Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 572

Chapter 72 : I Can Find Him

*Lena*

Adrian made himself at home, much to my annoyance. He was messy, and he tended to come into the cottage and leave a trail of clothing items behind him, as well as walking away from half-empty mugs of tea. He'd gone through all the books I'd unpacked, leaving them in random places around the cottage, and every morning when I left for the schoolhouse, I'd find him standing in the kitchen drinking coffee in nothing but MY robe, which barely covered his thighs.

He was unphased by my presence. He was fixated solely on locating his Alpha, and complained frequently about the fact that I could only spare so many hours a day trying to activate the bond between us. Mind-linking with Xander had failed, and the mark on my chest was dormant, nothing but a smooth, half-moon scar.

Four days had passed since the night Adrian arrived. I had no friends in Cedar Hollow, so no one seemed to notice anything odd about Adrian hanging around the village or walking back to my cottage.

But on the fifth day, a Friday evening to be exact, something changed.

I was making dinner, decompressing after another day teaching my kindergarteners. We'd spent most of the day outside, turning the soil in the long-neglected garden on the school grounds. This spring, I planned to teach them how to garden, and I was looking forward to it.

But I found myself increasingly protective of Sasha after my strange conversation with Clare on my first day of class. Any time someone I didn't recognize walked by the classroom, I moved closer to the girl, close enough to reach out and grab her up if I needed to. Clare hadn't said a single word to me since that day, not in the morning during school drop-off or in the afternoon during pick-up. I'd even seen her at the market, and she didn't even look in my direction.

Tonight, however, I heard Adrian open the rickety front gate, and he wasn't alone.

Hale and Adrian walked into the cottage without knocking, and only Hale looked in my direction and smiled in greeting. I gave him a tight smile of my own before flicking my gaze toward Adrian, glaring at him as he kicked his boots off in two different directions and continued his conversation with Hale.

“What's for dinner?" Adrian asked as he tossed his weight into one of the couches.

“Whatever you decide to cook for yourself," I said with mock sweetness, then moved my gaze to Hale. “Hello, Alpha."

“Hale is fine," he replied, giving me a boyish smile. Adrian snorted, rolling his eyes. The potato and leek soup I was cooking began to boil, and I turned away from the men to stir the large enamel and cast iron pot. The entire cottage smelled like the bread I was baking in the wood-fired oven. It was heaven–at least it had been until Adrian showed up and ruined my serenity.

The men were talking in hushed tones near the hearth while I set the table. I donned oven mitts and carefully pulled the loaf of bread from the oven, the skin crackling and perfectly bubbled. I smiled to myself, exhaling as I slid the butter dish toward the center of the table and took a step back to look at my evening of hard work.

I'd made enough to share, of course. Adrian might be the most aggravating person I'd ever met in my entire life, but I wasn't going to let him starve. He was spending every day gathering information, and the day before he had been gone for nearly eighteen hours because he took the morning bus to Red Lakes and caught the evening bus back to Cedar Hollow, a ten-hour round trip journey.

No one had seen a tall, striking man fitting Xander's description this far north and west.

As I set the pot of soup on the table, I heard Hale and Adrian talking about Xander, and Hale glanced at me, his eyes clouded with sudden suspicion.

I stiffened, meeting Adrian's eyes. Had he told him who I really was? Surely not.

Before I could finish laying out the food, Hale announced his departure. He gave me a soft smile as he shrugged on his coat, then disappeared into the night. I fought back a pang of disappointment as I took one of the three bowls I'd laid out on the table and put it back in the cupboard.

“No meat?" Adrian complained as he sat down at the table.

I glared at him as I pulled out my chair. “There's a few steaks in the fridge. I picked them up today."

“Soup is fine," he said with a wry smile. “Thank you for cooking."

I kept my eyes narrowed on his as I served myself a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread dripping with butter. The meal wasn't as good as the food I'd be served at Castle Drogomor or the Palace of Avondale, but I was learning to take care of myself away from the cafeteria at school, and that counted for something.

“So, you met the Alpha of Cedar Hollow?"

“Yeah, and that man wants nothing more than to get you in his bed."

I choked on my soup so violently that Adrian stood up and leaned over the table to pat me vigorously on the back. I swatted him away as my eyes watered.

“Are you going to live?" he teased as I took a large gulp of water.

