Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 81 I Saw Her
“Alpha, Richard has succeeded in locating the target. We are on track with the mission. They should be back in two hours with the detailed report.”
Samuel was going through the planned route to Papeno with us and concluding his report with the latest update from Group B.
“Good. Samuel, take your team to chart out the route to their base as well. Then go back to Mirage directly to update Talon.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Samuel replied.
“Group C, prepare for action. Rendevouz with Group B in two hours at 14:00.”
“Yes, Alpha!” The rest of my men replied.
“Dismissed.”
After they dispersed in small groups, I checked in with Talon overthe phone and confirmed that everything back in the Capital was under control.
I looked at my watch- I had a couple hours to spare.
I knew what I wanted to do.
The piece of paper Talon had given me with the address of the jewelry store was burning a hole in my pocket. I had memorized how to get there from our rental before I even arrived in Avondale.
It wasn’t far, and I got there within thirty minutes. However, now that I was already in the jewelry shop, I was hesitant.
A middle-aged woman was working behind the counter, talking to another customer. I hung back, waiting for her to finish.
I looked around. It wasn’t a high-end jewelry store, though they had some nice pieces. This was good news- Rosalie’s necklace should be memorable to these people.
The woman had finally finished with the other customer. “Can I help you, sir?” she asked, peering over the top of her spectacles at me.
“Yes…” I began, my breath catching in my throat as I imagined how she might answer my question. All of a sudden, I wondered whether it might have been better not to come here- that way, at least, I could still keep that faint hope in my heart.
“Sir?” she asked again.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. “Have you seen this necklace before?”
I pulled it out of my pocket and set it on the counter, but didn’t let go of it.
I couldn’t let go of it.
“Oh, yes!” she exclaimed right away. “I remember that piece. Isn’t it gorgeous? When I first saw it, I thought the gemstones had to be fake, they’re so beautiful. But they’re real. Every single one of them.”
I nodded, not really caring about the necklace itself. “Do you remember where it came from?”
“Where it came from?”
Bracing myself, I clarified, “Yes, do you remember who sold this necklace to your shop?”
The woman looked a bit nervous, glancing away from me. I realized that my intense tone might seem out of place for a supposed casual inquiry.
To make her cooperate, I laid down a few paper notes and softened my tone. “The owner of the necklace is very important to me.”
Money talked. The woman probably came to the conclusion that answering my question really wouldn’t cost her anything, so after thinking for a few seconds, she spoke.
“Oh, well, we bought it from one of our regular suppliers—Bernie. He brought it over in one of his weekly runs.”
My heart crumbled in my chest The necklace hadn’t originally been sold here.
“But I asked Bernie the same question. ‘Who in the world sold you that?’ I asked him. Who would want to part with something so beautiful?”
She was clearly trying to give me as many details as she could, and I was grateful for it.
She continued, “He told me some young lady brought it into his pawnshop. She seemed eager to get rid of it, he said. He couldn’t figure out the situation because she was quite young, but she had bodyguards and a maid of some sort with her. At first, he thought maybe she’d stolen it, but then, what kind of a thief has bodyguards?”
My heart was beating again. “Where is Bernie’s pawnshop?” I urged.
“He has several of them,” she said. “But this one was on Papeno, I believe. The big island, East Papeno.”
“Thank you,” I said. I couldn’t help the grin on my face.
“Of course,” she replied with a bigger smile, and put the money away. “Can I ask you, though… I sold that to another merchant. How did you happen to come by it?”
I looked her in the eye and said, “Fate.”
A young lady who seemed eager to get rid of it… I could not ask for better news than this!
I could hear my heart pounding as I walked out of the shop.
My wolf was growling in anticipation. The thought that we were getting so close had both of us anxious to get to East Papeno and see for ourselves.
What if Rosalie was on that island?
I told my inner wolf to stay patient. We weren’t there yet.
Still, hope sparked to life inside of me, and I could feel my wolf as if he were pacing inside of me, a caged animal ready to be let loose to chase her down and bring her home.
“Alpha!” One of my men mindlinked me. “Group B’s preliminary report is here. They’re back with news.”
“In person?”
“Yes. Our telecommunications are under surveillance, and thus not safe to use on the target island. Richard suggested we rely on the mindlink there.”
My eyes narrowed as I walked back to our meeting spot. “Good- that probably means we are on the right track. In which Papeno island is the target located?”
