Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 40 : I’ll Tell Her Everything

♦Lena*

Tomorrow. He'd come pick me up from my apartment tomorrow.

That was all I could think about as I paced around the small bedroom I'd shared with Heather for the

last three years. Heather was out. where I didn't know, but I found myself alone and on edge.

I'd already unpacked my duffle bag and backpack. I'd taken a shower and ran a load of laundry. I had

nothing else to do for the remainder of the day but wallow in my anxieties and suspicions about what

Xander needed to talk to me about.

It obviously wasn't urgent. He would have pulled me aside during the luncheon or caught up to me

afterward if he had news about Elaine and Henry. It was obvious the students who attended Morhan

were totally in the dark about what had happened in Crimson Creek, which was a good tiling, but still....

I was caught in a massive cover-up. and Xander was the only one who knew the truth.

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, hugging myself with my amis.

Maybe he wanted to talk about us.

I let out my breath, shaking my head. What could possibly be said at this point? We were done. We

weren't anything to begin with. It wasn't like I'd been his girlfriend.

I sat down hard on the edge of my bed. and my backpack slid off the mattress, falling to the floor. The

envelope George had given me peeked out of the front pocket, the thick cardstock flaked with gold and

reflecting in the dusty sunrays pouring thr ough the windows.

The clouds had opened enough to reveal a beautiful sunset, which sent rays of pink and amber light

cascading into the room. I reached for the envelope and slid my finger tlirough the wax seal binding the

envelope together. There were two things inside. One. I expected, and tossed onto my bed without a

fraction of a glance.

The second item in the envelope was just a piece of scratch paper with an untidy scrawl littering the

page. I held it to the light, reading each and every word before I let it fall to the floor.

A familiar pain radiated through me as I stood and pulled on a hooded sweatshirt. The letter had

brought back an anguish I'd shared with who I considered my best friend and closest confidant. I'd

been there when it happened. I'll never forget the look on his face.

He'd loved her since they were just kids, and the two of them had grown up together, attending the

same schools and running in the same social circles. He'd thought, with every fiber of his being, that

she was Iris mate. They both looked forward to the day she turned twenty-one. only a few days after

his own birthday.

But it wasn't him. They weren't fated. Her mate had been, in fact, his brother.

She'd chosen his brother over him. It shattered his heart beyond repair.

I sighed as I sank down on the bed. looking down at the letter that had fallen onto the floor between my

feet. I read the words over again, lingering on the litre where he'd written that all I needed to do was

call, and we'd be on the next boat through the southern pass. We could skip the wedding neither of us

wanted to attend. He just didn't want to do it alone.

The sun had almost fully set as I left my bedroom and pulled on my coat and a weathered beanie over

my tousled locks. My pale blonde lowlights had grown out, revealing the silvery white hair that grew

stick-straight, not a single curl in sight.

No one had said anything about it. It was probably because striking, platinum-blonde hair was in style

right now. and people paid a king's ransom to accomplish it.

But no one had my pale silver eyes and moon-kissed eyelashes, nor my silver-white eyebrows and

porcelain, unblemished skin.

I was odd. foreign. But I'd made it work. My years-long lies and excuses wouldn't matter much soon. It

was all coming to an end.

I walked the short distance from my apartment to the pay phone hr front of the laundry' mat around the

comer. Barely anyone outside of the wealthy' and royal had access to phones in then homes, not yet.

The radio towers that had been constructed two decades ago made it possible for communication

between the continents outside of letters, but it was a slow progression.

I barely ever called home. I liked to write and receive letters. But there wasn't much time for that now.

I put a few coins into the payphone and held the receiver to my ear. listening to the static for a moment

before I was connected with the operator.

“How can I connect you?" she said, her voice quick and busmesslike.

“Avondale," I replied, and a clicking sound filled my ears as the operator connected me to the next hub.

“How can I connect you?" came a new. male voice.

