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–"

talk about this in

them had been notably absent when the group of us sat down for a picnic a few hours earlier, and based

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 felt so

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

I looked into her eyes. “It's a long

single minute from this realm to Winter Forest," Andromeda said with a girlish chuckle, waving her 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 I held it

like the kind that could be found along the beach in Winter Forest, like the jade my father had made into wedding rings for himself and my mother. I met Andromeda's eyes and

slight waddle to

in this place for

been months back

we walking into once we

his side. I turned to look at Penny, who was standing hand in

find Henry and Elaine, and bring them back here," Xander said quickly as we left the

the way, and we walked in silence, followed by the

stepped into a new clearing, dark and shadowed by a mix of trees that wouldn't normally grow together–willow trees with thick trunks and billowing

smell the salt and wood stove smoke as we neared a temple

in a memory for a moment, a sadness blurring her features, but then

“Were you friends?"

tearing her gaze away from mine as she 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

her eyes for a split second before she blinked, then she turned back in the way she came, motioning for the acolytes to step forward with the book. They tried to hand the book to Xander, but

for him to give to her," Andromeda said, nodding at Oliver, who looked a little stunned as he gathered the silk-wrapped book in his arms. Andromeda looked between Xander and me, then nodded

clothing, with Oliver and Xander dressed in 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

in passing that it had been a gift, and I realized as I reached up to touch the moonstones that it had been a gift to her from Morrighan. Who else could have worn silver without it burning

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