Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 13: She Bit Me!

♦Xander*

Every once in a while, I caught a glimpse of Lena in the crowd, her platinum blonde hair piled high on

the top of her head, which made her a few inches taller than she normally was, but she was still very

short, and disappeared often in the swell of people lingering in large groups around the bar.

I clutched my pint of beer as I watched her talk to the dark haired man, who occasionally looked in my

direction, giving me a careful eye.

He was standing a little too close to her, his eyes lingering on her for a little too long.

And Lena was enjoying it, smiling and laughing at pretty much every word that came out of his mouth,

which made me irrationally angry as I drained my first pint and parted the crowd for another.

As I waited by the bar for my drink, I scanned the crowd. I saw no sign of Jen, and for that I was

thankful. Elaine's comment in the car earlier had made my stomach tie in a knot, and not because Lena

was there to overhear it. I'd always found it difficult to turn down the attention of an attractive woman,

and Jen's attention had been incredibly public. I'm sure people assumed something was going on with

US.

But after last night. I'd been doing everything in my power to avoid her.

rd been closing up my workstation in the warehouse. I knew everyone else was at dinner and that I'd

have a few moments to work alone without the constant noise of repairs being made to the tractors and

people walking in out to grab supplies. I didn't even see Jen come through the door of the warehouse.

She was suddenly just there, wrapping her arms around me in a hungry embrace.

I'd given in because I am stupid. Maybe not stupid, but something along that line. I didn' t really want

Jen, but she was a good distraction from the overwhelming feelings of unrequited desire I felt for Lena.

And, I figured she'd have information about the farm that I v/ouldn't be able to get out of Henry or

Bethany.

But at that point I could tell that Jen's original acceptance of a casual make out session from time to

time was turning into something I hadn't agreed to.

I hadn't meant for it to go this far, however. Using Jen for information was one thing, but people were

starting to talk. She was starting to talk, and I knew I needed to end it before anyone got hurt.

I told her as such, with her arms still wrapped around my shoulders. She paused, her fingernails

digging into the back of my neck. It had hurt a good deal, and I tried to push her away, but something

came over her, a transformation of some kind, and she went absolutely ballistic.

She bit me, hard, hard enough to draw blood and give me a swollen lip for the rest of the evening. I’d

had to fight her off, and she was surprisingly strong. I thought she was about to shift. The dark rings

around her irises were glowing, and her fingernails were suddenly sharper than they had been before

as she gripped me by my forearms, trying to drag me toward her again.

When she bit me a second time, this time on my chest, I knew I needed to do something. She damn

near took a chunk out of my chest as I pushed her away, hard, and retreated toward the door, holding

my hand over my chest to stop the blood from dripping down my stomach.

"What the hell is the matter with you?* I growled.

And she bared her teeth at me.

I wasn't sure what I saw. The shock of the moment, and the extreme stress of the last few days, was

likely messing with my head. But for a moment I was sure her teeth were longer, and sharper, than they

should have been.

Needless to say, I got the hell out of there and spent the rest of night sitting in the armchair by the door

with a skillet I'd borrowed from the bunkhouse, ready to use it on Jen if she burst through the door,

looking for a snack.

I cleared my throat as I snapped back to reality, ordering another beer. I hadn't really wanted to come

into the village tonight, mostly because I hadn't expected Lena to want to go. I thought we'd have a few

moments together tonight, just to talk, hopefully about what had happened between us a few nights

ago... so we could do it again.

When I saw her getting into Elaine's rust box on four bald tires, I barely had enough time to catch up to

the car before it sped off.

And now I was here, drinking by myself and watching her flirt with someone else..

"I could introduce you to him, if you want," Elaine said, and I jumped, almost spilling my beer. She'd

appeared out of nowhere and laughed at my shock. I could feel my cheeks coloring as I fixed her with a

glare, but she only nudged me in the ribs. I winced as the nudge radiated toward my injury. My heart

quickened. I felt like rd been hit by a train.

"Lighten up, Xander."

"I don't need an introduction. I don't want to interrupt them."

"I don't believe that for a second," Elaine grinned, rolling her eyes at me as she placed a few coins on

the bar and grabbed her drink. “It's obvious you have a thing for Lena. It's written all over your face

when you look at her."

