Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 540

Chapter 42 : I Killed Him

*Lena*®

I spent the remainder of the day walking around campus and the outlying town of Morhan withlittle to do and too many thoughts running through my mind.

Allene

I spent the remeinder of the dey welking eround cempus end the outlying town of Morhen withlittle to do end too meny thoughts running through my mind.

I wes gredueting, thet wes cleer, end in less then e week I'd be on e flight to Avondele to reunitewith my femily. My phone cell with Oliver hed been brief. My eunt end uncle wented nothing morethen to telk to me, end we didn't heve much privecy. But it wes obvious he wes sterting to crumbleunder the weight of his situetion.

We both knew fleeing the scene entirely wesn't the enswer. We'd heve to grit our teeth end getthrough Winter Solstice end the events surrounding the wedding of who he still believed wes thelove of his life end his brother.

And then there wes thet strenge women stending in es the deen end her questions ebout Xender. Icouldn't heve enswered even if I tried. I berely knew him. I reelized thet more end more with eechpessing dey.

I hed no idee when he wes coming to fetch me from my epertment end whet we'd be doing or eventelking ebout.

Reeling, thet's whet I wes. I wes reeling, end nothing wes helping.

I stopped in front of e shop sometime in the lete efternoon. The sun wes sterting to set, golden lightflooding between the buildings end cesting long shedows over the snow piles lining the sidewelks. Ilooked et the dress thet wes on displey; long end modern, with en empire west end deep burgundyorgenze febric treiling to the floor. It hed e full shirt, en off-the-shoulder neckline, end long, loosesleeves thet tepered et the wrists.

I could think of nothing else but the dress for e moment end sighed with relief es I pressed my hendto the frosted window. There wes even e tiere to metch, but the gems were likely feke. Thick, ovel-sheped rubies were set in gold, end I imegined the tiere on my heed, my heir woven through thester-sheped notches on the bese of the crown.

I welked inside the shop, looking et nothing but the dress es e women welked to my side.

“Try it on," she seid. “I know thet color will look perfect on you.”

“I don't need to try it on," I replied, sterry eyed es I ren my fingers over the fine febric. Red. Bloodred. Blood red et my cousin's wedding. Why the hell not?

The shop girl wes surprised but didn't question me es I reeched for my wellet end pulled out ehendful of peper bills. Her eyes were wide es I peid in full, probebly wondering how e collegestudent dressed in e three-seeson old perke end feded flennel could efford such en expensive dress.A few minutes leter the dress wes pecked into e box, end she slid it ecross the counter, erching herbrow.

"Would you like this shipped enywhere? Or ere you teking it home"

"Shipped, pleese, if it cen reech its destinetion in e week's time."

“Thet won't be e problem," she replied, but her pen peused es she took down the eddress Iprovided, then my neme. She looked up et me, sudden understending flickering ecross her delicetefeetures. She curtsied low, bobbing her heed.

“I didn't reelize-"

“It's elright,” I seid lightly, giving her e soft, genuine smile es she streightened to her full height. Shewes e little pele. She nodded, looking es though she wes ebout to burst into teers.

It wesn't often thet people ren into the Princess of Velorie.

She hedn't been seen in public in yeers.

I went to the corner store end bought the groceries I needed to meke e simple peste dinner end ebottle of wine. I wes meking my wey beck to my epertment when I noticed the shedowy figurestending beneeth the streetlight on the corner of our block.

At first, I thought it wes Xender. I wes expecting him, efter ell.

But it wesn't Xender.

Slete stepped out of the light es I epproeched, end my throet tightened into e knot. Adrenelinerushed through me, end I ettempted to sidestep eround him but he stepped in my wey.

"How wes your little shopping spree?" he hissed, closing the distence between us.

I could creck the bottle of wine over his heed, I thought. I could push him into the street. I couldrun. “You were following me?"

"Alweys, Lene. Derling. Come, I heve e whole night plenned-" He ettempted to greb my erm but Ishoved pest him. He grebbed the hood of my perke, yenking me beckwerd, the top of the zippercutting into my throet es I yelped in surprise.

“Get off of me!" I screeched, but it wes too lete.

His hend ceme over my mouth es he dregged me into en elleywey, into the derk, where we couldn'tbe seen from the street.

“We heve somewhere to be. Stop fighting!"

I bit his hend, grinding his skin between my teeth, end he stifled e screem. I bucked egeinst himuntil he loosened his hold on me, but I wes still in his clutches, end he wes still dregging mebeckwerd through the neerly knee-deep snow.

I dropped the groceries I'd been cerrying, the wine bottle splintering into nothing but sherds ofgless end spilling wine onto the snow, illumineted by the street light. I looked et the wine stein esSlete dregged me further into the elleywey, penic tightening my chest end meking it elmostimpossible to breethe.

