Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 101 It’s Been A While, My Dear Brother

**Soren’s POV

It had been a long time since I’d had a knife held to my throat, but this wasn’t the first time. NôvelDrama.Org owns all content.

I didn’t move, but chuckled, “It’s been a while, my dear brother.”

He didn’t speak. I glanced around my surroundings. In the darkness, it looked to be an underground tunnel.

“I was wondering when you will show up. I have to say, I'm impressed with how patient you are.” I tried to wiggle and make myself comfortable. “Dear brother, have you missed me?”

“Don’t move.”

I almost laughed. My sight had adjusted to the darkness.

I stared up into my half-brother’s narrowed gaze as he grimaced at me, the emotion in his eyes mirroring the way I felt about him deep into my bones. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Do you know what the f*ck you’ve been doing?” He growled as he inserted the blade of the knife into the soft tissue of my neck, the dagger sinking just far enough that a ripple of pain passed through me, and I felt a trickle of blood slide down my throat.

I didn’t move a muscle, holding my breath, not because I thought he would kill me, but because I didn’t want to make the wrong move and have him accidentally jab the knife in too far.

This was a bluff—and we both knew it.

I smirked, “Of course I do, big brother!”

“Then get the h*ll out of this war. It has nothing to do with you.”

I stared at him for a second. “What do you mean it has nothing to do with me? Can’t you see? They need me.”

“They? Kal? Soren, you and I both know he’s just using you.”

I sneered, “So what? I’ve gotten what I wanted. At least he values me.”

I clearly irritated him.

“You are committing atrocities against your own people. Do you f*cking understand that?” he roared.

This was exactly what I couldn’t stand. He killed my parents, he ruined everything I had, he caused me so many years of pain and suffering, and now, he thought he could stand there and just scold me?

Who the f*ck did he think he was?!

“Surprise! I bet you didn’t anticipate this day when you abandoned me.”

He didn’t move, and he didn’t speak.

Of course he didn’t. What would he have to say?

“Why didn’t you just kill me in my sleep, you cowardly b*stard?” I asked him, doing my best to provoke him.

“Shut up, Soren!” His tone was a bit rushed.

“Why do I have to listen to you?” I hated how he treated me. After this many years, he still thought of me as his eleven-year-old tag-along?

He seemed calm, but I could hear his breathing getting a little faster. Just a little.

I smirked. “What are you waiting for, Ethan? Just kill me then! All of your troubles will go away.”

I moved myself towards his knife slightly.

As expected, Ethan withdrew the blade and stood across from me, glaring at me.

I finally could move around and reassess where I was.

I was sitting on the damp concrete floor of a tunnel that had to be under the house I’d just purchased—apparently from him. I’d done enough intel to assume that was the case, but now I knew for sure.

“I don’t want to kill you down here in this pit, Soren,” Ethan told me.

“Why not?” I asked him. “You dragged me, sleeping, off of your sweetheart’s nice, warm couch to this miserable place. Why not just end this?”

I laughed, “Ethan, because you know killing me won’t really solve your problem, right? My men would still do what I had arranged, and you’ll realize that killing me won’t really help you much in the war, right?”

He didn’t deny it, and only said, “Shut up and fight me.”

The knife he’d just poked me with was covered in sticky scarlet at the tip—my blood.

I chuckled. “I have no interest in doing that, brother. If you want to kill me, then go ahead.”

He paused for a moment and said in an even tone, “Soren, go back with me to Drogomor.”

My eyes widened. What the h*ll was he talking about?!

“Who the f*ck do you think you are? Go back to Drogomor so that you can lock me up for the rest of my life?” I burst out laughing.

“Ethan, after this many years, you still think everyone should just do whatever you want?!” I was furious. I thought I could control my emotion, but he clearly had the ability to rile me up beyond my imagination.

“You did that to my parents, you did that to Georgia and me, you did that to your Rosalie. How f*cking arrogant you are?!”

The growl that emitted from the back of his throat was just as deep and thunderous as it would’ve been if he was in his wolf form.

For everything I’d said tonight, Rosalie was the one thing that made him lose his temper. Interesting.

“Just what is it that makes you so angry, Ethan? Are you upset that I’ve stolen your pregnant breeder away? That is all she ever was to you, isn’t it? Just a woman you knocked up?”

“Shut up!” he roared, “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” I asked, sliding up the wall until I was on my feet. He kept the knife pointed at me, but I was still confident he wouldn’t use it against me, not down here.

“You didn’t think of her as anything more than a tool to get what you wanted, something you could use and then discard.”

