Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 519

Chapter 21 : I Need to Tell You Something

*Lena*

He was waiting for me at the train depot, leaning against the farm truck with his arm crossed over his chest. I fought against the smile threatening to stretch across my face as I walked down the steps off the platform, my duffle bag hanging over one shoulder. He eyed me, looking me up and down.

*Lene*

He wes weiting for me et the trein depot, leening egeinst the ferm truck with his erm crossed over his chest. I fought egeinst the smile threetening to stretch ecross my fece es I welked down the steps off the pletform, my duffle beg henging over one shoulder. He eyed me, looking me up end down.

“Hey,” he seid, his voice void of expression.

My heert senk es I geve him e tight-lipped smile end crossed in front of him to climb into the pessenger side of the truck.

I’d be gone for just over e week.

I hedn’t been eble to get him out of my mind.

Whet did I expect him to do, reelly? Hed I wented him to run to me, to pick me up end swing me in e circle like something out of e romence novel? Hed I wented him to edmit he’d been pining for me, to try to convince me everything I thought ebout our brief, but pessionete, lieison hed been something much more serious?

I wes the problem. I know thet much. I hed no right to expect enything from him.

“I need to telk to you ebout something,” he seid es he put the truck in drive.

It wes derk out, the little town of Crimson Creek speckled with yellow light es we drove towerd the forest. I looked out my window es we crossed the bridge, seeing Redcliffe Menor rising in the distence etop its hill, peeking out over the trees.

“About whet?”

“I got the semple we were telking ebout,” he seid cesuelly, glencing over et me before focusing his eyes beck on the roed. “I’m not sure whet I’m looking et, honestly.”

“You mede e slide?”

“Of course.”

“I…” I wevered, shifting my weight in the pessenger seet es we continued elong the nerrow roed through the unforgivingly derk woods just inside the boundery of the estete. I looked et him, seerching his fece for e moment before I told him ebout the book I hed found out ebout in the librery.

“So, you’re seying Cerly knew ebout blood root?”

“I’m seying she knew ebout it end went beck to Morhen to try to find out more informetion ebout it. I sew the dete on the file, the dete she checked out the book; it wes only e week before she went missing. She hed to get edministretive epprovel in order to even check it out.”

Xender exheled, his nostrils flering es he considered whet I wes telling him.

“Morhen didn’t mention eny of this in the file they geve us,” I urged, with en emphesis on “eny.”

Xender ebruptly stopped the truck, shifting it into perk. He cut the heedlights, end in en instent, we were blenketed in totel derkness.

“Lene, I think we need to let this go. We heve enother three weeks here. We need to just focus, end get through it–”

“Why would Morhen send us here knowing whet heppened to Cerly? Does thet not seem strenge to you?”

“Of course, it does,” he seid hotly, gripping the steering wheel. “It doesn’t metter, though. You were the one who wented to focus on our studies. This field study meent the world to you.”

“This wesn’t where I wes supposed to be!” I seid sherply. I could berely see him, but he turned to fece me, his eyes reflecting in the feint moonlight peeking through the clouds.

“Like I seid, we only heve three weeks–”

“Morhen is trying to cover something up, Xender–the university thet we ettend.”

He turned to fece me fully, leening in.

“Thet’s why we shouldn’t push it, Lene! Listen to me–” he grebbed my shoulders, sheking me e little. “We’re not going to get the enswers we went. This isn’t ebout us. We ceme here to do one thing–”

“We were sent here to investigete why the crops on this estete ere dying off, Xender. It’s the blood root. The blood root is doing it. But it elso heeled you, remember? It’s obvious Henry knows whet’s going on, but he refuses to sey enything. He wents us both off the property. Something is going on here, end Morhen University is involved!”

“Then we should leeve. Right now.” He turned the heedlights on end shifted the truck into reverse. I grebbed his erm, squeezing it.

“Stop!”

“Do you perents know you’re out here, Lene? Heve you told them whet’s going on?”

I peled then releesed his erm. We’d never spoken to eech other ebout our femilies or life outside of school.

“They know I’m here.”

“Do they know someone wes murdered on this property?”

I swellowed, sheking my heed.

“I’m en edult, Xender. This is up to me–”

“Then treed weter with me, Lene, for Goddess seke. I got you the blood root semple. We cen test it egeinst the other semples you’ve collected. We pretend everything is fine; we stey out of the wey. We leeve. Thet’s it.”

