Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 11 : There's Something Out There

♦Xander*

I found Henry in the warehouse. He'd laid the creature on a tarp and was sitting on an upside down bucket nearby, looking pale.

I walked toward the old man, not bothering to announce my presence. He knew I was there. He knew I'd be coming to him with questions.

"It's a wolf, isn't it?* I said, stopping short of the tarp. I looked down at the body of the wolf, noticing for the first time the lack of blood on the tarp, and on Henry's clothes. I peered at him, narrowing my eyes as he rose from the bucket. "Who is it?"

Henry shook his head, looking exceedingly exhausted. He ran his hand over his face, looking down at the tarp through his fingers.

"Gretta was the only worker unaccounted for in Bethany's count."

I closed my eyes, picturing the soft-spoken young woman with glasses and softly curling blonde hair who I had seen at breakfast the morning before. She hadn't been at the bonfire, of that I was certain.

"What did this to her?" I asked, but Henry shook his head, wiping his hands on his pants as he rose from the bucket.

"I don't know.’

"Lena and I heard something in the woods during the bonfire, something large-"

"It didn't come from the woods, which are inside of the perimeter," Henry breathed, giving me a look of annoyance. "It came from over the wall."

"Has this happened before?" Adrenaline was coursing through me. My fingertips prickled as I knelt down by the tarp, taking a closer look at the remains of Gretta's wolf form. There wasn't much left.

"No one is allowed to shift on the property, especially after dark. Some do... but near the village. Never here."

"You didn't answer my question," I said sharply, watching the old man closely as he stood with his hands tucked in his pockets. "What happened to her blood?"

I'd noticed blood staining the ground where her body had been found, and a splatter of it on the wall, but not nearly enough to have bled her dry like she was now. I reached out to touch the wolf, running my fingers over her fur.

"I don’t know-'

"Then who would know? Have the authorities been alerted?"

"Radcliffe is on his way."

"What authority does he have to investigate this? I'm talking about the police or the warriors belonging to the Alpha!"

"Radcliffe will determine what needs to be done," Henry scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"This girl has been murdered, and violently-"

"We don't know that-'

"Are you kidding me?" I rose to my feet, clenching my hands into fists in an attempt to stop myself from reaching out and throttling the man. "She was ripped to pieces not even a quarter mile from where the rest of US were sleeping!"

I glanced back down at the remains of the wolf, shaking my head as I closed my eyes. It was the most awful thing I'd ever seen. Henry was hiding something. His face betrayed his calm, somewhat uninterested tone. He looked just as terrified and uneasy as I was sure I did.

"I'll be alerting Morhan College to what happened, first thing in the morning. Lena and I-"

that girl, anyway?" Henry asked, staring directly into my

the f*ck do

she's sharing a bed with the likes

adult, for one. Two, don’t try to deflect

know,

I blinked at him, taking a cautious

from the door

and raw from

Henry said, bobbing his

Maxwell commanded Bethany to physically move the body to the center of the tarp with her bare hands. Bethany's lower lip was trembling,

reached out, clutching her shoulder and pulling her

said loudly, glaring at Maxwell, then Henry. "Why

made me want to

What is

to me, looking me up and down before

of

glance in our direction as

seemed unphased by the fact that someone had been murdered on

"What’s going on here?"

obviously,' he said, waving toward the tarp. *No need for alarm.

someone been tom to shreds

this. That's not what I meant. Only that people do go missing here. The wall is more than a boundary, you must understand. Those hills to the west... well, no one exactly knows what's out there. That's why it's a rule that my workers cannot shift on the grounds. If they go into the village, that's one thing, but here?" He tucked his hands behind his back, walking a wide circle around the tarp as he peered down at it. "I can't help those that run into trouble outside

I argued, but

been notified. If it suits him, he'll send

it suits him?"

the lives of young women if they're entertaining him in bed, but even that is short-lived. He has a short fuse, and an even shorter attention span. I

south," I said,

as all he

be useless in this situation. I’ll have you cover the body. Keep everyone out of the warehouse for the day, at

asked in a

known him since my childhood. He’s reclusive now, but he didn't used to be, no. Lost his mate when

considered this, watching Maxwell closely as he continued to look down

did he lose his mate?" I asked, hoping I didn't already know

to you in your wolf form. No one comes back from the hills, and if they do-' he motioned towards the tarp, an odd smile touching the comer

anxiety tightening my throat, watching him as he walked away. He disappeared through the door leading

***

sticking out in all directions of the messy bun she had piled on top of her head. I

off of the woodstove and poured US both mugs of strong, black tea. I watched her as she stirred sugar into the mugs, her gray eyes lined with fatigue. In the soft morning light

my life. I wondered, as I accepted the mug of tea from her, what would've

hadn't quelled the searing desire

as she looked up at me, waiting for me

to scare her to death by describing the violent injuries afflicted to the

it had been

understand how that's possible. We were just-just at the firepit. We hadn’t been here longer

in, sitting down on Lena's trunk, which we found wouldn't fit anywhere else in the cottage. I didn't mention that the fur had been still warm when I touched the wolf in the warehouse, the thought of it making my skin