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.

It was frigid enough for me to gasp in reflex,

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

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

Brandt had told me there wasn’t much they’d been able to salvage from our old camp spot, but I saw a toothbrush and a sliver of tallow soap sitting on the rock next to my new clothes. I swam to the rock and brushed my teeth

I let myself

I blew out the breath I’d been

me as I climbed out of the water and

and adjusted the belt tied around my

***

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 the fire, chatting

wine,” Archer replied, motioning for me to take a bigger drink. “She was obviously taking things from her victims.

sent a rush of warmth

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

go to him

glanced across the fire at Jared, who wasn’t looking at any of us. He

from Brandt and draining it.

the planes of his face. The crimson flakes in his obsidian eyes were fanned by the flames, making him look menacing, especially when he turned

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 the crackling

out by the fire, turning away from Jared, who hadn’t moved from his original position. I closed my eyes to the sound

darkness take over.

up, it’s our turn,” Jared

Jared walked away, and I crawled out of my bedclothes,

on,” Jared said from the edge of the camp, his figure

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

was breathtaking. There wasn’t

off our trip,” Jared said as he sat on the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over the side. “We’ll make it

gasped, sitting down a few feet away from him. I didn’t dangle my legs over

“Scared of heights?”

I avoid them if possible,” I replied curtly, tossing a

the only sounds that of a gentle breeze rustling the trees and an owl hooting nearby. Jared was obviously lost in thought as he looked over the landscape. I reached along my belt

meeting

I–I can’t keep this. It matches the, uh–” I pursed my lips, my cheeks prickling with heat as his gaze bored into mine. “The hilt matches the tattoos on your arms. I know it must mean something

it’s nothing.

“Of what?”