Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 606

Chapter 106 : Portal to Home

*Lena*

This place, whatever it was, was a land of eternal sunshine. I wondered if I may have dreamt about it at some point during my childhood, and maybe that dream had spurred the creation of my own garden realm.

Everything was too beautiful and too good to be real, and as we gathered in the clearing under the gentle rays of a forgiving sun, I felt a pang of regret at the idea of leaving.

We'd only spent a day here at the most, enough time to rest and eat. Xander and Zeke spent much of the last several hours in quiet conversation, but their eyes told me they were plotting something grandiose, something… violent. I tried to stop myself from thinking of what would need to come next. Next was war, next was c*****e, and even in her seemingly infinite wisdom, Andromeda had little answers for us.

Xander was upset by this and accused her of purposefully talking in riddles. Oliver was too wrapped up in the mate bond he felt in this place to focus on anything, or anyone, who required his attention. But something changed in him as we prepared to leave, and Andromeda noticed the change, although she hadn't spoken a single word to him and left him to her acolytes instead.

“They said there is no one by the name of Elaine here," Oliver said, his voice laced with hurt. Andromeda twisted one of his glossy, copper-blonde curls around her finger as she circled him, her wide mouth curving into a smile.

“She was here, but she left. You'll see her again."

“I haven't seen her at all," he said in a whisper, his cheeks coloring as he lowered his eyes. Xander watched him with a careful gaze, then glanced at me, those dark eyes heavy with emotion.

The only thing Oliver had ever wanted was his mate. I'd known that since we were just children. He'd thought that was Hollis, and maybe even for a moment, he'd thought that had been Abigail as well.

He'd followed that bond here, and it had dropped him right at the doorway to the place where Elaine had been, at least for a moment. Now, she was gone.

“People can just come and go?" Xander asked.

Andromeda shook her head, folding her arms over her lap as her acolytes scurried around behind her, readying the book for its journey. They were wrapping it in silk and tucking dried flowers within the folds of fabric.

“Your witch was seeking her friend, and through our seers was able to locate him–"

“She's looking for Henry," Xander said beneath his breath, glancing at Oliver with a quick nod that said, 'We'll talk about this in a moment,' as he turned his attention to Zeke, leaning to whisper into the vampire's ear.

Penny was hovering beside me, her eyes fixed on Zeke as she wrung her hands. The two of them had been notably absent when the group of us sat down for a picnic a few hours earlier, and based on the glow of her skin and the sparkle in her eyes, I had a sneaking suspicion I knew exactly what they'd been up to.

I watched as Xander and Zeke nodded at each other, their plans finalized, and then he wrapped an arm around Oliver's shoulder and led him away to talk in private. My stomach was in knots, my throat tight and my mouth dry. My time spent in Crimson Creek felt so simple compared to this. The fate of my world was hanging in the balance, and I was at a loss as to how to stop it.

“It's imperative the book is given to your aunt as soon as possible," Andromeda said as she glided in my direction.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, tilting my chin upward as I looked into her eyes. “It's a long journey to Winter Forest from Crimson Creek–"

“It's a single minute from this realm to Winter Forest," Andromeda said with a girlish chuckle, waving her hand in dismissal. She removed one of the many rings she wore on her fingers, turning the ring over in her palm before handing it to me. It was ancient, the band glistened green with patina as I held it into the light. A smooth, rounded piece of jade was the other stone within its simple setting.

Jade, like the kind that could be found along the beach in Winter Forest, like the jade my father had made into wedding rings for himself and my mother. I met Andromeda's eyes and she smiled.

“Come, it's time to go," she beckoned, and I stepped forward, taking her outstretched hand. My free hand laid over the swell of my belly, which seemed to be doubling in size every day. I had a slight waddle to my gait now, and I could feel the baby moving sometimes, but not often. It was impossible to calculate how far along I was now, especially since so much time was passing in the pack lands in our absence.

We'd been in this place for two weeks, maybe less.

That could have been months back home.

What were we walking into once we breached the rift between our realms?

Xander came up behind me, Oliver by his side. I turned to look at Penny, who was standing hand in hand with Zeke. Zeke nodded at me in farewell.

“He's going to find Henry and Elaine, and bring them back here," Xander said quickly as we left the clearing and began walking through a dense, overgrown forest.