Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 858

Chapter 64 : I Know What it Wants

*Eliza*

I barely had time to get a hold of myself before Jared was rolling through the camp with the two rogues, their wolf bodies nothing but a mass of black as they barreled through the fire, sending a spray of embers throughout the camp.

Run. Run. He'd told me to run!

I grabbed my pack, the one carrying the Cryptex, locket, and maps, and sprinted in whatever direction my feet would carry me.

I realized within seconds that my feet were bare. I'd left my socks and boots to dry by the fire before laying down on my bedroll. I cursed under my breath as I reached down and felt along my waist where my knife belt should be. “f**k!" I cried, tears welling in my eyes.

Run. Run…

Where?

I heard Abe's howl rip through the air, thick with fury as he joined the fray. He wasn't in his human form anymore, that was clear.

They could take on two rogues easily.

Unless there were more.

I looked for a place to hide, but the trees were too sparse and spindly to offer me any cover. Ahead of me was nothing but steep, jagged rock as the mountains loomed overhead, the wind whipping snow from their peaks. I sucked in my breath and looked around, seeing rocks to the side. They were large enough for me to hide behind, but I didn't get the chance.

A huge silver wolf stepped out from between two trees, its lips curled into a snarl, mouth dripping with blood.

I screamed as it lunged toward me. I had nowhere to run but up and over the rocks. If it pinned me against the boulders I was dead–dead, dead, dead.

I scrambled up the rocks, making it to the top of a boulder just as the wolf slammed into it, whimpering and pawing its nose as I backed away, keeping my eyes fixed on it. It looked up at me, panting and growling. In the distance, I could hear shouts from the camp, where a battle was still taking place.

Behind me… was the river.

I'd backed myself into a corner. There was only one way out of this now.

The wolf backed up, licking its chops as I sucked in my breath and took a step backward.

It lunged onto the boulder, its teeth grazing my chest before I spread my arms wide and kicked off the boulder and into the water.

I gasped as a million frozen needles penetrated every inch of my body. Frigid water filled my mouth as I fought for the surface, my body twirling and rolling against its will.

Finally, I broke the surface, spitting water just as my vision started to fade to black. The river roared mercilessly, trying to drag me back down again, but I fought. I fought so hard. I threw every ounce of strength I had into just staying above the water. My body slammed into a rock, and I gripped the rock with my fingertips before I could be dragged away by the current again. I cried out, choking on a sob as I looked around. It was so dark, so incredibly void of light. The clouds were so thick overhead that it drowned out any sliver of moonlight.

But through the darkness, I could just make out the river's opposite edge, spindly white trees choking the rocks.

If I let go, if I angled my body just the right way....

My body reacted before my mind had a moment to catch up and I was hurtling through the current, stretching my arms toward the slate rock that lined the other side of the river. I screamed as the rocks grated my fingers into raw flesh, but eventually, I found a hold, the current pushing through me as I clawed my way onto solid ground.

I laid face first on the ground, whimpering, spitting water until my lungs were dry and burning from exertion and the shock from the ice-cold water.

The sparse forest groaned around me, a chilled breeze whispering over my skin as if to beg me to move.

You'll freeze, it seemed to say. Move, Eliza. Move!

I fought onto my knees and then stood, swaying a bit before getting my bearings. I reached back and felt that my backpack was still firmly fixed on my back. I took it off, opening it up and dumping the water from it. Any extra clothing was wet, of course. But the Cryptex, locket, and maps were safe and dry inside a special waterproof pouch I'd asked Abe to make. I'd learned my lesson the last time I fell into a river.

Hopefully, this was the last time.

I put the backpack back on and trudged forward, distancing myself from the river in case the wolf decided to take a risk. Jared would pick up my scent and follow eventually, I was sure. We were supposed to be following the river anyway. It didn't really matter if that meant I was on the other side, right?

I followed no trail. I didn't even look over my shoulder as I followed the river toward the mountains. The wind snaked around me, causing me to shiver. My teeth were chattering painfully as my wet clothing clung to my skin. I needed to get out of the wind. I needed shelter. I needed Jared, for the love of the Goddess.

What if he was dead?

I waved the thought away and trudged forward, cursing under my breath.

The landscape became more rocky and barren as I kept my feet moving. I broke into a jog just to keep myself from giving in to the cold threatening to pull me into numbing fatigue. I tried to mindlink with Jared, but it was no use. I couldn't do that yet, not unless it was family or my pack.

He'd find me. He would. It was the only thing keeping me moving.

But then I stopped, blinking into the darkness as straight chunks of stone rose in the distance, towering above my head as I took a few ginger steps forward–another standing stone circle.

I exhaled, closing my eyes and opening them again, half expecting the stones to disappear. I heard a humming sound, like I had when I found a piece of the Cryptex in Aeris's castle.

I broke into a sprint. Could it be another piece? Was there another piece here, somewhere around this circle of stones?

I fell to my knees just outside of the circle, shrugging my backpack off and digging inside of it for the Cryptex. I let its power permeate my hands as I crawled around on the ground, looking for the source of the humming.

