Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 863

Chapter 69 : Swallowed By Darkness

*Jared*

I woke before the sun and pulled my arms from around Eliza. For a moment, I just watched her.

Her face was so soft and peaceful as she slept, hair curling around her soft features so perfectly. It was hard to pull away. I could have laid with her in my arms forever.

But Abe and I had a lot of work to do.

I kissed Eliza's cheek and brushed my fingers lightly down her face.

She squirmed and turned away from me.

I smiled to myself. She was perfect, and she was all mine.

Stretching, I threw some clothes on and nudged Abe's tent. “Get up, sleepy. We've got a long day ahead of us."

Abe groaned and I heard him shifting around.

While he got ready, I lit a fire and threw together a quick breakfast for us–a few fried eggs, some coffee, and bacon. It was the perfect energy boost we needed.

Abe crawled out of his tent and took the coffee I offered him. He guzzled it down and then devoured his breakfast. Afterward, he stood up and stretched, yawning like a fog horn.

“Ready to get to it?" I asked.

Abe smirked. “That rock pile doesn't look so bad. I bet we'll have it cleared by noon."

“Right...."

The first rocks we moved out of the way were small and easy to toss aside. It was just like brushing pebbles or gravel out of the way. But it didn't take long for Abe and me to get to the larger rocks. One by one, we lifted them and hoisted them out of the way.

By the time Eliza woke up and started on her own breakfast, we'd been working for a few hours, and it barely felt like we'd made a dent.

I let my eyes wander toward Eliza as she moved around the camp. Her tight pants clung to her hips, hanging low enough that I could see the edge of her underwear. When she bent over, the hem of her shirt pulled up her back, revealing a lickable amount of her skin.

Unconsciously, I licked my lips.

“Hey, are you working, or am I going to do this whole thing myself!?" Abe snapped.

I shook myself out of my daze and looked at my friend. He was huffing and puffing as he shifted a massive rock. I went to him and helped lift.

“I just needed a little break," I smirked.

“Yeah, I know what you needed." Abe shook his head.

We tossed the large rock aside and each got back to work on some of the smaller, more manageable rocks.

The sun was getting higher in the sky and hotter. Sweat soaked through the back of my shirt and dripped off my brow. I pulled my shirt off and used it to wipe the sweat off my face and the back of my neck. I tossed my shirt on the ground.

Abe did the same, only he tied his shirt around his head like a doo rag.

I shielded my eyes from the sun and looked at the rock pile. For as long as we'd been working and for as much as we'd moved, it didn't even seem like we were a quarter of the way done. We could spend every day from now until my birthday digging, and we might never get through it all.

My eyes wandered to Eliza again. She was sitting at the fire, which had burned to coals since it was daytime and there was no need for it. Her map was on her lap and her eyes were fixed on it.

I grinned, loving to see that look of concentration, the way her brow scrunched up just a tiny bit, and how her eyes narrowed in an almost surly way. But I knew she was focused, not angry.

“We should have packed some dynamite," Abe said.

“Why?" I asked, creasing my brow.

“To blow this thing wide open! I mean, we're doing all this work and we don't even know for sure if this is the right way to Eliza's mythical city."

“I trust her. If she says this is the way, then this is the way."

“Hey guys!"

Eliza's voice immediately drew my attention. She clamored up the rock pile, waving the map around. Her feet slipped on the shifting rocks, causing several to knock loose and slide down the pile.

“Be careful! We'll come to you," I said.

Eliza shook her head and reached us at the top before I could make a move closer to her.

“What is it?" Abe asked.

“First, you two need water." She handed us each a canteen.

“Oh, you're a Goddess!" Abe gushed. He snatched the canteen and guzzled water down, streams flowing over the edge of the canteen, around the corners of his mouth, and down his throat.

I shook my head and took a swig of the fresh, cool water. It was like drinking the nectar of heaven. Sighing, I took several more sips.

“Alright, I'm hydrated. What's the big deal?" I asked, handing Eliza the canteen again.

She slipped it over her shoulder and pointed to the map.

“I've been studying the map, and I think I might have overlooked something." She smiled sheepishly and bit her lower lip.

“As long as it means we don't have to dig through these rocks anymore, all is forgiven," Abe said. He sighed and flopped down on the nearest boulder.

My knees ached from all the squatting and lifting but I knew if I sat down, I wouldn't want to get back up again.

“Well, I think there is another way into the city. I can't promise it will be cleared, but it might be a lot easier to get through." She shrugged.

“Oh, hallelujah! What other way is there?" Abe sang, throwing his head back.

Elize pointed to the map and ran her finger along a few of the lines.

“Here." She tapped the map. “I think this is supposed to be a river that goes into the city. But I didn't realize it because… it looks like it's underground."

