Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 516 - 19 : Get Away from Me!

Chapter 516: Chapter 19 : Get Away from Me!

*Lena*

I slept like the dead the entire train ride back to Morhan. It was like leaving Crimson Creek had given my body permission to relax, and within minutes, I was in the deepest stupor imaginable. Seven hours later I found myself walking through the college town Morhan University was named after, my duffle bag slung over my shoulder as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

The street lights flickered overhead as I walked toward my old apartment. It was fall break, and normally that meant my roommates and I would have an entire week of downtime to study for our semester finals. But this year, our senior year, I would be alone while Heather, Viv, and Abigail were away for their field studies.

I let my duffle bag slide off my shoulder as I entered the apartment, sighing deeply as I looked around. Nothing had changed, for which I was grateful. It felt good to be home, even if it meant my field study was on pause. Even though my old room was currently packed away in boxes, I’d have a pillow to lay my head on in a bed I didn’t have to share with Xander.

Xander. I hadn’t even thought about him since I woke up from my journey back to Morhan. I sighed, trying to brush away the feelings of regret lingering in my heart as I bent to untie my shoes in the narrow front hallway.

I stepped into the apartment, dragging my duffle bag behind me as I made a mental checklist of everything I needed to do while I was home. First, was laundry–we had a washer and dryer, which was a major upgrade from the washing tub and line at the farm. Next, I wanted to spend a few days in the library researching anything I could find about blood root. Last, I had a few phone calls to make and letters to write, which I was dreading.

“What’re you doing here?”

I dropped the strap of my duffle bag and looked up at Abigail, who was standing in the center of the living room in nothing but a terry cloth robe and a towel wrapped around her hair.

“What are you doing here?” I repeated.

We were shocked to see each other. I was supposed to be in Crimson Creek, and Abigail was supposed to be across the sea, in Mirage.

“You first,” she said, furrowing her brow at me.

“It’s a long story–”

“I was just about to have a glass of wine. Want one?”

Yes, I definitely did.

Abi kept her eyes fixed on me as she stepped into the kitchen and popped the cork on a half-full bottle of cheap wine. She looked suspicious. I’m sure my expression was very much the same.

“So?” I said, accepting the wine she’d poured.

“So... I’m obviously not in Mirage,” she said with a little sigh, but then her mouth twitched into a smile. “I got another opportunity, and I will leave next week.”

“Where?”

“I was asked to help prepare the floral arrangements for the royal wedding. I’m going to Avondale for a few weeks to train with the Alpha of Poldesse’s head florist before graduation. Then, well, I guess I got that invitation to the wedding after all. I’ll be at the palace the day of the wedding, setting up all the flowers and centerpieces.” Her cheeks were pink with excitement.

I gave her my best smile, but inside, I was conflicted. “That’s incredible–”

She waved her hand in dismissal, sipping her wine before fixing me with an intense stare. “Enough about me. It’s not all that interesting. Why the hell are you here and not in Crimson Creek?”

I took a deep breath, then winced.

“Lena?”

“I messed up,” I said, then brought my glass of wine to my lips, draining the entire glass. “I slept with Xander.”

***

Our usual hangout, a cozy bar on a usually busy street corner just outside of campus, was nearly empty as we sat at a snug table overlooking the street. Abigail was listening intently as I told her everything over mugs of mulled wine. Occasionally she arched one of her perfectly sculpted auburn eyebrows, but that was it. She didn’t interrupt.

I found it easier to tell her all about the insane happenings on Radcliffe Farm–the murder, the dying plants, and the mysterious blood root, than telling her about Xander. I’d never truly voiced my feelings about the situation.

“So, you broke up with him?” she asked as she motioned for a waiter to bring us another round. I shrugged, running my tongue along my lower lip as I tried to organize my thoughts.

“We weren’t really together,” I replied.

Abi gave me a look then sighed as she leaned back against her chair. “Sounds like you were. Lena, is this really what you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“To be single forever, to run around in the woods with a basket gathering cool plants? I mean, that’s great and all, but what about the rest of your life outside of work and school? Don’t you want a family? A husband?”

“A mate,” I said with finality. “But Xander’s not my mate. I feel like I would know, even just a little, if he were.”

“What did he say when you ended it?”

“Nothing. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me and then told me he’d see me when I got back, that we’d talk about it then.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like it’s over–”

“It is,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t like how... how out of control I feel around him.”

Abigail gave me a curious look. “What do you mean?”

I bit my lip, wondering how I could even explain this to her.

