Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 528 - 31 : Death in the Attic

Chapter 528: Chapter 31 : Death in the Attic

*Lena*

A day passed, then another. Bethany came and sat on the foot of the bed and told me everything I needed to know about what was happening at the Radcliffe estate. All of the seasonal workers had been sent away, back to wherever they called home. Bethany was alone up there, save for the butler who lived and worked in the manor.

Warriors had been creeping over the entirety of the estate for days now. Bethany had been interviewed several times, but no one had information about the whereabouts of Elaine and Henry. I felt nothing but dread as I listened to Bethany recount what had happened during my fevered stupor. I should have been there to help.

I also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that my family now knew exactly what I’d been up to, and the fact that I’d lied about being in Red Lakes... which is where I’d told them I’d be doing my field study.

I didn’t have time to sulk. The third day after I’d woken from my feverish dreams, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Bethany’s truck while Xander said his goodbyes to the strange family who had cared for us and taken care of our “Jen” issue.

Xander had gotten some sleep and was back to his somewhat cold and distant attitude toward me, which was somewhat of a relief because I knew we were over the worst of what had happened to us in Crimson Creek.

He rode in the bed of the truck all the way back to the estate and didn’t say a word to me until later in the evening when he came in from the bunkhouse to help me back up our things in the cottage.

“There’s something we need to do before we leave tomorrow night,” he said as he took off his boots and set them by the door.

“What?” I was folding my clothes and tucking them into my duffle bag as he rounded the corner and leaned against the doorway to the bedroom we’d been sharing. I felt a rush of heat as he waited for me to turn to look at him. I paused, looking down at the bed we’d shared. For a single second, I hoped whatever we needed to do involved the bed in some way.

“We need to go up to the estate and have a look around. The warriors from Breles combed it, but they don’t know exactly what they’re looking for, you know? You’ve been there before–”

“Bethany said the butler is still there. I doubt he’d let us in.”

“I can handle a butler,” he said with a smirk. He looked entirely boyish for a moment, and I was filled with regret as I straightened to my full height and looked into his face. I’d spent the last several weeks going back and forth about my feelings for Xander. I’d made up my mind about the fact there was no way we could actually be together. But that didn’t mean it didn’t thoroughly break my heart.

What was going to happen when we returned to campus? Would we go our separate ways? Or would the break from the constant chaos in Crimson Creek clear my head enough to realize I’d been wrong about him all along?

But that was only if he felt the same way. The way he was looking at me made me wonder if he did, especially the lingering hunger behind his eyes as he looked into mine. I hadn’t told him about the dream. I didn’t want to. But he’d been in there with me, at least for a second.

“What do you think we’ll find there?” I asked.

Xander pursed his lips, tilting his head side to side as he organized his thoughts. I imagined he knew a lot more about the entire Crimson Creek situation than I did, given that he’d had an entire week with a local family to discuss the situation, but I hadn’t asked about it. I was ready to wipe my hands of the entire situation and move on.

But I was curious about the manor.

“You said he had a sister,” he said. “Let’s go pay her a visit.”

***

To our surprise, the manor was totally empty. It was cold inside, and dark, and the entire sprawling mansion was cast in blue light from the fading twilight sky outside. The front door was unlocked, much to Xander’s disappointment. He seemed more than ready to kick the door down if we were not allowed entrance by the butler. But the butler was nowhere to be found.

“Where’d you hear the screaming come from?” Xander asked as he walked in front of me, holding his flashlight up to highlight the walls in the front foyer.

Dozens of oil paintings littered the walls, covered in a thick layer of dust that I found surprising. The manor seemed lost to time compared to when I was there last. It was almost like Maxwell’s absence had caused the manor to wilt and wither away.

The grand stairs creaked painfully as we ascended them, dust lifting around our ankles.

“It was above me,” I said, unease rippling over my skin. “Why is there so much dust, and cobwebs?” The entire place smelled awful, like mildew.

“Did it not look like this when you came here?”

“No, not at all. It was bright... clean–” I ran my finger along the railing at the top of the stairs, shocked by the amount of residue on the tip of my finger. Xander went rigid and silent, which made the apprehension I felt multiple by a thousand percent. “What are you not telling me, Xander?”

“A lot of things. It doesn’t matter–”

“It does matter!”

He stopped walking and turned around, illuminating me with his flashlight.

“It’s over now, Lena. Finally, over. Let’s just drop–”

There was a crashing sound above our head, then rapid footsteps. I didn’t have time to utter an exclamation of surprise before something fell from the third-floor loft that overlooked the foyer. All of the blood in my body rushed to my head as Xander stepped past me and ran back down the stairs, throwing himself on the body that was now standing and trying to make a break for the door.

“Xander!” I screamed, running as quickly as I could down the stairs. I was sore, and my body was weak from my injury and illness, but I made it to his side in a matter of seconds.

