Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 9 : Kiss Me

♦Lena*

I'd had at least three cups of cheap wine already. It tasted awful and had likely been made on the farm,

but it didn't matter. The alcohol was warming me from the inside out as I sat on a fallen log near the

fire, staring into the embers with my plastic cup of wine clasped in one hand, and my other clutching my

knee.

Xander was on the other side of the fire, Jen whispering and giggling into his ear.

I don't know why I was so angry about it, but I was. I couldn't deny it as I took a long drink from the

garbage wine, crumpling my empty cup before throwing it into the fire.

"Three cups is not enough to get you drunk," said someone to my left. I looked up as Bethany

approached with an unfamiliar woman who took a seat next to me. She smiled, her bouncy auburn

curls falling around her face as she handed me a bottle of wine. "This stuff is way better!"

"I probably shouldn’t," I smiled, but I ended up taking a swig of the wine right out of the bottle when I

saw Xander kiss Jen's cheek from across the fire.

“Holden makes the hooch, you know. That’s what he calls it. It’s just fermented peaches. This batch

was pretty weak, but the bottle is real wine, a gift from the boss man," the unfamiliar woman grinned,

taking the bottle back and bringing it back to her lips. "I'm Elaine, by the way."

"Lena," I said, wiping my mouth on the back of my sleeve.

"You have beautiful hair," she said admiringly as Bethany tossed a few more logs into the fire. 'Is it

naturally that light?"

"Yeah, kind of. I get lowlights every once in a while,” I said as I touched one of the pale golden pieces

falling loose around my face.

"Elaine is the one I was telling you about, Lena. She can read palms."

"Tea leaves, too," Elaine added, pointing a finger at Bethany. "But Beth won't let me read anything for

her!"

"I'd rather not know my fate. That's between me and the Moon Goddess,” Bethany grinned, pointing a

finger in the air, and then blowing a kiss toward the stars.

I couldn't help but laugh, which was a nice break from the glowering I had been doing all evening.

"Do you want me to read yours?" Elaine asked, her eyes a strange scarlet color as they reflected off

the fire. I hesitated, then shrugged, loosened up by the wine as I opened my palm toward her. "Ah, your

hands are smoother than I expected," she said, running her fingertips over the palm of my hand before

tracing the lines of my palm. I expected her to say something immediately, to make up some grand

story. I didn't quite believe she could actually do it.

But she stared down at my palm for what felt like ages, her expression fixed in a scowl. Bethany

noticed, and moved in on US, squatting down to peer at my hand.

"What do you see?"

"It’s very odd," Elaine mumbled, not breaking her gaze from the fine lines of my palm. "Your lifeline...

It's not here."

"Well, I'm not dead, am I?"

“I mean, you're technically in hell, if you think about it. There's no place worse than Crimson Creek,"

Bethany deadpanned, but then we both broke into a fit of giggles.

Elaine remained serious though, her eyes on my palm. I felt a wave of unease wash over me,

wondering what she saw, or thought she saw. I felt my hand go rigid, my fingers threatening to curl, but

it was too late.

"Your love line... Is fractured several times. Here, and here, and here.... But it's still interconnected by

these faint lines, do you see?"

"What does it mean?" I asked, a little breathless.

"It means you'll have one great love, but something separates you at least twice, then..." she traced the

very edge of my palm, which was flawless. "Then it just ends, turns to nothing. I’ve never seen anything

like this before."

I felt a sudden overwhelming, unexplainable grief.

"Is it her mate?" Bethany asked.

"There's no mate line that I can see," Elaine said softly, shaking her head. "I am totally perplexed. But,

you do work with your hands a lot, Lena. I could be misinterpreting it..'

I closed my palm as Elaine straightened up and accepted the bottle of wine Bethany was handing to

her.

"What does it mean when the love line just... disappears?" I asked. Elaine took a swig of wine, then

exhaled, swallowing it back.

"I don't know. Usually, it's an abrupt end, meaning a death, or an end of the relationship. Yours isn't like

that, though. It’s very faint, then comes back a little deeper toward the end before fading completely. It’s

almost like... they go, or you go somewhere together. Like, you're not here? Does that make sense?"

Bethany and I looked at each other, then began to laugh, the effects of the bottle of red wine taking

hold.

"No!" I said, wiping tears of mirth from my eyes as I accepted the wine from Elaine, who gave me a

nervous smile.

"I'm sure I'm interpreting it incorrectly. My grandmother taught me, but she wasn't very good at it."

"Makes a neat party trick." Bethany said, sitting down on the other side of me. "You should read her tea

leaves next."

"I would, but we don't have any more loose tea at the bunkhouse," Elaine replied.

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by a squeal on the other side of the fire. Jen had her

arms wrapped around Xander's neck, and he was nibbling on her earlobe.

All of a sudden the wine wasn't sitting well. I stood, a bit lightheaded as I stepped over the log.

"I'm going to walk around for a minute," I said to Bethany and Elaine, who nodded. I crossed my arms

over my chest as I walked away from the fire, smiling amiably as I passed a group of farm workers who

were mingling in a small group, then began to walk toward the break in the wall.

It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining brightly across the hills. I found myself looking for those

little black spots, but saw none as I walked a little way down the length of the stone wall, toward the

edge of the dark forest.

