Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 63 : The Best Thing I’ve Ever Had

My eyes flicked to Soren and he subtly shook his head.

My heart sank. If Eros had run off, it was a lot more likely that he was just fishing for information to figure out where

we were going or what we were after.

I shook my head. So, he was after the Blade of Souls all along. We really couldn't trust anyone.

“I know what you're thinking and it's not true," Ashley said before I could open my mouth. “Eros is a good guy, a

nice guy. He was just… upset."

“Upset about what?" I asked suspiciously, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, you know, he's a doctor in training and he didn't do it right… he was feeling so guilty about it that he started

thinking he wasn't good at medicine," she continued.

“That's not a good excuse. He stopped my bleeding and saved my life," Soren pointed out, crossing his arms.

“It was still a mistake. And he was pretty hard on himself, saying that he should have known how to heal you

completely, not just stop the bleeding. He thought that because he made a mistake it put you in more danger,"

Ashley said.

I sighed and shook my head. It sounded like Ashley was making a lot of excuses and I didn't understand it because

she had only just met him. She didn't know anything about him.

“Soren, I hope you won't hold this against Eros… you know, for not healing you completely," she said, giving Soren

a sheepish look.

I wanted to tell Ashley that Eros might not be as innocent as he appeared or as she wanted. It wasn't like I had any

proof, just a feeling.

Biting my tongue, I held back my comment. Without proof, I didn't want to upset Ashley or give her a reason to be

mad at us. She had a good heart and was a good ally. There was no reason not to trust her, even if I didn't trust

Eros.

Ashley sighed and bowed her head. She looked so crestfallen and I knew it was because of Eros's departure. I'd

never seen her so happy than when she was laughing with him and now she looked so… sad.

I felt sorry for her.

My spine tingled and I glanced sideways at Soren. He was watching me carefully. I bit my lip and looked away

quickly. My cheeks warmed.

I'd asked him some serious questions. When I asked them, I had felt confident and secure. Now, I didn't think I

wanted to hear the answers and I was grateful for Payne and Ashley's interruption.

As much as I would love for Soren to be my mate, I was afraid to find out. It meant he'd be in a lot of danger and

we'd have this connection that I didn't know if I could commit to.

I pushed those thoughts aside and looped my arm through Ashley's.

“Come with me. We've got to pack up the camp and get moving. Seeing as Soren can walk again," I said, flashing

him a teasing look.

I half dragged her back to camp and we started packing things up.

***

As soon as the sun rose, we were off on the next leg of our journey. Soren and I led the way while Payne and Ashley

followed behind us.

“Where did Doctor Lee go?" I asked timidly. I wasn't sure I wanted to start a conversation with him because I didn't

want Soren to bring up the things from last night.

Still, the silence was awkward, especially since we were walking together in a quiet forest.

“He gave me the medication I needed to heal and took off this morning. You know him… he doesn't like to stray far

from the rogue zone unless it is absolutely necessary," Soren explained, smirking.

“What about the personal time he took?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Well, he does like personal time sometimes, too," Soren chuckled.

I got the feeling Soren wasn't telling me everything about Lee and his personal time but it wasn't really my

business. I wasn't part of their group and from what I could tell, Lee didn't like me at all.

“What about Eros? What will you do about him?" I asked.

“Payne called in a favor. Some of our men are tracking him and will report back on his movements and see what he

is up to," Soren explained.

“That's probably a good idea," I said, nodding.

“Perhaps. I'm not sure if they will be able to catch up to him or track him down without being discovered. Eros is not

as easy to handle as he appears," he replied, confirming what I thought.

“Mila! Mila!" Ashley called to me before I could respond to Soren.

“Yes, what is it?" I asked as she ran up to me.

“Are we going the right way?" she asked, pointing down the path.

“Yes, we are heading the right way," Soren interjected. “Mila and I confirmed our trajectory this morning."

“But we're going to Carno pack. Isn't that south of where we camped? Why are we heading east?" Ashley pointed

out.

“Carno?" Soren asked, smirking. “You must have heard wrong, Ashley. Mila, didn't you say Marno pack?"