“Soren!!” he shouted.

“If she’s so important, then why is she here? Why has she been living with me for the past couple of months? Eating dinner with me, playing piano with me, singing to me?”

I didn’t need to see his face to tell I’d successfully made him mad. So I continued, “And who has been the one kissing her goodnight?”

Well, he didn’t need to know it was her cheek I’d been kissing.

He took a couple of deep inhales and said, “Lying won’t get you out of here.”

I was surprised at how quickly he regained control of his temper. Then I realized he had been trying to keep himself calm the entire time… ah, for Rosalie, of course!

We were right under the house, and of course, he wouldn’t want to wake her. My eyes widened in disbelief. Was he serious?

I couldn’t stop laughing to myself.

“Ethan, you know, you would never win this battle, right?”

Silence again. Now that I knew what he was concerned about, of course, he would remain silent. My plan would go incredibly well then.

Finally, he offered, “Soren, I’ll give you a chance to fight me.”

“A duel?” I smirked.

“Yes, a duel,” he said, “but if I win, you need to pull your men both from the islands and from the northern tier.”

Sh*t, did he also find out about my deals with the rogues?

But a smile spread across my face as I accepted. “All right then, my dear brother.”

Ethan nodded and tossed the knife aside since I was unarmed.

“But not down here. Let’s go out there where our wolves can see the sky above us and the victor can howl at the moon.”

He shifted into his wolf and turned around to lead the way. He didn’t even bother to check if I could sneak attack him from behind.

Not that I would ambush him either way. I didn’t need to out-fight him. My plan was way more interesting.

I followed him down the tunnel to an open field.

Though I liked the dramatic effect of leaping into the air and transforming into my wolf mid-air, I knew I’d be needing my clothing later. I wasn’t dying tonight.

So… I took my clothes off more carefully.

Ethan was in his wolf form. He growled at me, not wanting to wait.

“Good things take time, brother,” I told him, and the moment I had my pants off, he was yipping at me. I leaped over the top of him and shifted above him, landing on the ground behind him and spinning around as he came flying at me.

Ethan’s wolf was larger than mine by a few inches, and I decided to use that as leverage. When he came at me, I stayed low. For a few passes, it caught him off guard, and he aimed too high.

It didn’t last long.

Eventually, he was able to get in some blows on my legs and haunches. I started fighting back, aiming for his neck and shoulders, but he had more experience fighting than I did, and he knew how to guard against those areas.

I was a skilled fighter, and in most cases, I would have no trouble winning—but not against him.

In a matter of a few moments, he had me backed up, my neck bleeding even more now than it was from the knife.

His teeth were gleaming in the moonlight as his eyes centered on my face. He nipped at me again, and I dodged to the left, swinging my head around and catching his left front leg in my mouth. The taste of dirty fur filled my mouth as muscle ripped and blood flowed freely from the wound.

I spit out a mouthful of blood as Ethan winced. It was probably the deepest wound I would get on him as he brought his right front leg around and sent me flying.

My head slammed into the trunk of a tree, and everything went sideways. The tree branches above me were blurry, and there seemed to be two of everything.

I looked up to see Ethan standing over me and there appeared to be two of him.

I just needed a few more moments….

My half-brother bit down on my left back leg, and pain radiated through my body. His sharp teeth pierced my skin and sliced all the way down to my bone as he dragged me from the tree.

I tried to regain my footing, but my head was still swimming.

I yelped loudly, not because it hurt, but because I needed to let her know where we were.

Ethan’s chest was heaving as he looked down at me, his face hovering over mine, spit dripping from his open mouth. His eyes were narrow, and using the mind-link he asked me, “You lost, Soren. Pull your men, or I’ll have to–”

I pulled my wolf face into a smile, and asked him, “You think you’ve won, don’t you, Ethan?”

That low rumble I’d heard earlier echoed from his throat again as he contemplated all of the wrongs he’d done to me.

But what he didn’t realize was… I’d known all along….

“Ethan! Soren!” Rosalie’s cries filled the night sky as she ran toward us, and it no longer mattered what he intended to do.

He could do nothing to harm me.

Not now.

Not in front of Rosalie.

I took the opportunity to pull myself away from him and laid on the ground.

I looked up at him, and my smile widened as his eyes took on the shape of the full moon. “You b*stard, do not hurt her!” he cursed as he realized what my true plan was.

“Congratulations, brother. You finally figured it out!”

But by then, it was too late, and Rosalie was rushing toward us—rushing toward me.