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 a moment,' as

them had been notably absent when the group of us sat down for a picnic a few hours earlier, and based on the glow of her skin and the sparkle in her eyes, I had a sneaking suspicion I knew exactly what

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 simple

as soon as possible," Andromeda said

upward as I looked into her eyes. “It's a

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

my father had made into wedding rings for himself and my mother. I

she beckoned, and I stepped forward, taking her outstretched hand. My free hand laid over the swell of my belly, which seemed to be doubling in size every day. I had a slight waddle to my gait now, and I could feel the baby moving sometimes, but not often. It was impossible to calculate how far along I was now, especially since

been in this place for two

could have been

walking into once we

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

them back here," Xander said quickly as we left the clearing

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

wouldn't normally grow together–willow trees with thick trunks and billowing branches that brushed

and wood stove smoke as we neared a temple made of ancient stone, grown

I used to visit each other," Andromeda said with a long, wistful sigh. She lost herself in a memory for a moment, a sadness blurring

“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 of different realms, different

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,

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 in farewell before walking

to Xander as the clearing went quiet. Oliver shifted his weight uncomfortably. We'd been dressed in fine 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

passing that it had been a gift, and I realized as I reached up to touch the moonstones that it had been

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