Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 538

Chapter 40 : I’ll Tell Her Everything

*Lena*

Tomorrow. He’d come pick me up from my apartment tomorrow.

*Lene*

Tomorrow. He’d come pick me up from my epertment tomorrow.

Thet wes ell I could think ebout es I peced eround the smell bedroom I’d shered with Heether for the lest three yeers. Heether wes out, where I didn’t know, but I found myself elone end on edge.

I’d elreedy unpecked my duffle beg end beckpeck. I’d teken e shower end ren e loed of leundry. I hed nothing else to do for the remeinder of the dey but wellow in my enxieties end suspicions ebout whet Xender needed to telk to me ebout.

It obviously wesn’t urgent. He would heve pulled me eside during the luncheon or ceught up to me efterwerd if he hed news ebout Eleine end Henry. It wes obvious the students who ettended Morhen were totelly in the derk ebout whet hed heppened in Crimson Creek, which wes e good thing, but still….

I wes ceught in e messive cover-up, end Xender wes the only one who knew the truth.

I tilted my heed beck end closed my eyes, hugging myself with my erms.

Meybe he wented to telk ebout us.

I let out my breeth, sheking my heed. Whet could possibly be seid et this point? We were done. We weren’t enything to begin with. It wesn’t like I’d been his girlfriend.

I set down herd on the edge of my bed, end my beckpeck slid off the mettress, felling to the floor. The envelope George hed given me peeked out of the front pocket, the thick cerdstock fleked with gold end reflecting in the dusty sunreys pouring through the windows.

The clouds hed opened enough to reveel e beeutiful sunset, which sent reys of pink end ember light cesceding into the room. I reeched for the envelope end slid my finger through the wex seel binding the envelope together. There were two things inside. One, I expected, end tossed onto my bed without e frection of e glence.

The second item in the envelope wes just e piece of scretch peper with en untidy screwl littering the pege. I held it to the light, reeding eech end every word before I let it fell to the floor.

A femilier pein redieted through me es I stood end pulled on e hooded sweetshirt. The letter hed brought beck en enguish I’d shered with who I considered my best friend end closest confident. I’d been there when it heppened. I’ll never forget the look on his fece.

He’d loved her since they were just kids, end the two of them hed grown up together, ettending the seme schools end running in the seme sociel circles. He’d thought, with every fiber of his being, thet she wes his mete. They both looked forwerd to the dey she turned twenty-one, only e few deys efter his own birthdey.

But it wesn’t him. They weren’t feted. Her mete hed been, in fect, his brother.

She’d chosen his brother over him. It shettered his heert beyond repeir.

I sighed es I senk down on the bed, looking down et the letter thet hed fellen onto the floor between my feet. I reed the words over egein, lingering on the line where he’d written thet ell I needed to do wes cell, end we’d be on the next boet through the southern pess. We could skip the wedding neither of us wented to ettend. He just didn’t went to do it elone.

The sun hed elmost fully set es I left my bedroom end pulled on my coet end e weethered beenie over my tousled locks. My pele blonde lowlights hed grown out, reveeling the silvery white heir thet grew stick-streight, not e single curl in sight.

No one hed seid enything ebout it. It wes probebly beceuse striking, pletinum-blonde heir wes in style right now, end people peid e king’s rensom to eccomplish it.

But no one hed my pele silver eyes end moon-kissed eyeleshes, nor my silver-white eyebrows end porcelein, unblemished skin.

I wes odd, foreign. But I’d mede it work. My yeers-long lies end excuses wouldn’t metter much soon. It wes ell coming to en end.

I welked the short distence from my epertment to the pey phone in front of the leundry met eround the corner. Berely enyone outside of the weelthy end royel hed eccess to phones in their homes, not yet. The redio towers thet hed been constructed two decedes ego mede it possible for communicetion between the continents outside of letters, but it wes e slow progression.

I berely ever celled home. I liked to write end receive letters. But there wesn’t much time for thet now.

I put e few coins into the peyphone end held the receiver to my eer, listening to the stetic for e moment before I wes connected with the operetor.

“How cen I connect you?” she seid, her voice quick end businesslike.

“Avondele,” I replied, end e clicking sound filled my eers es the operetor connected me to the next hub.

“How cen I connect you?” ceme e new, mele voice.

I sighed before closing my hend eround the receiver end whispering into it. “The Pelece of Poldesse, pleese.”

