Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 901

Chapter 107: Into the Future

“We need to weaken Aries. Normally, I'd suggest attacking and taking out as many of his men as possible," I said, tapping the map.

“But that's not possible in this situation. We'd never destroy enough of them with our numbers." Brandt sighed and walked around the table in a slow circle.

“You're right. But we don't have to destroy them. We could simply… turn them against Aries," I suggested.

Archer raised an eyebrow. “Now, there's an idea. What are you thinking?"

I grinned. “Aries is a traitor and a coward. If we can show his supporters the type of criminal he is, I doubt they will be willing to follow him."

“I like that idea." Brandt wagged a finger at me. “It would literally stop him in his tracks."

I nodded. “Once his supporters abandon him, he'll be alone. We can move in for the kill. He will be much, much easier to kill once he's on his own. And he won't be able to cry for help from the Royal Guards this time."

“I think a few well-placed rumors should get the ball rolling," Archer said.

“If nothing else, they should increase the Crown's interest in him enough to do some checking up on him. That might slow him down enough," Brandt said.

“Yes, it should. But we need more than a few rumors to fully weaken Aries's influence on his supporters."

Archer, Brandt, and I sat around the table discussing plans and options all day.

It really helped keep my mind focused, and I was relieved to feel like I was still effective and able to do something right.

As soon as the sun set again, my wolf took over and raced back to the village for Eliza. At this point, I wasn't even fighting against him. It was a battle I knew I would lose.

***

*Eliza*

Jared's wolf was gone when I woke up.

My mom brought me breakfast for the third morning in a row. She sat next to me at a table in my room, watching me eat.

“This is really awkward, Mom."

She poured me another glass of orange juice.

“You need to keep your strength up for the baby. I know you're in a lot of pain, and if you're not going to put your baby's needs first, I will."

I rolled my eyes, but she was right. I bit into my toast.

As annoying as she was, she had a good point. Ever since the rejection, I had barely had an appetite. Those first few days, I couldn't remember eating at all, unless Miriam brought me food.

At that point, if my mom wasn't bringing me food, I probably wouldn't be eating.

“Speaking of your baby's best interests, when are you going to come home to the Light Realm? Your father and I can help with the baby."

“Mom!" I slammed my spoon down. “Don't start!"

“Honey, please, hear me out. Jared rejected you. That pain you feel, it won't go away. Staying here with him is insulting to yourself. It is degrading."

“Can you stop? You've said all of this already. And the pain is… I'm feeling a little stronger every day."

“Eliza, I'm only thinking of what is best for you and your child."

I rolled my eyes. “No, you're thinking about what you want for yourself and my child. Jared is my mate. I know he only did what he did to protect me and the baby."

I looked down and covered my stomach with my hands.

My mom scoffed. “Did he tell you that?"

“No...."

Jared hadn't needed to tell me anything. His wolf was showing up every night to look after me, and I knew he wouldn't have done that if he really wanted to end things with me.

I knew that he'd only do something that extreme to save me and the baby.

Eventually, he'd talk to me again and I'd give him a piece of my mind. But I could understand the extreme lengths he had to go to save me and the baby.

“Then you don't know for sure, do you? You are just hopeful. You're just telling yourself what you want to believe."

“Mom, Jared is my mate, my husband, and the father of my child."

“He's not your mate anymore. He rejected you!"

“Look, I know you don't understand it, but the curse was going to kill all three of us. If we didn't break it correctly, it could have passed to our baby, just like it passed to him. I believe that he only rejected me to make sure it wouldn't pass to our baby."

“Again–"

“I'm not having this conversation every morning, Mom! Listen to me and listen well, because this is the last time I will say this...."

My mom opened her mouth and I held my hand up.

“This is my home and my pack. They accepted me as Luna. Jared's rejection doesn't change that. I have responsibilities here. I want to be here. You and Father are welcome to stay as guests."

“Eliza!"

“I'm strong enough now to go back to my life. That's just what I'm going to do. But it is still my life, and I am still going to live it the way I want."

My mother sighed heavily and shook her head.

“Mom, if you really have my best interest and my child's best interest at heart, then you'll let me do this. If there ever comes a time when I want or need to return home, I know you'll be there for me."

My mom smiled a little and reached for my hand. “Of course, I will."

I doubted this would be the last time that she'd try to convince me to leave Jared and the Dark Realm, but it felt like she was finally starting to listen to me and maybe even take me seriously.

After breakfast, I took a walk around the village. I needed to show my mother that I was actually strong enough to return to my life.

She wouldn't be convinced if I continued to stay locked up in my room.

Before we'd gone to visit Aries and everything had gone horribly wrong, I'd been planning to help Jared fix up the village and modernize it.

Jared wasn't around these days, which meant the responsibility fell to me. I was still the Luna.

I walked through every street in the village, taking more notes on where there were areas that needed work and what renovations I'd need to schedule.

Most of the residential houses and the shops were working well. They were well maintained and had good electricity.