When I was young, my emotions often got the better of me. I sometimes lost control, and it got me in trouble, or worse, hurt. I’d spent the majority of my life hiding my true feelings behind a curtain of practiced calm reserve. I rarely raised my voice. My smiles were often forced. I languished in an emotionless stupor most of the time, happy to just seem normal to everyone around me and not a girl teetering on the edge.

Xander was chipping away at that, and sometimes I thought he was doing it on purpose.

“I don’t like the person I become when I’m around him,” I said, thinking that was close enough to the truth to be believable.

“Is he not a good person?”

“He is. I think... I think he’s great. But he’s bossy, and demanding... and sometimes cold. And, the events of the past few weeks threw us together, Abi. It’s not like I even had to chance to really fall in love with him–”

“Love?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

I paled, then shook my head. “It doesn’t matter how I feel–”

“That’s all that matters, Lena. Jeez, this is your first time falling for someone, isn’t it? Not as easy as the novels make it seem, huh?”

A smiled a little at this. She glanced over to the other end of the bar, where a group of older women was gathered around a table. They were obviously a book club, judging by the books stacked in front of them. They were currently arguing about one of them.

“They’re reading ‘Tempest Tossed.’” Abi smiled, tapping her finger on the table. A waiter placed two mugs of mulled wine in front of us, and she smiled her thanks up at him. “I read it recently. There wasn’t much else to do while all of you were gone.”

“Oh, what’s it about?” I asked, thankful the subject had changed.

Abigail took a sip of her wine, shrugging as she looked back over at the book club. “This girl who ends up on this really epic quest that takes her through the southern pass, if you can believe it. It’s incredible. It doesn’t even feel like fiction. It has pirates, treasure, and a love story. She finds her mate, but he isn’t who he says he is at first. It’s all about the origins of the White Queens, too. I know you’re not into that kind of thing–”

“Who’s the author?” I said into my wine, struggling to swallow as my throat tightened.

She shrugged again.

“I have it at home. You should read it. The author didn’t put their name; it only says M.B.”

***

The walk back to our apartment was marred by a frigid drizzle. Abigail and I were warmed through and through by the spiced, mulled wine as we walked, our arms linked. She wanted to stop at the corner store across the street from our apartment for some snacks and magazines before we headed home, and I obliged.

Inside the store, however, I had an intense feeling I was being watched. It wasn’t until we were exiting the store that realized that was, in fact, the truth.

Slate was leaning against a streetlamp just outside the door. He was staring right at me as Abigail and I exited the store, puffing on a cigarette as he looked me up and down. Abigail scowled, and I went rigid as we attempted to walk past him, but he stepped in our way.

“Going home so soon? It’s not even midnight,” he sneered, tossing his cigarette onto the ground.

“Get away from us, Slate!” Abigail warned, her eyes flashing as she bared her teeth at him. Abigail was a few months older than me and was capable of shifting. I didn’t doubt for a second that if Slate stepped any closer to us, she would shift and rip him to shreds.

“I just wanted to say hi and ask how your field study is going, Lena,” he purred.

“Don’t talk to me,” I bit out, narrowing my eyes at him.

We attempted to walk past him again, but he started to follow.

“Things not going well with Xander?”

“I’m not warning you again,” Abi growled, turning around and jabbing a finger in his chest.

Slate reached out and grabbed me by the arm. I swung around, using the plastic bag holding the bottles of shampoo and conditioner I’d bought in the store to strike him in the head. He jumped backward, grimacing as he held his hands to the side of his face.

“You’ll regret that, Lena, when I tell the dean–”

“Go cry to your uncle; see if I care! If you ever touch me again–if I ever even see you again, Slate, I’ll kill you!” Fury was pulsating through my body. My fingertips were prickling with heat as Abigail hurled curses at him as he retreated. She laid her hand on my forearm, squeezing as she began to pull me away. Slate called us bitches then took off.

“Well, you showed him. That had to have hurt.”

“I hope it did,” I murmured, reaching into the bag to check the contents. The force of the impact had given the shampoo bottle a massive dent.

But Abigail went quiet all of a sudden, looking into my eyes. She stopped walking abruptly, turning me to face her.

“Lena... what’s going with your eyes?”

I reached up, touching the upper edge of my cheekbones with my fingers. I knew exactly what she saw.

“It’s nothing–”

“Are you finding your wolf early?” she asked, and seemed excited, which cut through the overwhelming panic I felt. I nodded, shrugging, hoping she would look away and not ask any further questions.

“Well, we have a few things to celebrate tonight, don’t we?” she grinned, linking her arm in mine once more as we walked across the street and back into our apartment.

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