Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 16 : Don’t Come any Closer

*Mila*

The fog closed around me like a blanket. I had to admit, thick fog was the best way to stay hidden and move unnoticed through a creepy village like Miltern.

My feet seemed to know exactly where to go as I moved closer to the center of the village and the Central Temple.

I hesitated and glanced back toward the hotel. It was completely hidden in the fog.

I snuck off again. I couldn't help but feel uncertain about neglecting to tell Soren I was leaving.

Soren had been nice to me and saved my life. What if he could help me?

Shaking my head, I kept forging through the fog.

“Get a grip, Mila," I muttered to myself.

Soren could play the “nice guy" all he wanted but he had secrets and ulterior motives.

I sniffed. And he accused me of being the secretive one! Hadn't he made some big deal with his men about not prying into anyone's past? Why did he feel the need to pry into mine?

Groaning, I picked up my pace. It was so quiet in the night and no one was around but my steps barely made a sound, like the fog absorbed them.

When I got to the center of the village, the fog parted slightly and moonlight streamed down on a large, majestic building. Or, it would have been majestic…

The temple was a huge, square pagoda that rose so high it practically blocked out the stars. Crows sat on the edge of the roof tiers, pecking and warbling to each other. I could see their eyes flashing in the dim moonlight.

They looked like guardians of the temple, or maybe they were harbingers of death.

Did they ever sleep?

Vines and moss clung to the exterior of the building. In some places, the walls had crumbled away and the plants had forced their way inside.

It must have been abandoned for a long, long time.

What kind of person would want me to meet them in a creepy place like this!?

Looking at the temple, I thought it felt familiar. Not the way it looked now. I could almost imagine what it looked like when it wasn't falling apart. A green, tin gilded with gold. The stone exterior polished and carved with familiar designs.

I could practically envision the cherry trees growing out front with their pink and white blossoms. Those trees were rotted, now.

How was it possible I could imagine what a building looked like that I'd never seen before? My imagination wasn't that good.

This temple must have been great and beautiful once. My heart thrummed and I felt a strong desire to see it restored. It was a symbol of hope and life, two things Miltern was desperately missing.

If their temple was restored, perhaps their vibrancy would be too.

Sighing, tears stung my eyes. Seeing the temple so ruined and broken made my heart ache. I didn't know why it was so sad, but my heart went out to the people here.

Why did I care if their temple was destroyed? I had no ties to these people.

But I couldn't shake the feeling or the desire to see it back to its former glory.

A crow cawed and suddenly, all the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end. A shiver ran down my spine and I stared at the looming, eerie temple. The fact was, this place wasn't as beautiful as it once was and it was falling apart.

It could be dangerous to go inside, for more than one reason.

I chewed my lower lip and glanced around. Maybe, I shouldn't go in…

I sucked in a sharp breath and shook my head. No, I'd come here for a reason. I'd come here for answers and I wasn't leaving without them!

I climbed the crumbling stairs and went inside. Wrinkling my nose, I looked around in the dimness. Rotten wood permeated the air and I could see why. Several beams had rotted through and fallen across the temple. Plants clung to them, devouring them back into the earth.

Crows pecked at the outside of the temple, sending horrible, clicking echoes throughout.

I waved my hand in front of my nose but the smell remained strong.

It was so dark I had to squint my eyes to see anything at all. Other than invading plants and fallen beams, there wasn't much to see. Everything else had either been destroyed or removed.

There was one, narrow path that had been cleared through the rubble. One path that led deeper into the temple and into darkness.

I took a step forward and paused. Something was scratching and crawling around in the corner, a rat or a mouse. When I listened more carefully, I could hear other things moving around on the edge of my vision.

Mice squeaked and I heard the buzzing of insect wings. Shuddering, I wrapped my arms around myself. My skin crawled and I tried to rub the goosebumps away. The beams creaked, threatening to break apart even more. The stone walls seemed to shiver and tremble and I wondered if it was even safe to walk through this place.

“What am I supposed to do with this?" I muttered to myself.

The card that had been left with the bouquet didn't have very good instructions.

Sighing, I pulled the card out of my pocket and examined it again. Before, I'd had the hotel lights on when I read it.

Now, in the dim light of the moonbeams that penetrated holes in the temple roof, the card looked completely different. The edges were gilded in a silvery, glow with a lovely, elegant swirling pattern.

Something new was written on the card now, in the same invisible, moon-activated ink.

“The end of the path, where it meets the moonlight."

I flipped the card over, wondering if there were more hidden instructions on the other side.

Well, that wasn't very descriptive. My eyes wandered down the dark path again. It looked like I had no choice. To get my answers, I'd have to follow the path.

I hesitated again and then slipped the card into my pocket. I'd come this far on my own and so far, I had no answers. I didn't come all this way to leave empty handed!

Holding my breath, I carefully maneuvered down the narrow path. I sucked in my stomach and navigated around fallen beams and crumbling walls. If I nudged anything at all, the carefully balanced temple might crumble on top of me.

The cleared path led me out the back of the temple. As soon as I was outside again, I took a deep breath of fresh air. I fanned myself with my hand, sweat making my shirt stick to my body.

That had been hairraising.

I looked around at all the stone statues I'd wandered into. There were some that were so beautifully carved with intricate detail. Others were less elaborate and only had names written on them.

“Oh…"

I was in a graveyard. Swallowing hard, I rubbed my hands on my thighs. Meeting a stranger at night in a foggy graveyard. I was counting the ways this could turn into an urban legend.

The fog seemed to clear again and a moonbeam lit up one specific gravestone. The others stayed hidden in shadow.

Shrugging, I headed toward the illuminated grave. I couldn't get a clearer sign than that. Maybe it was magic or the Moon Goddess guiding me.

The headstone I approached didn't have a name on it. At least, not one that I could read. There were deliberate carvings on it that could have been a language or some kind of writing. It was faded and did not have any symbols or characters I was familiar with.

The headstone was made out of white marble. It was a carving of a woman in a flowing dress. She was kneeling down, her arms wrapped around the neck of a large wolf. The statue was absolutely beautiful, even if it was a headstone.

There was no doubt in my mind that this was what I was looking for.

I walked around the headstone and ran my fingers over the smooth marble. Maybe there was a secret compartment or hidden button that would lead me to the next clue.

There was nothing… I examined the headstone twice just to be sure.

“What now…"

I tapped my foot on the ground and the strong scent of freshly turned earth hit my nose. Glancing down, I noticed that the ground at the base of the headstone had been disturbed recently.

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I grumbled.

Was I seriously going to dig up a grave!?

Maybe it wasn't a grave. Someone had obviously moved the dirt around and maybe they buried something else here.

I pulled my knife out and dropped to my knees. Careful to limit my search to the area where the dirt was freshly turned, I started digging with my knife blade.

I dug and dug until my knife hit something with a loud thud. Setting my knife aside, I started clearing the dirt away.

“Please don't be a coffin," I whispered to myself.

I brushed the dirt away and saw a wooden box buried at the base of the gravestone. It definitely wasn't a coffin! The box was small enough for me to hold and I pulled it out of the dirt.