Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 7 : Another Beautiful Man

♦Xander*

I'm not sure what I saw looking in our window. Every single hair on my arms was standing on end as I

stood on the porch, squinting into the pitch-black night. A soft breeze was rustling the grain in the

distance. It was overcast. The entire area was bathed in nothing but blackness.

I'd seen eyes. I knew that much. And they had been looking past me, trying to catch a glimpse of Lena.

I leaned on the railing, gripping it so tightly the muscles of my arms flexed with tension. I looked down

the pathway toward the bunkhouse, narrowing my eyes at the single light that was on inside.

Had some creep snuck out of the bunkhouse and peered into our window, not expecting me to be

awake?

I hardly ever slept. Not deeply, at least. I'd spent the last four hours listening to Lena's labored

breathing as she suffocated herself in her sleeping bag. I'd finally reached over and unzipped it, just

enough for the skin of her neck to be exposed to the cool air in the room.

And when I'd turned back around, I'd seen it. Two eyes looking right at US through the window. Had

they been glowing? Or was it only the fact I'd been on the edge of sleep that made them look that way?

I looked back over the open field once more, glaring into the night.

"She's mine," I whispered, hoping whatever or whoever it was that was lingering nearby was close

enough to hear me.

I locked the door on my way in and opened every cabinet, looking for something to cover the window

with. I found a hammer, but no nails or tacks. That didn't matter to me. I searched around the room and

settled on the wobbly side table next to the armchair and broke one of the legs off of it, pulling out two

nails and closing them in my fist.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lena was standing in the doorway of the bedroom, now dressed in an

oversized tee shirt. Her legs and feet were bare, which sent a thrill through me as I rose to my full

height.

"I told you, you were going to get too hot."

She ignored me, crossing her hands over her chest and stepping out of my way as I sidestepped

around her to get back into the bedroom.

“Why did you break that table?"

"I needed nails."

"For what? Why were you outside?"

"It’s the middle of the night, Lena. Stop asking me so many questions," I murmured, holding the nails

between my teeth as I measured the width of the window with my hands. I looked around the room,

settling my gaze on the pillow I'd been using only minutes before. "Hand me that pillowcase."

"Why?"

"We need a curtain. Just do it."

She gave me a skeptical look, but to my surprise she followed my directions, sliding the pillowcase off

the thin, useless pillow and handing it to me. I held it against the wall and drove one of the nails

through it, and then again on the other side of the window, so the pillowcase covered the window

entirely.

"Why couldn't you have just asked for curtains in the morning?"

"Well, technically it is morning, and no one is awake yet," I replied, gripping the hammer as I turned to

face her. I glanced down at it, deciding it would be best to sleep with it, or at least have it nearby in

case whoever was looking in our window decided to do anything they would likely come to regret. "Go

back to sleep, okay?"

“Fine," she whispered.

I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. I waited for her to climb back into her sleeping bag before I sat

on the edge of my bed myself, sliding the hammer under the bed but still within reach.

"Was there something out there?" she asked, her voice timid enough for me to turn to look down at her,

noticing the apprehension in her eyes. She was frightened.

"Why? Are you scared?"

"Don’t mess with me, Xander."

I smiled at her, reaching over to pat her shoulder. She flinched away from me, glaring before she turned

to face the wall again.

I laid back down, sighing deeply with my hands resting on my chest. I couldn't find the nerve to close

them, not after what I'd seen. I’d be up all night.

And that was okay. I could just lay there and rest, taking long, slow breaths, and still feel well tomorrow.

I could nap, perhaps, knowing Lena would be in the company of others. Unless, of course, whoever

had been peering in our window had been a worker themselves.

An hour later I found it hard to keep my eyes open. I finally surrendered to sleep, and the last thing I

envisioned were Lena's pale gray eyes narrowing in my direction like they had many, many times

before.

I didn't like this place. I didn't like the feeling it gave me, like I was being watched, preyed upon by

some unseen force.

I'd keep Lena safe, whether she liked it or not... whether she liked me, or not.

***

♦Lena*

I'd met a few of the other people working at Radcliffe farm over breakfast in the bunkhouse, which was

a small square shaped building with two long bedrooms housing several cots, lined up in rows.

There was a full kitchen, dining room, and sitting area with several bookshelves stocked with books

from nearly every genre available. I found that comforting as I sat in the dining room, picking at my

plate of bacon and eggs while everyone else chatted amiably over mugs of coffee and plates heaped

with breakfast.

Xander was seated at the end of the table, eyeing everyone suspiciously. He looked rather menacing

as I peered at him over the rim of my coffee mug. I raised my brow at him as he met my eye, and he

softened his expression, sighing as he looked back at his plate.

I didn't know what his deal was last night, but he was still acting super weird. But I didn' t know him that

well, so maybe this wasn't weird for him. Maybe he always acted like this.

"Alright, let's get going. Who’s on the dishes today?" Bethany said, which was met with collaborated

murmuring. An unfamiliar woman stepped forward, her soft brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail

as she began to gather the dishes. I rose, drinking the last of my coffee, and caught her meeting

Xander's gaze. He gave her a wry smile, and she blushed, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

I rolled my eyes, setting my coffee cup down and turning toward the door, where Bethany was waiting

for me.

"Ready to go see what we're dealing with?" she said, holding the door open for me as I stepped out

onto the porch.

A few minutes later, we were walking along a well-beaten path through the fields of grain, most of

which had gone to seed. We were heading toward the section of the farm that was in the southwest

corner of the property, where their most valuable crops were grown.

