Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 514 - 17 : Was This a Mistake?

Chapter 514: Chapter 17 : Was This a Mistake?

*Lena*

Xander wasn’t there when I woke the next morning. I was somewhat grateful for it.

I wasn’t sure how I felt as I rolled over in bed and looked at Xander’s empty sleeping bag. I was sore, but that was a given. I’d known what to expect in that regard. While my very private parents had been more reserved and conservative during my upbringing, not all of my family members had been. That, and living with roommates for three years, had given me a pretty clear expectation about how these things were supposed to go.

But I hadn’t been prepared for what I’d feel like emotionally.

I was embarrassed and slightly ashamed of my behavior.

And Xander’s absence made me realize I may have made a mistake.

I didn’t have much time to dwell on my feelings, however. A shadow passed in front of the bedroom window, and then someone knocked on the front door. I got up and pulled on my pajama pants, having only redressed enough to cover my breasts and other bits before falling asleep, and walked out into the snug living area.

“You missed breakfast, and someone made cinnamon rolls,” Elaine grinned as she stepped inside and handed me a plate she’d covered in foil. I smiled, thanking her as she produced a fork from her pocket.

I sat down on the trunk to eat, while Elaine settled in the armchair. I was absolutely famished, and exceedingly grateful she’d thought of me.

“What’re you up to today?” I asked, sighing as I took another bite. “These are really good!”

“Owen made them. He’s not good for much outside of his baking skills,” she teased, crossing her legs.

I hadn’t had a single conversation with the man in question, but he seemed nice enough, and was just another one of the many seasonal workers who were present at Radcliffe estate.

“They kind of taste like... pumpkin?”

“Pumpkin icing,” she nodded, shrugging her shoulders. “Speaking of pumpkins, that’s what everyone is doing today. The fall harvest starts next week, and the pumpkin patch is the most labor-intensive part of it. It’s technically still the weekend, but we’re getting a head start. You wanna join?”

I couldn’t really refuse. Maxwell had put a pause on our field study, and it was likely Henry would drag me out of the herb garden if he caught me down there. I nodded and set the remains of the cinnamon roll on the counter before going to change out of my pajamas.

Ten minutes later, Elaine and I were walking through the grain field. The farm was truly expansive, and it took us a while on foot to reach the pumpkin patch. Several figures were milling about as we approached. They were cutting large, perfectly orange pumpkins from the vines and setting them in the back of a trailer, which hooked up to the back of Bethany’s truck when it was full.

“Where’s Bethany?” one of the workers asked.

Elaine shrugged, waving her hand in dismissal.

“She went into the village on an errand. She took Xander with her,” she shouted in reply as I followed her into the patch.

I was carrying my toolbox, which housed a variety of gardening tools I likely wouldn’t need for this chore, but I felt better having them with me nonetheless. I planned on getting a soil sample, regardless of the rules.

“Xander went with her?” I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral. I must have failed, because Elaine gave me a funny look as we decided on a section of ripe pumpkins and knelt in the soil to begin freeing them from the vines.

“In a hurry. He was early for breakfast. The coffee hadn’t even been brewed when he came to the bunkhouse, and when Bethany mentioned she was going to the village he jumped up, knocked his chair right over. They were gone in a flash.”

“Weird,” I mumbled, my face prickling with heat. Had he been trying to avoid... me?

“What’s up with you?” Elaine grunted as she cut into a thick pumpkin vine. She snapped it with her hands, then examined the pumpkin before looking up at me expectantly.

“Nothing, just tired–”

“Oh please!” she protested, shaking her head as she hacked into another vine. “You look better rested than you have since you arrived. And... you have a glow to your cheeks. What’d you and Xander get up to after dinner last night? We saw how he followed you–”

“Nothing,” I said quickly, standing up with two pumpkins in my arms. They were heavy, but I wanted to get as far away from the conversation as I could.

Elaine followed me with her eyes as I hurried away, chuckling under her breath. I dumped my armful into the trailer and wiped my brow, looking up to see Maxwell Radcliffe walking down the hill toward the patch.

“I didn’t think I’d find you out here,” he said, his mouth stretching into a smile.

He was an odd man. I couldn’t quite read his expression, but he was handsome when he smiled, at least. I straightened my back a little as he approached.

“I have nothing else to do,” I said hotly.

He smirked, rolling his eyes away from mine as he looked out over the field. “Where’s that partner of yours?” he asked.

“He went into the village with Bethany.”

“Ah, of course he did,” he replied, but not to me. It sounded more like he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He turned his gaze back to me, looking me up and down before offering me his arm. “I think it’s time I showed you the manor. It’s a short walk from here.”

It hadn’t been a question; it was a command.

***

The Radcliffe Manor was one of the most impressive houses I’d ever seen. Every inch of the facade was carved in intricate designs and covered in thick, dark green vines that snaked up three stories toward the two impressive towers.

I tried not to gape up at the impressive stained-glass windows as I followed Maxwell along the path through the beautiful, but severely overgrown, front garden.

A butler answered the door and ushered us inside, and I felt incredibly underdressed in my grimy work clothes and apron as I stepped into the foyer.

Everything was dark wood with rich, red walls. It was incredibly warm, borderline hot in the house, though, especially when Maxwell motioned for me to follow him into a sitting room situated off the foyer. The hearth was absolutely blazing as I sat opposite him in a high-backed armchair, and I felt a little sweaty and claustrophobic as the heat began to penetrate my clothing.

But Maxwell seemed relaxed, his skin staying the same, slightly pale color while my cheeks began to burn.

