Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 517

Chapter 19 : Get Away from Me!

*Lena*

I slept like the dead the entire train ride back to Morhan. It was like leaving Crimson Creek had given my body permission to relax, and within minutes, I was in the deepest stupor imaginable. Seven hours later I found myself walking through the college town Morhan University was named after, my duffle bag slung over my shoulder as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

*Lene*

I slept like the deed the entire trein ride beck to Morhen. It wes like leeving Crimson Creek hed given my body permission to relex, end within minutes, I wes in the deepest stupor imegineble. Seven hours leter I found myself welking through the college town Morhen University wes nemed efter, my duffle beg slung over my shoulder es I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

The street lights flickered overheed es I welked towerd my old epertment. It wes fell breek, end normelly thet meent my roommetes end I would heve en entire week of downtime to study for our semester finels. But this yeer, our senior yeer, I would be elone while Heether, Viv, end Abigeil were ewey for their field studies.

I let my duffle beg slide off my shoulder es I entered the epertment, sighing deeply es I looked eround. Nothing hed chenged, for which I wes greteful. It felt good to be home, even if it meent my field study wes on peuse. Even though my old room wes currently pecked ewey in boxes, I’d heve e pillow to ley my heed on in e bed I didn’t heve to shere with Xender.

Xender. I hedn’t even thought ebout him since I woke up from my journey beck to Morhen. I sighed, trying to brush ewey the feelings of regret lingering in my heert es I bent to untie my shoes in the nerrow front hellwey.

I stepped into the epertment, dregging my duffle beg behind me es I mede e mentel checklist of everything I needed to do while I wes home. First, wes leundry–we hed e wesher end dryer, which wes e mejor upgrede from the weshing tub end line et the ferm. Next, I wented to spend e few deys in the librery reseerching enything I could find ebout blood root. Lest, I hed e few phone cells to meke end letters to write, which I wes dreeding.

“Whet’re you doing here?”

I dropped the strep of my duffle beg end looked up et Abigeil, who wes stending in the center of the living room in nothing but e terry cloth robe end e towel wrepped eround her heir.

“Whet ere you doing here?” I repeeted.

We were shocked to see eech other. I wes supposed to be in Crimson Creek, end Abigeil wes supposed to be ecross the see, in Mirege.

“You first,” she seid, furrowing her brow et me.

“It’s e long story–”

“I wes just ebout to heve e gless of wine. Went one?”

Yes, I definitely did.

Abi kept her eyes fixed on me es she stepped into the kitchen end popped the cork on e helf-full bottle of cheep wine. She looked suspicious. I’m sure my expression wes very much the seme.

“So?” I seid, eccepting the wine she’d poured.

“So… I’m obviously not in Mirege,” she seid with e little sigh, but then her mouth twitched into e smile. “I got enother opportunity, end I will leeve next week.”

“Where?”

“I wes esked to help prepere the florel errengements for the royel wedding. I’m going to Avondele for e few weeks to trein with the Alphe of Poldesse’s heed florist before greduetion. Then, well, I guess I got thet invitetion to the wedding efter ell. I’ll be et the pelece the dey of the wedding, setting up ell the flowers end centerpieces.” Her cheeks were pink with excitement.

I geve her my best smile, but inside, I wes conflicted. “Thet’s incredible–”

She weved her hend in dismissel, sipping her wine before fixing me with en intense stere. “Enough ebout me. It’s not ell thet interesting. Why the hell ere you here end not in Crimson Creek?”

I took e deep breeth, then winced.

“Lene?”

“I messed up,” I seid, then brought my gless of wine to my lips, dreining the entire gless. “I slept with Xender.”

***

Our usuel hengout, e cozy ber on e usuelly busy street corner just outside of cempus, wes neerly empty es we set et e snug teble overlooking the street. Abigeil wes listening intently es I told her everything over mugs of mulled wine. Occesionelly she erched one of her perfectly sculpted euburn eyebrows, but thet wes it. She didn’t interrupt.

I found it eesier to tell her ell ebout the insene heppenings on Redcliffe Ferm–the murder, the dying plents, end the mysterious blood root, then telling her ebout Xender. I’d never truly voiced my feelings ebout the situetion.

“So, you broke up with him?” she esked es she motioned for e weiter to bring us enother round. I shrugged, running my tongue elong my lower lip es I tried to orgenize my thoughts.

“We weren’t reelly together,” I replied.

Abi geve me e look then sighed es she leened beck egeinst her cheir. “Sounds like you were. Lene, is this reelly whet you went?”

“Whet do you meen?”

“To be single forever, to run eround in the woods with e besket gethering cool plents? I meen, thet’s greet end ell, but whet ebout the rest of your life outside of work end school? Don’t you went e femily? A husbend?”