I knew I shouldn't go into the forest. Every fiber of my being was telling me to stop. So, I leaned against

the wall after giving myself several hundred yards of space from the bonfire, and those congregating on

the outskirts of the party. I watched them for a minute, closing my eyes against the faint sounds of their

voices as I took a deep breath.

"What the hell are you doing out here by yourself?"

I opened my eyes to Xander, looking menacing as he stalked toward me. I puffed out my chest and

turned away from him, but he grabbed me by the shoulder and whirled me around to face him.

"Don't touch me, you jerk!" I spat, swatting him away.

He caught my wrist, pulling me toward him. 'You can't be out here all alone," he grumbled as he tried to

lead me away, but I dug in my heels.

"What do you care? Go back to Jen. She's probably missing you!"

"You're drunk, Lena, for Goddess's sake!"

"I am not!"

"I saw you drinking that wine-"

"Was the before or after you had your tongue down her-"

He let go of my hand, and stepped away from me, fixing me with a glare that made a chill run down the

length of my spine.

"I'm not drunk," I reiterated, crossing my arms over my chest again.

"I don't really care," he said calmly. 'I just don’t want you to get snatched up by whatever is in the

woods, Lena."

I eyed him, noticing the concern lining his face as he glanced quickly into the woods and then back at

me.

"Are you... scared?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

He gave me a dirty look, but the lines of concern didn't fade from his face as he folded his arms. "I'm

not-"

"You look like you think something is going to jump out of the woods and grab-"

Something big moved in the woods nearby, and all of the fine, downy hair on my body stood on end as

I instinctively moved to Xander's side. He was looking into the woods without blinking, standing totally,

and utterly, still.

"Let’s go back to the cottage," he whispered.

"O-okay," I squeaked, trying not to tremble. Xander knitted his fingers in mine as we walked backward

several yards, our eyes not leaving the all-encompassing darkness of the woods.

He let go of my hand as we returned to the fire. People had already started to leave, their darkened

forms just visible above the fire that was now burning down to embers.

Elaine and Bethany were nowhere to be found, and I was happy to see Jen was gone as well, Xander

and I being the last to leave. I had to practically jog to keep up with him as I followed him along the path

to the cottages, but noticed the tension leave his shoulders as we neared the bunkhouse, where the

pathway was bathed in soft, yellow light.

He took an audible breath as he looked over his shoulder, motioning for me to walk in front of him as

we closed in on the cottage.

I went inside first, shedding my coat and flannel while Xander came through the door. He turned,

locking the door tightly behind him and drawing the curtains after peering out the window for a moment.

"I see you found curtains," I said, noticing the slight tremble in my voice as I took off my boots. He

nodded, moving toward the woodstove and opening it to add a few more split logs to keep US warm

overnight.

"I’m going to board up these windows," he murmured as he stoked the fire.

"Why would you do that?"

He paused, then closed the woodstove, not bothering to reply.

"Are you ready for bed?" he asked. "Or do you want a cup of tea?"

"I think I'm going to brush my teeth and go to bed," I said, meeting his eye.

He nodded, looking stressed, which sent a pang of guilt through my heart as I turned from him and

fetched a pair of pajamas from the bedroom.

I caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I finished brushing my teeth and closed my eyes. I

didn't know what was wrong with me. Something about Xander was nagging at me. He seemed to be

everywhere I was, and when he wasn't... I wanted him to be.

I came out of the bathroom, glancing at him as he crouched near the wood stove before I turned into

the bedroom. I heard him close the wood stove once more, then walk into the bathroom and shut the

door behind him as he readied for bed.

I fished a fresh pair of clothes out of my duffle bag to lay out for tomorrow, telling myself I would

actually unpack and make use of the shallow dresser first thing in the morning, when he came back

into the room.

I turned to him, clutching one of my sweaters.

"I'm sorry, Xander," I said, exhaling deeply as I looked up at him. He was shirtless again, of course; he

would be shirtless right when I was trying to apologize and make my feelings of jealousy sound

reasonable, mostly to myself. "I shouldn't have made a big deal about you... and Jen."

"It’s okay," he said, taking off his pants right in front of me, standing in nothing but his boxers.

He was really beautiful, I couldn't deny it. Sculpted like fine art, his hair ruffled and skin on the edge of

being sun-kissed. I hadn't noticed the freckles along the bridge of his nose, which made him look

slightly boyish as he wadded up his jeans and tossed them toward the far wall. "Can I ask why you're

so bothered by it?"

"I just feel like... like we should be focused on our field study."

"Is that how you really feel?"

His tone caught me off guard. His voice was soft, almost a purr as he took a step toward me. He flipped

off the light switch, and we were blanketed in almost total darkness, save for the faint light that was

coming through the new curtains he had found for the bedroom window.

The light traveled over his skin as he stepped toward me, and I found myself locked on the way it made

the rigid muscles of his chest and abdomen stand out even more than they had when the light was on.

The desire I had been trying to bury was threatening to claw its way to the surface as he took another

step toward me, effectively closing the distance between US. I couldn't deny it. Whether it was true

longing, or just sheer curiosity, I didn't know. All I knew for sure was that I wanted him.

"I don't know what I feel," I replied, hoping he couldn't read my conflicted expression.

I began to turn away from him, facing the bed as I prepared to climb into it, and into my sleeping bag.

But he touched my arm with the back of his fingers, and my body reflexively turned back to him.

"Kiss me," he whispered, his tone gentle, yet commanding. "Maybe it'll tell US both what we need to

know."