Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1313 - 68 : Shady Sigils

*Noah*

The passionate night we shared had really taken my breath away. My heart dripped with happiness, our pleasure so powerful and intense.

When I finally pulled away, I stared down at Zara with a huge, happy smile. She let out a soft sigh, her body relaxing after our passionate, intimate moment.

I watched her brush her fingers over her belly. She wore a soft smile and closed her eyes, basking in the moment.

The image of her doing that settled into my mind, causing me to frown somewhat. I furrowed my brow, thinking about the times I must have spent with Zara just like this.

All the times that I just couldn’t remember.

“What’s wrong?” Zara whispered with concern.

I refocused on her and gave a sad smile. “Nothing important. I just don’t want this moment to end, beautiful.”

“It is wonderful,” she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before stretching a bit.

I smiled, watching how the moonlight fell on her face again and getting lost in her stare.

I watched as she rolled onto her side, reaching for another piece of fruit to munch on. Something caught my eye, causing me to tilt my head and lean away.

There were some strange sigils tattooed across her lower back.

I gently reached over, frowning and tracing the marks with my fingers. She let out a happy hum, feeling my touch as I did so.

Her happy noises were filling me with joy, even though I was confused about the nature of what I was seeing. I wondered if she had told me about these tattoos before.

I decided to ask her. “Where’d you get a tattoo?”

Zara tensed, causing the fuzzy, happy feeling that’d been building up again to fade. She balanced on her elbow and turned, trying to crane her neck and see.

“What are you talking about?”

“I see some sigils on your lower back,” I explained.

“I...” she muttered, alarm dripping from her tone. She sat up, her back now somewhat shrouded by shadows as she did so. She could see well enough, though, yet....

“I don’t see anything,” she said.

“Me neither, now. But I saw it when... hm. Turn back over, please.”

Zara nodded and adjusted her position so that her back was once again facing the moon. Lo and behold, the sigils came back. I could see them as clearly as the moon in the night sky.

“I see them again,” I said. “That’s so strange. They look sort of... holographic in the moonlight.”

“They do? I didn’t know I had a tattoo at all. This is completely new to me,” she said, her tone dripping with shock.

I traced over the tattoos again, frowning somewhat.

“I can take a photo with the camera on my phone for you, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please.”

I obliged, reaching for my phone and adjusting so that I could get something very clear for her. She waited, tense with anticipation as I did so.

When she sat up to accept the offer to see, I noted her expression. Her eyes were wide with panic, and she swallowed nervously.

I reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You’re not alone in this, Zara. I’m here for you. I meant what I said before.”

“Thanks, Noah. I just am very weirded out by the fact that I have that on my back and had no idea.”

“I can’t blame you.”

I handed her the phone and watched as she looked it over, her expression only growing more alarmed and perplexed.

“I have no idea what any of these mean at all,” she said. “Do you recognize them?”

She handed me the phone, and I studied them more intensely, but then slowly shook my head. Letting out a worried sigh, I said, “No, unfortunately.”

Zara bit her lip and swallowed again, staring at me with uncertainty. Her worry caused my heart to clench. I wanted the best for Zara, and this was clearly causing distress.

“Let’s get dressed and head in,” I suggested. “We can investigate from there.”

She nodded in agreement, and we quickly got dressed so that we could do so. I was hoping someone would be awake to discuss this with, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

I checked the living room and kitchen, but my heart sank as I realized everyone was asleep. I frowned and turned to Zara. “Let’s go up into my room and take a look.”

She nodded, and upstairs we went. When we settled in, Zara reached up and rubbed her temples with worry, letting out a soft sigh. I felt a pang of concern for her.

This was definitely a terrifying discovery.

Zara sat on the edge of bed next to me, peering at the screen of my phone anxiously and trying to figure out what the hell was going on. She traced over the markings, her fingers not quite touching the screen.

“Nothing is clear at all yet. I wonder if these sigils are getting in the way of our mate bond,” she muttered, her voice having a deep forlorn tone to it.

I turned and gave her a gentle hug, one that she returned. Into her ear, I whispered, “What about we research the symbols and origins? Let’s ask my aunts in the morning. They will probably know.”

“They are very intelligent,” she agreed. “I think that’s a good plan. Though I really hope it’s not any bad news.”

“I’ll be here for you Zara, regardless,” I said in a reassuring tone, taking her into a hug again.

Whatever this was, we needed to get to the bottom of it, especially if it was something dangerous for Zara or would be interfering with our love.

