Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 823

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 823

Chapter 34 : A Face I Hadn’t Seen in Years

*Jared* Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

I watched her examine the new Cryptex, turning it over in the sunlight pouring through the window. She was holding it with her hand wrapped in a towel, using the end of her toothbrush to gently prod the sides, looking for the mechanisms that cause the connective pieces to spring loose.

Watching her work was intoxicating. I’d never seen someone so wholly focused on a single task. The way she examined the Cryptex was intrinsic, practically second nature. My movements in the background didn’t seem to bother her at all as I packed up our things in preparation for our journey home.

The weight I’d been carrying on my shoulders since arriving at Aeris’s kingdom was lifting as the early morning hours ticked by. It was likely Eliza and I could walk right out of this place now. All I’d have to do was tell Aeris that Eliza was my wife, and show him the contract Archer had delivered to me before the sun had come up, signed by a now very wealthy priest and undated

I’d made sure to cover our tracks.

The priest was a follower of the older church, a more pagan sect of the Church of Lycaon. Aeris wouldn’t recognize the man’s name, I knew that much, not when he favored the startlingly wealthy and pompous preachers of the new-wave church situated on his castle’s property. The priest’s temple was situated on the outskirts of the city, built against and within the wall leading to the villages beyond. I told Eliza about it as we lounged in bed before the sun rose, my fingers trailing over her bare skin.

We were safe.

Eliza sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she gently set the Cryptex on the table.

“What’s the matter?” I asked as I shrugged on my leathers.

“It wants me to touch it,” she said on a breath, shaking her head. “It won’t open for me otherwise.”

“Don’t worry about it for now. We can deal with it when we get back to the village,” I replied, hoping this was enough to break her concentration so she could get dressed and ready to go. She turned to look at me over her shoulder, a soft, somewhat sleepy smile touching the corners of her mouth in reply. “We’re getting out of here, alright? Everything is going to be okay.”

I prayed I was right.

There was a sharp knock on the door, then Archer’s voice broke through the air.

“Are you ready? We should get going.”

I exhaled and opened the door a crack, meeting Archer’s gaze. The corridor outside my bedroom was still dark, not a hint of early morning yet dancing over the marble tiles.

“The southern trail?” I asked, meeting his eyes. I could hear Eliza moving around the room behind me, the sound of fabric hitting the floor making me tighten my grip on the door as I held it as closed as possible without shutting Archer out completely.

“Passable from what I saw. The river is still running high but if we’re careful–” he shrugged, a faraway look in his eyes.

“Okay, we’ll try.” I reached out into the corridor and gripped his shoulder.

He swallowed, his throat straining from the effort.

“Scarlett’s boy,” he murmured, then shook his head. “He was here recently, with his father. They were heading back east shortly before we arrived from the intel I gathered in the city. I could–”

“We’ll get across the river and you can go east,” I said, nodding my assent. He pursed his lips, giving me a quick nod in return. “We’re going to get out of here, I promise.”

Archer’s cheek dimpled as he began to grin, then arched his brow at me.

“How’re things with your blushing bride?”

I glowered at him as I shut the door. I heard him chuckle as he turned and walked away.

Eliza made a noise of annoyance in her throat as I turned around, finding her dressed for our journey. Aeris’s maids had obviously gotten rid of the pants, shirt, and boots she’d been wearing when we arrived at his castle. I’d found her new clothes, and I found that they suited her well as she moved around the room and packed her notes and the Cryptex into a leather backpack–khaki trousers that were still far too long for her were cuffed several times, resting just above the boots she was now wearing. A leather belt was cinched around her waist, the dagger I’d given her sheathed along her thigh. Her airy white shirt was tucked into her belt, billowing out around her arms and chest, giving me a glimpse of an hourglass figure. Seeing a woman in pants was strange, but she was stunning.

Her hair was tied back from her face with a ribbon made of coarse homespun fabric, loose curls falling over her forehead and ears. She lifted the backpack, testing its weight before putting it on her back and turning to me.

“Are we ready?”

“Yeah,” I said, stifling the emotion threatening to break around my reply.

She smiled up at me, her cheeks tinged a soft rose and her eyes shone like sea glass in the morning light pouring through the windows. I wanted to reach out and brush my knuckles over her skin, but clenched my hand into a fist at my side instead.

Last night had been… I couldn’t describe it. Unreal? I was fighting against what I believed to be true feelings for her as I made a final round around the room, making sure we weren’t leaving anything behind.

Even though she was my wife, at least on paper, she wasn’t really mine. As much as it killed me, I needed to keep her at a distance until I could find a way to return her to her own people. That shadow of power within me clawed at me for what felt like hours while she was in my bed. If I lost my control of it, for good….

She couldn’t be here for that. She had to go home. I had to let her go and it was killing me.

“We can get breakfast in the city before we take to the road,” I said as I led Eliza out of the room and through our wing of the castle.

I heard Archer and Brandt’s voices drifting up the stairwell as we turned and began to walk to the center of the castle, planning on walking right out the front door.

“Leaving so soon?” Aeris’s voice cut through the air behind us as we reached Archer and Brandt at the bottom of the stairs.

