Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 12: My Rescuer

*Mila*

All through the night, I stuck to the shadows and stayed close to buildings as much as I could. Every now and then, I glanced back to see if Soren had sent anyone to follow me. So far, I was alone.

When I got to the edge of the village, I headed in the direction of Miltern pack territory.

In my dreams, Helen had given me a road map. At least, that's what I thought it was. She'd shown me the way over and over again, but I'd never understood. Now that I could remember them more clearly.

She'd shown me that I needed to follow the desert north star until the white sands became paved roads and the sun began to rise.

It was cryptic, but I felt like if I just went after the north star, the rest would make sense, eventually.

When the sun rose, though, it didn't show me white sands and paved roads. Instead, a thick, dense fog hung over everything. I could barely see in front of my own face.

I stuck my arm out and swiped it side to side like I could push the fog away. It was hard to see far. There was no going back.

I took a deep breath and stepped into it, but the deeper I went into the fog, the more my stomach gurgled uncomfortably. Was this really the way I was supposed to be going?

I couldn't see anything. How could I tell where I was going?

I stumbled along until the sand beneath my feet felt funny. I glanced down and saw white sand under my shoes, fine and soft like powder.

This was Miltern pack territory. I made it!

Almost as if the fog could feel my excitement, it started to thin and then lifted a little and the Miltern village came to my sight.

There were people on the streets. They walked around like the fog hadn't even been an issue for them.

I waved to someone close by and he wandered past me like he didn't even see me.

“Hey there," I said cheerfully.

Still, he kept walking and didn't even turn his head.

I glanced around and saw that no one else was looking at me either.

Could they even see me or hear me?

I stood still and watched as they moved around. They practically drifted through the streets like they didn't see each other either. It was like they were zombies or ghosts. I wondered if they were even alive or if they were just shadows of themselves.

None of them smiled. They had no expressions at all. They weren't happy or sad and they didn't talk to each other.

I saw a woman in her front yard gardening with a blank look on her face.

A man walked down the street with a basket over his arm, completely deadpanned, shuffling his feet along.

Several of them were heading toward what looked like a market. I could see vendors selling food and clothes, but none of them smiled at each other or shared any kind of greeting.

It was weird to watch them go through daily motions and not have any emotion about it or reaction to it. Based on how silent it was, I didn't think any of them were talking to each other, either.

An eerie feeling crept over me and I couldn't help but think that the whole pack was under a curse or something. It was like they all had a dark, gloomy cloud over themselves. But they didn't seem to be upset or sad. They weren't happy, either.

Just apathetic, emotionless.

Maybe they were just really unhappy about their lives. Or the morning fog just made them seem gloomy. I wondered if they'd perk up as the day went on and the sun warmed them up.

I walked up the street and bowed my head so I didn't have to look at these strange, gloomy people.

Turning a corner, suddenly I heard quick footsteps behind me. It didn't sound like the slow, sad shuffle of the people of Miltern pack. These footsteps were deliberate and focused, and headed straight toward me.

Quickly, I ran down another corner, flew by a few blocks and turned again. I kept close to the buildings and did a loop around one block before doubling back.

The more I tried to outrun them, the closer their footsteps got. They were definitely chasing after me.

I wove through the town and ducked behind different buildings. None of the pack members paid any attention to me but I still tried to avoid running into them.

A guy opened the door to his house and I darted up the steps and rushed inside. He didn't call after me or try to stop me but I kept going. There was a woman in the kitchen making coffee and she didn't make a sound as I ran out the back door.

I got to another house and hopped through an open window. An entire family was eating breakfast. I landed right next to the table and they didn't even look up.

“Oh, sorry," I muttered.

They looked up at me, acknowledged my invasion of their home and went back to their food.

I ran down into their basement and out the bulkhead. It put me in their backyard. The house had a crawl space underneath. Dropping down on my hands and knees, I got into the crawl space and used my elbows to drag myself under the house.

When I got under the front porch, I could see an alley across the street. I couldn't hear the quick footsteps anymore.

It seemed like I lost my pursuer, but I wasn't taking any chances.

I crawled out from under the house and bolted across the street and straight through the alley. Out the other side, I kept running until a forest could be seen in the distance, and that was where my dreams told me to go.

Would Hele be in the forest waiting for me?

Maybe she could even tell me what was going on with all the freaks in this pack.

When I got on the path to the forest, I stopped running. My heart hammered against my ribs and my calves ached. My elbows were smudged with dirt and I had leaves in my hair.

It was the price of not getting caught. I could deal with it.

The path led me right to the forest's edge and I recognized the entrance point. Helen had given me very clear directions.

I took a deep breath and headed into the old, thick trees. The path got narrow but it was easy enough to see it winding through the trees and underbrush. It didn't look like anyone had walked on that path in a long time.

As I headed deeper into the woods, I noticed that it was getting darker and darker.

The sun had just risen! This wasn't right.

I tried looking through the treetops to check if the sun was still shining, but the canopies were so thick I couldn't see the sky at all.

I shivered and rubbed my arms as the darkness closed in around me.

The path was also getting thinner. I looked ahead as it narrowed more and more and suddenly, I couldn't see a path anymore.

What kind of path just ends in the middle of the forest?

Thinking I could just keep going in a straight line, I started walking around the trees, acting like I was still on a path. However, before long, when I stopped and turned around, I couldn't see the road behind me anymore.

I was lost.

Fog closed in on me through the darkness and started to get thicker.

I wondered if I should go back while I could still remember which direction I came from and wait until the sun was higher in the sky and maybe the forest wouldn't be so creepy, dark, and foggy.

The way the fog was thickening, I wouldn't be able to get back if I waited around too long. Mind made up, I turned around and headed back to the path.

Click. Clack.

Gibber. Gibber.

I froze. What the hell made that kind of sound?

Click. Clack. Gibber. Gibber.

Curiosity got the better of me and I abandoned my search for the path. I carefully followed the sounds to a little clearing and stayed hidden behind a tree.

The fog was light enough here that I could see what was going on.

There was a group of people moving through the woods. Based on their clothes, they looked like they'd come from the Miltern pack village.

Something was off about them, though. They were moving strangely. It was like their joints were locked and they couldn't bend or twist at all.

With stiff legs and arms, they tottered through the woods.

I wondered how they moved so well through the trees despite how awful their bodies looked.