Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 26 :1 Saved Her Life

* Xander*

Jen was laying on top of Lena, her dark brown hair blanketing the both of them as I roughly pulled her

off of Lena's body.

Bethany was screaming in pain, but I took that as a good sign. She was alive, after all. At least for now.

She'd survive, only because of what I'd seen Lena do.

Jen wasn't dead, but the knife was lodged in her side. Lena had stabbed her and locked the knife in

place, and Jen was now wriggling and screeching in strained, bloody gurgles that made my skin crawl

and ribs ache as I dragged her by the ankle to the other side of the narrow valley. She looked like death

itself: almost unrecognizable. Whatever beauty she'd possessed had faded into decay, her skin as gray

and molted as the beast she'd been only moments before.

I didn't pay her any mind. I was naked as the day I was bom, covered in blood, and had nothing on my

mind but the fact that Lena was struggling to breathe in front of me. her eyes open but totally unseeing.

I knelt before her. falling to my knees and placing my hands over her abdomen where deep, gaping

wounds stretched across her skin.

"Oh. Goddess." I breathed, trying to maintain some semblance of composure. I kept telling myself she'd

be fine. She'd heal quickly. But by the time Bethany was back on her feet. Lena was still laying limp,

her blood seeping between my fingers as I pressed down on her wounds to try to stop the bleeding.

“We have to get her back to the farm," I choked, panic taking hold. I didn't try to hide the pain in my

voice as I looked up at Bethany, who was wide-eyed.

"How am I alive? Wliat did she do-" she asked, meeting my gaze.

"We don't have time for that now." I said hoarsely, shaking my head as I gathered Lena in my aims.

Jen was screaming now. her voice choked and panicked as Bethany turned her head to look at her.

Bethany saw red: I knew that much. In an instant, she was back in her wolf form and was dragging Jen

up the hill by the meat of her thigh.

I couldn't shift. Lena was out cold. She'd fall off my back, and the weight of both of us would be too

much for Bethany to cany, especially with her having to walk backward and drag Jen with her teeth.

But when I reached the top of the ridge. I was shocked to see how close we were to not only the estate

but also the village of Crimson Creek. I could see the warehouse, cottages, and bunkhouse in the

distance, their porch lights creating a soft, amber circle showing our way home. Crimson Creek was in

the distance beyond the estate, its lights flickering as I caught up with Bethany.

I met her eyes, and a shared understanding passed between us. I could see the break in the wall near

the firepit from where we stood. We'd take Lena and Jen back to the farm and tiy to stay hidden. Lena

needed medical attention, however, and badly.

I kept in step with Bethany while she dragged Jen along. It was roughly a mile walk to the wall, and Jen

fought Bethany the whole damn way. I kicked her right where the knife was still sticking out of her side,

which quieted her. but her eyes were blazing with fury. She was in human form, but she was absolutely

rabid, her eyes wide, and she was foaming at the mouth.

She looked possessed, maybe even suffering from some kind of disease. I didn't care at the moment.

I'd kill her once we were able to get information out of her.

The mile felt endless, but eventually we reached the boundary wall. It was early morning, the sky

turning a deep, violet blue as the stars began to fade. Thankfully, the lights in the bunkhouse were still

off. No one was up and moving about as we reached the warehouse. It was the only place I could think

to keep them both until Bethany and I could come up with a plan.

I went inside and laid Lena down in the bed of Bethany's truck. She was breathing, and still bleeding,

but not as badly-all good signs. I thought bitterly as I covered her with a blanket. I quickly dressed in

the clothes I had tucked away near the lab. which were stained with grime from creating the slides for

the microscope, but I didn't care. My skin was chilled and numb, and once the warmth began to set

back in. all I felt was anger.

Bethany shifted back to her human form, locking the door behind her as she dragged Jen into the

center of the warehouse. I tossed Bethany my lab coat, which was long enough to cover her naked

body. She gave me a soft smile of thanks as I pulled a rope off one of the shelves along the warehouse

wall, and together we hog-tied Jen and carried her to the very back of the warehouse.

"You need to go to town to get help." I whispered to Bethany, fastening duct-tape over Jen's mouth.

She was trying to bite me. her long teeth already gnawing tlii’ough the tape as I tried to secure a

second piece. It was taking every fiber of my being not to kill her right then.

