Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 131: Recovery

*Eliza*

I walked through my family home, feeling the cold, empty, loneliness of a large, vacant house.

No one was ever around. My parents were always busy, Lena was still in the hospital, and I was just alone….

Even George couldn’t stay long. He stuck around long enough to make sure Lena was going to recover and then

had to go back to his life excavating in New Dianny.

You’d think his sister being back in town after months of being in another realm would warrant a real visit.

Sighing, I headed down the stairs. Each one creaked loudly, echoing through the silence of the house.

When I couldn’t stand the silence anymore, I went to visit Lena at the hospital.

She still had to regain her strength before the doctors let her travel back to the Dark Realm.

She looked so healthy now. The color had returned to her cheeks and she was all smiles.

“How are you feeling?”

Lena shook her head at me. “Don’t even ask. I swear, they’re just keeping me here because everyone in the family

wants to have more time to visit with me.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Is it so bad that everyone cares about you?”

Lena shrugged. “No. But I miss my kids and I want to go home.”

I smiled but I knew my smile didn’t touch my eyes.

“Eliza, what’s wrong?” Lena reached out and took my hand.

I sighed and shrugged, turning away from her. The pain and emptiness in my chest from rejecting Jared were too

much sometimes. I still thought of the village and the Dark Realm as home, but I knew I couldn’t go back there now.

“This is about Jared, isn’t it?” Lena’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I bit my lower lip and sighed. What was I supposed to say? I could tell her how much I missed him, but what use

would that be? I was the one that rejected him. I deserved everything I was feeling.

“You know, Xander told me what happened right before we left the Dark Realm. Why did you reject him?”

Slowly, I met Lena’s eyes. “Would you do anything to protect your children?”

“Of course.” Lena creased her brow.

“While I was in the Dark Realm, it was just one bad thing after another. I couldn’t live like that. And I don’t want my

child to experience that.” I put my hand on my stomach.

“Eliza, you know that life everywhere is one thing after another.”

I shook my head. “Not like it was there–curses, blood sacrifices, and Hestia…. She's still out there gathering

strength and forces. She already threatened my child once.”

Lena squeezed my hand gently and gave me a sad smile.

“You know, the darkness only wins when you give up.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You have the perfect husband, great kids, and a very luxurious life.”

Lena frowned. “I had to build that luxurious life. And I didn’t get it by giving up.”

“You don’t know what I’ve been through with Jared. It was becoming too much. The Light Realm is safe. I want my

child to be safe.”

“Eliza, you grew up safe in the Light Realm and remember what you did?” Lena chuckled.

I winced. “I ran off to the Dark Realm.”

“Exactly.”

“At least, here in the Light Realm, my child will be surrounded by family.”

“But at what cost?” Lena sighed. “In the Dark Realm, your child will have a mother and a father. Plus, I’m there, and

Xander is your family too, so are our children.”

“What about Hestia? We’ve tried to stop her. She just keeps coming back and one of these times, she’s going to do

something that can’t be undone.”

“There will always be people like Hestia out there. The best we can do is refuse to give into their demands.”

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. “I haven’t given into any of her demands!”

“Haven’t you? Hestia wants to destroy the light and love between people, between the Light and Dark Realms. By

rejecting Jared, leaving the Dark Realm, and keeping Jared’s child from him, it means she’s won.”

I bit my lip and looked down at my lap. Lena’s words tumbled around inside my head.

“Eliza, you know that you should always do what you think is best. But running away is never what is best. So, think

about why you really left.”

“Yeah, I will….”

When Xander returned with a doctor, I left them to discuss releasing Lena and heading back to the Dark Realm.

My heart ached as I walked out of the hospital. I missed Jared so much. Being in the Light Realm didn’t feel like

home anymore. I felt like I didn’t even belong in my own family.

My vision blurred and I stumbled down the walkway a little, my mind racing.

My knees wobbled slightly and a powerful dizzy spell came over me. I reached out for something to hold onto but

my hand grabbed air. The ground felt like a rug being pulled out from under me.

I pitched forward and then stopped in midair.

“What…?”

I blinked the blurriness from my eyes and looked around. Someone’s strong, powerful arms were wrapped around

me, holding me and keeping me from falling to the ground.

My eyes locked onto my rescuer and I recognized him immediately.

“Declan?”

He was the Royal Guard always handing me tissues.

He smiled brightly, the last thing I remembered as I faded into blackness.

***

When I came to, I glanced around furiously. I didn’t recognize the room I was in. There were people standing all

around me. It was so bright and the bed I was in was uncomfortable.

“Eliza, honey, it’s okay. Calm down.” My mother’s voice was sweet music to my ears.

I saw her sitting on the bed beside me, holding my hand. My dad was standing behind her, hands on her shoulders.

“What’s going on?” I asked, eyeing the doctors and nurses around me.

