could finally see the group of people. There she was. I could see her. I made it. Just as I saw them, I watched as one of the men slammed Saoirse to the ground.

The rage erupted out of me in a roar.

I was only partially aware of the men turning to stare at me in shock and horror as I leaped into the clearing. It was easy work dispatching the men. They never even had time to shift. It was not like that would have helped them.

Daxton showed up and tossed me my clothes before running around to finish up my work.

I dressed quickly and ran to the girl, who sat frozen in the middle of the clearing where she had been thrown to the ground. She focused her eyes on me as I neared her. A distraught look covered her face.

"Lady Saoirse, are you okay," I asked, kneeling next to her.

"I’m sorry," she apologized. "I missed my audience with the king."

And with that, she fainted in my arms.