Bethany nodded, swallowing hard as she pulled on a pair of coveralls and tossed my lab coat in a

waste bin. It was unsalvageable. Bethany had been covered in all kinds of grime and blood, and the

white lab coat was now speckled with colors I couldn't even describe.

"I know someone. I need your help to get her in the passenger seat-"

"Fine, but we need to hurry." I interrupted.

We left Jen on the ground and got Lena into the truck. I buckled her in. my chest tightening as her head

slumped forward. She'd been unconscious for well over an hour now

Wliat if I never saw her again after this moment? Wliat if she died? I blinked back the sudden,

desperate tears that were threatening to spill over my lashes as I took her face between my hands and

pressed my forehead against hers, praying to whomever was listening to spare her life. I don't

remember the last time I had shed a tear.

I kissed her. not giving a f*ck that Bethany was watching. I heard the garage door opening as I

reluctantly let Lena go and closed the door, slapping the hood of the truck as Bethany backed it out of

the warehouse and sprayed gravel as she sped off toward the village.

I closed the garage door, my eyes on the windows of the bunkhouse, where a single light had just

turned on.

***

I expected Jen to grow weak with a knife stuck in her side, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. She

fought against her restraints for the better part of an hour before she finally calmed down enough that I

felt good about leaving her alone in the warehouse, hidden in a comer behind a seldom-used tractor.

I had to go about business as usual until Bethany got back. I wasn't sure where Bethany was even

taking Lena, but I had little other choice but to trust her. When Bethany did come back. I planned on

wrapping Jen in a taip and throwing her in the back of Bethany's truck so we could drive her to the

Alpha of Crimson Creek ourselves.

But something was nagging at me. something Bethany had said during the few hours we spent in

hiding waiting for the creature, also known as Jen. to appear.

Bethany had said Crimson Creek wasn't real. I had no idea what she meant. I hadn't had a second to

ask her to elaborate.

And. even more jarring. Maxwell was apparently immortal.

I don't know if I believed any of it. Jen looked like she had some kind of disease, something that made

her act feral and out of control of her wolf. This wasn't magic.

Another hour passed, and then another, with me pretending to organize the shelves in the warehouse

while the other workers walked in and out as they went about their day. Jen didn't make a single sound.

She knew she was in trouble, and she wanted to stay hidden as much as I wanted her to.

It was midday before Bethany came back. She pulled the truck in the warehouse, closing the garage

door behind her. She was pale, but not nearly as frantic as she had been when she left.

“Where is she?" I asked, grabbing Bethany by the shoulders.

"Lena's safe, and stable-"

"Take me to her-"

"We need to do something with Jen first. I know someone... someone from the village. He'll take her."

"We're taking her to the Alpha." I said with conviction, but Bethany shook her head, pushing me away.

"Not yet. not until we know what happened to Elaine and Henry." She tucked her hands in her pockets,

a flash of anger darkening her eyes. "Do you still believe I had anything to do with this?"

I pursed my lips, then shook my head, hoping that was enough of an answer. In reality. I was still

completely skeptical of Bethany. I had a million questions to ask about our prior conversation, but that

would have to wait.

"You'll need to drive." she said as we loaded Jen into the bed of the truck and covered her with a taip. "I

told some of the workers

I wasn't feeling well and that you were miming the rest of my errands for the day."

A few minutes later we were driving toward Crimson Creek in complete silence. The only time Bethany

spoke was when she told me to take a right instead of a left toward the village. We ended up deep in

the hills at some far flung, run down farm.

The farmhouse was a sickly gray color, its paint faded and flaking and its roof patched in several areas.

It looked abandoned, and I felt a jolt of apprehension ripple tlii’ough me as I stepped out of the truck.

"This is where you took her?" I spat, rounding on Bethany as she got out of the truck.

"Calm down, Xander. He's doing us an incredible favor-"

"Who?" I asked, my voice as sharp as the blade still stuck in Jen's ribs.

"That'd be me." said a male voice from the covered porch.

I nearly snapped my neck as I turned around. The strange man from the bonfire a few weeks ago was

looking right at me. his hand laid gracefully over the dilapidated railing that lined the porch. It was the

man who had been staring at me. and at Lena, so intently it had made me uneasy.

"Who the f*ck are you?" I sneered, slamming the truck door shut.

"The man who just saved your girlfriend's life."