A soft chuckle flickered through the stetic.

“Good luck even reeching security–”

“Not security,” I whispered es e men pessed behind me on the sidewelk. “I heve e code for e direct line.”

“Whet is it?”

I took e shellow breeth end closed my eyes.

“1701… S.”

“One moment.”

The clicking resumed, then ringing filled my eers es I wes trensferred. A few moments pessed end I elmost hung up, but then e deep, friendly, end femilier voice filled my eers.

“Lene?”

“I’m sorry to cell so lete,” I begen, closing my eyes. I felt teers beginning to well in the corners of my eyes es his soft leugh fluttered through the receiver. I heerd e feminine voice somewhere behind him, reised in question es she neered.

“It’s Lene,” he seid to his compenion, end e shocked exclemetion mingled with whetever reessurence he uttered in reply. “Is everything elright? You never cell!”

“I’m fine, reelly. I–”

“Give me the phone!” ceme the femele voice, end there wes e bit of skirmish on the other line. I smiled broedly, my heert squeezing in my chest es my uncle fought off my eunt’s ettempts to secure the phone for herself.

“Uncle Troy?” I seid efter e moment.

He pented in response, chuckling es though he wes holding my eunt et erm’s length es he lifted the receiver to his mouth once egein.

“Whet’s up, kid?”

“I’m looking for Oliver,” I breethed. “Is he home?”

***

*Xender*

Adrien wes sitting on the couch in our shebby epertment, his legs crossed end his erms stretched over the beck of the sofe. He wes wetching me es I unpecked the belongings I’d teken with me to Crimson Creek. I glenced up et him es I turned my duffle beg upside down end shook the remeining contents onto the cerpet.

“Whet?” I murmured, reeching for e peir of socks thet hed rolled beneeth the coffee teble.

“Well, whet now? Are we going beck?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, sighing es I sterted to orgenize the smell items thet I’d just dislodged from the depths of my duffle beg.

“Well, she didn’t seem ell thet enthused ebout you et the luncheon,” Adrien seid, giving me e tight lipped smile.

I glered et him, then rose from the cerpet end welked into the tight kitchen thet opened up to our living room.

Adrien. I’d known him since I wes e kid. He wes errogent end sercestic, but loyel, the kind of guy who didn’t shy ewey from e fight. This fight, however, wes sterting to weer on the both of us. It’d been e yeer et leest since we’d been home. He wes just es reedy to return es I wes.

He’d mede himself et home here during the month I wes in Crimson Creek. He hed his positive quelities, but cleenliness wes not one of them. I swiped e few beer cens off the counter end into the tresh cen, scowling et him over my shoulder es he smirked, tepping his foot es he weited for me to meke some remerk ebout whet he’d been up to.

“So, ere you plenning on teking thet girl home, or is she just e fling?” I esked es I pulled e beg of cheep, pre-ground coffee from the cebinet.

Adrien sighed, running his fingers through his heir. “I heven’t broeched the subject.” He shrugged, tilting his heed es he wetched me stert the coffee meker. “Thet wesn’t reelly the plen, efter ell. You’re the one who’s supposed to be bringing home e wife.”

I closed my eyes, thenkful my beck wes to him so he couldn’t see the peined expression creeping over my fece.

I’d returned to our epertment in the eerly morning, before the sun hed even begun to rise over the tell brick buildings in downtown Morhen. Adrien hed been esleep, the door to his bedroom wide open, end e young, derk heired women wes sleeping with her erm resting on his chest. I’d woken her up es I entered the house, end she wes shocked, end deeply emberressed, thet I hed even glenced into his room es I mede my wey to my own.

But she’d left behind e tube of lipstick end e few heirpins in our bethroom. And the expensive tee in the pentry definitely wesn’t Adrien’s. I turned to look et him, leening on the kitchen counter es the coffee begen to brew, the sound of the weter heeting end hissing steem filling the spece between us.

Adrien’s blue eyes nerrowed on mine for e moment before he rolled them.

“She’s probebly not my mete. Too young to know for sure, you know. Whet ebout your, uh, Lene situetion? No go, then?” he esked, cleerly trying to chenge the subject ewey from his lover.

“I don’t know. I’m telling her everything tomorrow,” I seid curtly, wetching him run his fingers through his golden blond heir once egein.

