Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 54 : Class Reunion

*Jared*

Archer nudged the black mass of the dead wolf with the toe of his boot, his face twisted in a grimace.

I could scent both women in this cave. The fire they'd started was cool to the touch, but the charcoal was still oily from whatever they'd used to start it. I rubbed the ash between my fingers as I crouched, looking around.

“How'd they get so far off course?" Brandt said from the entrance of the cave as he slid his favorite dagger back into his belt.

“Lock was here too," Archer said quietly, his boots leaving bloody footprints as he walked out of the cave and looked around. “And two scouts, I think."

“I know," I breathed, rising from my position and running my fingers through my hair. I didn't mention that I could smell blood other than the wolves. They knew it too, but none of us were willing to admit what that meant.

“All of their things are gone," Brandt said absently as he turned to glare into the setting sun. We'd been running for days through a colossal storm. Picking up their scent again had felt like a miracle, but now....

“f*****g Lock," I said through gritted teeth, glancing around as I scanned the area around the cave. We weren't far from the edge of Abel's territory. We'd make it there by morning if we traveled through the night.

If we didn't run into Lock, first.

“I haven't seen that prick in years. Not since the war," Archer bit out, dragging the wolf out of the cave by its tail. I watched him as he bent to examine it, pulling back its fur to show the deep gash on its neck. “Think he did this?"

“Eliza did it," I breathed, closing my eyes for a moment.

I let myself be momentarily racked by guilt at the thought of Eliza having to defend herself from this rogue. It was a true rogue, too, the soulless kind who had no master but itself, driven by primal urges like hunger and the need to chase and hunt.

“Eliza?" Brandt said, his brow furrowed.

I lifted one of its paws, her blood dried against its talons. Archer let out his breath as he rose to his full height, the three of us looking at each other for a moment.

“The other camp we passed had their scent, so they're likely still alive," Archer said coldly, his fingers grazing his knife belt.

“Abel wouldn't kill them. He has no reason to," Brandt added.

Silence fell again, the space between us filled with the sounds of the forest. The women had made it through the Dark Forest alone, and alive.

“We'll shift and keep moving," I said, undoing the buttons on my shirt.

We didn't have a concrete plan when it came to when we'd eventually reach Abel's territory. He had some of the fiercest scouts in the lands, and I knew that to be true because Abel and I had trained together for years before he left our village. We were a physical match for each other, but he had something I didn't.

“Lock will be expecting us. I'm sure he knows we're here now," I warned, keeping my eyes on the forest as I undressed.

Archer tossed his clothes into his bag before shifting and shaking out his coat. Brandt gave me a careful eye, then undressed, his eyes downcast as he tucked his knife belt in his bag.

I didn't know how to explain Lock. He was a shadow, damn near silent as he crept through the woods. He was too striking to be a spy, not with his scar, deep-set silver eyes, and raven black hair that fell down his back, nearly touching his waist. But he was the best f*****g warrior I'd ever witnessed, and he'd chosen to follow Abel instead of me.

I couldn't say I was upset about it. Lock was terrifying and for the most part, uncontrollable. He was only half wolf, the other half a mystery. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

I shifted, picking up my backpack between my teeth.

'Let's go,' I said down the mindlink, tilting my head to motion for them to fall in line in front of me.

I prayed to whoever was listening that Eliza was on her toes, using that big head of hers to think rationally. Abel was sharp as a tack, and his specialty was manipulation.

I'd nearly fallen for it once.

***

There were six of them standing in a row, their wolf forms distorted by the field of tall, yellow grasses swaying in a humid breeze. The wall around Abel's village shone in the midday sun, casting a long shadow across the field as the sun crept closer to dusk with each passing minute.

We'd been followed by Abel's scouts since morning, waking up to them creeping through the trees as we roused ourselves from shallow sleep. They made no moves on us and kept their distance. We were unwelcome guests in their territory. They'd been waiting for us, just like I thought.

They followed us through the remainder of the forest until we reached the sweeping plains at the base of the Northern Mountains, then they fanned out around us, forming a barrier between us and the wall to the fortress where my mate was being held.

'Are we doing this with fists or teeth?' Archer asked through the mindlink.

As if on cue, the scouts backed up, disappearing into the grass. I saw figures moving along the top of the wall, faint voices carrying in the wind as they alerted each other of our location.

I shifted back, dropping my backpack and hastily changing into my clothes. Brandt was dressed by the time I'd secured my knife belt over my waist, but Archer stayed in his wolf form, his snout lifted to the breeze.

“We're doing this like civilized men, Archer. Shift, now," I said, flexing my jaw as I started forward. I kept my eyes on the men now running along the top of the wall, some of them pausing to look down at us as we approached.

I planned to knock on the front door like the old friend that I was.

“Don't come any closer!" said a young man of no more than eighteen as he hurried through the grass. He was a kid, really, tall and gangly, having not yet filled out his new-found height. I paused midstep, tilting my head at him as I loosened my shoulders and flexed my hands in front of me before curling them into fists.

“I don't fight babes. Move aside. I have business with your leader."

“Y-you're not welcome!"

“I wasn't asking," I said sharply, fixing him with a dark look.

He visibly swallowed, turning his gaze slowly back toward the wall, where several of the men were now shouting at him to do something, anything.

“You're being tested," I said as the boy turned back to face us.

Archer crossed his arms over his chest beside me, shirtless, his muscled physique gleaming in the sun. Brandt came up on my other side, calm and collected like usual.

“Which one of us do you want to fight?"

“N-none–"

“Choose wisely, kid. Those men up there–" Archer pointed to the wall, wiggling his fingers in hello as the men jeered and shouted at us. “We were all one in the same, okay? Trained by the same masters and hardened by the same Dark Forest that separates our villages. Choose me, and I'll rough you up with only my fists. Choose this guy–" Archer jabbed his thumb at Brandt, “Well, he likes to fight with knives."

“What about him?" the boy said, his face draining of color as he met my eyes.

I fought against the shadow curling into knots inside of me, begging to be released.

“I wouldn't choose him," Archer said flatly, then chuckled as the inconspicuous wooden door leading inside the wall opened and several men came out. “We're trying to help you out, kid. You think we haven't been in the same position as you, led out to fight some enemy under the careful gaze of our elders? They're placing bets on you, how many hits you can land. How long it takes before you go–"

The boy stepped forward and swung on Archer. I stepped out of the way, crossing my arms and glancing at the dozen or so men now walking in our direction, shaking out their muscles as they prepared for a fight.

Archer let the boy hit him cleanly in the jaw. The boy looked absolutely shocked as he staggered backward, his cheeks flushing with pride.

“Rule one," Archer said, rubbing his jaw for a moment. “Never back down after the first hit–" He reached out, grabbing the boy by the shoulder, then picked him up and threw him a great distance into the grass.

Muffled shouts of mingled laughter and surprise rang out along the wall, but I was focusing on the men approaching us.

“You really sent a kid out to greet us?" I ground out as a few familiar faces came into view. Abel's departure after I'd been voted the leader had split our village and crew into pieces. Some of these men I'd trained with, some of them were new.