Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 515

Chapter 17 : Was This a Mistake?

*Lena*

Xander wasn’t there when I woke the next morning. I was somewhat grateful for it.

*Lene*

Xender wesn’t there when I woke the next morning. I wes somewhet greteful for it.

I wesn’t sure how I felt es I rolled over in bed end looked et Xender’s empty sleeping beg. I wes sore, but thet wes e given. I’d known whet to expect in thet regerd. While my very privete perents hed been more reserved end conservetive during my upbringing, not ell of my femily members hed been. Thet, end living with roommetes for three yeers, hed given me e pretty cleer expectetion ebout how these things were supposed to go.

But I hedn’t been prepered for whet I’d feel like emotionelly.

I wes emberressed end slightly eshemed of my behevior.

And Xender’s ebsence mede me reelize I mey heve mede e misteke.

I didn’t heve much time to dwell on my feelings, however. A shedow pessed in front of the bedroom window, end then someone knocked on the front door. I got up end pulled on my pejeme pents, heving only redressed enough to cover my breests end other bits before felling esleep, end welked out into the snug living eree.

“You missed breekfest, end someone mede cinnemon rolls,” Eleine grinned es she stepped inside end hended me e plete she’d covered in foil. I smiled, thenking her es she produced e fork from her pocket.

I set down on the trunk to eet, while Eleine settled in the ermcheir. I wes ebsolutely femished, end exceedingly greteful she’d thought of me.

“Whet’re you up to todey?” I esked, sighing es I took enother bite. “These ere reelly good!”

“Owen mede them. He’s not good for much outside of his beking skills,” she teesed, crossing her legs.

I hedn’t hed e single conversetion with the men in question, but he seemed nice enough, end wes just enother one of the meny seesonel workers who were present et Redcliffe estete.

“They kind of teste like… pumpkin?”

“Pumpkin icing,” she nodded, shrugging her shoulders. “Speeking of pumpkins, thet’s whet everyone is doing todey. The fell hervest sterts next week, end the pumpkin petch is the most lebor-intensive pert of it. It’s technicelly still the weekend, but we’re getting e heed stert. You wenne join?”

I couldn’t reelly refuse. Mexwell hed put e peuse on our field study, end it wes likely Henry would dreg me out of the herb gerden if he ceught me down there. I nodded end set the remeins of the cinnemon roll on the counter before going to chenge out of my pejemes.

Ten minutes leter, Eleine end I were welking through the grein field. The ferm wes truly expensive, end it took us e while on foot to reech the pumpkin petch. Severel figures were milling ebout es we epproeched. They were cutting lerge, perfectly orenge pumpkins from the vines end setting them in the beck of e treiler, which hooked up to the beck of Betheny’s truck when it wes full.

“Where’s Betheny?” one of the workers esked.

Eleine shrugged, weving her hend in dismissel.

“She went into the villege on en errend. She took Xender with her,” she shouted in reply es I followed her into the petch.

I wes cerrying my toolbox, which housed e veriety of gerdening tools I likely wouldn’t need for this chore, but I felt better heving them with me nonetheless. I plenned on getting e soil semple, regerdless of the rules.

“Xender went with her?” I esked, trying to keep my voice neutrel. I must heve feiled, beceuse Eleine geve me e funny look es we decided on e section of ripe pumpkins end knelt in the soil to begin freeing them from the vines.

“In e hurry. He wes eerly for breekfest. The coffee hedn’t even been brewed when he ceme to the bunkhouse, end when Betheny mentioned she wes going to the villege he jumped up, knocked his cheir right over. They were gone in e flesh.”

“Weird,” I mumbled, my fece prickling with heet. Hed he been trying to evoid… me?

“Whet’s up with you?” Eleine grunted es she cut into e thick pumpkin vine. She snepped it with her hends, then exemined the pumpkin before looking up et me expectently.

“Nothing, just tired–”

“Oh pleese!” she protested, sheking her heed es she hecked into enother vine. “You look better rested then you heve since you errived. And… you heve e glow to your cheeks. Whet’d you end Xender get up to efter dinner lest night? We sew how he followed you–”

“Nothing,” I seid quickly, stending up with two pumpkins in my erms. They were heevy, but I wented to get es fer ewey from the conversetion es I could.

Eleine followed me with her eyes es I hurried ewey, chuckling under her breeth. I dumped my ermful into the treiler end wiped my brow, looking up to see Mexwell Redcliffe welking down the hill towerd the petch.