"You don't know me-”

"I know men, Xander. Simple creatures. And you, despite your dark, brooding aura, are just a man. So,

are you going to stop that man from stealing your girl, or are you going to let her run off with him tonight

like he asked her to do-"

I was already walking in Lena's direction before Elaine could finish speaking. I heard Elaine laugh

behind me, but ignored her, stalking over to where Lena and the man were standing.

"Lena,* I said sharply.

She turned around, narrowing her eyes at me. “Ben, this is Xander. He's my field study partner," she

said sweetly, nudging me in the ribs when I came up behind her. I wished people would stop doing that,

especially since my chest and abdomen felt like I was bruised all over after my run-in with Jen. I was

standing very close to Lena, close enough the back of her head was settled against my chest, but I

didn't move.

"Nice to meet you," Ben said, his eyes sizing me up.

I ran my tongue along the inside of my lower lip, arching my brow at him. “Tell me about yourself, Ben,"

I said coolly.

Lena glanced up at me, looking peeved at the tone of my voice. Ben smirked, opening his mouth to

speak, but Lena cut him off.

"He lives here. A local.'

"Oh, is that right?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Whereabouts, exactly?*

"A few miles away-”

"In what direction?'

"Xander,* Lena said in a warning tone, her cheeks pinkening.

"To the south. It’s not nearly as grand as the Radcliffe estate, I'm afraid." Ben took a sip of his beer, his

eyes leaving mine to look back at Lena. "I was just telling Lena that I'd show her around sometime.*

"Next weekend, of course,* Lena beamed.

Not on my watch.

"Well, unfortunately there's been a situation at Radcliffe, but I'm sure you've heard, being a local and

all,' I said curtly, waiting for Ben to respond. I saw the glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes as he internally

scrambled. I realized, with a smirk, he had no idea what I was talking about.

But, that also meant word hadn't spread around town about the murder at Radcliffe, which was also

deeply concerning.

"It's unsafe for her to be out and about, with a stranger, no less," I continued.

"Ah, I guess-' Ben began.

"He knows the village, Xander, I'll be fine!"

"Come on, Lena," I said, taking her by the arm. "It's time to go.'

"What?"

"We have to go back to the estate, now.' I expected her to protest, but she didn't. I led her away, but

she turned back to Ben, giving him a huge smile that made my blood boil.

"I'll see you next Friday-' Lena began.

"Lena!'

"What, Xander? Why are we leaving?*

"Bye, you two!" Elaine teased as we passed, giving Lena a knowing, teasing smile. I could feel Lena

blushing without even having to look down at her. Her skin was suddenly hot where I was touching her,

leading her through the crowd by her wrist. I tightened my grip as we exited the bar, and saw Bethany

in the distance standing outside the farm truck.

"Xander, wait!" Lena protested verbally, but not physically. If she really wanted to stay, I was sure she

would’ve put up more of a fight about it.

"I don't want US out here after dark, Lena, not with everything that's been happening-*

"But we all have rooms at the hotel!"

"I don't know this village. I feel safer having you back at the cottage, not running around town with a

stranger-*

"Are you guys wanting to go back to the estate?' Bethany said as we approached.

"Yeah, are you headed up that way?* I asked Bethany, who nodded.

"Are you sure? Pretty much everyone else is staying."

"I'll be staying next weekend for sure," Lena said, glaring at me as she walked around the truck.

"We’ll talk about it,' I said, opening the door to the cab of the truck and ushering Lena inside. The

village was busier than I'd thought it would be, especially now that it was nearing full dark. There had

been a surprising amount of people at the bar and even more on the street as I climbed into the bed of

the truck, and Bethany pulled forward.

It was a short drive back to the estate, but this time it was cloaked in total darkness, other than the

truck's headlights. I could hear Bethany and Lena talking, but their voices were just a murmur over the

hum of the engine.

I took the first deep breath I’d taken all evening as the truck pulled up to the trio of cottages, happy to

be back in a familiar place, knowing Lena would be safely tucked inside with me by the door with

whatever weapon I choose tonight.

She dropped US off and then drove toward the warehouse, where she kept the truck overnight.

Lena turned to me with a strange expression on her face.

"That wasn't much of a party, was it?"

"Not at all,’ I breathed, motioning for her to walk up the steps.

She paused on the porch, however, looking down at me. "Are you sleeping in the bed tonight?"

"I was going to sleep in the chair again," I said, my chest tightening as her face fell at my words. "I

mean, unless you want me to sleep with you.'

"I think I'd sleep better if you did."