Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 669

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 669

Chapter 16 : Don't Come any Closer

*Mila*

The fog closed around me like a blanket. I had to admit, thick fog was the best way to stay hiddenand move unnoticed through a creepy village like Miltern

My feet seemed to know exactly where to go as I moved closer to the center of the village and theCentral Temple.

I hesitated and glanced back toward the hotel. It was completely hidden in the fog.

I snuck off again. I couldn't help but feel uncertain about neglecting to tell Soren I was leaving.Soren had been nice to me and saved my life. What if he could help me?

Shaking my head, I kept forging through the fog.

"Get a grip, Mila,” I muttered to myself.

Soren could play the “nice guy” all he wanted but he had secrets and ulterior motives.

I sniffed. And he accused me of being the secretive one! Hadn't he made some big deal with hismen about not prying into anyone's past? Why did he feel the need to pry into mine?

Groaning, I picked up my pace. It was so quiet in the night and no one was around but my stepsbarely made a sound, like the fog absorbed them.

When I got to the center of the village, the fog parted slightly and moonlight streamed down on alarge, majestic building. Or, it would have been majestic...

The temple was a huge, square pagoda that rose so high it practically blocked out the stars. Crowssat on the edge of the roof tiers, pecking and warbling to each other. I could see their eyes flashingin the dim moonlight.

They looked like guardians of the temple, or maybe they were harbingers of death.

Did they ever sleep?

Vines and moss clung to the exterior of the building. In some places, the walls had crumbled awayand the plants had forced their way inside.

It must have been abandoned for a long, long time.

What kind of person would want me to meet them in a creepy place like this!?

Looking at the temple, I thought it felt familiar. Not the way it looked now. I could almost imaginewhat it looked like when it wasn't falling apart. A green, tin gilded with gold. The stone exteriorpolished and carved with familiar designs.

I could practically envision the cherry trees growing out front with their pink and white blossoms.Those trees were rotted, now.

How was it possible I could imagine what a building looked like that I'd never seen before? Myimagination wasn't that good.

This temple must have been great and beautiful once. My heart thrummed and I felt a strong desireto see it restored. It was a symbol of hope and life, two things Miltern was desperately missing.

If their temple was restored, perhaps their vibrancy would be too.

Sighing, tears stung my eyes. Seeing the temple so ruined and broken made my heart ache. I didn'tknow why it was so sad, but my heart went out to the people here.

Why did I care if their temple was destroyed? I had no ties to these people.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling or the desire to see it back to its former glory.

A crow cawed and suddenly, all the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end. Ashiver ran down my spine and I stared at the looming, eerie temple. The fact was, this place wasn'tas beautiful as it once was and it was falling apart.

It could be dangerous to go inside, for more than one reason.

I chewed my lower lip and glanced around. Maybe, I shouldn't go in...

I sucked in a sharp breath and shook my head. No, I'd come here for a reason. I'd come here foranswers and I wasn't leaving without them!

I climbed the crumbling stairs and went inside. Wrinkling my nose, I looked around in the dimness.Rotten wood permeated the air and I could see why. Several beams had rotted through and fallenacross the temple. Plants clung to them, devouring them back into the earth.

Crows pecked at the outside of the temple, sending horrible, clicking echoes throughout.

I waved my hand in front of my nose but the smell remained strong.

It was so dark I had to squint my eyes to see anything at all. Other than invading plants and fallenbeams, there wasn't much to see. Everything else had either been destroyed or removed.

There was one, narrow path that had been cleared through the rubble. One path that led deeperinto the temple and into darkness.

I took a step forward and paused. Something was scratching and crawling around in the corner, arat or a mouse. When I listened more carefully, I could hear other things moving around on theedge of my vision.

Mice squeaked and I heard the buzzing of insect wings. Shuddering, I wrapped my arms aroundmyself. My skin crawled and I tried to rub the goosebumps away. The beams creaked, threateningto break apart even more. The stone walls seemed to shiver and tremble and I wondered if it waseven safe to walk through this place.

"What am I supposed to do with this?” I muttered to myself.

The card that had been left with the bouquet didn't have very good instructions.

Sighing, 1 pulled the card out of my pocket and examined it again. Before, I'd had the hotel lights onwhen I read it.

Now, in the dim light of the moonbeams that penetrated holes in the temple roof, the card lookedcompletely different. The edges were gilded in a silvery, glow with a lovely, elegant swirling pattern.Something new was written on the card now, in the same invisible, moon-activated ink.

“The end of the path, where it meets the moonlight.”

I flipped the card over, wondering if there were more hidden instructions on the other side.

Well, that wasn't very descriptive. My eyes wandered down the dark path again. It looked like I hadno choice. To get my answers, I'd have to follow the path.

I hesitated again and then slipped the card into my pocket. I'd come this far on my own and so far, Ihad no answers. I didn’t come all this way to leave empty handed!