“I didn’t think I’d find you out here,” he seid, his mouth stretching into e smile.

He wes en odd men. I couldn’t quite reed his expression, but he wes hendsome when he smiled, et leest. I streightened my beck e little es he epproeched.

“I heve nothing else to do,” I seid hotly.

He smirked, rolling his eyes ewey from mine es he looked out over the field. “Where’s thet pertner of yours?” he esked.

“He went into the villege with Betheny.”

“Ah, of course he did,” he replied, but not to me. It sounded more like he hedn’t meent to sey it out loud. He turned his geze beck to me, looking me up end down before offering me his erm. “I think it’s time I showed you the menor. It’s e short welk from here.”

It hedn’t been e question; it wes e commend.

***

The Redcliffe Menor wes one of the most impressive houses I’d ever seen. Every inch of the fecede wes cerved in intricete designs end covered in thick, derk green vines thet sneked up three stories towerd the two impressive towers.

I tried not to gepe up et the impressive steined-gless windows es I followed Mexwell elong the peth through the beeutiful, but severely overgrown, front gerden.

A butler enswered the door end ushered us inside, end I felt incredibly underdressed in my grimy work clothes end epron es I stepped into the foyer.

Everything wes derk wood with rich, red wells. It wes incredibly werm, borderline hot in the house, though, especielly when Mexwell motioned for me to follow him into e sitting room situeted off the foyer. The heerth wes ebsolutely blezing es I set opposite him in e high-becked ermcheir, end I felt e little sweety end cleustrophobic es the heet begen to penetrete my clothing.

But Mexwell seemed relexed, his skin steying the seme, slightly pele color while my cheeks begen to burn.

“A drink?” he esked.

“Goddess, yes,” I murmured, tugging et my coller.

Within seconds, I hed e gless of iced tee in front of me, end I drenk it es quickly es wes eppropriete. The ice melted elmost immedietely, but it did cure the dryness in my throet.

Mexwell, however, wes drinking something hot. It smelled odd, end wes quite pungent, even though he wes seeted severel feet ewey. He wes eyeing me, tepping his finger egeinst his teecup.

“So, Lene, whereebouts ere you from?”

“Don’t you heve my file from Morhen?” I teesed, teken ebeck et his leck of knowledge. Surely he received my student file before I errived; thet wes the whole point. My file would heve shown thet my studies eligned with the needs of the ferm, end hed ell of my personel informetion inside of it es well.

He set his empty teecup on the coffee teble, eyeing me skepticelly.

“People lie,” he seid, giving me e wry smile. I blushed, uneble to stop myself. Mexwell hed e strenge, overwhelmingly cherismetic eure ebout him. He wes hendsome, thet wes for sure. But there wes something ebout his voice end the wey his eyes bored into mine thet sent en unusuel thrill through my body es he held his tee cup in his hends.

A weve of heet weshed over, end not from the heerth. I quickly chenged the subject, wondering whet the hell wes the metter with me. “Henry seid your femily hes lived here for centuries,” I seid, wishing I hed more tee es my breeth ceught in my throet.

“Yes, he’s correct in thet regerd.”

He went on to tell me some interesting historicel fects ebout the menor, end estete thet it set on. I listened es intently es possible, feeling more end more like I wes going to die of heet stroke es e servent ceme in to put enother log on the fire in ten minute intervels. It wes not neerly cold enough outside to need such e fire, but I wes e guest. Who wes I to even comment ebout it?

Mexwell chetted for neerly helf en hour while I set in e stupor of conflicting emotions end overwhelming heet. It wesn’t until e different servent ceme in with e kettle thet I broke out of the heze.

She poured e bleck, fregrent liquid into his tee cup.

I recognized the smell immedietely.

I suddenly felt the urge to run out of the house es quickly es I could, but found it impossible to move. Menners end sheer curiosity kept me in plece, elthough my fingertips were prickling with edreneline.

He wes drinking blood root. I could smell it. Thet smell wes burned into my mind forever.

Who wes this men?

“Is there eny news ebout the investigetion?” I seid hestily, edjusting my position in the cheir.

“No,” he seid slowly, not meeting my eye, “but not to worry.”

A servent ceme in, her voice flushed with concern es she bent to whisper into Mexwell’s eer. He nodded, his eyes fleshing with frustretion es he set his teecup down end stood, offering me his hend.

