Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 29 : Blackfire

My heart fluttered and I gasped. The bracelet was beautiful, regardless of the reasons why Soren had given it to me.

As much as I wanted to fight it, I really couldn't deny that I was feeling something for him. Something more than what I wanted to feel.

How had I let myself fall for Soren?

I kept trying to tell myself the bracelet was a bribe or a leash of some kind, but my heart kept fluttering and kept telling me that it was a romantic gesture. Was that what I wanted it to be?

Thoughts raced through my head and I wondered if I had offered my body to him to make this deal or if I'd really wanted to share that with him.

How could this have happened?

He was so cold, indifferent, and infuriating. He was controlling and distant. That didn't exactly spell out warm and fuzzy feelings…

But the moments we'd shared and how he was always looking out for me, it had softened my heart without me even knowing it.

Swallowing, I tried to pull my hand away but Soren's fingers tightened around my forearm. He whisked the bracelet out of my hand and deftly clasped it around my wrist. The cool metal touched my skin and it hung there, elegantly.

“It looks good on you," he said softly.

I held my arm up in the street light. It had flickered back on after the crow flew off. The bracelet really was pretty.

I pulled it closer and looked at the charm. The petal was oddly shaped. I thought it was a curved teardrop but it was a little more intricate than that with smaller, secondary petals flaring out of the base.

It almost looked like a little campfire. But it was black.

“I thought I should at least get you a 'thank you'," Soren said, cutting into my thoughts.

“A thank you?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

What did he have to thank me for?

Again, my heart started to pound in my chest. I swallowed and willed with all my strength that Soren wouldn't hear my heart.

“Yes," he confirmed without elaborating.

Apparently, he wasn't going to tell me what he was thanking me for.

I touched the little charm. “What kind of flower is this from?"

Soren's eyes widened and he pursed his lips. “That is a blackfire petal."

“Blackfire!?" I asked, gasping. I stared at the little charm again.

The poison I'd taken was called Blackfire but I didn't know it was made from a plant or a flower. Especially not one that looked so beautiful. How could something that unique and gorgeous be so dangerous?

“This is where the poison comes from?" I asked.

“It is. The flower is very rare, so the poison is too. This charm was even harder to come by," he said.

Soren grinned and covered the bracelet with his hand.

I smiled. “Well… thank you for the gift. It is a forever reminder of what I put myself through."

I stuck my tongue out a little so Soren would know I was teasing him.

He smirked. “Or, a forever reminder of what you survived."

My heart jumped into my throat and I nodded. I couldn't do anything else.

“Soren," Ashley called out.

She stormed through the mist, her hands on her hips. Her dark glower fixed directly on me.

It occurred to me again that Ashley might really like Soren. She always seemed to interrupt when he and I were having a moment. Either that, or she was very protective of him and she didn't trust me.

Whatever the case, I had the sudden urge to remind her that Soren was an adult and perfectly capable of taking care of himself and making his own decisions.

I swallowed the impulse quickly and leaned toward Soren.

“Is she mad?" I asked.

It wouldn't help our mission if Ashely was pissed off. She might try to sabotage things or get in the way. As far as I was concerned, Ashley and I were on good terms but I didn't want her emotions to get in the way of what I had to do.

“Ashley?" Soren asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Oh, she's fine."

He waved off my concerns.

“We should probably get going again. Lingering in one place in this fog isn't wise," I suggested to help diffuse the situation.

“Agreed."

We continued down the path to the temple. As we got closer, the fog thinned out and cleared a little. It wasn't much but just enough that I could see the stars overhead. They were veiled and very dim.

“Oh!" I gasped and covered my mouth as I stared at the temple.

The entire thing had crumbled since the night before. It was nothing but a pile of ruins and rubble.

My mind spun. How had that happened since last night? How had we not felt the tremors of the entire temple coming down?

It hadn't been the stablest of structures but it was still standing. What could have caused it to collapse so quickly?

“What is this place?" Ashley asked.

“It's not a temple, it is a pile of rubble," Payne pointed out.

“It wasn't like this last night," I argued.

Payne and Soren had both seen it. They knew what it was supposed to look like.

Shaking my head, I started to move through the rubble.

Soren and his followers stuck close to me.

With any luck, the cemetery wouldn't be disturbed. That was where I'd found all the useful information anyway.

I made it to the other side of the temple and stopped dead. The sight of the cemetery made my stomach lurch. I covered my mouth and took deep breaths to quell the rising nausea.

All the gravestones had been overturned or smashed into millions of pieces.

Worse than that, the graves were dug up.

Caskets were tossed around, open, and splintered.

Bodies littered the ground. They were bent over stone debris and piled on mounds of dirt. All of them charred and burnt to a crisp. Some were even still smoking.

“What the hell…" Ashely came up beside me.

“Payne, take a team and do a sweep of the perimeter. Check for clues of what could cause this," Soren ordered, his voice calm and steady.

I glanced at him. Could he have been expecting something like this or was he just that calm in a crisis?

He didn't look shocked or upset at all. His eyes were dark and he seemed somber, like it wasn't the first time he'd seen something like this.

Payne nodded and grabbed a few of Soren's followers. They disappeared into the fog.

My heart sank. I doubted they would find anything in this mess. Whoever, or whatever, had done this would cover their tracks. This wasn't a taunt or a statement. It was clean up.

Soren grabbed my arm and dragged me to a corner of the rubble. I was too shocked to resist.

Ashley tagged along.

Soren released me and turned to her. “Stay here. Keep an eye on Mila and remain alert," he ordered.

“Yes, of course," Ashley said, nodding. “Where are you going?"

“To do my own investigation," Soren said gruffly.

He stalked toward the original entrance of the temple. There wasn't anything left there but even from where I stood, I could see what looked like a chasm that had opened up underneath the temple. A massive hole in the ground.

I tried to follow after Soren but Ashley grabbed my arm.

“You're staying here," she hissed.

“No. I want to check out that chasm," I argued.

“Bad idea. You've already caused enough trouble," Ashley insisted. She held my arm firmly.

Her tone made me realize that she wasn't at all pleased to be around me again. She was even more dissatisfied with her assignment to protect me and guard me. But it was an order from Soren and I understood that she wouldn't disobey or let him down.