Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 807

Chapter 18 : Don’t Eat the Food

*Eliza*

I ran. I didn’t know what else to do. The forest passed in a blur as I worked my way through the dense underbrush, trying to put as much distance as I could from the battle taking place in the clearing that had once been our camp.

I couldn’t hear anything taking place at our camp from my hiding spot beneath the trees, but then a scream had ripped through the forest… then another, then another. After the third scream, I jumped to my feet and ran like my life depended on it.

If Jared was still alive, which seemed unlikely, he’d find me.

Right?

Jared’s wolf had been a shock, almost as shocking as the situation I found myself in now… Black as night with crimson eyes, large and agile.

But that shadow he cast as he sprinted away from me was what had stunned me. It was a part of him, something tethered to his soul that he couldn’t shake. It was… power, a dark power… something he couldn’t control.

I braced myself on a tree, panting as I struggled to catch my breath. I couldn’t hear the chaos taking place anymore. I’d run far enough now, I believed. Jared had told me to run if it came down to it, but where? I looked up into the trees, then back down along the forest floor. There were no fallen logs or large rocks to hide behind. The forest was nothing but an endless, moss-covered maze.

I walked in no particular direction, trying to catch my breath. I felt it was better to keep moving than cower in the open. The men would find me soon enough, I was sure. But in the event they didn’t come for me… if they were dead, and I was out here alone….

“Keep moving,” I said to myself, and I did.

I was chilled and aching when light started to trickle in through the canopy above me, the trees growing more sparse and allowing sunlight to flood into the forest. I looked up, noticing the forest seemed to fall away in the distance, a large grassy area dusted with golden morning light spreading out in front of me.

I’d reached the edge of the Dark Forest, and beyond lay a wide river valley.

I allowed myself to stop and rest, falling to my knees in the grass just outside of the forest.

“I’m not sorry,” Jared had said to me before he shifted.

“Neither am I,” I’d replied.

What if he was dead?

I blinked into the sunrise, letting the sun warm my skin. I shivered against the sudden warmth, having spent what felt like hours running through the forest in nothing but the thermals I’d worn beneath my coat.

I’d left everything in the clearing. I had no food, no water.

I looked down at the dagger in my hand. In the light I could see markings etched into the handle, long, swirling divots that wrapped completely around it. The handle was made of ivory and was worn and discolored from use. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the markings were the same as the tattoos that ran up the length of Jared’s arms, tattoos I’d yet to have the opportunity to really examine.

I lay down in the grass, tucking my knees into my belly with a firm grip on the dagger. I was exhausted and hungry. My eyes were heavy with fatigue, and after a few minutes of laying in the sun, I fell into a shallow sleep.

a

I sat up, rubbing my eyes and blinking into an incredibly warm sun.

and billowed out from her lean waist.

the woman said, extending a hand to me.

was cast in the shadow of the forest, as if she wasn’t able to

“Come, child.”

toward me, but she hesitated as the sunlight brushed against the

from home,” she said, her

weak all of the sudden, my

her head to the side, smiling brilliantly. “You must be hungry.

my mouth to speak but found it impossible to make a sound. My body was up and moving against my will and soon she had her hand wrapping lightly around mine, pulling me back into the forest. I willed my body to take

men?” I tried to say, but I no

my arm as she led me through the forest, the light of day

***

It was three stories tall and made of stone the color of gold. Fruit trees

through the front garden, which was in full bloom. None of it

inside, and I was

was a long table filled to the brim with every food I could imagine… platters of roast beef, broiled chicken, a whole hog… fruits and pastries, and bowls

to her lifted, leaving me

eat the food,” Jared had

stomach pitched and growled

yourself,” she

spread. Everything looked… incredible. It smelled incredible. It was a feast even my royal aunts and

He hadn’t said why, but it was enough to

was fighting my hunger, my body continuing to revolt against my mind. My fingers twitched

I breathed, closing my

be able to finish all of this myself,” the witch

eyes were pure silver, fanned by

a tall cake stand that towered over the rest of the food. I hadn’t seen it there

that grew alongside our house near the inlet in Winter Forest. My mom had chided me from the kitchen window for eating more than

my

witch, a feeling of dread washing over me.

said sharply, noticing my sudden change in

hands into fists under the table. I froze, noticing the cool weight in my right hand. I

she repeated, rising from her seat. Her teeth were bared, and I noticed how sharp they were

“No,” I growled.

nothing but decay–mold and bones and putrid meat buzzing with flies. I fell backward out of my seat in my haste to get away, my ankle twisting around the chair leg. I was going to throw up; I couldn’t help it.

was dizzy. It

was no longer beautiful. Her golden hair was gone, replaced by thin strands of gray and bald spots. Her face was hollow, and sunken. Her thin lips were stretched into a cruel, almost delirious