I sighed before closing my hand around the receiver and whispering into it. “The Palace of Poldesse.

please."

A soft chuckle flickered tlirough the static.

“Good luck even reaching security-"

"Not security." I whispered as a man passed behind me on the sidewalk. “I have a code for a direct

line,"

“What is it?"

I took a shallow breath and closed my eyes.

“1701... S."

"One moment."

The clicking resumed, then ringing filled my' ears as I was transferred. A few moments passed and I

almost hung up. but then a deep, friendly, and familiar voice filled my ears.

"Lena?"

"I'm sony to call so late." I began, closing my eyes. I felt tear s beginning to well in the comers of my

eyes as his soft laugh fluttered through the receiver. I heard a feminine voice somewhere behind him.

raised in question as she neared.

“It's Lena." he said to his companion, and a shocked exclamation mingled with whatever reassurance

he uttered in reply. “Is everything alright? You never call!"

“I'm fine, really. I-"

“Give me the phone!" came the female voice, and there was a bit of skirmish on the other line. I smiled

broadly, my' heart squeezing in my chest as my uncle fought off my aunt's attempts to secure the

phone for herself.

“Uncle Troy?" I said after a moment.

He panted in response, chuckling as though he was holding my' aunt at arm's length as he lifted the

receiver to his mouth once again.

“What's up. kid?"

"I'm looking for Oliver." I breathed. “Is he home?"

♦Xander*

Adrian was sitting on the couch in our shabby apartment, his legs crossed and his arms stretched over

the back of the sofa. He was watching me as I unpacked the belongings I'd taken with me to Crimson

Creek. I glanced up at him as I turned my duffle bag upside down and shook the remaining contents

onto the carpet.

"What?" I murmured, reaching for a pair of socks that had rolled beneath the coffee table.

"Well, what now? Are we going back?"

“I don't know." I replied, sighing as I started to organize the small items that I'd just dislodged from the

depths of my duffle bag.

“Well, she didn't seem all that enthused about you at the luncheon." Adrian said, giving me a tight

lipped smile.

I glared at him. then rose from the caipet and walked into the tight kitchen that opened up to our living

room.

Adrian. I'd known him since I was a kid. He was arrogant and sarcastic, but loyal, the kind of guy who

didn't shy away from a fight. This fight, however, was starting to wear on the both of us. It'd been a year

at least since we'd been home. He was just as ready to return as I was.

He'd made himself at home here during the month I was in Crimson Creek. He had his positive

qualities, but cleanliness was not one of them. I swiped a few beer cans off the counter and into the

trash can. scowling at him over my shoulder as he smirked, tapping his foot as he waited for me to

make some remark about what he'd been up to.

"So. are you planning on taking that girl home, or is she just a fling?" I asked as I pulled a bag of

cheap, pre-ground coffee from the cabinet.

Adrian sighed, miming Iris fingers through Iris ham "I haven't broached the subject." He shrugged,

tilting his head as he watched me start the coffee maker. "That wasn't really the plan, after all. You're

the one who's supposed to be bringing home a wife."

I closed my eyes, thankfill my back was to linn so he couldn't see the pained expression creeping over

my face.

I'd returned to our apartment in the early morning, before the sun had even begun to rise over the tall

brick buildings in downtown Morhan. Adrian had been asleep, the door to Iris bedroom wide open, and

a young, dark haired woman was sleeping with her aim resting on his chest. I'd woken her up as I

entered the house, and she was shocked, and deeply embarrassed, that I had even glanced into his

room as I made my way to my own.

But she'd left behind a tube of lipstick and a few hairpins in our bathroom. And the expensive tea in the

pantry definitely wasn't Adrian's. I turned to look at him. leaning on the kitchen counter as the coffee

began to brew, the sound of the water heating and hissing steam filling the space between us.

Adrian's blue eyes narrowed on mine for a moment before he rolled them.

