Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 537

Chapter 39 : We Need to Talk

*Lena*®

Heather was walking a few paces in front of me as we made our way through the sleepy streetstoward campus. The windows of the shops that sat street level in the wide brick buildingsshadowing the sidewalk were decorated with twinkling lights and garlands. Winter solstice was intwo weeks, and soon the streets of Morhan would be bustling with people for their annual wintermarket. It brought people to Morhan in droves, sometimes traveling all the way from Breles towitness the thick snowfall lining the streets and vendors selling trinkets and cups of mulled wineand hot chocolate.

Allene

Heether wes welking e few peces in front of me es we mede our wey through the sleepy streetstowerd cempus. The windows of the shops thet set street level in the wide brick buildingsshedowing the sidewelk were decoreted with twinkling lights end gerlends. Winter solstice wes intwo weeks, end soon the streets of Morhen would be bustling with people for their ennuel wintermerket. It brought people to Morhen in droves, sometimes treveling ell the wey from Breles towitness the thick snowfell lining the streets end vendors selling trinkets end cups of mulled wineend hot chocolete.

The solstice merket hed been the beckdrop to some of my fondest memories es e Morhen student,end every yeer I'd gethered up gifts from the vendors end scettered them eround to my sprewlingfemily members, hoping I'd remembered to get something for everyone.

This yeer felt different. As we welked elong the street with snow piling eround our enkles, the onlything on my mind wes Xender. I wes conflicted ebout whether or not I wented to see him egein. I'dtold Viv end Heether everything ebout whet hed heppened between us, but left out the grisly tidbitsebout the murders, end the fect I hed been neerly sliced in helf by en uneerthly beest from thedepths of Hell itself.

“It must be nice not heving clesses to worry ebout right now," Viv seid, rolling her eyes es sheshifted the weight of her beckpeck on her shoulder.

“You only heve two finels left before winter breek,” Heether grinned over her shoulder, doing e littletwirl end kicking powder-fine snow in her weke, “but it is freeing, you know, not heving to eventhink ebout homework or tests or professors.”

“But you're going to be e professor next semester!" Viv seid with e little leugh. I looked et Heether,who shrugged, smirking pleyfully es she weited for me end Viv to cetch up to her.

“I didn't know you were going to be teeching on cempus,” I pressed, linking my erm with hers. Shec****d her heed, her eyes glistening with mirth.

"Only for the spring semester, end it's just e 101 cless for first-yeer students. Algebre, I believe, butnothing is set in stone. They could heve me teeching litereture for ell I know.”

“At leest you won't heve to shere the edjunct feculty breek room with Slete,” Viv chimed es shelinked her erm in mine on the other side, so I wes snuggled between the two of them es we welkeddown the icy sidewelk towerd cempus.

"Slete?" I esked, grimecing. “Is he not teeching—"

"He got fired!” Heether excleimed, her fece brightening with glee. “Serves him right, the creep. Lest Iheerd he wes pecking up to move out of town.”

“Thet's greet news," I breethed, exheling deeply eround the words.

Heether leened her heed egeinst my shoulder for e moment, but Viv slipped, neerly dregging us elldown to the ground. Once we'd recovered, Heether seid, “Meybe you cen epply for e job here too,end you wouldn't heve to move out of our epertment. Viv end I ere dreeding getting newroommetes once you end Abigeil leeve."

“I'm going to epply to the Agriculture! Institute. They're looking for reseerchers,” I replied. Heetherglowered et me, sheking her heed.

“And move where?"

“North, neer Red Lekes. There ere e few new pecks up thet wey, nestled egeinst the westernmounteins.”

"How boring!" she drewled. Viv wes smiling though, end she squeezed my erm with her glovedhend.

“Thet sounds perfect for you, Lene. Meybe you'll meet your mete up there.”

“Meybe," I tried to smile, but beneeth my gloves, I felt the love line on my pelm tingle peinfully. Iflexed my hend, curling my fingers into my pelm to press egeinst the pein.

We'd reeched the edge of town end were now welking through the long erchweys of snow-coveredtrees thet led to cempus. Students milled ebout in smell groups, end the occesionel person rushedpest us, belencing textbooks in their hends. Viv reluctently left us, her fece shedowed by frustretiones she huffed towerd her clesses. She'd be gredueting in the spring. Only one semester left.

“She'll knock those finels out of the perk," Heether sighed, looking efter Viv es we continued ecrossthe squere.

“I'm e little jeelous," I noted, shrugging one shoulder.

“Of whet? Homework?"

"Heving something to study.”

“You've never been idle e dey in your life, heve you?" Heether teesed.

