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.

undressed quickly and sucked in a breath as I stepped into the water. It was frigid enough for me to gasp in reflex, but the shock did something to

I hissed, wading into the pool until I was nearly

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

until my arms and legs were raw. 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 until I tasted blood. I scrubbed my skin

then I let

the f**k were you thinking would happen?” I choked, then dunked my head underwater. I blew out the breath

I climbed out of the

to cuff several times so they didn’t drag on the ground. I rolled my sleeves up to the elbows and adjusted the belt tied around my waist. The outfit was similar to what I would wear while excavating an archaeological site, in all honesty. That familiarity was a comfort as I pulled my boots on and trudged up the glen, leaving my tarnished thermals, and the memories

***

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 amongst themselves. All of them looked up at me, startled by my voice. I hadn’t spoken to them

replied, motioning for me to take a bigger drink. “She was obviously taking things

tipped the wine bottle against my lips, letting it roll down my throat. It was strong, and sent a rush of warmth through

motioning to the bags at the edge of

him then?” I

at any of us. He was sharpening

expecting us,” Archer said, taking the bottle from Brandt and draining

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

stretched out his legs. Brandt pursed his lips but obeyed, and the two men disappeared into the trees, their

bedclothes I’d laid out by the fire, turning away from Jared, who hadn’t moved from his original

darkness take over. But before long I felt someone gripping

our turn,”

blinking into the star-filled sky. Jared walked away, and I crawled out of my bedclothes, noticing an already sleeping Brandt and Archer

Jared said from the edge of the camp, his figure barely

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

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

on the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over the side. “We’ll make it to Aeris’s territory by midday

didn’t dangle my legs over the side of the cliff, however. He glanced over at me, his mouth curving into a

“Scared of heights?”

possible,” I replied

a moment, 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 and unsheathed the knife he’d given me, turning it over in my hands

meeting my gaze for a

cheeks prickling with heat as his gaze bored into mine. “The hilt matches the tattoos on your arms. I know

it’s nothing. Just

“Of what?”