“She's probably not my mate. Too young to know for sure, you know. What about your, uh. Lena

situation? No go. then?" he asked, clearly trying to change the subject away from his lover.

"I don't know. I'm telling her everything tomorrow." I said curtly, watching him inn his fingers through his

golden blond hair once again.

He looked at me. not even trying to stifle the nervous flush that stained his cheeks. "Are you sure you

want to do that? Why not just stick to the plan-"

"It's complicated now-"

"All." he nodded, the comer of Iris mouth twitching as he adjusted Iris weight on the couch. "You fell for

her. didn't you?"

I didn't answer. My silence was enough. I grabbed a mug from the dishrack and crossed to the

refrigerator, which was empty save for a few beers, some takeout, and a bottle of something called oat

milk. I held the bottle up. then tinned to Adrian, arching my brow.

"Macie likes it. Says it's better for you than milk."

"So she has a name, and her own creamer, in our refrigerator-"

"It's more than what you have with Lena." he bristled, and I set the creamer down on the counter and

shot him a dirty look.

I'd told him every thing when he'd finally woken from the dead and rolled out of bed. nursing a righteous

hangover and covered in glitter and smudges of lipstick. He seemed to only half listen, but woke up a

bit when I started talking about the beastly form Jen had taken and Gideon and his flock. I hadn't talked

to him about Lena though, not in detail. I'd just given him enough information to allude to the fact that I

had failed.

“There's gotta be more of them, right? Soren's family?"

"It's not that simple." I murmured, sniffing the oat milk creamer before shrugging and pouring a hefty

amount of the strange, straw colored liquid into my mug. Why the hell would anyone want to drink milk

made of oats? Oat juice, more like it-

“Xander?"

“What, Adrian?" I breathed.

He shook his head, laying Iris head against the back of the sofa and closing Iris eyes for a moment

before continuing. "What exactly happened between you two? Her friend. Heather, was shooting

daggers at you the entire time we were at the luncheon."

"We slept together a few tunes. It wasn't much more than that. It won't be much more than that."

Because. I thought as a jolt of pain ran down my spine and settled in my stomach. I couldn't take her

away. I couldn't force her will and obedience. Because I loved her. and I'd lied to her in the worst way. I

didn't say as much, but I'm sure it was written all over my face.

"Well, maybe she's pregnant, and she'll have no choice in the matter-"

"She's not." I snapped, the vitriol in my voice burning my throat as I gripped my coffee mug. She's not.

because she can't be. not if what Alma said was anywhere close to the truth. I'd been careful, anyway.

At least most of the time.

“I don't know why you'd even bother telling her the truth at this point. Xander. What do you drink she'll

do? Run into your arms? I think it's time to give up. man. Come on-"

“You forget who you're talking too," I seethed, but then relaxed as I w'atched Adrian's face fall, then go

expressionless. I hadn't recognized my voice. It sounded like someone else, like something I'd

drummed up from a long forgotten memory of a distant past, a different life. “I'm sony-"

“I was out of line." he said, clearing his throat and straightening up a bit. “What now?"

"We graduate."

Adrian smirked, shaking his head. “All. my parents will be so proud. Their son. not only a warrior but a

recipient of a bachelor's degree in dirty fingernails with a minor in pitchforks."

I couldn't stop the soft smile from touching the comers of my mouth as I looked down into the coffee I'd

yet to drink. "I don't even remember what your degree w'as supposed to be in." I chuckled, and he

rolled Iris eyes.

"I don't either. I didn't understand a damn tiling in any of my classes."

A silence fell between us. and I reluctantly sipped the coffee, finding the unnatural additive pleasant

enough, but I would never admit it.

"Lena will know why I'm here by this time tomorrow. I'll leave it up to her. We only have a few more

weeks of this. Adrian. Then we can go back. We can go home."

Adrian drummed his hands on his knees, giving me a knowing glance. “Sure thing, Alpha." he said, a

wry smile touching his lips.