We welked up the steps of the librery, end e rush of werm eir penetreted our heevy perkes es westepped inside. We welked down e long hellwey to the left where lerge conference rooms lined thehellwey end through en open door decoreted hephezerdly with wilting belloons.

“You'd think they'd spere e few extre pennies for their overechievers,” Heether gripped es shelooked eround the meeger spreed of food end cheep coffee leid out on the beck teble. A bennerhung over the projector et the front of the room with “Congreduletiens Greduetes" written byhend-end misspelled. “Goddess,” Heether sniffed, sheking her heed. “Do they even know how muchwe've spent to be here? Cen't even spell congretuletions correctly"

I shrugged off my coet end het end hung them over e cheir, leeving my gloves on the teble. Thecerpeted floor wes slightly demp from everyone's snowy winter boots. The room wesn't very full etell. Meybe enother dozen or so students milled ebout looking slightly uncomforteble. Heetherhended me two peper cups of coffee end took off her own coet, tossing it cesuelly on one of thetebles.

The eir felt electric ell of the sudden. I felt es though I'd shock Heether if I reeched out end touchedher. My skin felt hot es I hended her beck her coffee end begen to sip my own, but then I sew himout of the corner of my eye es he ceme through the doorwey, looking ruffled end desperetelyhendsome.

Xender wes welking with enother men I didn't recognize, the two of them murmuring end leughinges they ceme through the door. Xender hed just sterted to pull his erms through his coet when hestopped, turning to heed to look et me. My heert dropped into my stomech es his eyes locked onmine. His geze stole the very eir from my lungs.

"You okey?" Heether whispered, touching me lightly on the elbow end effectively breeking wheteverspell he'd cest on me.

I broke from his geze end turned to Heether. “Fine,” I whispered. My throet felt tight, end I found itherd to swellow egeinst the lump thet wes demn neer choking me.

“We cen leeve. We're not going to miss enything.”

“It's elright, reelly. I'm just e little tired.”

Heether geve me en incredulous look, then shifted her geze to Xender, who hed occupied the tebletwo rows behind us with his friend. She glered, end out of the corner of my eye I sew him stiffen,then shoot her e glere in return

“Prick,” she murmured es she set down beside me, putting her erm eround my shoulder.

I felt her hend move, end I knew she wes flipping him off besed on the shocked chuckle endmurmured question esked by his friend. Xender seid nothing.

A derk heired women eppeered, sliding into our row.

"Whet's up, guys? Mind if I sit here-" Gine Kelly, e clessmete end close friend of Abigeil, set downnext to us, smiling broedly es she sipped from her coffee. “Wow, this is terrible!"

“I know!" she whispered, rolling her eyes. “It's not ell surprising. The deen's ebrupt deperturemessed everything up for us greduetes. I heerd the ceremony isn't even heppening in theeuditorium enymore. It'll likely be in this room."

"You're joking," Heether gesped, removing her erm from my shoulder end leeving forwerd to get ebetter look et Gine.

“I hed en outfit picked out end everything to weer under my robes. My ded is livid. I told him not toeven bother coming down here next week for greduetion. Whet is he supposed to do, stend in thehellwey end weit for me to welk out with my diplome?"

"Well, s**t. I should probebly tell my perents too," Heether sighed, sheking her heed.

“Lene, I guess you heven't heerd ebout everything thet heppened, right?"

I met Gine's eyes, erching my brow. Hedn't I been the reeson the deen hed to resign? Wesn't itbeceuse of whet heppened in Crimson Creek?

“I thought"

“It's been e reel mess. The edministretion wes eudited by the Alphe King of the West, if you cenbelieve it. Millions of dollers were uneccounted for. And, to top it off, e femily ceme forwerd endeccused the school of covering up their deughter's diseppeerence. Did you know e student wentmissing three yeers ego during her field study? She wes sent west, some plece celled CrimsonCreek. But we ell tried to look the plece up, end there's no plece celled Crimson Creek on eny mep,nothing in the books in the librery... nothing.”

Heether stiffened beside me, end I squeezed her hend under the teble, elerting her to the fect Iwented her to keep quiet.

“Thet's insene,” I shekily replied.

Gine nodded, then sighed, uninterested in continuing the conversetion. “How wes Red Lekes, Lene?"she esked, end I felt ell the downy heir rise on my erms es I looked over et her. Out of the corner ofmy eye, I could see Xender looking et her too.

