Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 575

Chapter 75 : Stay Where You Are

*Lena*

Adrian was gone before I’d risen from bed the next day. A scribbled note on the dining room table simply said he’d be back in a week’s time, and that was it. Clare had gone home shortly after I heard Xander’s voice ring out through my soul, her face lacking its normal luster and her eyes distant, shadowed with confusion.

She said she’d felt fear and chaos.

I felt worse now than I had when Xander disappeared. I knew in my gut that something was wrong, and that nagging feeling I’d been ignoring that told me he hadn’t just run off and left me for good was sounding in my mind as I made the strongest cup of coffee imaginable and sat on the front porch, letting soft gray daylight drift over my skin.

I closed my eyes and reached for the little thread of power I knew I had that tied me to those people like Clare who had the power to see–or feel, in her case–into the future and decipher the mysteries of the present. But that power I knew I possessed had been lying dormant for so long. It was just out of reach as I opened my eyes again, watching as the clouds darkened and trickles of rain began to patter against the thatched roof over the porch.

If, and when, we found Xander… I’d have to go back to my family, to my parents. I’d have to find Clare and Sasha refuge. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Adrian was looking for the man who had assaulted Clare and fathered Sasha, and as I sat on the porch, drinking my coffee with milk, I began to wonder why she hadn’t mentioned Hale at all during our conversation.

He was the Alpha, and Sasha was his niece. Wouldn’t he have done something about it?

A sinking feeling crept over me as I pulled my robe around me and slouched into the rocking chair. Mist wafted off my mug of coffee, and I sipped it carefully as I gazed blankly at the bare trees in the distance.

Clare hadn’t told her family the real story–not her father, not Hale, not the older brother who passed away.

The whispers about her I’d heard in the village and at the market suddenly made so much sense. She was wearing a mark on her, bright and bold for the whole world to see. She was a princess, the daughter of the late Alpha, and sister to the new one. And, she’d held her chin up high while the rumors swirled around her. I’d heard her be called a slut, a w***e, all kinds of terrible names. Before I knew the truth, I had actually believed those names held weight.

“You’re an awful person, Lena,” I whispered into my coffee.

My chest was tight with nerves as I rocked, and rocked, and rocked. I was sick of this, all of it–the magic, the bloodlines. How hard would it have been to be born into a normal family? If my parents had conceived me just a second later, would my soul have ended up halfway across the pack lands, and another soul taken my place?

I closed my eyes and drained the mug, the liquid burning the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t care. I had things to do today, normal things–errands and chores. I had lesson plans for the next week to write, and I needed to study the curriculum and materials I’d be using to help teach my kindergarteners to read.

I realized in that moment how torn I truly was. Despite everything, I couldn’t let go of who I really was, who I’d always be deep down. I’d forever carry the responsibility of my birthright, of my lineage. I couldn’t hide from it. I shouldn’t hide from it.

Xander had been right.

The rain was coming down in earnest now, pelting the roof with fervor as the clouds darkened and swirled overhead. I dressed warm, but was in need

I also had two letters to

on the outskirts of the village to the center of

did want to talk to Clare again.

***

me a once over, nodding his head at the thick wool sweater I was wearing over a pure silk turtleneck undershirt I’d purchased at a shop in town. He smiled softly, his wispy gray hair trembling as he

over the wool, which was soft to the touch and designed with colorful, multicolored stripes and swirls. It was incredibly loud compared to the muted neutrals I normally wore, but everyone in Cedar Hollow dressed in sweaters. I figured my class would love this, too. It was playful, childlike, and had every color of the rainbow. “I love this

then back up at me. He slid one down on the counter, a letter to Abigail, and held the one I

sending this to the Palace of

over my cheeks. “Fan mail,” I lied. “My students

the postman, and hopefully enough for the letter to make it through to Oliver. The return address was to the school, and my alias, Ms. Grayleigh, was hopefully enough to tip Oliver off as to who it could really be from–at

however. She

covered entrance of the post office before opening it and stepping out onto the cobblestone street. There were no cars here. There were no phones,

I turned toward home, but the castle

of the cottage and maybe run myself a bath. I reached up and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, which

***

soaked and sunken in spots, but it may have been an easier trek than the stone staircase that zigzagged up the side of the bluff. I cursed aloud as I leaned forward, resting

looked up as the front doors opened and an elderly woman stepped outside, squinting in the rain. I straightened up, coughing and choking as I fought for breath before giving her a short wave and shaking the rain from my

made of rich, solid dark wood. Stained glass took up

stone, and built like a box, not a curve or terrace in

I help you?” the woman

gulping before I opened my mouth to reply that I was here to see Clare, but Hale stepped

Mulva. This is Sasha’s teacher, Lena. Could you

***

to the libraries in the Palace of Poldesse and the Castle Drogomor. I was drying off next to the hearth when Hale handed me a cup

Adrian’s wife,” I blurted, unable

he nodded

said with a little laugh as he poured himself a cup of tea from an ornate kettle sitting on the tray on the table between us. “He’s

But he was also incredibly kind and soft-spoken. He was the exact opposite of Xander in terms of personality, and if I was being honest, I liked that. I liked it a

anyway. At least, I was trying to convince myself of that, even if all the evidence we had pointed in an entirely different direction. I looked into Hale’s eyes, which were creased with pleasure just by my