“He doesn't–"

“Oh, he does. Don't worry, I told him I was your husband."

“You WHAT?"

Adrian grinned, then bent to eat his soup. I was fuming, and leaned back in my car holding my spoon like a weapon. I was tempted to toss it at him, aiming right between his eyes.

“Does it really matter? Once we find Xander, we're out of here, anyway."

“I'm not leaving. And you've been searching for him in these parts for days. He's obviously not here."

“Well, you could help me, you know. Use your mate bond."

“It doesn't work that way," I hissed, stirring my soup.

We ate in silence for the rest of dinner.

***

Adrian was leaning on the porch railing, a mug of tea in his hands. Steam was wafting from the mug, pale ribbons of moisture snaking into the clear, star filled sky. I was sitting in a rocking chair wrapped in the thickest blanket I could find and listening to Adrian point out the constellations with boyish enthusiasm.

“Rare to find a night sky like this in your realm, huh? So many people."

I shifted my weight in the rocking chair and shrugged, still vexed from our conversation over our supper.

“Did you know that the constellations are opposite in Egoren?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Everything here is all turned around, and you're missing some."

I did find that interesting, but I was currently giving Adrian the cold shoulder. He'd followed me out here and was making no moves to go back inside.

He glanced at me, huffing slightly as he turned around to face me with his hands over his chest.

“It's time to get serious about this Lena–"

“I already told you I can't help you find him. He obviously doesn't want to be found."

“I think he's in trouble."

“What exactly do you expect me to do, Adrian?"

“Use your powers."

I bristled and shook my head.

“Lena, you need to help me. Your realm depends on it."

“See, I wouldn't actually know that because you and Xander are keeping me in the dark about the threat. You could be lying, for all I know."

“I'm not lying, Lena. Xander–"

“Xander commanded you to not say anything to me, I get it. You made it very clear."

“He's trying to keep you safe. We both are."

“I AM safe. And Xander's not here, okay? I think you should leave."

“You are his mate, and you're a White Queen. I need you to do whatever it is you can do with your powers to find–"

“You know so little about the White Queens, Adrian. What do you think we can do, exactly? Locate people with our minds like a GPS?"

He scowled. “You're more than a White Queen, Lena. And you should start acting like it."

The front gate swung open and smacked against the fence, making us both jump.

Clare walked up the path, her mouth curved into a smug smile.

I stood up abruptly, and Adrian turned, putting himself between me and the woman who was still a stranger to him.

“Well, well. You could have just told me the truth about who you were, Ms. Grayleigh," Clare clucked as she reached the foot of the steps leading up to the porch. “Or is just Gray? You're Selene Gray, Princess of Valoria, aren't you?"

I didn't say a word. I was frozen in place. Adrian chuckled, rolling his eyes as he tilted his head toward Clare.

“One of your local friends?" he asked me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Clare set one of her feet on the stairs, her hands on her hips.

“Mm… I wouldn't say we're friends." Clare met my eye, and I was expecting malice, but what I saw there startled me. She looked relieved.

“Clare?" I said as she stepped up onto the porch, a shadow falling over her face as she looked from me to Adrian.

“I need your help," she said in a strained whisper.

Adrian straightened up a bit, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye as Clare moved in on us.

“Are you… related to Hale?" Adrian asked, but I nudged him in the ribs to quiet him.

Clare nodded, giving a somewhat morose shrug of her shoulders. “I heard you've been searching for a man," she began, tilting her head toward Adrian. “And he's your mate, Lena, correct?"

I tried to explain to Clare that Xander likely didn't want to be found, but Adrian put a hand up, silently begging me to just shut up and let Clare help. Clare flicked her eyes between Adrian and me, and then turned to me, extending her hand.

“You cannot tell anyone about this. I was never here."

“Okay," I replied, and felt a shock run through me as she wrapped her fingers in mine.

Adrian eyed us with heavy skepticism, his fair brows arched as Clare gripped my fingers.

“I have the power of sight. I can help you find this man, but you have to help me as well. A deal must be made."

“You have the power of sight?" Adrian asked.

She nodded, her eyes not leaving mine. “And you do as well, don't you?" she said to me in particular.

I felt as though I was under a spell. I nodded, unable to hesitate or protest.

“You have to find someone for me first," she whispered. “What do you know of the pack Lycenna?"