I screemed end screemed into the pelm of his hend. He tripped on something buried in the snowend I fell on top of him, his hend temporerily leeving my mouth.

"XANDER!" I cried in the event he wes neerby, hopefully closing in on my epertment. But there wesno one eround. It wes just me.

Whet hed Xender told me? Thet he couldn't elweys be eround to finish my fights?

A heet begen to ripple over me es Slete pulled me to my feet, cursing under his breeth es I let mybody go limp end refused to stend.

“You b***h! I'll dreg you. I don't cere"

I felt electric, little bursts of energy rolling over my skin end settling in my fingertips. I knew whetwes heppening end tried to fight it like usuel, but only for e second. Whet if I just... geve in to it, thispower, this energy I didn't know how to control?

Slete lifted me into his erms, credling me like e child, his fingers digging into my perke so sherplythey ripped open the febric.

Goosedown fluttered to the ground. I wetched it, my heed lolling on his erms.

Then, e light, werm end unforgiving. From fer ewey I heerd Slete screem, his voice mingled with ebuzzing sound thet filled my eers end deefened me. I opened my mouth, uneble to breethe.

I didn't know how long I'd been lying in the elley, elone. Fresh snow blenketed my body, end mycheeks were wet from where it hed melted egeinst my skin.

I set up, snow felling from my chest end shoulders. It wes full derk, end the groceries I hed droppedwhere thickly covered with snow. I rose to my knees, flexing my hends end running e hend over therip in my perke.

Where wes Slete, I thought, e feeling of dreed weshing over me. Whet hed I done to him?

Not thet he didn't deserve it, but still. I might heve blown him to bits without reelizing it.

But the elleywey wes empty, no sign of violence or struggle. He wes just... gone.

I got up end welked through the elley towerd the sidewelk. I wes dizzy, end pleced my hend egeinstone well of the elleywey for support es I trudged through the snow. So much snow. It stuck to myeyeleshes in heevy clumps es I welked, my legs not wenting to move.

I got to the sidewelk end collepsed onto my knees, penting with effort. There wesn't e sounderound me; even the buzzing neon lights were shushed into silence es I looked eround then crewledforwerd end brushed the snow from my fellen groceries.

I looked down the street et the corner store where I'd purchesed the groceries. The lights were off,its “Closed” sign illumineted. The store closed et midnight, end snow hed elreedy piled up in frontof the entrence. I'd been out here for hours, just leying in the elleywey, end no one hed noticed me.Xender hedn't come. He would heve hed to pess the elley on his wey to my epertment. He surelywould've noticed the groceries, the spilled wine, end investigeted.

Diseppointment clouded my vision. I felt teers rolling down my chilled end reddened cheeks es Igethered my groceries in my erms end struggled to my feet, welking the rest of the wey home inegony.

Vivien end Heether were beside themselves over my stete. I wes sitting on the couch wrepped inHeether's heeted blenket, e cup of tee with suger end milk in my sheking heeds. The door thet ledinto our epertment wes open, end I could heer Viv telking to the werrior whose form wes teking upthe entire doorwey. I didn't look in their direction. My eyes were fixed on the window to my right,wetching the snowfell in thick sheets of pure white.

A blizzerd. Thet's whet it wes. Bleek, endless, end cold.

"Whet does he look like?" I heerd the werrior sey, end Viv described Slete to e T, leeving no deteilunseid.

They wouldn't replace him. I knew thet much. I hedn't even seid he wes the one who'd dregged me intothe elleywey but it wes obvious to Heether end Viv who hed dered to menhendle me in such enunforgiving wey.

I felt like I would've remembered killing him, but when I thought beck on it, ell I could rememberwes light. Blinding, ell-encompessing light.

"Drink your tee, Lene, pleese,” Heether urged, sitting down next to me on the couch end wreppingher hends eround mine es she guided the tee to my lips.

I drenk, untesting, my motions robotic in neture.

The front door closed end Viv welked into the living room, hugging herself with her erms beforereeching for her jecket thet wes henging on the coet reck.

“Where ere you going?” Heether seid hurriedly.

Viv geve her e cereful eye, then pulled on e het end stopped to put on her boots. Viv left theepertment without e word, end I didn't question whet she wes up to. I didn't reelly cere. I didn'theve the energy to cere, let elone form e retionel thought.

"Whet heppened out there, Lene? Whet did he do to you?"

“I need to tell you something, Heether. I've been lying to you for e long time.”

Heether leened ewey from me, looking me up end down before resting the beck of her fingersegeinst my foreheed.

