Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 570

Chapter 70 : Where is He?

*Lena*®

Needless to say, my friendly, welcoming dinner with Hale took an abrupt turn after replaceing out hewas the Alpha of Cedar Hollow. He was embarrassed, and incredibly apologetic, as if it wassomething he was trying as hard as he could to hide.

I understood that feeling exactly, but couldn't tell him that. Instead, I asked him about his family andhis pack and learned practically everything I needed to know about Cedar Hollow.

Hale wasn't supposed to be Alpha. That role should have gone to his older brother after theirparents died. He didn't tell me how he'd ended up with the title, but I could tell by the look in hiseyes that whatever had happened had been painful.

When he walked me back to the cottage later that evening, I felt somewhat at peace. I liked thisplace, and I liked Hale. Not in a romantic way, but it had been a long time since I'd just been able tobe Lena for a night without the burden of my rank crushing against my shoulders.

But as I curled into bed that night, Xander filled my mind. I closed my eyes, imagining the curve ofhis jaw and the way his hair felt as I ran my fingers through it. I thought about the nights we'd spentlaying back to back in our sleeping bags in Crimson Creek, and the nights we lay with our limbstangled when we couldn't hold back any longer.

"Where are you?" I said aloud, running my fingertips over the dormant mark on my chest, tearsclouding my vision.

“Do you have a husband?" asked a dark-haired boy, his brown eyes peering up at mine expectantly.I'd been waiting for the opportunity to take a bite of a turkey sandwich for ten minutes now, which Ihadn't had a chance to eat during lunch because I was busy meeting the rest of the teachers, andsighed in resignation as I set it down on a napkin and turned toward the five children standing infront of me, waiting for their parents to pick them up.

“No, I don't," I answered.

"Why not?"

“Is it because boys smell?"

“Boys don't smell, girls do!"

"Okay, okay, okay" I laughed, raising my hands in surrender as the kids dissolved into lifted chatter.The schoolhouse was situated in a grassy clearing toward the edge of the village, and it held classesfor students of varying ages. The kindergarten class wasn't as big as I was expecting, but five was agreat number, and my first day as their teacher had actually been quite a good time. We read abunch of books, worked on spelling and arithmetic, and drew some pictures.

But the real treat had been taking the kids out into the wooded greenbelt beyond the schoolgrounds on a nature excursion and watching them run wild.

Their parents were definitely going to question why they were covered in dirt and grass stains, but itwas too beautiful and mild a day to let it go to waste, especially for early January.

I'd been in Cedar Hollow for a week now, when school was still on break for Winter Solstice, and feltabout as settled as I could possibly be.

One by one, my five students ran to their parents as pack members began to appear near theentrance to the school. The bench I'd chosen to finish the lunch I hadn't had a chance to eat wassoon home to me, and one of the two girls in my class. I gave them some crackers to nibble on soas not to be rude.

Sasha had just turned five before the cut-off date, the youngest out of the group, and in my opinionshe was the brightest. She was shy, however, and had stuck by my side the majority of the dayinstead of playing with her classmates.

She was sitting next to me on the bench, swinging her legs, her pink tights stained green on theknees. She was twirling her golden braid around her finger, humming to herself as we waited for herparents. They were late.

"Who is picking you up today?" I asked.

Sasha's blue eye locked on mine, and she shrugged as she continued to twirl her braid. “Mommy.”"Okay, well, I'm sure she’s on her way"

Sasha got up abruptly and ran forward before I could finish my sentence. Clare was walking righttoward us, and as Sasha threw her arms around Clare's knees, my heart dropped into my stomach.“You're the new kindergarten teacher?" Clare choked on a laugh as she patted the top of Sasha'shead.

"Uh, yes. 1 am."

“Interesting... Hmm. Well, I figured you were just another floozy jumping from pack to pack,climbing the ranks, if you know what I mean.”

"What?" I said, my voice lifted in shock. Her cool demeanor softened a bit, her richly blue eyesnarrowing on me with interest as she looked me up and down. Her hair was tightly curled and everyshade of blonde imaginable, piled on top of her head in a loose, messy bun. For the sister of anAlpha, she was dressed casually in loose jeans and a button-down shirt that was tucked into aleather belt. She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder, giving me a once-over as Sashabegan to skip around the two of us in a wide circle.

“You know," she said with a sly grin, flicking her hand in dismissal.

“Oh, I'm not-1 mean, I have a mate."