“East Papeno.”
I stilled.
Yes, it must have been fate.
Sneaking onto the island wasn’t easy, and it took time. The sun was going down by the time we got settled. We quickly made our way to a small rental house obtained by Richard’s group during their reconnaissance mission. “Alpha, you’re here!” Richard closed the front gate of our temporary headquarters behind us.
“You have the actual location?”
“Yes, here.” Richard pointed out a large property on the map on the east end of Papeno. It looked like nothing more than a private residence- a large private residence. It had a private dock, and was large enough for aerial transportation.
“The property is strictly guarded. We tried a few times, but as soon as we approached, we caught sight of their patrols. We didn’t want to draw their attention, so we retreated and decided to wait for you.”
“How much more time do you need?” I asked.
“By tomorrow night, we should be able to figure out a way to get onto the property. However, we don’t know what to expect until we get inside. Once we’re able to get in, we’ll be able to set a plan of action.”
Richard was the best there was when it came to reconnaissance. At this point, I needed to be patient and trust him to get his job done.
I nodded, granting him permission to execute his plan. “I’ll go with you tomorrow night.”
“Yes, Alpha!” Richard replied, and turned to exit the room.
“Richard,” I said, stopping him in his tracks. “Is there a pawn shop in town?”
His eyebrows raised, but he didn’t question why I wanted to know- as I had known he wouldn’t. “Yes, Alpha,” he said. “There’s a pawnshop by the dress shop on the strip downtown where the stores are located. Honestly, there are several of them around, all from the same chain.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I nodded my thanks, and he joined the rest of the men in their preparations.
Telling my men I was going out to gather some intel, I headed to downtown, hoping to get a chance to speak to the pawnshop owner. I had a disguise on, but still needed to be cautious. Unlike Avondale, there weren’t a lot of tourists here.
By the time I got to the pawnshop, though, I was too late. They’d closed about ten minutes earlier.
My wolf was not happy, but there wasn’t much I could do. We had limited time here. Maybe I could try my luck again tomorrow before Richard’s return.
Suddenly, I felt that strange sensation deep in the pit of my stomach again. That pulling sensation that made me feel like I was being drawn out of my own body and connected to another soul, a connection unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.
It had happened a few times now and it was no doubt getting stronger. I was sure, by now, that it wasn’t my imagination.
I couldn’t think of any explanation for what it could mean, except…
As a possibility for what might be causing the pull dawned on me, my wolf could not help but howl inside me. I was shocked by the realization, and my whole body started to tremble slightly in excitement.
What if… Moon Goddess, please show me your mercy… What if this was related to her?
With her necklace in my hand, I tried to slow down my breathing. I imagined what it would be like if I was able to find her on this Island. I closed my eyes and concentrated on that feeling.
Was she nearby?
I snapped my eyes open, glanced up- and saw what I thought was a familiar form disappearing around the corner about a block away.
My heart started pounding in my chest as I asked myself, “Was that… Rosalie?”
It looked like her from behind—same color of hair, same height, same build.
I knew I was almost being ridiculous, but before I could even stop myself, I started moving in that direction.
Even if I couldn’t speak to her. Even if she didn’t see me. Just seeing her face and knowing that it was her, that she was alive and well… that would change everything for me.
I rushed down the street, dodging around people, trying not to draw too much attention to myself. I had on a hat and sunglasses, like most people did since we were on a sunny island.
Just when I reached the corner, an old lady came around from the other side, and I almost plowed into her. I barely avoided crashing into her and taking her down.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” she cried out.
I stabilized her, and didn’t say a word. There was no time for that. Then I ran around her, heading down the street
I wished I could call out “Rosalie!” But I didn’t. I was still on a military mission and the last thing I wanted to do was to get my disguises blown.
I could feel that my wolf was over the moon with excitement, and I prayed to the Moon Goddess that it was her…
Then… I saw her.
She was looking in my direction now. Same hair color, same eye color, same everything. Except she wasn’t pregnant.
And it wasn’t her.
It wasn’t Rosalie.
The woman looked at me for a second before she smiled, and I realized she probably wondered why I was looking at her.
I didn’t return the smile, only dropped my head and kept walking, rounding the next corner and going back to where my men were expecting me to be.
I hoped they were having better luck than I was having.
Still… in the back of my mind… I just could not stop being hopeful.
What if Rosalie really was on this island—and I saw her?