Hours could have passed and I wouldn't have known. My knees were raw and sore by the time I found myself in the center of the stone, panting with effort.

I closed my eyes, listening intently.

But the humming was only the wind drifting over the stones.

The Cryptex was warm in my hands, the only warmth I had access to. The two intact pieces scraped against the one that needed mending, the piece the locket had been made out of. I was trying not to think about that part of this. How the hell were we supposed to mend the Cryptex, let alone solve it and break Jared's curse?

As if I'd summoned the power of the Cryptex, I felt a sharp pain in my hand and suddenly blood and pooling between my fingers. I opened my hand, watching as the Cryptex fanned open, its sharp inner pieces piercing and curling under my skin. I gritted my teeth, trying to drop it, but it clung to me, cutting into my skin and holding itself there.

I screamed as pain shot through my body, forcing me to my knees. The Cryptex was… putting itself together, at least the pieces that we had. The two intact pieces locked together, a pale green light shimmering over its surface and illuminating the gashes now covering my palm.

It was ripping me apart. It was hurting me so badly. I started to cry, to beg, then screamed for help as the broken piece melted away, molten metal soaking between my fingers.

“HELP!" I screamed, shivering violently as I clawed at the Cryptex.

I heard crashing in the trees and the wind whipped around me, knocking me over onto my side. I couldn't move. The pain was causing my body to spasm as I choked on sobs. I painfully turned my head to look at my outstretched hand, the Cryptex shining in my open palm.

I was hallucinating now. I had to be. Lines of black and emerald green snaked out from the wounds on my hands, snaking and roping up my wrist and forearm in intricate swirling patterns.

“No," I whispered, “You can't have me too."

Then everything went black.

***

“What is it?" George asked, crouching beside me.

Gray water lapped at the rocky beach, rolling over my yellow rubber boots.

“A crab shell, see?"

He narrowed his blue eyes at what I held in my hands, his black hair trembling in the sea breeze.

“Ew," he said, wrinkling his nose. “Come on, we're having dinner at the castle tonight. Aunt Maeve and Uncle Troy are in town."

I frowned and tossed my prize back onto the beach, watching as the waves reclaimed it. George tugged on my jacket, coaxing me to follow him back to the village.

I huffed a breath and followed, stumbling on the rocky shore and sharp incline back to the dirt road leading into town.

“Eliza?" came a voice behind me, a male voice, something that burned into my soul and set something alight that hadn't been there before.

I whirled around, seeing nothing but the inlet and mountains beyond, their faces dappled with pink as the fireweed reached full bloom.

“Did you hear that?" I asked George, but he didn't answer. I turned back around and....

Wait.

Something wasn't right.

I wasn't in Winter Forest anymore.

“She's dying," came a distorted voice in the distance, my view distorted by stone pillars and faint blue light coming through a stained glass window. “The baby is stuck, it's been days–"

A man moved in front of me, a black cloak spilling out behind him as he hurried down a dark corridor, jet-black curls trailing down his back.

I followed, unsure of what to do or what I'd see.

I followed him into a bedroom where a woman was laying in a large four-poster bed made of black wood that gleamed in the light of a fire. Her hair was long and tightly curled, dark brown ringlets cascading over her chest and matted with sweat and blood. Her eyes opened, green and blue spheres that held very little life.

Blood was everywhere, dripping from the sheets and onto the floor. She was gray, her face sunken and eyes drowning in dark circles. Her eyelashes fluttered as the cloaked man knelt by her side and grabbed her hands, his voice blurred with a frantic prayer.

“My love," she choked, a tear rolling off her lashes. “I am sorry. The babe–"

He placed his hand on her cheek, his eyes closing as he felt the chill of her skin. I looked down at my own hands, curling them into fists. I could feel it too. I could feel the life draining from her just like he could.

“I am so tired," she whimpered. “It hurts–"

He pulled something from his pocket, wrapping her trembling hands around it.

“Sleep now, my love–my life. You've fought too long. It's time to rest."

She opened her mouth to speak, but a clicking sound broke through the air, muffled by the man's desperately pained sob as the woman threw her head back in pain, then stilled. A whirling sound mingled with the crackling fire, and then I gasped, watching as the man laid the Cryptex over her swollen belly.

It was whole… unfurled like the petals of the flower. Green light, practically mist, swirled above its center before draining inside of it, just as the light left the woman's eyes and she died.

The man turned and looked right at me, his black and crimson eyes burning into my soul. He could see me.

He could see me.

“Hide it. It's sacred," he said.

For a moment, I thought he was talking to me. I opened my mouth to reply, but someone behind me spoke, their voice cut off as the room trembled.

A dark shadow curled around the man next to the bed. He strained every muscle in his body going rigid with pain. Screaming, he curled his fists as the shadow closed around him.

The Cryptex whirled and whirled, little golden squares moving in a circle and closing in an odd pattern as the shadow curled in dark tendrils inside of it.

Then it all went still.

“Eliza?" Jared said, somewhere far away.

“He put her soul into it. He went with her–" I cried, my eyes fixed on the dead woman in the bed. “Oh, my Goddess. I know what it wants. I know–"