Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 669

Chapter 16 : Don’t Come any Closer

*Mila*

The fog closed around me like a blanket. I had to admit, thick fog was the best way to stay hidden and move unnoticed through a creepy village like Miltern.

My feet seemed to know exactly where to go as I moved closer to the center of the village and the Central Temple.

I hesitated and glanced back toward the hotel. It was completely hidden in the fog.

I snuck off again. I couldn’t help but feel uncertain about neglecting to tell Soren I was leaving.

Soren had been nice to me and saved my life. What if he could help me?

Shaking my head, I kept forging through the fog.

“Get a grip, Mila,” I muttered to myself.

Soren could play the “nice guy” all he wanted but he had secrets and ulterior motives.

I sniffed. And he accused me of being the secretive one! Hadn’t he made some big deal with his men about not prying into anyone’s past? Why did he feel the need to pry into mine?

Groaning, I picked up my pace. It was so quiet in the night and no one was around but my steps barely made a sound, like the fog absorbed them.

When I got to the center of the village, the fog parted slightly and moonlight streamed down on a large, majestic building. Or, it would have been majestic…

The temple was a huge, square pagoda that rose so high it practically blocked out the stars. Crows sat on the edge of the roof tiers, pecking and warbling to each other. I could see their eyes flashing in the dim moonlight.

They looked like guardians of the temple, or maybe they were harbingers of death.

Did they ever sleep?

Vines and moss clung to the exterior of the building. In some places, the walls had crumbled away and the plants had forced their way inside.

It must have been abandoned for a long, long time.

What kind of person would want me to meet them in a creepy place like this!?

Looking at the temple, I thought it felt familiar. Not the way it looked now. I could almost imagine what it looked like when it wasn’t falling apart. A green, tin gilded with gold. The stone exterior polished and carved with familiar designs.

I could practically envision the cherry trees growing out front with their pink and white blossoms. Those trees were rotted, now.

How was it possible I could imagine what a building looked like that I’d never seen before? My imagination wasn’t that good.

This temple must have been great and beautiful once. My heart thrummed and I felt a strong desire to see it restored. It was a symbol of hope and life, two things Miltern was desperately missing.

If their temple was restored, perhaps their vibrancy would be too.

Seeing the temple so ruined and broken made my heart ache. I didn’t know why it was so sad, but my

care if their temple was destroyed? I had no ties to these

desire

my spine and I stared at the looming, eerie temple. The fact was, this place wasn’t as beautiful as it once

could be dangerous to go inside, for more than

chewed my lower lip and glanced

and shook my head. No, I’d come here for a reason. I’d come here for answers

the crumbling stairs and went inside. Wrinkling my nose, I looked around in the dimness. Rotten wood permeated the air and I could see why. Several beams had

the

in front of my nose but the smell remained

had to squint my eyes to see anything at all. Other than invading plants and fallen

had been cleared through the rubble. One path that led deeper into the temple and

in the corner, a rat or a mouse. When I listened more carefully, I could hear other things moving around

crawled and I tried to rub the goosebumps away. The beams creaked,

do with

left with the bouquet didn’t have very good

my pocket and examined it again. Before, I’d had the hotel lights on

the dim light of the moonbeams that penetrated holes in the temple roof, the card looked

the card now, in the same invisible, moon-activated

end of the path,

flipped the card over, wondering if there were more hidden instructions

looked like

card into my pocket. I’d come this far on my own

my stomach and navigated around fallen beams and crumbling walls. If I nudged anything at all,

of the temple. As soon as I was outside again, I took a deep breath of fresh air. I fanned myself with my hand, sweat making my

That had been hairraising.

stone statues I’d wandered into. There were some that were so beautifully carved with intricate detail.

“Oh…”

at night in a foggy graveyard. I was counting the ways this could turn

seemed to clear again and a moonbeam lit up one specific

a clearer sign than that. Maybe it

have a name on it. At least, not one that I could read. There were deliberate carvings on it that

carving of a woman in a flowing dress. She was kneeling down, her arms wrapped around the neck of a large wolf. The statue was absolutely beautiful,

in my mind that this was

my fingers over the smooth marble. Maybe there was a secret compartment or hidden button that would lead

nothing… I examined the headstone

“What now…”

the ground and the strong scent of freshly turned earth hit my nose. Glancing down,

you’ve got to be kidding

I seriously going to dig up

the dirt around

my knees. Careful to limit my search to the

something with a loud thud. Setting my knife aside, I started clearing the dirt

a coffin,” I whispered

definitely wasn’t a coffin! The