My fingers knitted in Eliza’s as I gently pulled her into my side, turning us around to face him as the Alpha started down the stairs.

“I had a whole day planned!”

“It’s time for us to go,” I said firmly, unease rippling in my chest as I felt Eliza go rigid beside me. “Thank you for your hospitality, Aeris.”

“We’ll discuss this on the way to the Spring Festival,” he said with a wave of his hand, heated annoyance playing over his face as his strange eyes focused on mine. He glanced at Eliza, then back to me, his eyes narrowed. “Come, walk in step with me, Jared. Your companions can show Eliza the way.”

I gritted my teeth into a smile of assent and gently pushed Eliza toward Archer. She stumbled, Archer catching and steadying her. She looked up at me with a look that made my throat contract. I saw fear.

“Come, Jared. We have matters to discuss.”

I tore my gaze away to meet the eyes of Archer and Brandt. The expression on my face was enough to convey my own silent thoughts. If anything happens, get her out. Get her out and run.

I fell in step with Aeris as we walked out into the front garden, the gates leading into the city looming in the distance. I could see tents and a crowd beginning to gather. Eliza and my men walked ahead of us, getting further and further away with every step that they took.

“What did you want to discuss?” I asked as Aeris as I walked slowly toward the gate. I chewed the inside of my cheek as Eliza fell out of eyesight. I didn’t like this, not at all.

“You really thought I’d just let you walk out of here with her?”

“What else would I be doing?”

“Eliza’s my property,” he said as he reached the gate, but he leaned against it, preventing me from passing through. “I’d hate for this to get bloody, Jared.”

“I’d appreciate it,” I said in a clipped tone that made Aeris stand a little straighter, “if you’d stop calling my wife your property.”

“Wife?” Aeris said, his eyes going wide, then narrowing on mine. “Don’t play games with me–”

“Do you think I would have risked bringing her here by playing games, Aeris? My wife is more educated than any of the historians employed by your church. That scroll was a fake. She knew that before even opening it. I needed her to get close to you so you’d give her access to your vault to prove my suspicions about your worthlessness to my cause. Now, we’re going home. You have nothing else to offer me. I have nothing else I need or want from you.”

“She is not your wife–”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the marriage certificate, which was crumpled and folded to prevent him from seeing the end of the page where our signatures would be. Archer and Brandt had crinkled it, rubbing dirt into the parchment to make it look worn. It wasn’t signed, of course. But it would be if Aeris had the gall to follow us back to my village, I’d make sure of it. Aeris’s nostrils flared as he looked up at me, his face turning a vivid red and twisting with rage. I held it just out of reach as he tried to snatch it from me, giving him a devilish grin.

“Good luck finding your breeder. You’ll have to hire a different crew for that bounty, I’m afraid. Goodbye, Aeris.”

“This isn’t over!”

I was already walking away, crossing through the gate to freedom, to home.

To Eliza.

***

“What do you think? Three loaves?” Brandt eyed the fresh bread piled on a table in one of the market stalls as we passed through the busy street leading toward the main gate. I relinquished my desire to bolt from the city right away in lieu of having food for what would be a two-day journey back to the village. Brandt pressed a few coins into the baker’s open palm, then tucked three of the loaves into his backpack.

Eliza was standing behind me, her eyes wide with wonder as she looked around, her hands clasped around an egg and bacon sandwich. I smiled to myself, losing a breath as I turned around and followed Brandt through the street as he bought supplies. Archer was walking with Eliza, their voices muffled by the swelling crowd.

“We should get going if we want to make it to the river by nightfall,” I said as Brandt exchanged coins for a bundle of jerky wrapped in brown paper.

Brandt nodded, and we had just turned around to alert Archer and Eliza we were ready to leave when a commotion rippled through the crowd. I grabbed Eliza by the collar of her shirt and pulled her against me as people began to push and shove for a better view of the platform in the center of the market square, where none other than Aeris was walking up to a podium.

“f**k,” I growled, backing away with my grip still firm on Eliza. “Come on, we need to go–”

Archer sucked in his breath beside me, a low growl leaving his lips as a blonde woman was hauled onto the podium, her face obstructed by her long, pin-straight hair.

I let go of Eliza, a feeling of absolute dread crawling from my fingertips to my chest.

“An execution–” someone said behind us as people continued to shove into us, trying to get a better view.

Aeris was speaking over the crowd, but I wasn’t paying attention to his voice. I was numb, and the world seemed to move in slow motion as the woman looked up into the crowd, her hair falling away from her face.

A face I hadn’t seen in years.

“Take her,” I said to Brandt, pushing Eliza into his arms. “Go, now!”

I turned to Aeris, who was looking right at me, his mouth twisted in a delirious, knowing smile.

Archer was already moving through the crowd toward the platform.

“Jared?” Eliza asked, her voice a faint echo in my ears.

“Jared Crimson,” Aeris sang, laughing around the words. “A trade. What do you say?”

My blood ran cold as I locked eyes with Carmen, who was panting and flushed with fear as a warrior secured a rope around her neck.

I looked back at Eliza, seeing the lines of confusion creasing her brow.

I turned and shoved my way to the platform, leaving Eliza behind.