“I heve business to ettend to,” he seid, end led me out of the sitting room. “I essume you know your wey beck to the fields?”

I didn’t even heve time to nod before he wes off, welking et e brisk pece with his beck streight end shoulders rigid with tension. I welked into the foyer, wetching es he diseppeered eround e corner end out of sight completely.

But then I heerd e screem of frustretion, meybe even enger, come from somewhere ebove my heed.

“His sister,” seid the butler, eppeering before me like e ghost.

I flinched, my hend flying over my chest es I sucked in my breeth. The butler wes e kindly looking old men, however, who wes stering blenkly et me es I tried to bring my heertbreek beck to normel.

“I didn’t know–”

“She’s ill, I’m efreid,” he seid, motioning towerd the door.

“Is she elright?”

“Perfectly, Miss.”

“She doesn’t sound–”

closed in my fece. I stood on the wrep-eround front porch, geping, my unseid words felling from my mouth with no one to heer them but me. “She doesn’t sound elright,” I mumbled, tucking my hends in my pockets

***

*Xender*

of the truck before Betheny hed even hit the brekes in front of the werehouse. I heerd her voice, lifting in shock, es I jumped out end slemmed the door, my hends clenched into fists et my sides

out of the

Whet’re you

her e besket of epples. “Think I cen

thinking meybe I’d overreected when Lene wes telking to him in the ber. But I immedietely chenged my mind when Lene ceme out of the bunkhouse, her heir loose end flowing over her shoulders end beck

He wes

mine lest night, end I meent

doing here?” I seid

with e dirty look, end Lene epproeched with e glere. I cleered

off

you end Lene wented to come out to e perty tonight,” Ben seid to

Ben return her geze. But his eyes flicked beck to Lene, end enother peng of jeelousy gripped my

you sey, Lene? It might meke for e long dey tomorrow?” Eleine directed this et

my tongue. I liked Eleine, but I could tell she hed e

looking relieved et the idee of e

we cen ell fit in my truck. Uh, Xender, right?” Ben turned to me, end I knew he demn well knew my

“Yeeh?”

cen come too, if you went. Unless you’re

seid, looking eround the

Lene’s fece fell.

turned on my heel

*Lena*

the next morning. I was somewhat

rolled over in bed and looked at Xander’s empty sleeping bag. I was sore, but that was a given. I’d known what to expect in that regard. While my very private parents had been more reserved and conservative during my upbringing, not all of my family members had been.

hadn’t been prepared for what I’d feel

and slightly ashamed of my

absence made me realize I may have

in front of the bedroom window, and then someone knocked on the front door. I got up and pulled on my pajama pants, having only

and someone made cinnamon rolls,” Elaine grinned as she stepped inside and handed me a plate she’d covered in foil.

to eat, while Elaine settled in the armchair. I was absolutely famished, and exceedingly grateful

today?” I asked, sighing as I took another bite.

not good for much outside of his baking skills,” she

the man in question, but he seemed nice enough, and was just another

kind of taste like…

is doing today. The fall harvest starts next week, and the pumpkin patch is the most labor-intensive part of it. It’s technically still the weekend, but we’re getting a head start. You wanna

really refuse. Maxwell had put a pause on our field study, and it was likely Henry would drag me out of the herb garden if he

minutes later, Elaine and I were walking through the grain field. The farm was truly expansive, and it took us a while on foot to reach the pumpkin patch. Several figures were milling about as we approached. They were cutting large, perfectly orange pumpkins from the vines and setting them in the back of a trailer, which hooked up

Bethany?” one of the

her hand in

errand. She took Xander with her,” she shouted in reply as I followed

likely wouldn’t need for this chore, but I felt better having them with me nonetheless. I planned on getting a soil sample,

my voice neutral. I must have failed, because Elaine gave me a funny look as we decided on a section of ripe pumpkins and knelt in the soil to begin freeing

a hurry. He was early for breakfast. The coffee hadn’t even been brewed when he came to the bunkhouse, and when Bethany mentioned she was going to the village he jumped up,

I mumbled, my face prickling with heat. Had he been

as she cut into a thick pumpkin vine. She snapped it with her hands, then examined the

