Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 52 : A Soul Exchange

*Soren*

Mila was quiet as we walked back to the inn. I knew she had a lot to think about with what we'd heard from Scarlett.

“Mila…"

“Yes?" she asked a little too quickly and a little too breathily.

I smirked and arched an eyebrow at her. “You know, I agree with the advice Scarlett gave you."

“You promised to help me get revenge," Mila said, narrowing her eyes.

“I did, and I will help you if that is indeed what you want. But you should think about what she said," I rephrased.

We made it back to the inn. Payne was waiting for us on the porch. As soon as he saw us, he stood up and came

down the stairs to meet us. It was a formal gesture of respect I didn't expect or usually get from him.

I noticed how Payne's eyes shot to Mila and he bowed his head slightly.

He looked at her like she was an important person or that he had some newfound respect or reverence for her.

“Welcome back. It took you two long enough," he said in a gentle, respectful voice.

Normally, Payne would tease me.

“Boss, I have something to tell you," Payne said, flicking his eyes to Mila.

“I can take a hint. I'll see you later," she said, nodding to me.

Mila smiled at Payne and headed inside the inn. His eyes followed her in an unusual way. If he was any other male, I

might have taken it personally, but I knew that the way he looked at her wasn't with lust or desire.

He was a little off today and I couldn't understand what was going on with him. He seemed a little nervous and

oddly docile at the same time.

Payne took a deep breath. “Do you remember the first time we met?"

“Payne, I'm not likely to forget that," I replied.

“Remind me," Payne said.

I creased my brow. I knew that he hadn't forgotten. There was no way he could forget that. Apparently, we were

having a deep conversation about our past, which was unusual.

“It was seven years ago," I started quietly. I motioned to the porch where there were some wicker chairs.

Payne followed me and we took our seats on the porch.

“When I first saw you, you were in wolf form. Barely alive and caught in a battle between two southern packs. I

heard Ashley crying. That's what caught my attention and I went to check on her," I recounted.

“She had a rough time with those battles," Payne agreed, nodding somberly.

“I saved the two of you. You were so young. Half dead, starved and skinny. You both looked younger than you

actually were," I said.

“And I was wary of you, like a wild animal," Payne reminded me.

“I brought you back to the inn to recover. I told the both of you that I didn't need anything in return but I wanted

you to take the time you needed to recover. You were free to leave whenever you wanted."

“A lot like someone else who recently joined us," Payne murmured, glancing toward the inn.

“Only, unlike Mila, the two of you didn't leave when you had the chance. You and Ashley both vowed your loyalty to

me once you were well enough," I said, chuckling.

Payne gave a very weak, lazy laugh and nodded. “There was nowhere else for us to go and you showed us

kindness."

Out of respect for Ashley and Payne, I'd never asked about their past. They'd been by my side for seven years and I

had never pried. It wasn't just because I didn't want anyone prying into my past.

With Ashley and Payne, it was different. They were family and I didn't want them dredging up old memories.

It wasn't until I'd fallen into the dream with Mila that I had seen more about Payne and Ashley's history.

I'd known the basics, that their pack was wiped out and that Payne had been saved under unusual circumstances,

which allowed the two of them to escape. Other than that, I'd never known the details.

But now I knew that Mila, Payne, and Ashley were all part of the same destroyed pack and that Mila was the one

who saved Payne. It was more than I'd learned about them in seven years.

“For the longest time, I thought the two of you were from those warring southern packs," I admitted, broaching the

topic carefully.

“We weren't from either of those packs. Our pack was wiped out fourteen years ago!" Payne said, anger ebbing

into his voice.

“I know," I said, nodding slowly.

We hadn't talked about the dream yet. I hadn't figured out how to tell him that Mila was the daughter of his

deceased Alpha and Luna. I didn't know how to tell him that Mila was the one who saved his life as a child, with

magic.

Was it my place to tell him? It seemed like a conversation he should have with Mila and I wasn't sure that she was

ready for me to tell him.

“The Alpha of our pack… he was the most powerful dominant Alpha in the world at the time. People loved and

respected him. We had very comfortable lives," Payne explained.

“I am sorry that it was taken from you," I replied. I hadn't figured out why Payne had chosen to tell me all of this.

He looked at his hands, rubbing them on his thighs. Talking about the past was difficult for him but something had

changed for him and he felt it was necessary that I learned the truth of what his past held.

“Our Luna… you'll never believe this. She was a witch," Payne said. He chuckled darkly and shook his head. “Not a

lot of people knew about it, even though back then, witches weren't hunted or feared. They were rare but they

were accepted."

“Do you know what changed?" I asked.

Payne shook his head. “No. But that is a question for another day."

“I understand," I nodded.

“They were a force to be reckoned with. A mighty Alpha paired with a witch Luna. Others were jealous and envious.

Some might have feared them. But no one would want to cross them or fight them… unless…"

I met Payne's gaze and nodded. “Unless the prize was too tempting and the gains outweighed the risk."

Payne snorted and nodded. Suddenly, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

“Greed makes people into monsters! That is exactly what happened. When Luna Jessica married Alpha Kaleb, she

brought a powerful witch artifact with her. It was kept a secret, even from the pack," Payne explained.

