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.

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

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

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

then I

underwater. I blew out the breath I’d been

my head answered me as I climbed out of the

too big, tucked into khaki pants also several sizes too big that I had 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

***

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 in hours, not since I’d returned from bathing in the

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

it roll down my throat. It was strong, and sent a rush

to the bags at the edge of camp. “We have enough

to him then?” I

Jared, who wasn’t looking at any of us. He

he’s expecting us,” Archer said, taking the bottle from Brandt and draining it. “And Aeris enjoys Jared’s company, for whatever

making him look menacing, especially when he turned his gaze to me. He looked down again, examining his blade before

on my lower lip, glancing at Archer as he groaned and stretched out his legs. Brandt pursed his lips but obeyed, and the

who hadn’t moved from his original position.

dream. I let the fatigue and darkness take over. But before long I felt

up, it’s our turn,”

away, and I crawled out of my

on,” Jared said from the edge of the

him just outside of our camp, but we didn’t separate and take positions facing the

view had been incredible during the day, but at night, it was breathtaking.

off our trip,” 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 midday

feet away from him. I didn’t dangle my legs over the side of the cliff, however. He glanced over

“Scared of heights?”

I replied curtly, tossing a

thought as he looked over the landscape. I reached along my belt and

it,” he said, meeting

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

nothing.

“Of what?”