Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 106 : Portal to Home

*Lena*

This place, whatever it was, was a land of eternal sunshine. I wondered if I may have dreamt about it at some point during my childhood, and maybe that dream had spurred the creation of my own garden realm.

Everything was too beautiful and too good to be real, and as we gathered in the clearing under the gentle rays of a forgiving sun, I felt a pang of regret at the idea of leaving.

We'd only spent a day here at the most, enough time to rest and eat. Xander and Zeke spent much of the last several hours in quiet conversation, but their eyes told me they were plotting something grandiose, something… violent. I tried to stop myself from thinking of what would need to come next. Next was war, next was c*****e, and even in her seemingly infinite wisdom, Andromeda had little answers for us.

Xander was upset by this and accused her of purposefully talking in riddles. Oliver was too wrapped up in the mate bond he felt in this place to focus on anything, or anyone, who required his attention. But something changed in him as we prepared to leave, and Andromeda noticed the change, although she hadn't spoken a single word to him and left him to her acolytes instead.

“They said there is no one by the name of Elaine here," Oliver said, his voice laced with hurt. Andromeda twisted one of his glossy, copper-blonde curls around her finger as she circled him, her wide mouth curving into a smile.

“She was here, but she left. You'll see her again."

“I haven't seen her at all," he said in a whisper, his cheeks coloring as he lowered his eyes. Xander watched him with a careful gaze, then glanced at me, those dark eyes heavy with emotion.

The only thing Oliver had ever wanted was his mate. I'd known that since we were just children. He'd thought that was Hollis, and maybe even for a moment, he'd thought that had been Abigail as well.

He'd followed that bond here, and it had dropped him right at the doorway to the place where Elaine had been, at least for a moment. Now, she was gone.

“People can just come and go?" Xander asked.

Andromeda shook her head, folding her arms over her lap as her acolytes scurried around behind her, readying the book for its journey. They were wrapping it in silk and tucking dried flowers within the folds of fabric.

“Your witch was seeking her friend, and through our seers was able to locate him–"

'We'll talk about this in a moment,' as he turned

two of them had been notably absent when the group of us sat down for a picnic

Oliver's shoulder and led him away to talk in private. My stomach was in knots, my throat tight and my mouth dry. My time spent in Crimson Creek

is given to your aunt as soon as possible," Andromeda said as she glided in my

my chin upward as I

hand in dismissal. She removed one of the many rings she wore on her fingers, turning the ring over in her palm before handing it to me. It was ancient, the band glistened green with patina as

my father had made into wedding rings for himself and my mother. I met Andromeda's eyes

day. I had a slight waddle to my gait now, and I could feel the baby moving sometimes, but

this place for

been months

we breached the

to look at Penny, who was standing hand in hand with Zeke.

back here," Xander said

we walked in silence, followed by the acolytes, one

mix of trees that wouldn't normally grow together–willow trees with thick trunks and billowing branches that brushed the ground, mingled with towering spruce and birch

and wood stove smoke as we neared a

other," Andromeda said with a long, wistful sigh. She lost herself in a memory for a moment, a sadness blurring her features, but then she snapped back to reality and turned

“Were you friends?"

exhaled deeply with her eyes now fixed on the temple. “Yes, we were friends. I would say… if my kind had the blessing of a mate bond, we would have shared the bond, her and I. I loved her, so very much. But, we were of different

came, motioning for the acolytes to step forward with the book. They tried to hand the book to Xander, but Andromeda shook her head,

said, nodding at Oliver, who looked a little stunned as he gathered the silk-wrapped book

leather and dark fabrics, and myself in a pale blue dress that brushed my ankles as I walked. Andromeda had brushed my hair, her strokes causing it to lengthen until it was nearing my waist, and she twisted it into long braids that she wove

as I reached up to touch the moonstones that it had been a gift to her

in?" Oliver asked, his eyes shining like two different colored gems in the light filtering down through the canopy