Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 197
Chapter 197: Soren’s Plan
Preparing to attack was a lot of work, and I wasn’t quite feeling up to the challenge. I didn’t want Ros alie or anyone else to know that I was still feeling weak from the coma I’d been in recently, so I kept that in formation to myself.
Running helped. In fact, it was the one time I could clear my head and feel the most in touch with my body. I spent several hours at night running around in the woods near the palace, thinking about strategy but also repairing my injured body.
Sometimes, I ran so fast and so long that, by the time I returned to camp, I was exhausted.
After the entire night of running, I was on my way back at dusk, getting mentally prepared for the day.
Across the courtyard in front of us, I saw Rosalie as she went about directing the soldiers who were preparing to leave on an offensive attack. I couldn’t help but want to stare at her. She was so beautiful in the early morning sun, I could hardly believe how lucky I was to have her as my fated mate.
Thad just shifted and gotten dressed when I felt a bit dizzy from running so far. My head began to spin, and I reached for a nearby tree to steady myself, but my hand slipped, and I started to fall.
The feel of strong arms around me had me attempting to jump away. It felt as if I’d fallen into the hands of the enemy
“My brother, the mighty warrior, is having trouble standing up after he has exerted himself too much, but I am here to catch him and keep him from falling to the ground.”
The sound of Soren’s voice set me at ease but also grated on my nerves. I shrugged him off, leaning back against the tree. “Let go. I’m fine.”
He made sure I was steady on my feet and the tree I was leaning against was strong enough before he let me go. “Sorry,” he chuckled, but his tone didn’t sound apologetic at all. “Brother, would it kill you to say thank you?”
He had a point, so I said, “You startled me, that’s all. And, well, I’m fine. But thank you.”
He put his hand over his heart and said in an exaggerated tone, “Ah, brother! You are so, so welcome!”
| shook off my goosebumps and smacked the back of his head. “Shut up! Is your goal here just to gross me out?”
He let out another laugh. Then he leaned toward me with a deliberately mystified smile on his face. “ have a secret. Do you want to know?”.
After helping me, he was eager to put some space between us. Even though I was a little off-balance, | had no trouble taking a few steps away from him.
“Tell me,” I replied flatly.
I was still gruff with him, holding a grudge for some of the things he’d done to Rosalie, but I was sure he felt the same way about me,
However, I also had a better understanding of how he became who he was. I had grown to see him in a different light recently, not just because I realized he did have Rosalie’s best interest at heart, but also be cause my little brother had grown into a skilled warrior and strong leader.
I wasn’t quite prepared to let him know that, though.
He smirked at me and slowly shook his head. “Still not the best of friends are we?” Soren joked. Then. he took on a serious tone. “Listen, I need to go after Damian.”
I stared at him for a long moment, not quite following what he was getting at. “Damian?” I repeated. “Romero’s Beta?”
Soren nodded. “Yes. It’s complicated. Rosalie’s plan to go on the offensive is a good plan. She’s defi nitely thought it through, but no one quite knows Damian like I do, and I’m afraid she might be underesti mating how cunning he can be.”
Then, after a moment, he added, “Besides… you’re here now, and that leaves little room in her life for me… at least, not in the way I’d wanted.” He stared down at the ground, a distant look in his eyes.
I didn’t like to hear that anyone had romantic feelings toward Rosalie, but for now, I just ignored it. “Her plan is a strong one,” I agreed with him.
“Yes, well, she also came up with a plan regarding Damian. It’s a good one, but mine will be more suc cessful.” He was able to look back at me now that we were talking about work again.
“What is her plan?” I asked him, my brow furrowing as I was trying to imagine Rosalie in a new light.:
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“She’s trying to get Damian to work as a double agent of sorts,” Soren explained, keeping his voice low. “Damian wants this war to last as long as possible because while the three forces in our fighting triangle are facing off with one another, he’s sneaking around behind us, picking up territory and power. He’s play ing both sides of this, much like Romero apparently was. Besides, we can’t take the chance that he will end up providing more men to our enemy or letting them use the islands to transfer more troops here as King Kal has in the past.”
· Tnodded. It still made me angry to think of everything Romero had been trying to pull off on both sides. At least he was in prison now.
“So… What are you planning to do?”
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“I need to go get Damian,” Soren told me. “No one knows those islands like I do. I can get in there and get to him before he even knows what’s happening.”
I stared at my brother, my forehead puckered in thought. I wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at. “Won’t that be dangerous?”
His eyebrows arched as if he wasn’t expecting that question. “Why in the world would you care if some thing happened to me?” he asked.
| gave him an incredulous look. “You’re still my brother. You dumb*ss.”
He smirked at me and then shrugged. “Isn’t everything we do dangerous?”
“Yes, of course, it is,” I said. “But there are different degrees of dangerous, and you’re talking about tak ing everything up the scale to an eleven or twelve. You’re thinking of doing this on your own?”
“I am,” he told me, “At least, until I get to the islands. I know nearly every person who lives there, so I’m sure I can find help if I need it. I’ll pretend to be one of Kal’s men so I can get close to Damian, and then… I’ll assassinate him, well, pretend to assassinate him, to be precise.”
I had to wonder how much of what he was saying was meant to appease me-or Rosalie if I told her what he was doing. I doubted he planned on using any help.
“Well, I don’t know,” I said, “If anything were to happen to you, Rosalie would be very upset.”
Our eyes fell on the beautiful queen, who was kneeling next to one of the citizens who’d come here seeking shelter. She was talking soothingly to him as she patted him lovingly on the shoulder. The young man was leaning against a tree, as if he was too exhausted to even make it to the medical tent.
“Oh, so that’s why you’re so concerned,” Soren said to me, pretending to be hurt. “And here I was think ing that you were worried about me because I am your younger brother.”
Again, I gave him a look that said, “Stop having so much fun acting like an idiot.”
But Soren continued, “The only reason that Alpha Ethan is concerned about me is because he doesn’t want his Rosalie to be hurt if something happens to me. Ah, so hurtful, so cruel!”
“That’s enough, Soren,” I rolled my eyes.
He smiled. “But don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Pretending to be one of Kal’s men will allow me to get close to Damian, close enough to assassinate him, if I so choose.”
“And is that what you think needs to be done?” | asked him. He needed to make the right decisions here, or he could cause worse problems.
He nodded. “I don’t see that he can help us as much as he can hurt us. I need Damian to believe that he cannot trust Kal and ensure Damian wouldn’t help Kal or James while Rosalie proceeds south. I need to break their alliance, which will prevent King Kal from using them to move his troops.”
“That makes sense, but Kal’s troops are all already here, so he won’t need the islands now,” I argued.
He shook his head. “Not moving them here-I meant for Kal to move them back to the west.”