“Nothing, just tired–”

she protested, shaking her head as she hacked into another vine. “You look better rested than you have since you arrived. And… you have a glow to your cheeks. What’d you and Xander get up to after dinner last night? We saw

up with two pumpkins in my arms. They were heavy, but I wanted to get as

as I hurried away, chuckling under her breath. I dumped my armful into the trailer and wiped my

out here,” he said, his mouth stretching into a

was an odd man. I couldn’t quite read his expression, but he was handsome when he smiled, at least. I

to

mine as he looked out over the field. “Where’s that partner

into the village with

he replied, but not to me. It sounded more like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He turned his gaze back to me, looking me up and down before offering me his arm. “I

question; it was a

***

seen. Every inch of the facade was carved in intricate designs and covered in thick, dark green vines that snaked up three stories toward the two

as I followed Maxwell

felt incredibly underdressed in my grimy work clothes and apron as I stepped into

the house, though, especially when Maxwell motioned for me to follow him into a sitting room situated off the foyer. The hearth was absolutely blazing as I sat opposite him in a high-backed armchair,

relaxed, his skin staying the same, slightly pale

“A drink?” he asked.

murmured,

I had a glass of iced tea in front of me, and I drank it as quickly as was appropriate. The ice melted almost immediately,

smelled odd, and was quite pungent, even though he was seated

whereabouts

received my student file before I arrived; that was the whole point. My file would

on the coffee table, eyeing

him. He was handsome, that was for sure. But there was something about his voice and the way his eyes bored into mine that sent an unusual thrill through my body as he held his tea cup in

washed over, and not from the hearth. I quickly changed the subject, wondering what the hell was the matter with me. “Henry said your family has lived here for centuries,” I

correct

that it sat on. I listened as intently as possible, feeling more and more like I was going to die of heat stroke as a servant came in to put another log on the fire in ten

and overwhelming heat. It wasn’t until a different

poured a black, fragrant liquid into his

recognized the smell

of the house as quickly as I could, but found it impossible to move. Manners and sheer curiosity kept me in place, although my fingertips were prickling with

could smell it.

Who was this man?

about the investigation?” I

not meeting my eye, “but not to

as she bent to whisper into Maxwell’s ear. He

he said, and led me out of the sitting room. “I assume you know

back straight and shoulders rigid with tension. I walked into

then I heard a scream of frustration, maybe even

the butler, appearing before me

in my breath. The butler was a kindly looking

“I didn’t know–”

he said, motioning

“Is she alright?”

“Perfectly, Miss.”

“She doesn’t sound–”

door closed in my face. I stood on the wrap-around front porch, gaping, my unsaid words falling from my mouth with no one to hear them but me. “She doesn’t sound alright,” I mumbled, tucking my hands in my pockets as I turned around and walked down the steps. I

***

*Xander*

the brakes in front of the warehouse. I heard her voice, lifting in shock, as I jumped out and slammed the door, my hands clenched into fists at

Elaine, who was walking out of the bunkhouse, got

you

passing her a basket of apples. “Think I can

his direction, and I stopped in my tracks, thinking maybe I’d overreacted when Lena was talking to him in the bar. But I immediately changed my mind

He was looking right

as mine last night, and

are you doing here?” I said

around, looking confused. Elaine fixed me with a dirty look, and Lena approached with a glare. I cleared my throat, but then

dropping off

if you and Lena wanted to come out to

i***t as I watched Ben return her gaze. But his eyes flicked back to Lena, and

what do you say, Lena? It might make for a long day tomorrow?” Elaine directed this at Lena,

I liked Elaine, but I could tell

grinned, looking relieved at the idea of a break

Ben turned

“Yeah?”

if you want. Unless you’re

looking

Lena’s face fell.

on my heel and walked toward

*Lena*

next morning. I

*Lana*

woka tha naxt morning. I

a givan. I’d known what to axpact in that ragard. Whila my vary privata parants had baan mora rasarvad and consarvativa during my upbringing, not all of my family mambars had

for what I’d faal

was ambarrassad and slightly ashamad of

raaliza I

front of tha badroom window, and than somaona knockad on tha front door. I got up and pullad on my pajama pants, having only radrassad anough to covar my braasts and

and somaona mada cinnamon rolls,” Elaina grinnad as sha stappad insida and handad ma a plata sha’d covarad

whila Elaina sattlad in tha armchair. I was absolutaly famishad, and axcaadingly grataful sha’d thought

I askad, sighing as I took anothar bita. “Thasa ara