Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 798

Chapter 9 : Jared's Not in the House

*Eliza*

Rain thundered against the house for the rest of the day.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon in the laundry stirring the vats of scalding water andmending alongside Scarlett, the two of us enjoying several hours of contemplative silence.

The quiet and steady manual labor was a welcome break, and gave me the time I needed to mullover not only my situation, but the conflicting feelings that were creeping in and out of my mindsince my strange run-in with Jared near the edge of what he called the Dark Forest.

He'd given me some insight into the layout of the land. The Dark Forest was north and filled withdanger, that was clear. But to the south?

He'd said something about the sea, and where there was a sea, there was a boat.

A boat that could, potentially, take me home.

But no matter how hard I tried to make a plan of escape, my mind continually drifted back to Jared.His touch had heated my skin. His voice, dripping with concern, had made my breath catch in mythroat. And his eyes? Well, I'd found myself fixed on them, lost in the inky depths of what I honestlybelieved to be his soul. I saw darkness there, but I also saw fire, the same fire I felt within myself.

I was curious about him. I was... starting to want him, or wanting to know more about him. I wasn'ttotally sure. But I knew my body and my mind were at odds over the matter.

Wringing out several baskets worth of wet laundry was my only respite from my internal conflicts.Scarlett and I carried the sodden clothes and hung them on racks in the communal sitting roombefore a roaring fire to dry.

Our work finally complete, we walked into the dining room, taking a seat on either side of the long,wooden table as other servants began to trickle in to convene over plates of roast chicken andmashed potatoes.

I was starving, and barely noticed that Jared and Archer had come in and were sitting at theopposite end of the table until I lifted my gaze from my plate to reach for seconds

Jared looked entirely at ease, wearing a fresh shirt and trousers, free of his leather vest and beltheavy with weapons. I held my gaze on him for a moment, taking in the sharp line of his jaw and hissoftly curling black hair that brushed against the tops of his ears. He had his sleeves rolled up, and Inoticed with a start the tattoos that roped around his forearms, lines of deep black and gray thatmoved in a rhythmic pattern back under the sleeves of his shirt. He turned before I could tear myeyes away, and our eyes met for a fraction of a second before I looked back down at my plate,stifling a blush.

"Get yourself together,” I whispered to myself, toying with my food.

Miriam brought out dessert, which was met by applause. Even Jared was smiling, beaming up at heras she set the cake in the center of the long table, blushing with pride. My stomach was in knots as Istole another glance at Jared before rising from my seat and carrying my plate to the kitchen,feeling slightly overwhelmed.

There was a name for this, I was sure. I was out of my mind to even be considering feelings forJared. He'd taken me here against my will, and had refused to give me the option to leave.

I slid my empty plate into the sink, watching it disappear beneath the soapy water.

The attic was where the women of the house slept. “Attic” wasn't really the right word for it. It wascozy and clean, and several rooms took up a space that covered both the length and width of theentire house. The room I shared with Scarlett was at the very end of a long, snug hallway. I walkedinside, replaceing myself alone.

I took off my soiled apron and hung it on a hook before turning around and heading toward mybed, but then stopped midstep.

There was a large, leather-bound book resting at the foot of my bed.

I didn't need to go any closer to know what it was. I'd read it before... suffered through it, more like.And I knew who had left it for me, and why.

I fumbled with the clasps of my dress, glaring down at the book as I changed into a thick flannelnightgown. I continued to stare at the book in the reflection of the vanity as I brushed my hair. Ididn't touch the book until I'd returned from brushing my teeth, and even then I had little interest inaccepting what Jared must have meant to be a peace offering between us.

This book was from his study-the same study he wouldn't let me access, in the same house I wherewas being held captive.

With nothing left to do other than try to sleep, I pulled the book into my lap and looked down atthe worn cover. It was an old retelling of the story of Lycaon; while the book itself wasn't ancient,the story itself was.

Inside, I would replace the fable of his tomb, and his race through my realm to the safety of what wasonce the great city Dianny. I'd had to look at this book everyday for an entire semester during mylast year of college, pouring over every page and comparing it to the scripts donated to theUniversity by the Alpha King of Egoren himself. The purpose was so that our realm would be bettereducated in the true history of Lycaon, if the story was to be believed as fact, and not myth.