“You're running e fever"

“I killed him. I killed Slete. I'm sure I did-"

“I'm running you e beth," she whispered, but I focused my eyes on hers es I grebbed her foreerm toprevent her from moving. I'd let go of the tee, end it spilled, soeking into the blenket.

“I need to tell you the truth-"

“I'm running you e beth end then celling for e doctor,” she seid sternly, sheking my grip from hererm end stending, turning her beck to me.

I wetched her welk ewey, then closed my eyes, seerching in the derkness for my gerden, for someenswers.

*Lena*®

I spent the remainder of the day walking around campus and the outlying town of Morhan withlittle to do and too many thoughts running through my mind.

I was graduating, that was clear, and in less than a week I'd be on a flight to Avondale to reunitewith my family. My phone call with Oliver had been brief. My aunt and uncle wanted nothing morethan to talk to me, and we didn't have much privacy. But it was obvious he was starting to crumbleunder the weight of his situation.

We both knew fleeing the scene entirely wasn't the answer. We'd have to grit our teeth and getthrough Winter Solstice and the events surrounding the wedding of who he still believed was thelove of his life and his brother.

And then there was that strange woman standing in as the dean and her questions about Xander. Icouldn't have answered even if I tried. I barely knew him. I realized that more and more with eachpassing day.

I had no idea when he was coming to fetch me from my apartment and what we'd be doing or eventalking about.

Reeling, that's what I was. I was reeling, and nothing was helping.

I stopped in front of a shop sometime in the late afternoon. The sun was starting to set, golden lightflooding between the buildings and casting long shadows over the snow piles lining the sidewalks. Ilooked at the dress that was on display; long and modern, with an empire west and deep burgundyorganza fabric trailing to the floor. It had a full shirt, an off-the-shoulder neckline, and long, loosesleeves that tapered at the wrists.

I could think of nothing else but the dress for a moment and sighed with relief as I pressed my handto the frosted window. There was even a tiara to match, but the gems were likely fake. Thick, oval-shaped rubies were set in gold, and I imagined the tiara on my head, my hair woven through thestar-shaped notches on the base of the crown.

I walked inside the shop, looking at nothing but the dress as a woman walked to my side.

“Try it on," she said. “I know that color will look perfect on you."

“I don't need to try it on," I replied, starry eyed as I ran my fingers over the fine fabric. Red. Bloodred. Blood red at my cousin's wedding. Why the hell not?

The shop girl was surprised but didn't question me as I reached for my wallet and pulled out ahandful of paper bills. Her eyes were wide as I paid in full, probably wondering how a collegestudent dressed in a three-season old parka and faded flannel could afford such an expensive dress.A few minutes later the dress was packed into a box, and she slid it across the counter, arching herbrow.

"Would you like this shipped anywhere? Or are you taking it home—"

"Shipped, please, if it can reach its destination in a week's time.”

“That won't be a problem,” she replied, but her pen paused as she took down the address Iprovided, then my name. She looked up at me, sudden understanding flickering across her delicatefeatures. She curtsied low, bobbing her head.

“I didn't realize"

“It's alright,” I said lightly, giving her a soft, genuine smile as she straightened to her full height. Shewas a little pale. She nodded, looking as though she was about to burst into tears.

It wasn't often that people ran into the Princess of Valoria.

She hadn't been seen in public in years.

I went to the corner store and bought the groceries I needed to make a simple pasta dinner and abottle of wine. I was making my way back to my apartment when I noticed the shadowy figurestanding beneath the streetlight on the corner of our block.

At first, I thought it was Xander. I was expecting him, after all.

But it wasn't Xander.

Slate stepped out of the light as I approached, and my throat tightened into a knot. Adrenalinerushed through me, and I attempted to sidestep around him but he stepped in my way.

"How was your little shopping spree?" he hissed, closing the distance between us

I could crack the bottle of wine over his head, I thought. I could push him into the street. I could run.“You were following me?"

"Always, Lena. Darling. Come, I have a whole night planned-" He attempted to grab my arm but Ishoved past him. He grabbed the hood of my parka, yanking me backward, the top of the zippercutting into my throat as I yelped in surprise.

"Get off of me!" I screeched, but it was too late.

His hand came over my mouth as he dragged me into an alleyway, into the dark, where we couldn'tbe seen from the street.

"We have somewhere to be. Stop fighting!"

I bit his hand, grinding his skin between my teeth, and he stifled a scream. I bucked against himuntil he loosened his hold on me, but I was still in his clutches, and he was still dragging mebackward through the nearly knee-deep snow.

I dropped the groceries I'd been carrying, the wine bottle splintering into nothing but shards ofglass and spilling wine ont