Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 808

Chapter 19 : Jared’s Dagger

Our camp for our second, and hopefully uneventful, night in the Dark Forest was situated on a cliff overlooking the forest below. We’d walked for the remainder of the day, none of us speaking as Jared led us further and further into the forest and away from the witch’s house.

I’d looked back at it only once, noticing the toppled stones covered in moss and ivy. It was not the grand house I’d seen upon my arrival. The garden had been overgrown and littered with fallen leaves, not flowers and fruit trees.

Brandt told me I’d been bewitched, which seemed a reasonable explanation for the events that led me to the house and my stupor in the hours that followed. I could still taste the metallic remnants of whatever magic she’d used on me as the day passed in a blur of trees and darkness.

But our new camp was bursting with the light of the coming sunset. The trees here were more sparse, the forest floor open and easy to navigate. Jared was even allowing a fire tonight, and getting the fire started was my job while the three men were bathing in a creek in a nearby glen. They’d felt comfortable enough to leave me up here alone, and if I was being honest, I was grateful for it.

I sat down on the ground in front of the fire, watching the bark I’d pulled from the surrounding trees start to catch. My throat began to tighten, my hands trembling as I slowly fed dry sticks to the fire.

A single tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it away, biting down on my lip to stop myself from bursting into tears.

“Stupid girl,” the witch had said to me.

She was right. I’d never been so scared in my life.

“You okay?” Brandt’s voice cut through my emotional downward spiral.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and tried to smile up at him, but my mouth wouldn’t move past a firm, expressionless line.

“Yes,” I replied, sniffling. “I’m fine.”

“We found you some clothes in the witch’s house,” he said as he crouched on the other side of the fire, laying out three good-sized fish. “A shirt and some pants, new socks–”

“Who did they belong to before?” I asked, but my voice broke over the words.

Brandt’s sapphire eyes met mine, looking incredibly sympathetic.

“Someone she took in. Someone who ate her food, you know. I–I wish there was a better way to explain it.”

“It’s okay,” I said hurriedly, glancing up as Jared and Archer walked into the camp, both of them sporting fresh clothing and wet hair. “I’m going to go wash up.”

I was on my feet before Jared could meet my eyes. I didn’t want anyone else asking me if I was okay. I walked in the direction Jared and Archer had come and found a gentle creek after a few minutes, which was hidden by rows of alder bushes covered in bright green buds.

The sun in this part of the forest was warm, and spring was in full swing here. I noticed a stack of clothing and a fresh pair of socks sitting on a sunbathed rock beside a shallow pool of water the creek fed into. There was even a very worn towel for my use.

sucked in a breath as I stepped into the water. It was frigid enough for me to

cold,” I hissed, wading into the pool until I was nearly shoulder

my skin numbed to the bite of the water and it felt rather

the pool and rubbing it into my skin until my arms and legs were raw. Brandt had told me there wasn’t much they’d been able to salvage from our old

I let

underwater. I blew out the breath I’d been holding as

answered me as I climbed out of the water and dried

sleeves up to the elbows and adjusted the belt tied around my waist. The outfit was similar to what I

***

asked, gingerly taking a sip from the bottle Archer was passing around the fire. The men were busy eating the fish Jared had roasted over

take a bigger drink. “She was obviously taking things from her

It was strong, and sent a rush of warmth through my

payment for the bounty at this rate,” Brandt added, motioning to the bags at the edge of camp. “We have enough coins and jewels

to him

glanced across the fire at Jared, who wasn’t looking at any of us. He was sharpening one of his blades against a stone, his

said, taking the bottle from Brandt and draining it.

his face. The crimson flakes in his obsidian eyes were fanned by the flames, making him look menacing, especially when he turned his gaze to me. He looked down again, examining his blade before sheathing it on his belt. “Brandt, Archer, you’re on first watch,”

my lower lip, glancing at Archer as he groaned and stretched out his legs. Brandt pursed his lips but obeyed, and the two men disappeared into the trees, their voices a low hum against

turning away from Jared, who hadn’t moved from his original position.

and darkness take over. But before long I felt someone gripping

up, it’s our turn,”

sky. Jared walked away, and I crawled out of my bedclothes, noticing an already sleeping Brandt and

of the camp, his figure barely visible

outside of our camp, but we didn’t separate and take positions facing the forest. He walked out onto the cliff overlooking the forest below,

the day, but at night, it was breathtaking. There wasn’t a single light

Jared said as he sat on the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over the side. “We’ll make it to Aeris’s territory by

legs over the side of the cliff, however.

“Scared of heights?”

avoid them if possible,” I replied curtly,

hooting nearby. Jared was obviously lost in thought as he looked over the landscape. I reached along my belt and

said, meeting my

I pursed my lips, my cheeks prickling with heat as his gaze

nothing.

“Of what?”