***

In the morning, we made our way downstairs, intent on discussing this matter with my aunts. When seeing the look on Zara’s face, Aunt Genevive asked, “Oh no, darling, what’s the matter?”

Aunt Harriet added, “You look like you got very little sleep, dear, was Noah snoring?”

This got a chuckle out of Zara and an eye roll out of me. Though I smiled faintly, glad that some light joking could cause Zara’s mood to improve even if just a little.

I chimed in. “I wish that was the problem, even though I don’t snore.” I sighed. “There would be an easier solution than this.”

Aunt Marguerite walked around the table and placed her hands on it, leaning forward and tilting her head. “Oh? What’s on your mind, Noah?”

The other two leaned in curiously as well, intent to see what was bothering poor Zara. It did make my heart leap that they cared about her so much.

Though it shouldn’t come as a surprise, I knew, given how impressed they were with her before.

“Well,” I said. “Take a look.” I slid the phone over to them, then explained, “That’s on Zara’s lower back.”

I swallowed nervously as I noticed the expression of concentration on all three of their faces shifting to one that seemed almost... haunted.

“Oh dear,” whispered Aunt Harriet, biting her lip. She exchanged a glance with her sisters, then looked at Zara with a deep frown.

Zara widened her eyes, clearly noticing the alarm on their faces, her expression changing to reflect that as well. She looked between them, then asked in a hushed tone, “What could it mean?”

Aunt Marguerite said in a dark tone, “Our father, Jared Crimson, was cursed with tattoos on his arms.”

Right away, Zara winced and tensed up, taking in a deep breath at the word ‘cursed.’ It sounded like something incredibly negative, and I felt my heart clench at the mention of it too.

I didn’t know much about that situation myself, but I definitely didn’t like it.

“There are various reasons for sigils like this, darling,” Aunt Genevieve added. “Is there anything particularly special about these tattoos?”

“Noah said he could only see them in the moonlight,” Zara said in an anxious tone.

I nodded in agreement, feeling a bit of relief as a thoughtful look gleamed in Aunt Genevieve’s eyes.

“I see,” she said. “Well, if you only can see them in moonlight, then it could be protection as well, darling.”

Aunt Harriet piped in. “Good point, good point. It does seem more protective than ominous if it’s visible in moonlight. That would make the news far better than any sort of curse!”

Zara nodded, though the tension didn’t leave her body. She rubbed the back of her neck and murmured, “I don’t remember getting them, though, not at all.”

“They must have been put on you when you were a baby,” Aunt Marguerite pointed out. “And you said you were adopted, after... falling from the stars?”

“That’s the story my mom tells me,” Zara explained, giving a nod. “I don’t like the idea that I needed protection back then. From what... what would be out there to need... this?”

“I wish we could help out more, darling,” Aunt Genevive said softly. “The only suggestion I have is to go to the palace and consult with the scholars.”

My other aunts nodded, exchanging a glance in agreement.

“Don’t worry, dear,” Aunt Harriet said. “I’m confident you can get to the bottom of this. Perhaps there is an artifact that can reveal the truth.”

Aunt Marguerite chimed in with, “Right, good idea. Some artifacts can reveal what sigils are meant to do. If anyone will know, it’s likely the scholars there.”

“That’s where we’ll head next, then,” I said confidently. “If you’re up to it, Zara,” I added, staring at her with concern.

Her body was still tense, and her eyes had an anxious glint to them, though that was intermingled with a dash of confidence. I knew she wasn’t going to let anything stop her now.

“I am up to it. I want to solve this as soon as possible. Thank you for your help,” she said to my aunts.

All three fussed over her for a while, getting us breakfast while trying to lighten the conversation a bit, teasing Zara and asking her how the matchmaking went.

“It went really well,” she said softly. “It was my first successful job... well, official successful job, I mean.” She glanced over at me with a faint smile.

Aunt Genevive giggled. “Well, darling, hopefully Noah will be a success too. Has he been treating you well, like the princess of stars you are?”

“He has,” Zara said in a very warm tone, causing my heart to fill with happiness. “We had a wonderful night together last night. He treated me to a picnic in the garden under the moon.”

“Ah! That’s wonderful, dear!” Aunt Harriet said. “All of his bumbling around in worry... I’m glad he finally was able to make it productive.”

I rolled my eyes and snorted at the teasing from my aunts, though I secretly didn’t mind it.

Zara giggled, trying to stay upbeat while there with them while still undoubtedly keeping her mind fixed on the tattoo situation.

I just hoped we’d be able to make some progress with this new problem when we got to the palace.