Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 124 : Who’s Your Boyfriend

When I first got to Marno, I wasn't able to afford to live in the lap of luxury.

I kept a small apartment on the edge of the packland. The building was pretty beat up, the shingles slipping off and the siding had big chunks taken out of it.

Now, on a clinic salary, I could move to a nicer place, but I had grown fond of the neighborhood.

Despite Marno's active trading business and tourist industry, its wealth wasn't evenly distributed among the pack members. For example, most people that lived in this area of the packland were in a rough place financially. Life wasn't easy for them, and thus, they weren't exactly friendly to begin with.

At first, people in my building had given me the cold shoulder or even cursed for no reason under their breath as I walked by. However, they didn't do anything to hurt me. After I'd ignored their harmless provocation for a while and helped one elderly with his rheumatic disorder, their attitude had changed 180 degrees.

Now, I knew they'd look out for me. After all, those were good people with rough shells.

I walked up the steps to my apartment and ran into one of my neighbors who was heading down.

“Heather, you're home early today. Slow day at the clinic?"

“Honey, she's a doctor," my neighbor's wife jumped in, poking her head out their door. “Call her Dr. Way! Oh, she shouldn't be carrying those grocery bags. Too heavy for pregnant women. Honey, help her up the stairs with those!"

She stepped out into the hall, her own seven-month-old baby on her hip.

“Oh, right, Dr. Way," the young husband took the groceries from me. “And, yes, let me help you."

He walked me down the hall and set my groceries in front of my apartment door. “There you are, Dr. Heather Way!"

To make his wife happy, he raised his voice so that his wife could hear him “properly" pronounce my “full name".

“You can call me Heather outside the clinic," I said, smiling. “Thank you for the help."

“No problem! Really, it should be us thanking you. You did cure our son. We had no idea he was sick… just thought he was throwing a tantrum and refusing to eat." He sighed and shook his head.

“Well, if you want to carry my groceries more often, that could make up for it," I suggested jokingly.

The young husband grinned and nodded. Then he frowned.

“Oh, by the way…"

“Yes?" I asked.

“You should be careful the next few days. Maybe even better to stay home. The trading season has started. A pretty, single young woman like you will attract a lot of unwanted attention from strangers."

“Trading…" I muttered. He was referring to the slave trade that rolled through. “Thank you. I will keep that in mind.

After that, he left me alone in the hall.

I let myself into my apartment and pulled the groceries inside. I chopped up all the veggies and threw them into a pot for soup. Once it was simmering, I put my herbs away and put some fresh flowers in a vase.

Going to the nearest wall, I pressed my hand against it.

“Anno hitho atem."

A doorknob appeared.

When I first arrived here, I had to keep this room hidden so that random visitors wouldn't know my secret. I had no interest in knowing what people would think of me if they knew I'd been living with a “dead" body.

The first few days, Soren was barely breathing and that was why even Helen thought he was dead. Until that one night, the bear almost attacked him. He bled and I felt the slightest breathing from him.

After that, I promised myself I would never give up on him. The spell I'd used was helping him heal. Maybe he hadn't been fully dead when I started it and it kept Soren from slipping to his demise completely.

I brought him fresh flowers and repeated the healing chant. Then, I'd pray to the Moon Goddess that he'd come back to me.

Even though he was still unconscious and not fully there, I made this part of my daily routine.

So far, he was making steady progress.

Soren's breathing was steadier and more consistent. His heartbeat was getting stronger, too. I could feel it now. Before… it had been so faint I didn't think it was there.

I still had no idea when he'd wake up. Maybe he'd wake tomorrow, maybe in 10 years, maybe…never. I didn't care. He was still with me and I would care for him forever and that was what mattered.

For the first time, I felt like I could actually understand Chandler's motives with his Luna.

How many times had I told him to just let her go? It was easy to tell him that when I hadn't experienced the loss of the love of my life.

“Soren, I'm back. I'm right here," I greeted, squeezing his hand.

I set the vase beside his bed and opened the curtain on the window.

The bright, morning sunlight streamed in, covering his face. His eyes might have been closed but I still wanted him to feel the sunshine. It would keep his skin healthy.

The glow of the sun brought color to his cheeks and made his hair shimmer. His face was a bit pale, but not too bad. He was still the most handsome man I'd ever seen.

I knelt down beside the bed and took his hand. The chant came easily to me now. “Amina hasteth corro sinat, amina hasteth corro sinat. Amina hasteth corro sinat, amina hasteth corro sinat.“

Soren's skin lightened a little and he looked a lot healthier suddenly. The hallows of his cheeks filled out some and his muscles tensed a little.

My own body had weakened, like some of my vitality had transferred to him.

I laid down on the bed beside Soren and rested my head on his shoulder. I started telling him about my day. For some reason, it made me feel better to think that he was listening and that he'd follow my voice home.

“Today, I got some Prickly Apples because it is good for the baby," I started. I laced my fingers through his. “I also got some new herbs. They are really rare and have unique properties. I might keep them here instead of taking them to the clinic."

Sighing, I nuzzled against him. Every moment I lay like this, I longed for him to take me into his arms.

“I'm making soup now. You know, one of those herbs I got, it might be a good healing herb but it makes an even better soup! You'll have to try it. I know you don't eat much, but this will blow your mind."

By this point, I wasn't sure if I talked to Soren for him or for myself. I grabbed his hand and put it on my growing belly.

“I had a routine checkup today. The baby and I are both doing really, really well. No concerns at all. It has been nice and easy…" I sighed, my cheeriness fading slightly. “Work was… well, a patient I helped last week decided to ask me out!"

I giggled and looked at Soren's face, imagining how angry he'd be if he was awake and conscious. Maybe, part of me thought he'd wake up from protectiveness and kick Peter's ass.

“Don't worry. I turned him down." I ran a finger down his cheek.

His head bobbed slightly and I imagined that cocky smirk on his lips.

I heard his voice in my head, or imagined his voice in my head, telling me that Peter could try all he wants in that smug way he did, reminding me that he was the only man for me.

I scoffed and shook my head. “You know, just imagining your taunts is… I can't believe you're still mocking me when you're in a coma!"

Had anyone walked in and watched me having a conversation with Soren's unconscious body, they'd think I was completely insane. I couldn't really blame them.

Some days, I almost felt insane. Then again, talking to him also felt like the only thing keeping me sane.

But as Soren's body recovered, I sensed something growing inside me. Not just the baby. It was something I hadn't fully felt before. Something so powerful and deep.

With each passing day, I felt more connected to Soren, more devoted to him. It made me more certain that I would only be complete if I was around him.

There was no doubt what that connection was.

The matebond.

After Helen healed me of the last of the Blackfire poison, I hadn't sensed it because Soren was “dead".

But he was recovering now, which meant the matebond was awakening in me too. It meant that he was still alive—at least that was what I chose to believe.

There was one day about a month ago when I'd been talking to Soren and I clearly felt an emotion that didn't belong to me.

It was familiar because I'd felt his feelings before during the few times the mindlink between us worked.

After that, I kept talking to him because sometimes I'd get glimmers of his feelings and I could sense his responses.