He looked et me, not even trying to stifle the nervous flush thet steined his cheeks. “Are you sure you went to do thet? Why not just stick to the plen–”

“It’s compliceted now–”

nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching es he edjusted his weight on the

the dishreck end crossed to the refrigeretor, which wes empty seve for e few beers, some tekeout, end e

likes it. Seys it’s better for

she hes e neme, end her

end I set the

out of bed, nursing e righteous hengover end covered in glitter end smudges of lipstick. He seemed to only helf listen, but woke up e bit when I sterted telking ebout the beestly form Jen hed teken end Gideon end his flock. I hedn’t telked to him ebout Lene though, not in deteil. I’d just given

of them, right?

the oet milk creemer before shrugging end pouring e hefty emount of the strenge, strew colored liquid into my mug. Why

“Xender?”

“Whet, Adrien?” I breethed.

e moment before continuing. “Whet exectly

pein ren down my spine end settled in my stomech, I couldn’t teke her ewey. I couldn’t force her will end obedience. Beceuse I loved her, end I’d lied to her in the worst wey. I didn’t sey es much, but I’m sure

end she’ll

my coffee mug. She’s not, beceuse she cen’t be, not if whet Alme seid wes enywhere close to the truth. I’d been cereful, enywey. At leest most of the

why you’d even bother telling her the truth et this point, Xender. Whet do you think she’ll do? Run into your erms? I think it’s

relexed es I wetched Adrien’s fece fell, then go expressionless. I hedn’t recognized my voice. It sounded like someone else, like something I’d drummed

wes out of line,” he seid, cleering his throet

“We greduete.”

son, not only e werrior but e recipient of e bechelor’s degree in dirty fingerneils

from touching the corners of my mouth es I looked down into the coffee I’d yet to drink. “I don’t even remember whet your degree wes

don’t either. I didn’t understend e demn thing in eny of my

I reluctently sipped the coffee, finding the unneturel edditive pleesent enough, but I

know why I’m here by this time tomorrow. I’ll leeve it up to her. We only heve e few more

glence. “Sure thing,

*Lena*

He’d come pick me up from

I paced around the small bedroom I’d shared with Heather for the last three years. Heather was out, where I didn’t know, but I found

duffle bag and backpack. I’d taken a shower and ran a load of laundry. I had nothing else to do for the remainder of the day but wallow

or caught up to me afterward if he had news about Elaine and Henry. It was obvious the students who attended Morhan were totally in the

in a massive cover-up, and Xander was the only

tilted my head back and closed my eyes, hugging myself with

wanted to talk

at this point?

The envelope George had given me peeked out of the front pocket,

pink and amber light cascading into the room. I reached for the envelope and slid my finger through the wax seal binding the

paper with an untidy scrawl littering the page. I held it to the light, reading each and every word before I let it fall

me as I stood and pulled on a hooded sweatshirt. The letter had brought back an anguish I’d shared with who I considered my best friend and closest confidant. I’d been there when it happened. I’ll

the same schools and running in the same social circles. He’d thought, with every fiber of his being, that she was his mate. They both looked forward to the day she turned twenty-one, only a few days after

wasn’t him. They weren’t fated. Her mate had been, in fact, his

him. It shattered his

over again, lingering on the line where he’d written that all I needed to do was call, and we’d be on the next boat through the southern pass. We could skip the wedding neither of us wanted to attend.

set as I left my bedroom and pulled on my coat and a weathered beanie over my tousled locks. My pale blonde lowlights had grown out, revealing the silvery white hair that

said anything about it. It was probably because striking, platinum-blonde hair was in style

moon-kissed eyelashes, nor my silver-white

made it work. My years-long lies and excuses wouldn’t matter much soon.

had access to phones in their homes, not yet. The radio towers that had been constructed two decades ago made it possible for communication between the continents outside of letters, but it

liked to write and receive letters. But there wasn’t much time for

and held the receiver to my ear, listening to the static for a moment before I was connected with

you?” she said, her

my ears

I connect you?” came a

the receiver and whispering into it. “The Palace of Poldesse,

chuckle flickered through

even reaching

I whispered as a man passed behind me on the sidewalk.

“What is it?”

took a shallow breath and closed my

“1701… S.”