“I did," I confirmed with a nod.

I bit my lip to hide my smile. I wasn't laughing at Ashley's confusion. Soren and I had come up with the plan to feed

Eros Carno pack when we were going to Marno. They sounded so similar, it could be an honest mistake if it turned

out that he wasn't working against us.

But the two packs were far enough apart and in different directions that if he was after the artifact, we'd have the

piece and be back in the rogue zone before Eros figured out we tricked him.

Of course, Ashley accidentally heard our planted information.

“I know I didn't hear wrong. I was standing right there. I'm positive I heard Carno. Payne, what did you hear?"

Ashley asked, turning to her brother.

Payne shrugged. “Marno."

We hadn't told Payne of our plan to plant information but I knew that Payne would back Soren up. He'd probably

picked up on our subtle looks in the tent when I told Eros where we were going next.

Ashley sighed and shook her head. She glanced at all three of us and then shook her head. She looked so

disappointed.

For a moment, I thought the worst. Had Ashley been expecting to see Eros at Carno pack? Had he told her that he

would follow us? If so, did that mean she betrayed us because she hadn't told the rest of us? Would she be able to

contact Eros and tell him about our change in plans?

Payne was solemn. He looked down the path like he was anxious to keep moving. On the other hand, Soren was

relaxed and didn't seem too worried about us stopping to talk.

“Ashley, is it a problem that we're going to Marno?" I asked tentatively.

Ashley grinned. “No, no. Of course, it isn't! I just love the snacks in Carno pack. They have this delicious snack, a

deep-fried cookie drizzled with chocolate and melted marshmallow. Doesn't that just sound delicious?"

She smiled brightly, her bad mood gone. She seemed to bounce back from her disappointment pretty quickly. Then

she brightened even more and grabbed my arm.

“Mila! Oh, I just remembered. Marno pack has something else even more fun to do!" she gushed, squeezing my

arm.

I smiled and let out a sigh of relief. It was clear to me that Ashley hadn't betrayed us. She was loyal, as always.

“Oh, we are going to have so much fun! Now I can't wait. There's this thing and…" she trailed off, laughing and

bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. “Let's go, let's go!"

Ashley headed quickly down the path in front of us. We all had to hurry to catch up to her.

“Okay, Ashley, what is this thing that you're so excited about?" I asked, trailing behind her.

Ashley winked at me. “That's a secret."

Payne cleared his throat. “Ashley, we aren't on a road trip. This isn't a fun vacation or a time to joke and play silly

games."

Ashley glanced at Payne, looking a little hurt. “I know that… but it's not like you guys told me anything. I don't know

the specifics of this trip, like what we are doing or where we are going."

“We left in kind of a hurry," Soren said, chuckling.

“I'm not upset. I'm used to you guys keeping your secrets. So, it isn't a big deal. But that's why it's hard for me to

treat this seriously. Which means I'm going to treat it like a fun adventure, unless you give me a reason not to," she

added.

I chuckled and shook my head. There was a quick glance between Soren and Payne but I didn't know what it meant.

“Besides, you're here, Boss. How much danger could we be in, right Mila?" Ashley asked, glancing at me and

smirking.

“I suppose that is true. We have a lot of protection," I said, nodding to Soren.

“Yeah, well as long as we don't lose our objective while the two of you are having fun," Payne grumbled. I could tell

that he wasn't actually mad.

When I looked at Soren, I noticed that he didn't seem upset or suspicious at all. He'd be the first to question Ashley

if he thought she was a threat. He didn't seem at all bothered by our conversation the night before, either.

Damn, how could he bury his emotions so easily?

But last night, I could have sworn that I sensed his emotions or could tell what he was thinking. It was probably just

my imagination…

When we reached the border of Marno pack, where the forest met desert, the sun had almost set completely.

We were in a very remote area and it didn't seem like a lot of visitors came this way.

“Where to now?" Payne asked.

“This place is bigger than I expected," I muttered, shaking my head.

“It's alright, we know what the sheath looks like. We should be able to locate it quickly," Soren said.