“You think you’re a sneaky bastard, don’t you? I knew you were still up here.” Xander grunted as he wrestled the man to the ground, pinning him down. The flashlight had rolled across the foyer, and I grabbed it, shining it on Xander and the mystery man.

It was Maxwell. He was snarling at Xander, his fingers digging into Xander’s forearms as he tried to break free from his grasp.

“Lena!” Xander said with effort as he continued to try to keep Maxwell subdued. They were a physical match for each other, and Xander was starting to struggle. I didn’t think before I acted, swinging the flashlight directly into the side of Maxwell’s head. His eyes rolled back, and he went limp. “Goddess Lena, I was going to tell you to go find a warrior, not take him out!”

“You were struggling–”

“I was not struggling,” he growled, throwing himself off of Maxwell and standing to his full height. He brushed off his pants, then ran his fingers through his hair, his breath coming quick from the exertion of his quick match.

“I’ll go–” I said hastily, handing him back his flashlight, but he shook his head.

“We’re going to tie him up and go look upstairs. He jumped from the third floor. We’ll start there.”

“How did he survive the fall?” I asked, but Xander was already taking off the long-sleeve sweater he was wearing over a gray undershirt.

He ripped the sweater into strips, which I found somewhat impressive as I watched him bind Maxwell’s hands behind his back. He tied his ankles together next, and took a step back to admire his work.

“Well, he’s still alive. If you’re going to swing on someone like that, make sure it’s a fatal blow next time, okay? I can’t always be here to make sure the fight is finished.”

I swallowed against the lump tightening in my throat. I wanted to say “Can’t–or won’t?” but I kept my mouth shut and followed him back up the stairs.

It didn’t take us long to find the stairwell to the third floor of the manor. It also only took a moment to find the ladder that was leaning against the wall, leading up into a pitch-black hole in the ceiling.

“The attic? He was hiding in the attic?”

“He was hiding from the warriors,” Xander replied gruffly as he steadied the ladder and began to climb with the flashlight clamped between his teeth.

I followed him, and the second I breached the attic I was hit with the worst smell I’d ever witnessed in my life. I retched, almost falling backward through the hole, but Xander grabbed my arm and pulled me into the attic, dropping me on my knees.

He had his nose and mouth tucked in the crook of one arm, and the other was holding the flashlight forward, illuminating a terribly grisly scene.

It was the butler, or what was left of him. This time I did throw up.

“Goddess,” Xander whispered, stepping forward toward the carnage.

My eyes were watering from the stench. I felt lightheaded. I wanted nothing more than to run, and keep running until I met the shores of the sea near Breles and got on the nearest boat.

“What happened to him?” I choked, squeezing my eyes shut as another wave of nausea washed over me.

Xander didn’t answer. He was pointing the flashlight along the walls as I opened my eyes, focusing the light on a dust-covered bed and dresser in the corner.

Moonlight poured through a small, circular window above the bed. Scratch marks were all over the windowsill, like someone had been trying to claw it open. Had the butler been trapped up here?

But then I saw it–a sweatshirt, hanging over one of the bedposts. A Morhan sweatshirt.

“Oh, no,” I whispered.

“Watch your step, Lena,” Xander said softly, his voice edged with absolute dread.

I wasn’t walking forward, however. I was stuck in place, unable to move as Xander closed in on the bed. There was no one in it, thank Goddess.

But when Xander picked up a backpack and dumped the contents on the bed, I knew who had been trapped up here. I saw the book I’d tried to check out in the library a few weeks ago, its title gleaming in the light of the flashlight as Xander reached down to pick it up–the book that required administrative approval to check out, the book that likely had the only information about blood root in its pages.

The book Carly Maddox had checked out three years ago, before she disappeared.

“Oh, Xander,” I cried, unable to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.

“Let’s go, Lena. We’ve seen everything we need to see–”

“How long did he keep her up here?” I said, choking on a sob.

Had she been here the entire time? Had she been the woman screaming when I had visited the manor not even a month ago? Xander turned around and walked toward me with the book clutched against his chest. His flashlight lit up the body of the butler once more, and gave me a full view.

I felt the blood drain from my body as I looked down at the butler. He was almost naked, and covered in puncture wounds. Teeth marks.

“Don’t look at it, Lena. Come on–”

“What–what–” I gaped down at the body. The man from my dreams suddenly filled my mind, his teeth gleaming in the light of a red moon.

“Lena!” Xander was pulling me toward the entrance of the attic, his fingers digging into my skin. “We’re going to find the warriors. They’ll arrest Maxwell. Carly’s family–” his voice caught in his throat as he turned me toward him, his free hand tucking a lock of hair behind my ears. His eyes were misted with tears. “They’ll have closure now. It’s done. Let’s go home.”

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