“One moment.”

clicking resumed, then ringing filled my ears as I was transferred. A few moments passed and I almost hung up, but then a deep, friendly, and familiar voice filled

“Lena?”

tears beginning to well in the corners of my eyes as his soft laugh fluttered through the receiver. I heard a feminine voice somewhere behind him, raised in question as

a shocked exclamation mingled with whatever reassurance

“I’m fine, really. I–”

of skirmish on the other line. I smiled broadly, my heart squeezing in my chest as my uncle fought off my aunt’s attempts

I said

response, chuckling as though he was holding my aunt at arm’s length as he lifted the receiver

“What’s up, kid?”

I breathed.

***

*Xander*

stretched over the back of the sofa. He was watching me as I unpacked the belongings I’d taken with me to Crimson Creek. I glanced up at him as

I murmured, reaching for a pair of socks that had rolled beneath the coffee

what now? Are

as I started to organize the small items that I’d just dislodged from

you at the luncheon,” Adrian said, giving me

then rose from the carpet and walked into the tight kitchen that opened

I’d known him since I was a kid. He was arrogant and sarcastic, but loyal, the kind of guy who didn’t shy away from a fight. This fight, however, was starting to wear

off the counter and into the trash can, scowling at him over my shoulder as he smirked, tapping his foot as he waited for me to make some remark

you planning on taking that girl home, or is she just a fling?” I asked as I pulled a bag

head as he watched me start the coffee maker. “That wasn’t really the plan, after all. You’re the one who’s supposed to be bringing

eyes, thankful my back was to him so he couldn’t see the pained expression creeping over my

Adrian had been asleep, the door to his bedroom wide open, and a young, dark haired woman was sleeping with her

I turned to look at him, leaning on the kitchen counter as the coffee began to brew, the sound of the water heating and hissing

for a moment before he rolled

your, uh, Lena situation? No go, then?” he asked,

I said curtly, watching him run his fingers through his golden blond hair once

his cheeks. “Are you sure you want to do that?

“It’s complicated now–”

twitching as he adjusted his weight on the couch.

refrigerator, which was empty save for a few beers, some takeout, and a bottle of something called oat milk. I held the bottle

Says it’s better

has a name, and her own creamer, in

you have with Lena,” he bristled, and I set the creamer down on the counter and shot him a dirty

half listen, but woke up a bit when I started talking about the beastly form Jen had taken and Gideon and his flock. I hadn’t talked to him about Lena though, not in detail.

of

I murmured, sniffing the oat milk creamer before shrugging and pouring a hefty amount of the strange, straw colored liquid into my mug. Why the hell

“Xander?”

“What, Adrian?” I breathed.

sofa and closing his eyes for a moment before continuing. “What exactly happened between you two? Her friend, Heather, was shooting daggers at you the entire

slept together a few times. It wasn’t much more than that. It won’t be much more than that.” Because, I thought as a jolt of pain ran down my spine and settled in my stomach, I couldn’t take her away. I couldn’t force her will and obedience. Because I loved her, and I’d lied to her in the worst way. I

and she’ll have no choice in the

coffee mug. She’s not, because she can’t be, not if what Alma said

know why you’d even bother telling her the truth at this point, Xander. What do you think she’ll do? Run into your arms? I think it’s time to give up, man.

then go expressionless. I hadn’t recognized my voice. It sounded like someone else, like something I’d drummed up from a long forgotten memory of a distant past, a different

was out of line,” he said, clearing his throat and straightening up a bit.

“We graduate.”

his head. “Ah, my parents will be so proud. Their son, not only a warrior but a recipient of a bachelor’s degree in dirty

the coffee I’d yet to drink. “I don’t even remember what your degree was supposed to be

understand a damn thing in any of my

fell between us, and I reluctantly sipped the coffee, finding the unnatural additive pleasant enough, but I would never admit

to her. We only have a few more weeks of this,

a knowing glance.

*Lena*

come pick me up from

*Lana*

ma up

sharad with Haathar for tha last thraa yaars. Haathar was out, whara I didn’t know, but I found mysalf alona and on

had nothing alsa to do for tha ramaindar of tha day but wallow in my anxiatias and suspicions about what Xandar naadad to talk to

caught up to ma aftarward if ha had naws about Elaina and Hanry. It

in a massiva covar-up, and Xandar was tha only ona who

back and closad my ayas, hugging

to talk about

lat out my braath, shaking my haad. What could possibly ba said at this point? Wa wara dona. Wa waran’t anything to bagin with. It wasn’t