I must have been in the hospital again. Only this time, I was the patient.

“You fainted, sweetie,” my mother said, giving me a deep, concerned look.

Immediately, I wrapped my arms around my stomach.

“The baby?”

Smiling, my mom reached out and put her hand over mine.

“The baby is fine. You’ve been unconscious for several hours, but the baby is absolutely fine.”

I looked at the healer, who said, “Your mother is right. We ran all the necessary tests and your baby is just fine.”

I sighed and nodded. Tears pricked my eyes, tears of relief.

“That’s good news.”

“I do have some concerns about your pregnancy,” the healer added.

The relief vanished in a second. I swallowed hard.

“Wh-what concerns?”

“From what I can tell, you’re exhausted. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. It is critical that you take care of

yourself for the sake of the baby. You should be taking it easy for the rest of the pregnancy.”

“We’ll make sure she takes it easy,” my mother agreed, nodding.

The doctor left me alone with my parents. I felt awkward sitting there with them alone.

Jared should have been there. If I was fainting, it affected his child, and he had every right to be there.

The loneliness I felt earlier swelled up inside of me again and I longed to see Jared, to feel his warm touch.

“Eliza, are you going to heed the doctor’s warning this time?” my mother asked.

“This time?”

“We have it on good authority that Mila also told you to take it easy in the Dark Realm, a suggestion that you

obviously ignored.”

“I didn’t ignore it. There were refugees in my village and Lena was sick.”

My mom scoffed. “You could have let others handle it. But I will enforce your taking it easy, if I have to.”

“What do you mean by that?”

My mother pursed her lips and exchanged a quick look with my father. What were they planning?

“You can’t return to the Dark Realm. It’ll be too much for you and the pregnancy right now.”

I nodded. “That’s fine with me.”

My mom brightened slightly and squeezed my hand. “You have no idea how much I love hearing you say that.”

My parents had been through enough with me running off without telling them, going to another realm and getting

married. Now, I was in the hospital. They didn’t deserve feeling like they were constantly going to lose me.

Now that I was going to be a mother, I understood them a little differently.

“I’ll take better care of myself and the baby from now on, I promise.”

Both my parents smiled and hugged me close.

I was released from the hospital the next day and my parents brought me home. The last few times I'd been sick or

hurt in the Dark Realm, it seemed like it took forever for me to get better because of their limitations in medicine.

In the Light Realm, it took a fraction of the time.

My parents kept a close watch on me to make sure I was taking care of myself, but they weren’t overbearing. My

mom was good about bringing me snacks and healthy drinks.

They stuck around a lot more now that they were looking out for me. It was nice to have them around, especially

since they weren’t trying to control my decisions anymore.

When I got to their house, I spent my days in the garden hammock reading.

Song birds kept me company and the flowers were always so gorgeous and fragrant.

The hammock swung back and forth in the mild, summer breeze. Most days, I’d fall asleep and take an afternoon

nap while reading.

I felt so calm and at peace for the first time since coming home.

I felt like I belonged.

“I brought you some lunch.” My mom appeared in the garden with a glass of iced tea and a sandwich.

Groaning, I pulled myself into a sitting position and set the book aside.

“Thank you.”

She set the plate in my lap. “If you’re up for it later, we could go for a walk.”

I smiled. “I’ll let you know.”

She left me to eat my lunch in peace. I felt like my mom and I had reached a new understanding and it made me

feel more welcome with my parents than I had in a long, long time.

As I washed down my sandwich with the iced tea, I saw someone else in the gardens, a familiar figure walking

among the flowers.

He seemed to be moving closer to me.

I stood up and twisted back and forth, shaking off the stiffness from lying in the hammock.

As he got closer, I recognized him. “Declan!”

He grinned a happy, bright, boyish grin and trotted over to me. “Hey. I was looking for you.”

“Really, why?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing.”

I nodded, my cheeks warming unexpectedly. My stomach fluttered and I looked down.

“Thank you for… helping me.”

Declan smirked. “It is my job to help damsels in distress.”

I giggled and looked into his handsome face. “Well, how lucky for me that I went into distress with you nearby.”

He winked. “Anyway, you seem to be recovering quickly, and the king and queen are talking about returning home

soon.”

“That means you’ll be going with them?” I creased my brow.

“It is my duty. But I am glad that you are okay and that your baby is okay.”

“I can’t thank you enough.” My blush got even hotter and I wrapped my arms around myself.

It was so strange to enjoy his company this much. I barely knew him, but I felt comfortable with him.

“Well, if you’re ever in the Dark Realm again, look me up.”

“I will! Are you leaving now?”

“I’ve got a few hours to kill. Care to show me around the gardens?”

“Okay.” I nodded and walked with Declan.

We easily struck up a conversation and I felt like I’d known him for years.