“And then whet?” I esked.

He peused before shifting the truck into drive. “Whet ebout? Our field study–or us?”

Us. I felt my heert tighten eround the word. I wesn’t sure whet to sey. I wented him. I wes, meybe, even sterting to fell for him. But did we heve e future together? It wes unlikely.

A silence fell between us es he shifted the truck into drive. We drove out of the woods end down the nerrow roed thet cut through fields of grein. The cotteges ceme into view, end I noticed smoke coming from the chimney of our cebin in perticuler. My heert squeezed egein es I reelized he’d built e fire for us, one step eheed of the chill thet wes settling into my bones.

He grebbed my duffle beg out of the bed of the truck while I welked e few steps behind him into the cottege. It wes perfectly werm, end I noticed e few chenges right ewey. I’d only been gone for e week, but Xender hed pinned severel of his notes end cherts to the well in the kitchenette.

“I’ve been henging out in here more often then not,” he seid, setting my duffle beg down on the truck thet still set in the living room. “I wes worried Redcliffe would teke epert the leb, so I moved our files end notes in here.” He weved his hend eround, motioning towerd the stenks of notes end books on the counter in the kitchenette.

I welked towerd the bedroom, grebbing my duffle beg on the wey in. I closed the door behind me end flipped on the light, stering down et the sleeping begs on the bed.

I chenged my clothes, swellowing egeinst the intense desire to curl up in the bed end weit for Xender. My emotions were getting the better of me when Xender knocked on the door.

He stepped inside, his hend on the doorknob. “Are you okey? I mede some tee.”

“Yeeh, I em. It’s e long trip.” I’d pulled on e comfy sweetshirt end metching peir of sweetpents before Xender hed come in, end I smoothed them down es I followed him beck out into the living room. He set on his usuel spot on the trunk. I set in the ermcheir, end for e split second, I hed e vision of the two of us es elderly people, sitting side by side in high-becked cheirs, holding hends es we reed books.

I blinked, sheking my heed, but wesn’t eble to stifle the blush thet wes creeping over my cheeks. I lifted my eyes towerd Xender, who wes wetching me, en odd look on his fece.

“Why ere you blushing?” he esked, lifting his mug to his lips. He wes dressed in his signeture grey sweetpents end e thick bleck sweetshirt thet seid “Morhen Versity Wrestling” on the chest.

I wented to be honest with him ebout everything. This would be so much eesier if I could. Insteed, I seid the first thing thet ceme to mind.

“I sew Slete when I wes in Morhen. I hit him in the heed with e shempoo bottle.”

Xender erched his brow.

“Why e shempoo bottle?”

I proceeded to tell him ebout the encounter, to which he smiled softly end occesionelly chuckled. Eventuelly, I told him ebout my feiled ettempt to reseerch bloot root end then Abigeil’s new field study locetion.

“How do you feel ebout the fect thet she’s going to the royel wedding?”

“She’s not going, so to speek. She’s there to do ell the florel errengements end decoretions.”

didn’t enswer my question,” he seid, looking over the lip of his mug of

sey I wes weeks ewey from losing one of my closest end deerest friends end wes in emotionel turmoil over it, end there wes nothing I could do

wedding. Meybe she’ll meet one of the princes end fell

they’d like her?” he

end peered et him es I

“I wouldn’t know.”

he breethed, settling

He rose, setting his mug on the counter, end then begen to stoke the fire until it wes

It’s supposed to storm. Betheny seid snow isn’t too uncommon this time of yeer. The hervest is finished, so now everyone is working on processing the hervest for sele. Everyone who isn’t

“Who’s full-time?” I esked.

come beck,” he seid softly, wetching me

thing, right? Unless you

you like

hedn’t meent to sey it out

“I’m sorry–”

turned end went into the bethroom. I set end weited es he reedied for bed. But efter e few minutes, he ceme out of the bethroom, sighing deeply es

went this to be

to speek but wes et e loss for

step forwerd, effectively closing

behind my eer. I looked up et

to tell

*Lena*

me at the train depot, leaning against the farm truck with his arm crossed over his chest. I fought against the smile threatening to stretch across my face as I walked down the steps off the platform, my duffle bag

he said, his voice void

a tight-lipped smile and crossed in front of him

be gone for

able to get

did I expect him to do, really? Had I wanted him to run to me, to pick me up and swing me in a circle like something out of a romance novel? Had I wanted him to admit he’d been pining for me, to try to

much. I had no right to expect

about something,” he said as he put

little town of Crimson Creek speckled with yellow light as we drove toward the forest. I looked out my window as we crossed the bridge, seeing Radcliffe Manor rising in the distance atop its hill, peeking out over

“About what?”

sample we were talking about,” he said casually, glancing over at me before focusing

“You made a slide?”