I looked at him and shrugged. “I'm not so optimistic. You saw the map. My mom didn't mark where she hid it or give

any clues."

“That means no traps," Soren pointed out.

“But we also have no way of knowing where to start looking. It'll be like looking for a needle in a pine forest," I said,

throwing my arms up.

“Should I take that to mean we are camping here for the night?" Payne asked.

“Yes," Soren said firmly.

I helped Ashley set up the tents while Soren made a campfire. Payne headed off into the woods. Just as the fire got

going, he came back with several rabbits and started skinning them.

Soren set up the spits and then stepped back as Payne prepared to put rabbits on each of them.

“Wait, are you cooking?" Ashley asked, crossing her arms.

“Yeah…"

Ashley stomped her foot and whined. “Boss, can't you do it?"

“Ashely, he's just recovered-"

“I can do it," Soren said. He knelt down by the fire and finished putting the rabbits on spits.

Payne frowned. “You don't need to do that. I'm perfectly capable–"

“Please, Payne, let him cook! Can't you spare me? I had to eat your cooking for five days and just… ugh!" Ashley

groaned. She hugged herself and made a face like she was gagging.

I smiled.

“My cooking isn't that bad," Payne argued, glaring at his sister.

“I just can't do it anymore! Five days straight and I swear I'm going to either be poisoned by your food or starve

from avoiding it. Besides, Mila hasn't tried Soren's cooking before, right? I swear, Soren's barbeque is so much

better than Carno snacks!" she continued ranting.

“I can cook, it's fine," Soren assured. He smoked and put the spits over the fire.

I watched how carefully he seasoned the rabbits with some spices from his backpack. He turned them over the fire,

evenly heating them and checking them periodically for tenderness.

He always seemed so prepared for everything. Who walked around with spices in their backpack?

“Are you always this prepared for everything?" I voiced my thoughts.

Soren smirked and nodded. “After years of traveling and exploring, I've learned how to treat myself in the wild. And

it isn't like a starving, mangy stray."

That made sense, but it brought all kinds of other questions to the surface. He talked about being a mangy stray

like it was a bad thing but he was also a rogue. They didn't go that well together.

Where was he from? Why did he travel so much? And why didn't he want a pack? He was clearly a strong male and

a good Alpha. What else could he be waiting for? I wondered where he wanted to go with his life and what his goals

were.

He never talked about his past. Did he have family? Loved ones? Did he want a family and what were his goals and

aspirations?

I really didn't know much about him at all. Whenever I thought I was figuring things out, I learned something new,

like he was a really great cook that wandered around with spices in his backpack for wilderness cooking.

The food was almost done. I turned my eyes to the sky and watched the starry night sky. I could smell the delicious

scent of slow-roasting rabbit meat.

Soren was only a few feet away from me. He was so intent on his work that I didn't want to bother him with more

questions.

Payne and Ashley were sparring, probably to pass the time. I could hear Payne's gentle, encouraging instruction as

he worked on teaching her to be a better fighter.

Despite the strange quest we were on and the dangers looming from all sides, the night felt peaceful in that little

campsite with the crackling fire and the smell of cooking meat.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like I belonged somewhere… and it was right there in that campsite with those

people. Maybe I wasn't alone anymore.

When Soren had asked me if I would stay with him if he established a pack, I had shied away from his request. He

hadn't indicated that he wanted a pack since then, but it seemed almost like he was willing to start a pack just for

my security and safety, and for my own sense of belonging.

At the time, I said I couldn't. But now… I thought it was possible. I could reconsider his offer.

Soren thrust a paper plate in my face with that deliciously seasoned, mouthwatering rabbit cut up. I grabbed the

plate, practically drooling as all thoughts but the rabbit faded from my mind.

“Hooray! Dinner is ready!" Ashley cheered.

I gave Soren a grateful smile and immediately chomped on a bite of the tender, juicy, flavorful meat. A shiver ran

down my spine and I closed my eyes, moaning as the meat melted in my mouth and landed satisfyingly in my

stomach.

This was the best meal I'd had in so, so long! Even with all the restaurants and meals with Scarlett. It was absolutely

delectable.