Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 65 : Hold On For Me * Jared*

I pulled my clothes back on, not even bothering to clean the blood off my body.It wasn't my own.It belonged to the three wolves now scattered in pieces near the center of the camp.I huffed a breath, adrenaline coursing through my body as I looked at the wolves.I'd practically skinned them alive, then sent that shadow after what remained.

Abe was staring at me from across their remains, his eyes darkened as he pulled his knife belt through his belt loops.

"ELIZA!"

I shouted, baring my teeth.Nothing.

Only the wind carried any noise toward us, and it was the sound of the river roaring nearby.

The silver wolf at my feet twitched as it succumbed to a painful death.

Good.

This one I'd taken my particular time with.

It had barreled into our camp reeking of Eliza, of her fear, but not of her blood.

She'd gotten away somehow.

"Gather what you can.

We need to go,"

I barked, glancing at Abe before gathering up my supplies and our bedrolls.

Eliza's boots and socks had been dragged in several different directions.

Her knife belt and vest were still there as well.

She was out there barefoot with no way to protect herself.

"lI have her scent,"

Abe stated, shrugging on his backpack.

"What do you want to do with them?"

He waved his hand over the pile of dead wolves.I shook my head.

"I don't care, leave them.Let them be an example to whoever is dumb enough to try to track us."

The silver wolf was obviously in control of the rogues; that was a bad sign.It meant whoever this wolf had been before I ripped it apart with my bare hands had been a witch of some kind.

Only Dark Witches ran with the rogues.But this witch wasn't Hestia, that was clear enough.

Hestia would have killed Abe and Eliza without so much as looking at them, and she didn't need soulless rogues to do her dirty work.

We left the camp and followed Eliza's scent roughly a mile toward the mountains where her scent abruptly ended, right at the river's edge.

"s**t," I breathed, looking up and down the river bank.

"Can she swim?" Abe said flatly, crossing his hands over his chest.

I was more worried about her freezing to death somewhere downstream.

"Yes, she can swim-"

carried on the wind, followed by Eliza's voice gasping and crying out for help.I didn't hesitate.I jumped into the river and threw my body into action, letting it carry me to the other

our food and clothing.I

for

as I pulled myself out of the river and broke into a wet sprint in the direction of her voice.She was far, I knew that much.Her

shift!" I yelled back to Abe, who was panting a

Abe had stopped to pick up my things.I had to get to her, especially now that the forest went silent, the wind coming to an eerie stop.I found her in

an hour, I didn't know.I didn't have a chance to give it much thought.I skidded to a stop, panting and staring wide-eyed

parted, showering the clearing in the center in pale silver light.It smelled overwhelmingly

air was thick and

hands resting palms up on her knees.Her left hand

small pieces of blood-covered gold popping open and

open, blinking slowly

Abe

the ground a few

inside of it, and I grabbed the first thing I found as I shifted back to my usual form, pulling on a soaking wet

"Eliza!"

extent of her

ajar as she stared forward through the circle and into the sparse birch forest.I knelt in front of her, inspecting her

fixed in place like it was a part of her.She sucked in her breath, a shuddering

her cheek as I took her face between my

her tears away from

But then I felt it,

it wasn't

my ass as I looked down at her

to her and doing everything in my power to tear the Cryptex from her

the inner pieces

coating its bloodied surface.I ripped

was crying, her

fabric in place over her palm.I shook her

f**k

to a stop and

a desperate look over my shoulder as I gathered her

wide as

too much

okay? We need a

"Everything is wet!"

one of the backpacks.He pulled a leather pouch from his bag and whispered a thankful prayer and he opened it and found the contents still dry-sterile

thought of sewing her hand back together sent a rush of rage through me.How did this happen? Who

"DRAVEN!"

I screamed, seeing red.

bastard.Where are you? What did you

of cold wind sending dry sticks and debris showering over

to get out of

hissed, kicking my backpack and

saw it when I was trying to find you.We can camp

cradling her in my

cold to the

it took everything in my power

knelt, wrapping the Cryptex in a wet shirt before

before a darkened fissure at the base of the

breath, glancing at me with a look that told me he'd rather be home and warm in his bed than finding out whether of not

praying she could feel the fevered