“A drink?” he asked.

“Goddess, yes,” I murmured, tugging at my collar.

Within seconds, I had a glass of iced tea in front of me, and I drank it as quickly as was appropriate. The ice melted almost immediately, but it did cure the dryness in my throat.

Maxwell, however, was drinking something hot. It smelled odd, and was quite pungent, even though he was seated several feet away. He was eyeing me, tapping his finger against his teacup.

“So, Lena, whereabouts are you from?”

“Don’t you have my file from Morhan?” I teased, taken aback at his lack of knowledge. Surely he received my student file before I arrived; that was the whole point. My file would have shown that my studies aligned with the needs of the farm, and had all of my personal information inside of it as well.

He set his empty teacup on the coffee table, eyeing me skeptically.

“People lie,” he said, giving me a wry smile. I blushed, unable to stop myself. Maxwell had a strange, overwhelmingly charismatic aura about him. He was handsome, that was for sure. But there was something about his voice and the way his eyes bored into mine that sent an unusual thrill through my body as he held his tea cup in his hands.

A wave of heat washed over, and not from the hearth. I quickly changed the subject, wondering what the hell was the matter with me. “Henry said your family has lived here for centuries,” I said, wishing I had more tea as my breath caught in my throat.

“Yes, he’s correct in that regard.”

He went on to tell me some interesting historical facts about the manor, and estate that it sat on. I listened as intently as possible, feeling more and more like I was going to die of heat stroke as a servant came in to put another log on the fire in ten minute intervals. It was not nearly cold enough outside to need such a fire, but I was a guest. Who was I to even comment about it?

Maxwell chatted for nearly half an hour while I sat in a stupor of conflicting emotions and overwhelming heat. It wasn’t until a different servant came in with a kettle that I broke out of the haze.

She poured a black, fragrant liquid into his tea cup.

I recognized the smell immediately.

I suddenly felt the urge to run out of the house as quickly as I could, but found it impossible to move. Manners and sheer curiosity kept me in place, although my fingertips were prickling with adrenaline.

He was drinking blood root. I could smell it. That smell was burned into my mind forever.

Who was this man?

“Is there any news about the investigation?” I said hastily, adjusting my position in the chair.

“No,” he said slowly, not meeting my eye, “but not to worry.”

A servant came in, her voice flushed with concern as she bent to whisper into Maxwell’s ear. He nodded, his eyes flashing with frustration as he set his teacup down and stood, offering me his hand.

“I have business to attend to,” he said, and led me out of the sitting room. “I assume you know your way back to the fields?”

I didn’t even have time to nod before he was off, walking at a brisk pace with his back straight and shoulders rigid with tension. I walked into the foyer, watching as he disappeared around a corner and out of sight completely.

But then I heard a scream of frustration, maybe even anger, come from somewhere above my head.

“His sister,” said the butler, appearing before me like a ghost.

I flinched, my hand flying over my chest as I sucked in my breath. The butler was a kindly looking old man, however, who was staring blankly at me as I tried to bring my heartbreak back to normal.

“I didn’t know–”

“She’s ill, I’m afraid,” he said, motioning toward the door.

“Is she alright?”

“Perfectly, Miss.”

“She doesn’t sound–”

The door closed in my face. I stood on the wrap-around front porch, gaping, my unsaid words falling from my mouth with no one to hear them but me. “She doesn’t sound alright,” I mumbled, tucking my hands in my pockets as I turned around and walked down the steps. I gave the house one last glance over my shoulder as I reached the wrought iron gate grown over with ivy.

***

*Xander*

I was out of the truck before Bethany had even hit the brakes in front of the warehouse. I heard her voice, lifting in shock, as I jumped out and slammed the door, my hands clenched into fists at my sides as I stalked over to the dark haired man standing with his hands on his hips, talking to one of the farm workers.

But Elaine, who was walking out of the bunkhouse, got to him first.

“Ben! What’re you doing up here?”

“Apple harvest,” he said, passing her a basket of apples. “Think I can get one of those pumpkins?”

Elaine blushed a little in his direction, and I stopped in my tracks, thinking maybe I’d overreacted when Lena was talking to him in the bar. But I immediately changed my mind when Lena came out of the bunkhouse, her hair loose and flowing over her shoulders and back and looking radiate in the afternoon sun.

Ben noticed. He was looking right at her.

I’d claimed her as mine last night, and I meant to keep it that way.

“What are you doing here?” I said sharply.

Ben turned around, looking confused. Elaine fixed me with a dirty look, and Lena approached with a glare. I cleared my throat, but then decided to say nothing further.

“He’s dropping off some apples–”

“And seeing if you and Lena wanted to come out to a party tonight,” Ben said to Elaine.

Elaine blushed again, and I felt like even more of an idiot as I watched Ben return her gaze. But his eyes flicked back to Lena, and another pang of jealousy gripped my chest.

“Well, what do you say, Lena? It might make for a long day tomorrow?” Elaine directed this at Lena, but glanced at me, her eyes willing me to say something to challenge her.

I bit my tongue. I liked Elaine, but I could tell she had a mean streak lying dormant.

“Why not?” Lena grinned, looking relieved at the idea of a break from the farm.

“Cool, uhm, we can all fit in my truck. Uh, Xander, right?” Ben turned to me, and I knew he damn well knew my name.

“Yeah?”

“You can come too, if you want. Unless you’re busy–”

“No,” I said, looking around the group.

Lena’s face fell.

I turned on my heel and walked toward the warehouse.

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