I closed the book, replaceing the text and the room I was sitting in suddenly claustrophobic. Scarlettcame into the room, silent as a ghost, her eyes lined with fatigue.

“Hi,” I smiled.

She gave me a soft smile in return before removing her apron and dress, changing into a nearlyidentical pair of pajamas.

“You're mending is making progress,” she yawned. “You did a great job today."

“Thanks,” I said, and meant it.

That was the most Scarlett had ever spoken to me, and I felt incredibly proud of myself as I slippedout of bed and fetched one of the thick robes hanging on hooks along the wall.

“I'm going to go sit on the porch for a while," I said, but Scarlett was already asleep, her eyelashesfluttering against her pale cheeks.

I slipped from the room and walked down the stairs into the depths of the house until I reached thefirst floor. There was a wide front porch attached to the house, and it was covered to protect it fromthe elements. I could sit on one of the benches and listen to the rain while I pondered over my nextmove.

The fact that Jared had given me this book to read meant he was thinking about me and mywelfare. He trusted me with this book, a prized possession from his study.

Did this mean I was slowly gaining his trust? And if so, could I potentially ask for access to his sacredstudy, and eventually, the map?

“I didn't know anyone else was out here,” Brandt said shyly, rising from one of the benches on theother side of the porch. I nearly jumped out of my skin, my hand flying over my heart.

“You scared me!" I breathed.

He stepped into the porch light, looking apologetic.

“It's cold out here," he said, tilting his head toward my robe and nightgown.

“I like it outside, especially when it rains. It calms my mind," I said, tapping a finger against mytemple as I slumped against a bench, resting the book on my lap.

"Yeah, I get that." He made a move like he was going to sit down beside me, but hesitated, leaningagainst one of the columns holding up the roof of the covered porch instead. His eyes glowed adeep blue in the amber light of the porch.

"What are you doing out here?"

“I'm meeting up with Jared and Archer in the village in a little while. I thought I'd take a minute justto—uh, breathe, I guess.”

"Oh? What are you all doing in the village?"

“Making plans for our journey south to Aeris's kingdom. It's been a wet spring,” he began,motioning to the steady downpour, “and our usual trail was washed out, from what we've heardfrom our scouts.”

“That's too bad," I said softly. I wondered why he was telling me this. “When do you leave?"

"A few days from now. There's a party for one of the younger crew members. He's turning twenty-one, so he'll come into his wolf. We're leaving the morning after.”

So, I had a few days with Jared and his crew before I was left to my own devices. I had a few days togather the supplies I needed to make the journey to safety.

A silence passed between us, broken only by the thundering rain. Finally, he said, “How are youdoing? I mean, with all that's happened-"

“Just fine," I replied, giving my best smile. “I like it here." I wondered if he could see right throughme, but he smiled nonetheless.

“That's good to hear. Miriam and Jared think highly of you.”

I couldn't help but scoff at the mention of Jared thinking highly of me. Brandt gave me a crookedsmile, shaking his head.

"He's a hardass, sure, but he's mentioned a few times that he thinks you're incredibly intelligent.”“Because I am," I teased. “But seriously, what is Jared's problem? Is he so—so—" I could not replace thewords to describe him. Ice cold? Brooding? A total jackass who I might now have a crush on?“Yeah, uh, he didn't used to be like this. He's been going through... something.” Brandt pursed hislips, realizing he was getting into dangerous territory.

“Does it have to do with the sketch of that amulet on his desk?"

Brandt snapped his eyes toward me, looking thoroughly taken aback.

I shrugged, opening the book on my lap. “I got lost while delivering laundry and ended up in hisstudy.”

Brandt eyed me suspiciously for a moment, but then relaxed, obviously not thinking me a threat tohis lord and keeper if I was still alive after setting foot in his precious study.

“I'd better go," he said, his expression losing its skepticism and softening into a smile. “I'll see youlater."

“See ya," I said cheerfully, waving as he walked out into the rain. My heart began to quicken as Iwatched his darkened form grow smaller and smaller, almost disappearing completely before twoother figures appeared, then the three shadows walked away and out of sight.

I sprung to my feet, tucking the book under my arm as I tried to steady my breath.

Jared wasn't in the house.

I could go get the map, or at least study it, without the risk of getting caught.

I turned into the house and shut the door firmly behind me.