Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 21 :1 Need to Tell You Something

*Lena*

He was waiting for me at the train depot, leaning against the farm truck with his aim crossed over his chest. I fought against the smile threatening to stretch across my face as I walked down the steps off the platform, my duffle bag hanging over one shoulder. He eyed me. looking me up and down.

‘’Hey." he said, his voice void of expression.

My heart sank as I gave him a tight-lipped smile and crossed in front of him to climb into the passenger side of the truck.

I'd be gone for just over a week.

I hadn't been able to get him out of my mind.

What did I expect him to do, really? Had I wanted him to run to me. to pick me up and swing me in a circle like something out of a romance novel? Had I wanted him to admit he'd been pining for me, to try to convince me everything I thought about our brief, but passionate, liaison had been something much more serious?

I was the problem. I know that much. I had no right to expect anything from him.

‘’I need to talk to you about something," he said as he put the truck in drive.

It was dark out, the little town of Crimson Creek speckled with yellow light as we drove toward the forest. I looked out my window as we crossed the bridge, seeing Radcliffe Manor rising in the distance atop its hill, peeking out over the trees.

“About what?"

“I got the sample we were talking about," he said casually, glancing over at me before focusing his eyes back on the road. "I'm not sure what I'm looking at, honestly."

"You made a slide?"

"Of course."

"I..." I wavered, shifting my weight in the passenger seat as we continued along the narrow road through the unforgivingly dark woods just inside the boundary of the estate. I looked at him. searching his face for a moment before I told him about the book I had found out about in the library.

"So, you're saying Carly knew about blood root?"

"I'm saying she knew about it and went back to Morhan to try to find out more information about it. I saw the date on the file, the date she checked out the book: it was only a week before she went missing. She had to get administrative approval in order to even check it out."

Xander exhaled, his nostrils flaring as he considered what I was telling him.

"Morhan didn't mention any of this in the file they gave us," I urged, with an emphasis on "any."

Xander abruptly stopped the truck, shifting it into park. He cut the headlights, and in an instant, we were blanketed in total darkness.

let this go. We have another

would Morhan send us here knowing what happened to

gripping the steering wheel. "It doesn't matter, though. You were the one who wanted to focus on our studies. This field study meant the world to

where I was supposed to be!" I said sharply. I could barely see him, but he turned to face me. his eyes reflecting in the faint

said, we

trying to cover something up, Xander-the university

face

we shouldn’t push it, Lena! Listen to me-" he grabbed my shoulders, shaking me a little. "We're

on this estate are dying off, Xander. It's the blood root. The blood root is doing it. But it also healed you, remember? It's obvious Henry

and shifted the track into

"Stop!"

know you're out here. Lena?

We'd never spoken to each other about our

"They know I'm here."

was

shaking

This

I got you the blood root sample. We can test it against the other samples you've collected. We pretend everything is fine: we stay out of the way. We

what?"

before shifting the truck into drive.

to say. I wanted him. I was, maybe, even starting to fall

that cut througli fields of grain. The cottages came into view, and I

grabbed my duffle bag out of the bed of the truck while I walked a few steps behind him into the cottage. It was perfectly warm, and I noticed a few changes right away. I'd only been gone for a week, but Xander had pinned

living room. "I was worried Radcliffe would take apart the lab, so I moved our

I closed the door behind me

my clothes, swallowing against the intense desire to curl up in the bed and wait for Xander. My emotions were getting the better of me when Xander knocked on the

his hand on the doorknob. "Are you okay? I made

on a comfy sweatshirt and matching pair of sweatpants before Xander had come in, and I smoothed them down as I followed him back out into the living room. He sat on his usual spot on the trunk. I sat in

shaking my head, but wasn't able to stifle the blush that was creeping over my cheeks. I lifted my eyes toward Xander, who was watching me, an

mug to his lips. He was dressed in his signature gray sweatpants and a thick black sweatshirt that said "Morhan Varsity

This would be so much easier if I could. Instead, I said the first thing that

I was in Morhan. I

Xander arched his brow.

"Why a shampoo bottle?"

the encounter, to which he smiled softly and occasionally chuckled. Eventually. I told him about my failed attempt to research bloot root and then Abigail's new

about the fact that