Valerian root, wolfsbane, hummingbird sage, and thyme. I could see the patches of herbs as we

crested a shallow hill, their perky green leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. But I saw something else,

something that I'd never seen before.

"What are those dark patches on the other side of the fence?" I asked as we walked down the hill.

Bethany glanced over at me, a look of concern flashing through her eyes.

"We don't know."

"Is it a plant?' I asked. I couldn't tell by how far we were from the spots that dappled the landscape

outside of the property line. It could have been burn marks from lightning, for all I knew.

"Henry can tell you more about it than I can," she answered, shrugging her shoulders. "That’s him,

actually-"

She had a walkie-talkie on her hip, and it crackled with static, someone's voice coming through the

speaker. She motioned me forward, pointing to the old man who was crouched in the herb garden, his

back to me.

I glanced at her over my shoulder as I approached Henry, noticing the look of concern on her face as

she turned from US and began to walk back up the hill. I looked to the left, seeing the manor in the

distance, but from a new angle. It was even bigger than I’d thought the night before.

"It’s not much to look at, honestly," Henry said, his back still turned to me. I stopped walking, standing

ten or so yards away from him. "The house, I mean. It's falling to pieces like the rest of ’em." Henry

rose, wiping his hands off on his pants as he turned to me, nodding in greeting.

But he paused, then looked me up and down, narrowing his eyes. I bit the inside of my cheek as I

tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

"I'm Lena,” I said, giving him my best smile.

He continued to stare at me, then arched his brow, shaking his head as he turned back to the herbs.

"Sure you are," he said. I pursed my lips and walked forward, gingerly stepping between the herbs as I

made my way closer to Henry. He had a basket next to him filled with several bushels of sage and a

few large valerian roots. "So, you're a botanist, then?"

”1 will be, officially, when I graduate in December."

Henry glanced up at me, grunting in response. I colored, then knelt down beside him.

"Bethany said you were having issues with the harvest-"

"An infestation," he butted in, cutting me off. I opened my mouth to respond, but he stood, handing me

his basket and pointing to the valerian roots. "They’re supposed to look like that,” he said, then opened

his palm, showing me the valerian roots in his hand, "not this."

I peered down into his hand, seeing the spindly roots blackened and withered. I looked up at him,

thoroughly confused. ‘My partner said he tested the soil yesterday-"

"It’s not the soil," he breathed, shaking his head.

"But-"

"You must be Lena," said a rich voice behind me. I spun around, surprised beyond belief by the man

standing only a few feet away from us. Henry bobbed his head at the man, then knelt once more,

quietly going back to tending the herbs.

The man was... beautiful. I found myself locking eyes with him, unable to look away as he slowly

nodded his head at me in greeting. He was likely in his late thirties, or early forties, with dark brown hair

and thick sideburns streaked with gray. He was clean shaven, his jaw wide and tight as his lips

stretched into a welcoming, but seductive, smile. But his eyes were strange. They were a very light

brown, but they seemed to reflect a deep gold in the sun. I found myself unable to break away from his

gaze for a moment.

But then I saw movement coming down the hill behind him. Xander.

Xander stopped, balancing a large plastic tote with all of my research equipment in his hands as he

looked down at me and the mysterious stranger. He narrowed his eyes, and I recognized his

expression immediately. He had looked at Slate that way.

Oh, no.

"You must be Maxwell Radcliffe," I said as loudly as possible without screaming it, standing to my full

height and hoping Xander had heard me.

Maxwell smiled, tilting his head as he looked me over. 'It's lovely to meet you, Lena.

Truly a pleasure." He spoke like an aristocrat from a romance . He kind of dressed like it, too, and

he looked out of place standing in the middle of the field, surrounded by dirt and plants. He followed my

nervous gaze, looking over his shoulder at Xander, but then he turned back to me, a smirk dancing

across his face. "I’ll leave you to it. But I’d love to have you at the manor for dinner sometime, to

discuss the farm, the history, things of that nature."

All I could do was nod. Xander was staring at Maxwell so intensely that it made my skin prickle with

adrenaline. What the hell was Xander’s problem?

Maxwell turned on his heel, bobbing his head in greeting to Xander as he walked up the hill with his

arms tucked behind his back.

What an odd man.

Xander followed him with his gaze, not even bothering to give the owner of the expansive property a

smile, or a blank expression. He was glaring.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I choked out as Xander walked up to me.

He dropped the tote on the ground at my feet, leaning toward me to whisper hoarsely into my ear. 'Stay

away from him," he hissed.

I poked him in the chest, pushing against him with my finger to put some distance between US. 'You

have absolutely no say in what I do, Xander. Don't ruin this for me!"

"Ruin your dinner party with that old creep?" he laughed, narrowing his eyes into slits.

"He's not old. Goddess, Xander. I don't understand you at all-'

"I don't like the way he looked at you, Lena."

”1 don't care what you think, or what you want. I need this field study to graduate. You cannot, and will

not, mess this up for me again." I snatched the tote off the ground and turned my back to him, stalking

back over to Henry, who had been watching US with interest.

Xander stalked off, going Goddess knows where, but I didn't care. I knelt beside Henry, taking a deep

breath before turning to face him. Henry peered at me, my argument with Xander seemingly softening

his countenance.

"What were you saying about the valerian roots?" I huffed, tucking my hair behind my ears.

Henry shrugged, motioning toward my tote.

"Well, princess, what do you want to know?"

My blood ran cold. What did he just call me?