Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 797

Chapter 8 : A Witch is Near

*Jared*

I was watching two teenagers beat the s**t out of each other, both of them covered to their ears in mud. Archer was barking commands and encouragement as the youths sparred, working on their stealth and awareness. It didn’t feel that long ago that I had stepped into the ring for the first time, just as scrawny and full of confidence as these two boys were.

Now I leaned against the railing, watching my second-in-command lead the training sessions that used to be solely my responsibility. I flexed my hands, drawing them into fists. How much time did I have now, four months? Five, at the most.

Archer called the match to a halt, stepping between the two youths as they swayed and tried to steady themselves. He showed one of them how to strike without breaking his knuckles against his opponent’s flesh, which was something I wish I’d known before getting into my first real fight.

It was a tough world out there for young, packless men. It was especially harder for those who hadn’t yet come into their powers. Fighting with swords, daggers, and fists was their only option.

In two short years, the teens sparring in the ring would turn twenty-one and feel their wolves for the first time. There would be a celebration for them. The entire village would gather and shift and run into the woods beside them. These boys would be ready. They’d be strong and capable. And, if they were smart, they’d survive.

I wouldn’t be there to witness it.

I ran my fingers through my hair, squinting into the bright, midday sun. Archer appeared at my side, mud-soaked and sweating. He took a swig of water from a large clay jug, one finger outstretched.

“What is she doing?” he asked through a mouthful of water.

I followed his gaze and saw Eliza walking through the village, her eyes downcast. She was swinging a large basket, her steps somewhat uneven on the mud and ice. I squinted at her, seeing her mouth curved into a playful, somewhat mischievous smile.

“She’s daydreaming,” I said softly, chuckling to myself as she stubbed her booted toe on a rock. She grimaced, muttering to herself before starting forward again.

“Who let her out of the house?” Brandt asked as he came up beside us.

“Maybe she’s making a run for it–” Archer began, but I shook my head, still watching her with interest.

“She’s not,” I said under my breath. I found it highly likely she was coming to the sparring ring to fight with me again. I’d spent the entire night lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling and going over every single word she’d said in my study.

I was more suspicious of her now than I had been when I rescued her from the breeder auction. She was far more educated than I’d realized, and in history, of all things.

I leaned against the railing as she continued toward the sparring ring, swinging her basket.

I wondered what she was going to fight with me about this time. She was going to flaunt the fact that she’d escaped the house–I was sure of that at least.

But she walked, and walked, and walked… right past the ring.

didn’t hear

landing in the snow melt and mud with a splat that soaked through

straight out of the village, toward

***

house!” I growled, grabbing her by

her toward me and away from the darkness that

she hissed, digging

aggression, not today… not right now, and definitely not here. The windchimes in the distance danced and trembled, sending a chorus of bells through the air. My skin prickled with adrenaline as the wind ebbed around us before flowing back in the direction it came, like the forest itself was

place is dangerous,” I said firmly, shoving her toward

in her heels,

Miriam sent

the forest, or the healer for that matter. Our healer, an ancient gentleman named Ramus, had been on a journey up north for weeks, on an errand for me pertaining to my

was to me. “Be nice to her,” it read. “You could use some company of equal intelligence and–”. I hadn’t bothered to read the rest before I

to walk past the sparring ring. Eliza would see us here and be curious, no doubt. But she hadn’t accounted for Eliza

the forest was whispering Eliza’s

but stood still, which was an improvement from trying to hit me. “There

“Like fairies and elves?”

blinked down at her, furrowing my

That’s what we tell children to keep them out

into the woods on the other side of

place is sheltered by two forests. The forest of Ortiz to the south, which leads to the sea,” I breathed, reluctantly giving this directional information away, “and to the north, the Dark Forest. There’s one

your village here if

trials of the Dark Forest. My village is safe here. My people are sheltered,” I said, and to my relief she nodded, the

us at the Dark Forest once more before

“I didn’t know–”

softly. I was fighting off a smile, and not a

eyes, a look crossing

I asked, tucking my

her head to inspect me from a new

“Uh, thanks–”

bad way,” she corrected, taking a step toward me, effectively closing the distance between us. “In a familiar way,

No one outside of my family had eyes like mine that I knew of. And, well, it was likely

me as clouds began to gather overhead, blocking the

I said, my eyes still locked