Holding my breath, I carefully maneuvered down the narrow path. I sucked in my stomach andnavigated around fallen beams and crumbling walls. If I nudged anything at all, the carefullybalanced temple might crumble on top of me.

The cleared path led me out the back of the temple. As soon as I was outside again, I took a deepbreath of fresh air. I fanned myself with my hand, sweat making my shirt stick to my body.

That had been hairraising.

I looked around at all the stone statues I'd wandered into. There were some that were so beautifullycarved with intricate detail. Others were less elaborate and only had names written on them.“Oh...”

I was in a graveyard. Swallowing hard, I rubbed my hands on my thighs. Meeting a stranger at nightin a foggy graveyard. I was counting the ways this could turn into an urban legend.

The fog seemed to clear again and a moonbeam lit up one specific gravestone. The others stayedhidden in shadow.

Shrugging, I headed toward the illuminated grave. I couldn't get a clearer sign than that. Maybe itwas magic or the Moon Goddess guiding me.

The headstone I approached didn’t have a name on it. At least, not one that I could read. Therewere deliberate carvings on it that could have been a language or some kind of writing. It was fadedand did not have any symbols or characters I was familiar with.

The headstone was made out of white marble. It was a carving of a woman in a flowing dress. Shewas kneeling down, her arms wrapped around the neck of a large wolf. The statue was absolutelybeautiful, even if it was a headstone.

There was no doubt in my mind that this was what I was looking for.

I walked around the headstone and ran my fingers over the smooth marble. Maybe there was asecret compartment or hidden button that would lead me to the next clue.

There was nothing... I examined the headstone twice just to be sure.

“What now..."

I tapped my foot on the ground and the strong scent of freshly turned earth hit my nose. Glancingdown, I noticed that the ground at the base of the headstone had been disturbed recently.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me,” I grumbled.

Was I seriously going to dig up a grave!?

Maybe it wasn't a grave. Someone had obviously moved the dirt around and maybe they buriedsomething else here.

I pulled my knife out and dropped to my knees. Careful to limit my search to the area where the dirtwas freshly turned, I started digging with my knife blade.

I dug and dug until my knife hit something with a loud thud. Setting my knife aside, I startedclearing the dirt away.

“Please don't be a coffin,” I whispered to myself.

I brushed the dirt away and saw a wooden box buried at the base of the gravestone. It definitelywasn't a coffin! The box was small enough for me to hold and I pulled it out of the dirt.

There were no markings on it but it had brass hinges and a matching lock. I tipped the box this wayand that. A locked box... that's what I'd come here for.

Of course, whoever led me here couldn't be bothered to put a key in the flower bouquet.

That was another puzzle for another time. The point was, I found what I came here to replace.

"Why are you digging up a grave?”

I froze, box in hand, halfway between kneeling on the ground and standing up.

I set the box down and grabbed my knife. Jumping up, I blocked the headstone from view andswiped at the air with my knife.

“Don’t come any closer!” I warned, slashing again.

“Mila, put your knife away. It is just me,” Soren’s voice said with an amused sigh.

"O-oh,” I whispered, relaxing slightly. “Do you make it a habit of sneaking up on people incemeteries?”

Soren chuckled and came closer so I could see him better. I kept my knife raised. If he tried to takethe box from me, I'd defend it.

"Why did you follow me? What do you want?” I asked the same questions I'd been asking him allday.

“Tsk. Tsk.” Soren crossed his arms and shook his head. “We had an agreement. You were supposedto come to me if you needed anything.”

“Well, I didn't come to you because I didn't need anything from you. This is none of your business,” Ipointed out snippily.

“Put the knife down,” he said again, ignoring my reply.

He walked around me and I turned, keeping my eyes on him at all times. Soren c****d his headwhen he saw the gravestone.

“This is... interesting,” he said, squinting in the darkness.

"What is?” I asked. I relaxed my knife hand.

“I haven't seen this language in... well, since I arrived in this kingdom. It is an ancient language,long-lost to most,” he explained.

I licked my lips and looked at the headstone again. All I saw were little scratch marks. To Soren, theyactually made words.

"A dear one who couldn't rest in peace,” he translated. “That's gloomy.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me. So, I'm going to be going now,” I said. I reached for the boxand Soren grabbed my elbow firmly, pulling me toward him.

Frustrated and pissed off I burst into tears. Why couldn't he just leave me alone!? Why couldn't hejust let me replace my answers in peace? Didn't he want to be left in peace?

Soren immediately released my arm. He creased his brow, looking worried that he hurt me.

I sniffled and blinked my tears away. Thinking fast, I punched him in the chest.

Soren groaned and staggered back.

I grabbed the box and scrambled to the other side of the gravestone.

“Get back here,” Soren rasped, rubbing his chest where I struck him.

“Don’t come any closer,” I warned when Soren took a step. “I will destroy this box and then neitherof us will get what is inside.”

I raised my arms up, ready to smash the box against the headstone.