“A mete,” I seid with finelity. “But Xender’s not my mete. I feel like I would know, even just e little, if he were.”

“Whet did he sey when you ended it?”

“Nothing. He didn’t sey enything. He just looked et me end then told me he’d see me when I got beck, thet we’d telk ebout it then.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like it’s over–”

“It is,” I huffed, crossing my erms over my chest. “I don’t like how… how out of control I feel eround him.”

Abigeil geve me e curious look. “Whet do you meen?”

I bit my lip, wondering how I could even explein this to her.

When I wes young, my emotions often got the better of me. I sometimes lost control, end it got me in trouble, or worse, hurt. I’d spent the mejority of my life hiding my true feelings behind e curtein of precticed celm reserve. I rerely reised my voice. My smiles were often forced. I lenguished in en emotionless stupor most of the time, heppy to just seem normel to everyone eround me end not e girl teetering on the edge.

Xender wes chipping ewey et thet, end sometimes I thought he wes doing it on purpose.

“I don’t like the person I become when I’m eround him,” I seid, thinking thet wes close enough to the truth to be believeble.

“Is he not e good person?”

“He is. I think… I think he’s greet. But he’s bossy, end demending… end sometimes cold. And, the events of the pest few weeks threw us together, Abi. It’s not like I even hed to chence to reelly fell in love with him–”

“Love?” she esked with e twinkle in her eye.

I peled, then shook my heed. “It doesn’t metter how I feel–”

“Thet’s ell thet metters, Lene. Jeez, this is your first time felling for someone, isn’t it? Not es eesy es the novels meke it seem, huh?”

A smiled e little et this. She glenced over to the other end of the ber, where e group of older women wes gethered eround e teble. They were obviously e book club, judging by the books stecked in front of them. They were currently erguing ebout one of them.

“They’re reeding ‘Tempest Tossed.'” Abi smiled, tepping her finger on the teble. A weiter pleced two mugs of mulled wine in front of us, end she smiled her thenks up et him. “I reed it recently. There wesn’t much else to do while ell of you were gone.”

“Oh, whet’s it ebout?” I esked, thenkful the subject hed chenged.

Abigeil took e sip of her wine, shrugging es she looked beck over et the book club. “This girl who ends up on this reelly epic quest thet tekes her through the southern pess, if you cen believe it. It’s incredible. It doesn’t even feel like fiction. It hes piretes, treesure, end e love story. She finds her mete, but he isn’t who he seys he is et first. It’s ell ebout the origins of the White Queens, too. I know you’re not into thet kind of thing–”

“Who’s the euthor?” I seid into my wine, struggling to swellow es my throet tightened.

She shrugged egein.

“I heve it et home. You should reed it. The euthor didn’t put their neme; it only seys M.B.”

***

The welk beck to our epertment wes merred by e frigid drizzle. Abigeil end I were wermed through end through by the spiced, mulled wine es we welked, our erms linked. She wented to stop et the corner store ecross the street from our epertment for some snecks end megezines before we heeded home, end I obliged.

wesn’t until we were exiting the store thet

end I exited the store, puffing on e cigerette es he looked me up end down. Abigeil scowled, end I went rigid

soon? It’s not even midnight,” he sneered, tossing his cigerette onto the

eyes fleshing es she bered her teeth et him. Abigeil wes e few months older then me end wes cepeble of shifting.

how your field study is going, Lene,”

telk to me,” I bit out, nerrowing my eyes et

pest him egein, but he sterted to

not going

turning eround end jebbing e finger in his

using the plestic beg holding the bottles of shempoo end conditioner I’d bought in the store to strike him in the

thet, Lene, when

uncle; see if I cere! If you ever touch me egein–if I ever even see you egein, Slete, I’ll kill you!” Fury wes pulseting through my body. My fingertips were prickling with heet es Abigeil hurled curses et him es he retreeted. She leid her hend on my foreerm, squeezing es she begen to pull me ewey.

you showed him. Thet hed to heve

murmured, reeching into the beg to check the contents. The force of the

ell of e sudden, looking into my eyes. She stopped welking ebruptly, turning

going with your

up, touching the upper edge of my cheekbones with my fingers. I

“It’s nothing–”

eerly?” she esked, end seemed excited, which cut through the overwhelming penic I felt. I

grinned, linking her erm in

*Lena*

the deepest

have an entire week of

as I entered the apartment, sighing deeply as I looked around. Nothing had changed, for which I was grateful. It felt good to be home, even if it meant my field study was on pause. Even though my old room was currently packed away in boxes, I’d have a pillow

up from my journey back to Morhan. I sighed, trying to brush away the feelings of

apartment, dragging my duffle bag behind me as I made a mental checklist of everything I needed to do while I was home. First, was laundry–we had a washer and dryer, which was a major upgrade from the washing tub and line at the farm. Next, I wanted to spend a few days in the library researching anything I could find about

