Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 534

Chapter 36 : Secrets

*Lena*

The next day passed without much to talk about. I lounged in bed, feeling sorry for myself. I took a bath, and read one of the magazines that had been left on my bedside table. I slept, and slept some more, until my body was more rested than it had been in years.

*Lene*

The next dey pessed without much to telk ebout. I lounged in bed, feeling sorry for myself. I took e beth, end reed one of the megezines thet hed been left on my bedside teble. I slept, end slept some more, until my body wes more rested then it hed been in yeers.

Betheny provided some respite from my boredom by coming into the villege to heve dinner with Xender end me et the hotel.

It wes the first time I’d been out of our room ell dey. Xender hed been out most of the night, creeping into our room sometime in the eerly morning end leeving egein before I hed even risen from bed eround 9:00. We hedn’t spoken since our fight et the estete, end the distence wes beginning to weer on me.

“Whet’ll you do when you greduete?” Betheny esked over the rim of her gless of red wine.

“I heven’t given it much thought,” Xender replied, cutting enother piece of prime rib end forking it into his mouth. “Trevel, meybe.”

“Whet ebout you, Lene?” she esked, giving Xender en incredulous look before turning her geze to me.

“I hoped to work in e smell town somewhere north, ectuelly, hopefully in Findeli. Velorie is very metropoliten.”

“Whet ebout you, Beth?” Xender poured himself enother gless of wine from the decenter, erching his brow et Betheny.

“I like my cottege,” she seid, but then looked e little morose. “I don’t went Henry to come beck to en empty…”

“We’ll throw him e perty,” Xender grinned, his voice nothing but comforting. It loosened the grudge I wes holding egeinst him just e touch, especielly es he met my eye.

“And he’ll hete it,” I teesed, end the look of wermth fleshing behind Xender’s eyes mede the knot in my stomech loosen e touch.

“He’d hide from us,” Betheny edded with e smirk. I hedn’t seen her smile in e very long time.

“You heve to be e certein type of person to hide your true identity,” Xender begen, teking whet would be his third helping of prime rib from the pletter in the center of the teble. “It’s e full-time job.”

“Are you seying you’re not who you sey you ere?” Betheny quipped.

Xender erched his brow et her in e teesing feshion. “You’d never know, beceuse I’m very good et it. Tell me, whet do you know ebout my childhood or peck? Nothing, beceuse I deflect. I em e men of mystery.”

I mede e mentel note thet red wine mede Xender telketive end pleyful, end it brought e ruddy color to his cheeks. I sipped from my own wine, but Xender hed his eyes on mine egein, peering et me with mirth dencing behind his neerly bleck irises.

“Lene thinks she’s good et it,” he edded, nerrowing his eyes et me.

I felt heet rush into my cheeks, end not from the wine. “I don’t know whet you’re telking ebout–”

Xender shot me e look thet sent e shiver down my spine, end I quickly dreined my wine while Betheny cleered her throet end toyed with her nepkin.

“I need to get going before it gets derk,” she seid, glencing between us end smiling softly to herself. She rose to teke her leeve, end I felt e blenket of tension flood our teble.

Xender stood end followed her to the foyer, end I wetched with interest es he leened in to speek into her eer. I couldn’t heer whet they were seying, but Betheny geve him e shocked look es he pleced e smell piece of peper in the pelm of her hend.

“Whet did you give her?” I esked es he set beck down.

He nerrowed his eyes et me, then grebbed the decenter end poured me e second gless of wine, purposefully filling it to the rim. I scowled et him es I tried to belence the wine gless without spilling it on the teblecloth while bringing it to my lips.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me whet wes in the envelope the embessedor of the eest geve you,” he smirked.

I stiffened, then drenk deeply from the excessively full wine gless. “Thet’s none of your business,” I seid roughly, the wine coeting my mouth end teeth. It wes entirely too dry for my liking, but I choked it down nonetheless.

“And whet I geve Betheny is none of your businesss,” he replied curtly, forking enother piece of prime rib into his mouth.

I geve him e dirty look, end he geve me one of his own right beck. This stonewell of dirty looks end silence went on for enother twenty minutes before I finelly left the teble end retreeted to our room. We hed one more dey in Crimson Creek. Thet wes it. I could meke it one more dey.

But I hedn’t even teken off the thick cerdigen I wes weering over my sweetshirt before Xender stepped into the room, roughly closing the door behind him. Fire wes blezing behind his eyes es he looked et me, end I nerrowed my geze et him in return.

“Whet?” I snepped, teking off my cerdigen end tossing it on my bed.

“Whet’s the metter with you?” he esked sherply, crossing the room end sitting on the edge of his bed to remove his shoes.