“Why would they keep it a secret? If they didn't fear attack…"

Payne nodded. “Why indeed? The rumor was that it was so powerful that if other packs knew they had the artifact,

they would want it for themselves."

“That's a good reason to keep it a secret," I muttered.

“Yes," Payne agreed. “And Pomeni was so wealthy that everyone knew there were enough spoils to go around. Even

if only one competitor ended up with the artifact, everyone else would get a fair share of loot and wealth."

Payne gritted his teeth and I saw his clenched fists tremble. Blood seeped out from his curled fingers. His nails must

have cut through his skin and he made himself bleed.

“Payne, it's not that I don't appreciate you sharing this, but why did you decide to tell me today?" I asked.

“All the pieces have started coming together, from the moment you asked me to investigate Helen. It immediately

made me suspicious of Miss Mila and who she was. But I wasn't sure, so I needed to take a step back," he

explained.

“And where did that step lead you?" I asked.

I realized now that Payne had dredged up the past because it was important to his investigation of Helen. He'd

needed to give me context and lay the groundwork before dropping an even bigger bomb on me.

“Helen was Luna Jessica's sister and I'd seen her when I was a child. Then again on the wanted posters," he said. “It

took me a while to make sense of it all and I didn't want to tell you until I was sure. I didn't want to add more trouble

to your… long list of problems."

Payne smirked at me.

“Since when have you worried about bringing me trouble?' I teased.

“Well, I normally don't. But lately, you've been choosing trouble and that's what worries me," Payne told me

playfully.

“Through all this, that's what you're worried about? That I'm choosing trouble?" I chuckled.

Payne's smile was faint and he turned serious again quickly. “People are after the artifact again and Miss Mila is in

danger."

“Miss Mila?" I asked.

It was the second time he'd referred to her like that. Did Payne know who she was now?

“You know, don't you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

“My father was Alpha Kaleb's beta. Ashley and I both recognized her. It took us time to place it, but we finally

agreed," he explained. “We saw her a lot as children."

“Are you planning to tell her who you are?" I asked. I had a feeling Mila already knew but it was up to Payne and

Ashley whether or not they wanted to pursue that relationship.

“No… not yet anyway. I'm not ready and… there might be a time when Miss Mila could help us rebuild Pomeni pack.

For now…"

I hadn't thought about Mila rebuilding the pack. When I'd asked her to stay with me, I hadn't been thinking of the

fact that she was the daughter of an Alpha and Luna or that she might want to rebuild her own pack. If given the

chance, what would she choose?

“Soren," Payne pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked over at him and nodded.

“Ashley and I will do everything in our power to protect her. You have our support on that. But I have to prepare you

for what is coming. You can't be blindsided," he said in a very serious tone.

“You mean about the artifact?" I clarified.

“Soren, you're a strong shifter. You can handle a rough pack here and there and minor Alphas. There's no way you

could fend off an all out war with the combined power of many packs," he laid out for me.

I appreciated his candor but I wasn't delusional. I knew my strengths and what I was capable of. My bigger concern

was that Payne truly believed it could come to that.

“You think it will come to that?" I asked.

“These packs want the artifact. They wanted it back then and they still do. You and Miss Mila are their only link to it

and it won't take them long to realize that," Payne said firmly.

“I imagine that's true. Payne, do you know what the artifact does?" I asked.

“The funny thing about artifacts, their powers are often exaggerated," Payne said wryly. “My entire pack was wiped

out because of the rumored power of the artifact. And the irony, it wasn't as powerful as people think."

“Hmm…" I stroked my chin. “Please elaborate."

“People said it could kill without a trace, it would raise dead, and there were some other rumors that are absolutely

nonsense. Well, sort of. The real use of that artifact is… soul exchange," he told me.

“Soul exchange…" I repeated.

“The artifact has the power to swap the souls of two shifters between bodies," he clarified.

“How would that work?" I asked, trying to imagine something so unusual. It wasn't a common phrase or a term

used in magic.

“Think of this. You have a sick, dying shifter and a healthy, young shifter. The artifact could swap their souls. What

would happen then?" he asked.

“The person who is dying would be refreshed and healed with a young, healthy body and the young soul would end

up in a dying body. They'd parish," I said. “That explains the rumor about it being able to raise the dead and kill

without a trace."

“Ridiculous that anyone could believe those rumors, isn't it? Yet, they wouldn't believe us. Even if they did, they

would have destroyed our pack…"

“You also think that the artifact was just an excuse to wipe out your strong, powerful pack and steal their riches," I

muttered.

“Also?" Payne asked.

I shook my head. “Nevermind. The point is, the artifact was an excuse for a larger, more sinister purpose."

The front door of the inn opened and Thomas joined us on the porch.

“Excuse me, I need to see my sister," Payne said. He stood up and left me with Thomas.

“I didn't interrupt, did I?" Thomas asked as Payne slipped away.

“No, we were done," I said.

“I just wanted to give you an update. Remember that rumor you told me to spread… Well, I sent it out. People are

going to think that you have the powerful artifact. You'll be drowning in trouble before you know it," he reported

with a smirk.

I chuckled. “Thank you."

Thomas gave me a worried look. “Be careful."