Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 791

Chapter 2 : The Man in the Mask

“Please!” I panted, the word catching in my throat and coming out as a hoarse cry. “Please, wait–”

The masked man picked me up with his arm around my waist, hoisting me over an ice-covered boulder. We’d been doing this for what felt like hours, the masked man dragged me along behind him as I tried to match his pace, which was close to a sprint.

I hadn’t looked back, not once, not since he pulled me through that window and into the unforgiving darkness that swallowed us both whole.

He set me down and grabbed my arm as he broke into a run again, but my knees buckled, my legs so frozen I could no longer feel my feet. I fell to the ground, the wet, half-melted snow biting into my skin. I couldn’t stop the tears as I tried to rise.

I was shaking so badly from the cold that my teeth were chattering as I wrapped my arms around my middle, shielding myself from the spray of rotten snow being carried by the frigid wind. The dense forest around us groaned as if it were in pain, the wind snapping branches and whistling through the canopy above our heads.

The man’s grip loosened on my arm and he took a step away from me, dropping the worn leather backpack he’d been carrying onto the slush and ice between us.

The daggers he wore on his belt flickered in the faint light of the moon peeking from the clouds overhead as he knelt, pulling a few items from the bag.

“You can let me go–”

“You won’t survive out here by yourself, not in your condition,” he replied, cutting me off with a wave of his hand. His voice was a distorted murmur behind the thick mask he wore, but I heard him curse under his breath as he rifled through his bag.

He pulled out a pair of thick socks and a shirt, which were heavily patched from repeated mending. He grabbed the back of one of my calves, and I had to steady myself with my hands on his shoulders as he took my frozen foot in his hands and gently rolled one of the socks onto it. “I’m going to carry you.”

“Just let me go, please! I won’t… I won’t tell anyone–” I whimpered as he took me by the waist again and positioned me on a boulder so my feet weren’t touching the wet ground. He rolled the second sock on, his calloused hands warm on my skin. It was a needed comfort, one that made a fresh wave of tears roll from my eyelashes and over my cheeks before they froze to my skin.

“Arms up,” he commanded, and I shakily complied. He pulled the shirt down over my head and took a step back to inspect me. The moonlight dusted his eyes through the mask, illuminating the crimson flakes that felt so familiar.

“Are you going to hurt me?”

“No,” he said firmly as he bent to gather his belongings.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Away from here–”

“But where? Why?”

“Do you always ask so many questions?” He was looking right at me now, his body rigid with frustration, maybe even annoyance.

as he gave me a final once over, but then he looked over the top of my head, his shoulders relaxing slightly as the wind carried the sounds of frantic footsteps and the panting breaths of wolves toward

wolf leaped over my head, landing only a few feet from where the masked man stood. Another followed, and I barely had time to duck before it brushed the top

the masked man said to a man who jumped over one of the boulders, panting

wolf form like the others, and he was carrying several bags and a multitude of weapons. The contents of the bags spilled out as he threw them down–clothing, lots of it, enough

wolves that were gathering us. How many of

all the fun, Jared?” the man teased, giving his

I turned my gaze to

my new captor

wolves and men began to catch up, all

fighting, however. I’d witnessed the beginning of it before Jared had forced me through the window and out into the

a satchel tied to his waist. “We got what we needed for the bounty,

He was a large man, very large. He could crush me between his palms

to me. “Keep an eye on her for a moment.”

down at me, giving me a crooked smile. “How’s it

around my chest. I fought the urge to say something cutting and sarcastic in response. How’s it going? Well, I’d been

Archer,” he said, extending his

tighter

me, thoroughly amused. “Nice to meet you, too,” he said sarcastically, then plopped down next to me on my ice-covered perch,

at the half dozen or so men and wolves, I realized there would have been no logical solution to my situation. I had no idea where I

head toward the men standing behind him. “I need her to

he looked like. He hadn’t been the only one wearing a mask when I was taken from the auction, but he was the only one wearing a mask now. Was he just as scary as the brute of a

be a rogue. No one had addressed

form beside me, his clothes falling away in tatters as he shook off what remained of his leathers and the belt

be warmer,” Jared coaxed, taking a cautious step toward me. “You’ll be

are you taking me?” I breathed, my voice carried

up my spine, but it wasn’t out of fear, no. His words were laced with a silent challenge, something I couldn’t

to say something. He was waiting, I realized, for me to argue with him. I felt that realization pulse through my body as I squared my

said coolly, then turned on his heel and walked toward the rest of the wolves

***

onto Archer’s fur, my legs clasped around his middle. He was big and fast, but he moved in a gentle, rhythmic way that had my eyelids drooping and

head slumped forward again, and I woke with a start, gripping him tightly once again. I felt his warning growl reverberate through his chest. If I could mind-link with

I closed my eyes, just for a moment, and the next I was flat on my back, the air knocked from my lungs and my head smacking violently on

gasped, my vision bursting with stars. Figures surrounded me, talking over each other as activity erupted

as I fought for breath, my