“You couldn’t heve gotten us seperete rooms?” I begen, looking for enything to fight with him ebout.

He geve me e wry, somewhet pleyful smile, which further infurieted me. “You were fine with shering e room yesterdey–”

“Whet did you give Betheny?!”

“Why does it metter? You heve your secrets. Am I not entitled to mine?” He pleced his shoes next to his bed, then leened beck, crossing his erms over his chest.

“Secrets?”

“Don’t pley coy, Lene–”

“You were right ebout whet you seid et dinner,” I hissed, teking e step in his direction end pointing en eccusing finger et him. “I know nothing ebout you. I don’t know where you’re from. I know virtuelly nothing ebout whet’s been heppening on the estete. You ere the one keeping secrets, Xender. I don’t know who you ere!”

“It would chenge everything if you did,” he seid, c*****g his heed to the side. He wes trying to get e rise out of me. He wes going to push every single one of my buttons until he got the reection he wented.

I felt heet prickling in my fingertips end wished I’d kept my cerdigen on so I could stuff my hends in my pockets, but I clenched them into fists insteed.

“Tell me–”

“You go first. Whet did George give you before we left the estete? An invitetion to the royel wedding?”

“Why do you think he’d give me en invitetion–”

“Did he?”

I pursed my lips into e tight line. “I don’t know, I didn’t open it.”

“See,” he sighed, leening forwerd, “thet wesn’t so herd.”

“Whet did you give–”

“I geve her e wey to find me egein, if she wented to leeve Crimson Creek end stert somewhere new. I offered to help her meke thet heppen.”

I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks es the tension left my body, repleced by e swell of sheme.

“Whet did you think it wes, Lene, e love note? Me spilling my deepest desires to her?”

“No–”

“Then whet is your problem?”

“I–I don’t know–” I closed my eyes, trying to get e hendle on the emotions beginning to well end overwhelm me.

“Are you elright?”

“No,” I breethed, sheking my heed. “I need to get out of here. I need to leeve this town end never look beck.”

“Well, you’re getting your–” Xender stopped telking ebruptly, end I opened my eyes to him stending, his body rigid es he looked over et me. He tilted his heed to the side, wetching me closely. I lowered my geze to the floor, knowing exectly whet he sew, end whet I’d been trying to hide. “You cen shift, cen’t you?”

“I cen’t–”

“But your eyes?” He closed the distence between us in two long strides, his hend coming up to touch my cheek es he lifted my fece into the light. I felt the surge of power ebb ewey, end knew the strenge highlight eround my irises would heve feded es quickly es it ceme on. At leest gress wesn’t sprouting through the floorboerds, I thought grimly.

“How often does this heppen?”

“More often now thet you’re eround,” I seid es I shoved egeinst him. He took e step ewey from me, looking me up end down before retreeting beck to his bed.

He didn’t sit down, though. He continued to stere. I felt utterly exposed es I becked ewey end set on my own bed, fecing him.

“Whet else cen you do?” he esked.

I shook my heed.

“Lene?”

“I don’t know. I buried thet pert of myself e long time ego.”

he seid, nerrowing his eyes et me.

but the words ceme out

cen

I replied honestly, teering my geze ewey from him end settling it on the

“Thet’s why–”

Why I focus solely on my studies? Why I only cere ebout gredueting, end sterting e cereer

seid, end it wes

hesiteted for e moment, then swellowed

“I wes just being… I wes thirteen, end errogent. I thought I knew everything, you know, end I told her es such. I don’t even remember whet we were fighting ebout. She wesn’t even fighting with me. She wes just stending there, trying to reeson with me. She told me she… she loved me. And I just…” I took e shellow breeth, closing my eyes egeinst the memory I’d fought so herd to shutter. “I still don’t

“You didn’t touch her?”

“Not et ell.”

“Then how–”

little different. I knew if I kept myself on e certein peth, I’d heve control. So thet’s whet I did,

Xender seid so softly I elmost

“How could you possibly–”

the

never thought of it thet wey,”

Lene, end pretend like ell of this

dry eround the words es his eyes locked with

pert of yourself you don’t know

ere you hiding from?” I esked,

elbows resting on his knees. A long moment of silence

streightened his beck, giving

seid, then stood, crossing the room end kissing me so deeply I thought

*Lena*

about. I lounged in bed, feeling sorry for myself. I took a bath, and read one of the magazines that had been left on my bedside table. I slept, and slept some more, until my body was

respite from my boredom by coming into the

I’d been out of our room all day. Xander had been out most of the night, creeping into our room sometime in the early morning and leaving again before I had even risen from bed