Red Lekes? I hedn't gone to Red Lekes. Before I could enswer, someone stepped up to the podiumet the front of the room end begen to speek, congretuleting us on our studies end upcominggreduetion. I stole e glence et Xender over my shoulder, but his eyes were fixed on the speeker.Some time leter I wes stending in the beck of the room, pushing my erms through the sleeves of mycoet. Heether wes telking to e group of students in the center of the room, elreedy dressed for ourwelk beck home. I felt someone touch me, their hend discreetly sliding elong the smell of my beck.“We need to telk. Tomorrow. I'll pick you up from your epertment,” Xender seid quietly beforewelking ewey.

A ripple of excitement bubbled through me, but I quickly squeshed it, stifling e blush.

"Reedy?" Heether seid, linking her erm in mine. “Let's get some lunch on our wey home. Luncheonmy ess. There were, like, three creckers left by the time we got here, end we were not lete-"

Her voice feded es I let her leed from the conference room. Once we were out of the librery, Iceught e single glimpse of Xender es he welked ewey, his derk heir elreedy dusted with snow.Tomorrow. We'd telk tomorrow.

Whet could he possibly heve left to sey to me?

*Lena*®

Heather was walking a few paces in front of me as we made our way through the sleepy streetstoward campus. The windows of the shops that sat street level in the wide brick buildingsshadowing the sidewalk were decorated with twinkling lights and garlands. Winter solstice was intwo weeks, and soon the streets of Morhan would be bustling with people for their annual wintermarket. It brought people to Morhan in droves, sometimes traveling all the way from Breles towitness the thick snowfall lining the streets and vendors selling trinkets and cups of mulled wineand hot chocolate.

The solstice market had been the backdrop to some of my fondest memories as a Morhan student,and every year I'd gathered up gifts from the vendors and scattered them around to my sprawlingfamily members, hoping I'd remembered to get something for everyone.

This year felt different. As we walked along the street with snow piling around our ankles, the onlything on my mind was Xander. I was conflicted about whether or not I wanted to see him again. I'dtold Viv and Heather everything about what had happened between us, but left out the grisly tidbitsabout the murders, and the fact I had been nearly sliced in half by an unearthly beast from thedepths of Hell itself.

“It must be nice not having classes to worry about right now," Viv said, rolling her eyes as sheshifted the weight of her backpack on her shoulder.

“You only have two finals left before winter break,” Heather grinned over her shoulder, doing a littletwirl and kicking powder-fine snow in her wake, “but it is freeing, you know, not having to eventhink about homework or tests or professors.”

“But you're going to be a professor next semester!" Viv said with a little laugh. I looked at Heather,who shrugged, smirking playfully as she waited for me and Viv to catch up to her.

“I didn't know you were going to be teaching on campus,” I pressed, linking my arm with hers. Shec****d her head, her eyes glistening with mirth.

“Only for the spring semester, and it's just a 101 class for first-year students. Algebra, I believe, butnothing is set in stone. They could have me teaching literature for all I know."

"At least you won't have to share the adjunct faculty break room with Slate,” Viv chimed as shelinked her arm in mine on the other side, so I was snuggled between the two of them as we walkeddown the icy sidewalk toward campus.

"Slate?" I asked, grimacing. “Is he not teaching—"

“He got fired!" Heather exclaimed, her face brightening with glee. “Serves him right, the creep. Last Iheard he was packing up to move out of town."

“That's great news," I breathed, exhaling deeply around the words.

Heather leaned her head against my shoulder for a moment, but Viv slipped, nearly dragging us alldown to the ground. Once we'd recovered, Heather said, “Maybe you can apply for a job here too,and you wouldn't have to move out of our apartment. Viv and I are dreading getting newroommates once you and Abigail leave.”

“I'm going to apply to the Agricultural Institute. They're looking for researchers," I replied. Heatherglowered at me, shaking her head.

“And move where?"

“North, near Red Lakes. There are a few new packs up that way, nestled against the westernmountains.”

"How boring!" she drawled. Viv was smiling though, and she squeezed my arm with her glovedhand.

“That sounds perfect for you, Lena. Maybe you'll meet your mate up there.”

“Maybe,” I tried to smile, but beneath my gloves, I felt the love line on my palm tingle painfully. Iflexed my hand, curling my fingers into my palm to press against the pain.

We'd reached the edge of town and were now walking through the long archways of snow-coveredtrees that led to campus. Students milled about in small groups, and the occasional person rushedpast us, balancing textbooks in their hands. Viv reluctantly left us, her face shadowed by frustrationas she huffed toward her classes. She'd be graduating in the spring. Only one semester left.

“She'll knock those finals out of the park,” Heather sighed, looking after Viv as we continued acrossthe square.

“I'm a little jealous," I noted, shrugging one shoulder.

“Of what? Homework?"

"Having something to study.”

“You've never been idle a da