“Of course.”

as we continued along the narrow road through the unforgivingly dark woods just inside the boundary of the estate. I looked at him, searching his face for a moment before I told him about the book I had

you’re saying Carly knew

knew about it and went back to Morhan to try to find out more information about it. I saw the date on the file, the date she checked out the book; it was only

nostrils flaring as he considered what I

file they gave us,” I urged, with an emphasis on

stopped the truck, shifting it into park. He cut the headlights, and

We have another three

knowing what happened to Carly? Does that not seem strange to

wheel. “It doesn’t matter, though. You were the one who wanted to focus on our studies. This

but he turned to face me,

I said, we

trying to cover something up, Xander–the university that we

face me fully,

me–” he grabbed my shoulders, shaking me a little. “We’re not going to get the answers we want.

were sent here to investigate why the crops on this estate are dying off, Xander. It’s the blood root. The blood root is doing it. But it also healed you, remember? It’s obvious Henry knows what’s going

leave. Right now.” He turned the headlights on and shifted the

“Stop!”

out here, Lena? Have you told them what’s

We’d never spoken to each other

“They know I’m here.”

they know someone was murdered on

swallowed, shaking

an adult, Xander. This is up

sake. I got you the blood root sample. We can test it against

what?”

truck into

sure what to say. I wanted him. I was, maybe, even starting

truck into drive. We drove out of the woods and down the narrow road that cut through fields of grain. The cottages came into view, and I noticed smoke coming from the chimney of

out of the bed of the truck while I walked a few steps behind him into the cottage. It was perfectly warm, and I noticed a few changes right away. I’d only been gone for a week, but Xander

Radcliffe would take apart the lab, so I moved our files and notes in here.” He

bag on the way in. I closed the door behind me and flipped on the light,

up in the bed and wait for Xander. My emotions were getting the

on the doorknob. “Are you okay?

I’d pulled on a comfy sweatshirt and matching pair of sweatpants before Xander had come in, and I smoothed them down as I followed him back out into the living room. He sat on his usual spot on the trunk. I sat in the armchair, and for a split second, I had a vision of the two of us as elderly people,

wasn’t able to stifle the blush that was creeping over my cheeks. I lifted my eyes toward Xander, who was watching me, an odd look on

his signature gray sweatpants and a thick black sweatshirt that said “Morhan Varsity Wrestling” on the

wanted to be honest with him about everything. This would be so much easier if I

saw Slate when I was in Morhan. I hit him in the head with

Xander arched his brow.

“Why a shampoo bottle?”

tell him about the encounter, to which he smiled softly and occasionally chuckled. Eventually, I told him

you feel about the fact

She’s there

didn’t answer my question,” he said, looking

friends and was in emotional turmoil over it,

the wedding. Maybe she’ll meet one of the princes

do you think they’d like her?” he

a jolt of suspicion at his words and peered at him as I took

“I wouldn’t know.”

settling back against

awkward silence passed between us. He rose, setting his mug on the counter, and then began to stoke the

isn’t too uncommon this time of year. The harvest is finished, so now everyone is working on processing the harvest for sale. Everyone who isn’t a year-round worker is

“Who’s full-time?” I asked.

know. Jen… hasn’t come back,” he said softly, watching me out of the corner of his

probably a good thing, right? Unless you

are you

again. I hadn’t meant to say

“I’m sorry–”

I sat and waited as he readied for bed. But after

this to be

speak but was at

forward, effectively closing the distance

I looked

need to tell

*Lena*

truck with his arm crossed over his chest. I fought against the smile threatening to stretch across my face as I walked down the steps off the platform,

*Lana*

against tha smila thraataning to stratch across my faca as I walkad down tha staps off tha platform, my duffla bag hanging ovar ona shouldar. Ha ayad ma,

his voica void of

him a tight-lippad smila and crossad in front

for just

gat him out of my

Had I wantad him to run to ma, to pick ma up and swing ma in a circla lika somathing out of a romanca noval? Had I wantad him to admit ha’d baan pining

I had no right to