“Mm. And where is he?"

Why had I said that? What had possessed me to say that out loud? My cheeks colored as I clearedmy throat, praying to whoever was listening that she couldn't see the heartbreak lingering behindmy eyes.

Her face softened a bit, then she nodded, turning away from me when I couldn't answer herquestion. She bent at the knees, smiling down at her daughter with the most loving expression I hadseen in a while. My own heart squeezed, and guilt ripped through my soul as I thought of my ownmother and the pain I'd most definitely caused her by running away.

“Go play for a bit, darling. We'll go home in a moment.” Clare's eyes flicked to mine as she rose toher full height. She was several inches taller than me and had to look down as she closed thedistance between us. She walked like a model, and she looked like one too.

I was never intimidated, at least not often, and not by other women. But Clare was intimidating, andas her body cast a shadow over mine, I felt the overwhelming urge to cower.

“Are you related to Queen Rosalie of Winter Forest in any way?" she asked in a low tone, discreetlyglancing around before meeting my eye again.

"Who?"

“Don't tell me you don't know who the White Queen is? Come on."

"Oh, her,” I breathed, then shrugged, doing my best to look confused, and maybe a littledisinterested.

“You just have the look of that family,” she said, leaning in a bit as she spoke. “You look familiar.Why? Where are you from? Your born pack?"

“Breles," I lied, and she looked disappointed as she leaned away from me. “I recently graduatedfrom Morhan University."

“Morhan, huh? I guess I can't say you're unqualified for this position. What exactly are you doingteaching kindergarten? Morhan is a polytechincal institute"

"My degree is in botany,” I said quickly, giving her my best professional smile. “And there's notmany jobs in that field. I came here for the horticulturist position, but when I arrived, the job was nolonger available.”

"What a gamble, coming this far west," she said, clucking at me with her tongue.

I gave her a tight smile, unsure of what to say next.

“Well, I have to say I'm delighted to know Sasha has such a well-educated teacher this year. I hopeyou plan to stick around.”

lide!

She took a single step toward me, now standing so close she had to lean down to whisper into myear.

“Listen to me," she said hurriedly, her tone changing abruptly. A rush of cold rippled up my spine asClare gently held me by my forearm, pulling me closer to her as if she was in danger of beingoverheard. “If anyone comes here for Sasha, anyone at all, hide her. I don't care where, but you hideher, and you replace me. Do you understand?”

“Is she in danger?”

Clare paused, swallowing hard. I could feel her chest tightening as she gave me a single, silent nod.She backed away, letting go of my arm. Her face underwent an incredible change as she bit backthe urgency of her words to me, her features returning to their original cold, intimidating mask."Sasha!" she called, and the golden haired girl came bounding over to us, taking her mother by thehand. Clare gave me a friendly nod and a smile, and then they left.

I was dumbfounded, adrenaline coursing through my veins as the two of them walked away.

“I'm just a kindergarten teacher,” I murmured, but was answered only by a bird flapping its wingsbehind me as it swooped down to the bench, stealing my sandwich.

I couldn't sleep. It was late, well past midnight, and I was seeking refuge against the corner cabinetin the kitchen of my cottage, a mug of rose scented tea clutched between my hands. It was rainingagain, but instead of creating a cozy ambiance, I felt claustrophobic and trapped in the confines ofthe cabin, my mind reeling from my conversation with Clare.

She hadn't said who was after her daughter, but the fear in her voice made me believe that personwas nearby, or had at least been causing trouble for a while. My skin prickled with a chill, and Ilooked toward the hearth. I'd neglected it in the time I'd spent leaning against the cabinets, and Ihadn't even touched my tea.

“I just wanted some normalcy,” I said to myself, sniffling.

There was a knock on the door, and I jumped, startled by the sound. The tea spilled over the top ofmy mug, and thankfully it had gone tepid and didn't burn my skin as I set it on the counter withshaking hands.

Whoever was at the door was pacing back and forth, their shoes thumping on the porch. I'd juststarted toward the door when they pounded their fist against it, cursing audibly.

I furrowed my brow at the familiarity of the voice and reached the door in two quick steps.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I growled, reaching out and pulling the man inside.

He was soaking wet, his coat dripping all over the floor and his tawny blonde hair sticking to hisface as he shivered and tilted his head toward the hearth.

“Living alone going well so far, huh?" Adrian smirked, but his eyes were dark. “Where the f**k isXander?"