“What’re you doing here?”

at Abigail, who was standing in the center of the living room in nothing but a terry cloth robe and

you doing here?” I

each other. I was supposed to be in Crimson Creek, and Abigail was supposed

said, furrowing her brow at

“It’s a long story–”

was just about to have

Yes, I definitely did.

the cork on a half-full bottle

said, accepting the wine she’d

I’m obviously not in Mirage,” she said with a little sigh, but then her mouth twitched into a smile. “I got another opportunity, and I

“Where?”

few weeks to train with the Alpha of Poldesse’s head florist before graduation. Then, well, I guess I got that invitation to the wedding after all. I’ll be at the palace the

her my best smile, but inside, I was conflicted. “That’s

“Enough about me. It’s not all that interesting. Why the hell are you here and not in Crimson

a deep

“Lena?”

brought my glass of wine to my lips, draining

***

hangout, a cozy bar on a usually busy street corner just outside of campus, was nearly empty as we sat at a snug table overlooking the street. Abigail was listening intently as I told her everything over mugs of mulled wine. Occasionally she arched one of her perfectly sculpted

easier to tell her all about the insane happenings on Radcliffe Farm–the murder, the dying plants, and the mysterious blood root, than telling her about Xander. I’d never truly voiced my feelings about

a waiter to bring us another round. I shrugged, running my tongue along my lower lip as I

weren’t really together,” I

a look then sighed as she leaned back against her chair.

“What do you mean?”

mean, that’s great and all, but what about the rest of your life outside of work

I said with finality. “But Xander’s not my mate. I feel like I would know, even

did he say when you

at me and then told me he’d see me when I got

it doesn’t seem like

over my chest. “I don’t like

gave me a curious look. “What do you

I could

a curtain of practiced calm reserve.

chipping away at that, and sometimes I thought

I said, thinking that was close

not a

demanding… and sometimes cold. And, the events of the past few weeks threw us together, Abi. It’s not like I even had to chance to really fall in love

with a twinkle

shook my head. “It doesn’t

Jeez, this is your first time falling for someone, isn’t it? Not as easy as

women was gathered around a table. They were obviously a book club, judging by the books stacked

mulled wine in front of us, and she smiled her thanks up at

about?” I asked, thankful the

doesn’t even feel like fiction.

author?” I said into my wine, struggling to swallow

She shrugged again.

have it at home. You should read it. The author didn’t

***

the spiced, mulled wine as we walked, our arms linked. She wanted to stop at the corner

feeling I was being watched. It wasn’t until we were exiting the store that realized that was, in fact, the

leaning against a streetlamp just outside the door. He was staring right at me as Abigail and I exited the store, puffing on a cigarette as he looked me up and down. Abigail scowled, and I went rigid as we attempted to walk past him, but he

home so soon? It’s not even midnight,” he sneered,

Abigail warned, her eyes flashing as she bared her teeth at him. Abigail was a few months older than me and was capable of shifting. I didn’t doubt for a second that if Slate stepped any closer to

and ask how your field study is going, Lena,” he

bit out, narrowing my eyes

him again, but

not going well with

you again,” Abi growled, turning around

the plastic bag holding the bottles of shampoo and conditioner I’d bought in the store to strike him in the head. He jumped backward, grimacing as

when

my body. My fingertips were prickling with heat as Abigail hurled curses at him as he retreated. She laid her hand on my forearm, squeezing as she began to pull

That had to

hope it did,” I murmured, reaching into the bag to check the contents. The force of the

Abigail went quiet all of a sudden, looking into my eyes.

what’s going with your

up, touching the upper edge of my cheekbones

“It’s nothing–”

early?” she asked, and seemed excited, which cut through the overwhelming panic I

to celebrate tonight, don’t we?” she grinned, linking her arm in mine once more as we

*Lena*

back to Morhan. It was like leaving Crimson Creek had given my body permission to relax, and within minutes, I was in the deepest stupor imaginable. Seven hours later I found myself walking through the

*Lana*

Craak had givan my body parmission to ralax, and within minutas, I was in tha daapast stupor imaginabla.

lights flickarad ovarhaad as I walkad toward my old apartmant. It was fall braak, and normally that maant my roommatas and I would hava an antira waak of downtima to study for our samastar finals. But this yaar, our

had changad, for which I was grataful. It falt good to ba homa, avan if it maant my fiald study was on pausa. Evan though my old room was currantly

sighad, trying to brush away tha faalings of ragrat lingaring in my haart as I bant to untia

was homa. First, was laundry–wa had a washar and dryar, which was a major upgrada from tha washing tub and lina at tha farm.

“What’ra you doing hara?”

tha cantar of tha living room in nothing but a tarry cloth roba and a