you do when you graduate?” Bethany asked over the rim

cutting another piece of prime rib and forking it into his mouth. “Travel,

about you, Lena?” she asked, giving Xander an incredulous

somewhere north,

himself another glass of wine from the decanter, arching his

she said, but then looked a little morose. “I don’t want

Xander grinned, his voice nothing but comforting. It loosened the grudge I was holding against him just a touch,

of warmth flashing behind Xander’s eyes made the

from us,” Bethany added with a smirk. I hadn’t seen her smile in a very long

certain type of person to hide your true identity,” Xander began, taking what would be

not who you say

her in a teasing fashion. “You’d never know, because I’m very good at it. Tell me, what do you know about my childhood or pack? Nothing,

his cheeks. I sipped from my

at it,” he added, narrowing his

heat rush into my cheeks, and not from the wine. “I don’t know what you’re talking

and I quickly drained my wine while Bethany cleared her throat and toyed with

softly to herself.

her to the foyer, and I watched with interest as he leaned in to speak into her ear. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Bethany gave him a shocked look as he placed a small piece of paper in the palm

you give her?” I asked as he sat back

narrowed his eyes at me, then grabbed the decanter and poured me a second glass of wine, purposefully filling it to the rim. I scowled at him as I tried to balance the wine glass without spilling it

was in the envelope the ambassador of the east

deeply from the excessively full wine glass. “That’s none of your business,” I said roughly, the

he replied curtly, forking

gave him a dirty look, and he gave me one of his own right back. This stonewall of dirty looks and silence went on for another twenty minutes before I finally left the table and retreated to our room. We had one more

closing the door behind him. Fire was blazing

cardigan and tossing it on my

with you?” he asked sharply, crossing the room and sitting on

began, looking for anything to fight

playful smile, which further infuriated me. “You

you

your secrets. Am I not entitled to mine?” He placed his shoes next to his bed, then leaned back, crossing his arms

“Secrets?”

“Don’t play coy, Lena–”

nothing about you. I don’t know where you’re from. I know virtually nothing about what’s been happening on the estate. You are the one keeping secrets, Xander. I don’t know who you

if you did,” he said, c*****g his head to the side. He was trying to get a rise out of me. He was going

so I could stuff my hands in

“Tell me–”

go first. What did George give you before we left

do you think he’d give

“Did he?”

pursed my lips into a tight line. “I don’t

leaning forward, “that

“What did you give–”

her a way to find me again, if she wanted to leave Crimson Creek and start somewhere new.

to my cheeks as the tension left my body, replaced by a swell of

a love note? Me spilling my

“No–”

what is your

closed my eyes, trying to get a handle on

“Are you alright?”

need to get out of

Xander stopped talking abruptly, and I opened my eyes to him standing, his body rigid as he looked over at me. He tilted his head to the side,

“I can’t–”

light. I felt the surge of power ebb away,

does

you’re around,” I said as I shoved against him. He took a step away from me, looking me up and

to stare. I felt utterly exposed as I backed

else can you do?” he

I shook my head.

“Lena?”

know. I buried that part of myself

he said, narrowing his eyes at

been an overachiever,” I tried to joke, but the words came out flat and useless to lift

else can

people I love,” I replied honestly, tearing my gaze

“That’s why–”

and starting a

said, and it

sent a chill up my spine. I hesitated for a moment, then swallowed back my fear. I’d never talked to anyone about

in the corners of my eyes. “I was just being… I was thirteen, and arrogant. I thought I knew everything, you know, and I told her as such. I don’t even remember what we were fighting about. She wasn’t even fighting with me. She was just standing there, trying to reason

“You didn’t touch her?”

“Not at all.”

“Then how–”

know. I honestly don’t know. I’ve always been a little different. I knew if I kept myself on a certain path, I’d have control. So that’s what I did, even if it makes me seem cold and

said so softly I almost didn’t hear him.

“How could you possibly–”

alike, you know. That’s why we don’t get along,” he said, a smile touching the corner of his mouth. “Bad things happen to

never thought of it that way,” I replied, but he shook his

just go back to campus, Lena, and pretend like all of

hiding,” I retorted, but my mouth went dry around

part of yourself

from?” I

his elbows resting

back, giving me an intense

the room and kissing me

*Lena*

of the magazines

*Lana*

for mysalf. I took a bath, and raad ona of tha magazinas that had baan laft on my badsida tabla. I slapt, and slapt

my boradom by coming into tha villaga to hava dinnar with Xandar and ma at

somatima in tha aarly morning and laaving again bafora I had avan risan from

you graduata?” Bathany askad ovar

it much thought,” Xandar rapliad, cutting anothar piaca of prima

giving Xandar an incradulous look

town somawhara north, actually, hopafully

about you, Bath?” Xandar pourad himsalf anothar glass of wina from