“An underground river?" I asked. I leaned closer and looked at the rough map she'd drawn.

“Yeah. This is that cave we went into with the finger bones." She pointed out that cave and then the original line she'd shown me. “I think that cave is our way into the city."

“By following an underground river?" I arched an eyebrow.

The whole thing sounded a little far-fetched to me. Underground rivers weren't something that came up commonly in conversation. Then again, a mythical city might have a mythical underground river leading to it.

“I'm pretty sure I saw the cave in my vision. It was so big and imposing, just like in real life. But I honestly didn't think much of it because I was focused on this road. Now, I'm thinking it is worth going back and exploring some more."

“Yes!" Abe jumped up and threw his fist in the air. “I agree. We should explore the cave more. I mean, I was the one that pointed it out after all."

Eliza glanced at me.

Sighing, I looked over the rock pile. We'd worked so hard but made hardly any progress. If we took some time to go look at the cave and it turned out to be a dead end, it wasn't like the rock pile was going anywhere. We could just come back and get back to digging. Losing half a day wouldn't mean that much in the grand scheme of things when it came to moving this rockslide.

“Alright, we'll take a look. But I don't want to spend days exploring the cave in hopes of finding something so we don't have to come back and work," I admonished.

“Well, if you're that concerned about it, Eliza and I can check the cave while you keep working on the pile," Abe suggested with a smirk. “That way, we don't lose any time clearing the path."

I rolled my eyes. “Get your things. Let's go."

We packed up the campsite quickly. Even if we ended up coming back, it was better to clean up our trail. If there was anyone following us, it would make it harder for them to track us.

Fortunately, Abe hadn't picked up on anyone last night, but that didn't mean they weren't out there.

“Are you sure you're okay with this?" Eliza asked as we loaded up our packs.

Turning to her, I cupped her cheek. She knew me so well it was like she could read my mind sometimes. Maybe that had more to do with our mate bond, if we really were mates. But small moments like this made me feel like it was true, even if we couldn't fully sense it until she got her wolf.

“If you're sure about this, I trust you."

“Do you?"

I sighed. “Of course, I do. But it took so long to find this path and you were sure about it."

“I am still sure about this path. But if there is another way, I think it's worth exploring."

I chuckled lightly and nodded. “You're absolutely right."

The walk back to the cave didn't take that long. We'd already familiarized ourself with the trail. We'd spent more time digging at the rock pile than I thought. By the time we reached the massive cave entrance, the sun was setting.

The shadow of the cave extended in the setting sun, like a hungry mouth searching farther and farther for something to devour. Would we be it's next meal?

“Let's get some torches. I want to save the flashlight batteries as much as possible," Abe said.

I grabbed some sticks and we wrapped our old, sweaty shirts around them. There was a nearby pine tree. I cut into the bark and we rolled our shirts in the sap, coating them.

Abe pulled out a lighter and the shirts burst into flame, the pine pitch causing them to burn slowly.

Eliza stood beside me and grabbed my hand, squeezing my fingers. I caught her eye and nodded. The three of us plunged into the endless, consuming darkness.

We walked into the cave, past the point where Eliza had found the finger bones. A shudder ran down my spine. The idea of there being shifter finger bones lying around… or other body parts–we had no idea how long they'd been there.

Part of me wondered if someone would come here looking for our bones someday.

Our torchlight flickered against the cave walls.

Eliza went to one of the walls and ran her fingers along it. She frowned slightly.

“What is it?" I asked, coming up behind her.

“I don't know. Some of the rocks feel like they were smoothed by water. But it could have been something else."

“Water would align with this underground river theory," Abe chimed in from up ahead.

He'd taken the lead and he didn't seem to want to slow down, even when Eliza stopped.

We were so deep in the cave now that I could barely see the outline of the cave entrance or the moonlight beyond it.

“Let's keep going." I put my hand on the small of Eliza's back.

She bit her lower lip, her cheeks flushing with the perfect, crimson glow in the dim torchlight.

We walked a little further. The air began to close in around me. It felt like a vice, getting tighter around my chest and my ribs.

“Uh...." I gasped for breath.

My limbs got too heavy to keep moving and I dragged my feet until I had to stop walking completely. My blood felt like it was full of lead and I dropped the torch, my arms hanging uselessly at my sides.

“Jared?" Eliza called to me. Her voice sounded so far away.

Suddenly, my chest felt like it was being ripped apart by bolt cutters. Groaning, I clawed at my shirt and dropped to my knees. I gasped, my insides feeling like they were being pulled in every direction like my organs had been drawn and quartered.

“AHHHH!"

“Jared, Jared, what's wrong?"

My vision blurred. I could barely make out Eliza running toward me. She put her hand on my shoulder and everything went black.