As it turned out, the pack house needed the most work. I'd already taken notes on what the pack house needed.

I returned to the pack house and found Scarlett and Giselle.

“She appears," Scarlett said, winking at me.

Giselle rolled her eyes and ran over to hug me. “We've been worried about you."

“I'm fine… we're fine." I touched my stomach.

“That is so good to hear! How's everything… else?" Giselle grabbed my hands.

“Actually, I wanted both of your help with something." I changed the subject quickly.

As much as I loved Giselle and Scarlett, I didn't want to talk about the rejection. It was too confusing in my own mind. I had no way of trying to explain it to them.

“Eliza, may I have a moment?" My mother's voice entered the living room with my father. I hadn't seen much of him, but I knew he had been trying to give me space to make my own decision.

“I'll be right back."

I joined my parents by the front door and saw their luggage.

“What's going on?"

“It's time for us to get back to own life," my father said with a bright smile before giving me a hug.

I looked at my mother and she smiled and touched my cheek. “I wish you would come with us. But, you're right, darling. This is your life, and you need to get back on your feet."

“Thank you, Mom. That means a lot."

“But please don't feel like you have to take on curses or anything else on your own anymore. You know that we will always be there for you and our grandchild, no matter what."

“Yes, I know. I'll send regular messages," I promised.

My mom smiled again and hugged me close. “I love you, my daughter."

“I love you too, Mom."

I watched them leave the pack house. Relief swept over me. Not only were they accepting of my decision, but tomorrow, I could eat breakfast in peace.

My mom turned one last time to look at me and I waved to her.

I went back to Scarlett and Giselle.

“So, what do you need our help with?" Scarlett asked.

I grabbed a pillow and sat on one of the couches. Scarlett and Giselle found seats close by.

“I told Jared before… all this… that I would help him get the village repaired and up to date. There are some things that I can't do on my own, but I can handle renovations. I'd like to get started with pack house renovations and bring this place into the modern world."

“Eliza, no one is expecting you to...."

“To what? Be Luna?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at Giselle. “I took on the responsibility, and whatever is happening with Jared and me doesn't change that. I'm not going to turn away from my promises."

Giselle smiled and touched my knee. “That's what makes you such a great Luna."

“Thanks. I figured the three of us could start by cleaning this place up. It'll help determine where the most dangerous areas are that need immediate attention."

“Yay, cleaning day!" Scarlett rolled her eyes.

“If you don't want to help...."

She shook her head. “I do want to help. But have you seen the size of some of the dust bunnies in these corners? They could own their own property!"

“Yeah, we'll need some protective gear," Giselle agreed.

The three of us went through the pack house floor by floor, cleaning and taking notes.

I started on the top floor where the most interior damage was. It looked like no one had lived up there for a long time and it had just been left to fall into decay.

I shook my head as I looked at the peeling paint on the walls and the insect-eaten rug.

“I wonder what else is up here, other than dust bunnies," Giselle said. She poked one of the doors and it creaked open.

“What do you mean?" I ran the duster along a window frame. The glass was so dusty I couldn't even see outside.

“I mean, there are things in these rooms. What if they are old relics or something?"

“You want to dig through some old people's stuff?" Scarlett asked.

“Why not? I doubt they are coming back for it. We might find some cool things. Besides, we've been cleaning for like hours...."

I couldn't deny that curiosity was gnawing at me. Giselle was right. There could be some hidden treasures or cool old clothes.

“Alright, we'll take a quick break to check it out. But I don't want this to distract us too long. We still have a lot of work to do."

Giselle threw her duster down and pushed the door open. There were several things scattered around.

“What is all this stuff?" Scarlett asked. She went straight to the closet–no surprise there–and started sifting through musty, moth-eaten clothing. “Oh, my Goddess, some of these fashions! This stull is old."

I went to a dusty dresser and found some old writings. The paper was brittle and the writing was a little faded, but I could see what was written.

“This stuff belonged to Luther and Anna," I said, picking up one of the papers.

“Really!? Wow. That's pretty cool," Scarlett said.

“I think Luther wrote these pages. He talks a lot about… Dark King Sebastian. Some of it is a little crazy, some ranting about revenge and how much he hates the Alpha King."

“I'm not that surprised. From my grade school history lessons, Alpha King Sebastian was a complete terror. He did horrible things to his own children and decimated other packs." Giselle sighed and shook her head.

I nodded. “I know," I murmured.

I read through the rest of the pages. They seemed to get crazier and crazier. Luther had descended into madness, consumed by his hatred and need for revenge.

By the end of it, he even started talking to Anna like she was still alive.

Part of me felt sorry for him. His entire pack had been destroyed when he was a child, even his sister. It was no wonder he'd gone mad.

“Let's pack this stuff up and put it into storage. We'll need these rooms to be clear once we start working on renovations," I said.

“Sure."

We finished packing up Luther and Anna's things and what was left in the other rooms. It was a long project but by evening, it was done.

The first thing on my list for the next morning was to start calling contractors and getting the renovations going.