Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 38 :1 Made a Huge Mistake

♦Lena*

Crimson Creek faded from view, its lights just a shimmer on the far horizon as the train rumbled forward through the slow rolling hills. The train car was dark: the few passengers sharing our journey were settling in their seats, closing their eyes.

Seven hours until we reached Morhan.

I glanced at Xander, who was sitting opposite me. He had a magazine in his hands and was staring blankly at it. His eyes flicked up to meet mine, and I quickly looked away, a feeling of absolute dread washing over me.

We'd ended things. Mutually. Even if we hadn't actually said the words that whatever we had been was done. I didn't know why he'd chosen to sit so close to me when there were rows and rows of empty seats.

The constant vibration of the train began to lull me into a stupor, my eyelids growing heavy with sleep. I looked over at Xander one last time before closing my eyes.

Let bygones be bygones, I thought with distress.

It was over.

It was time to go home.

I'd built this place. Every pebble along the edge of the clear pond, every drop of water cascading from the gentle waterfall lapping down the dark chunks of granite leading to the forest above. This glen was mine, every inch of it. I'd made the emerald grass so soft it felt like cashmere against my bare toes, and the glistening dew that dusted the grass wasn’t wet, or cold.

Ivy climbed up the trucks of the weeping willows that encircled my haven. Thickets of honeysuckle grew along the side of a workshop, its walls painted blue and dappled with stars.

I hadn't been here in years. I'd locked this place away in my mind, keeping it safe.

Time hadn't touched my glen, my secret garden. Pockets of sunlight drifted through the willows and dusted the grass as I walked forward, breathing deeply the heavy scent of hyacinth and hydrangea.

The door to the workshop was well-oiled and didn't make a sound as I opened it. Shelves full of paint lined one wall, and a large built-in hutch was on the far side, filled to the brim with paper, canvas, pencils, and pens. I breathed in the scent of ink. my body letting go of the tension I'd been carrying.

A short while later. I was sitting at the edge of the pond with my sketchbook propped on my knees. I was sketching the small golden fish that lived in the pond, their scales reflecting like jewels in the crisp, clear water.

I decided at that moment that I had no reason to leave this place. I had everything I needed. The weather was always warm. It never rained. I had an abundance of flowers and plants to look at and study.

No one could find me here. It was only for me. Just me. No one was here to tell me what to do, how to think, who to be.

I placed my hand on the grass, gripping the emerald tufts between my fingers. Purple clover began to sprout around my touch, blossoming right before my eyes. I smiled, flipped the page of my sketchbook, and began to draw the purple blooms.

But my pencil didn't make a single mark. I lifted the leaden tip and turned it, eyeing the pointed edge with interest. I tried again, but the pencil disintegrated against my touch, turning to dust.

“What-"

the long willow branches tremble, dragging their leaves through the water. I looked up where the stut was filtering througli the canopy as tiny specks of light came cascading

voice, it was just there, echoing over

looking around for the voice. How many times had it found me over the years? It was the only thing that had breached my sanctuary's defenses. It was not malicious or wanting, however. The genderless voice had simply been there, and it had likely been there before I even laid

time in the realm of

enjoying it," I said with a smirk, watching the white specks continue to dance over the

not do

miss me. voice? I haven't

not of time,

"Alt, yes. I forgot."

coming througli the glass pane of a window. I watched them for a moment, letting my sketchbook

starting soon, I believe," I whispered, tilting my head

before." the voice said, then chuckled softly, the sound earned away by the breeze. "What's different this time? Is it

flushed, narrowing

"How did you know?"

He's trying

my eyes, blinking into the heavy fluorescent light of the train car. Xander was shaking me by the shoulders, concern darkening his features. I swatted him. pushing

I hissed, then glanced around. The train was stopped and

backed away, reaching up to pull our bags from the overhead bin. He roughly tossed me my duffle bag, and I caught it, fixing him with a

rising from my seat, but then looked down.

sprouted from the carpet,

sternly, trying to take me by the elbow, but I shoved past him and

I stepped onto the snow-covered platform. Xander was right behind me. grasping me by the

hell

know what you're

to hiss in my

"Bye, Xander." I sidestepped around him and tiudged through the

But I could feel his gaze on me as I walked off the platform and onto

no reason to take it home with me, not since all of my equipment was now considered evidence pertaining to the estate. I adjusted the weight of

the building where our apartment was situated, the lights from the bodega on the first floor flooding into the street. I looked up at the fourth floor, seeing a light on in what would be our living

home in two minutes,

"Lena." Xander said.

standing only twenty yards away, his hands tucked in

was left of my heart. He shifted his

his voice catching

I was on the verge of tears again. Twenty yards, that was it. I could run to

got to know you," he said, his face etched with