Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 923

Chapter 129: Mysterious Ways

Normally, I didn’t mind traveling by boat.

But for the first couple of days, every wave turned my stomach and made me run straight for the bathroom.

I wasn’t sure if it was because I was pregnant or because I was so sad over losing Jared… again.

The mate bond was gone all over again. I’d had to do it, though. It was the only way to be there for my family and right now, they needed me more than Jared did.

The threat to the Dark Realm was nearly gone. Hestia was all that was left, and she was weak.

Lena was in trouble, and so was the White Queen line.

Even though the boat was small, Xander assigned two Royal Guards to me. They followed me around everywhere I went and were constantly stationed outside my door.

They didn’t talk to me much, but I knew they were always there.

I went to the back of the boat and watched the Dark Realm fading into the distance.

The memory of Jared’s pained, broken look as the boat pulled away from the dock swam in my mind.

My stomach clenched and I sniffled.

One of the guards handed me a tissue. I nodded and wiped my eyes. That was some real, full-service guard duty….

I headed to Lena’s room and sat next to her bed. There’d been no change since we got on the boat. I hadn’t expected to see any change in her, but it worried me about how still she was getting.

She used to jerk when I touched her. Now, the reactions were less and less.

Was her brain shutting down already?

When I left the palace, I hadn’t had a lot of clothes to bring with me but I had seen some familiar books on a shelf in my room. I didn’t think Lena would mind me borrowing them.

I kept one of the books in her stateroom. It was one of her favorites.

The healers made it seem like since she was asleep, she could still hear us. Xander talked to her a lot but as king, he couldn’t be with Lena all the time.

I picked up the book and started reading where I’d left off. For some reason, I thought that if I kept reading to her and talking to her, she’d hear me and hold on a little longer. She would fight to stay alive.

I read a few ##Chapters and then set the book aside. Taking Lena’s hand, I squeezed her fingers four times until I got a reaction from her.

“Don’t ever stop doing that, okay?” I asked.

There wasn’t much else I could do except be there for her.

Xander joined me. “How is she today?”

“The same.” I sighed and bowed my head.

“Thank you, Eliza, for reading to her and being with her when I can’t.”

“She’s my cousin. I’m not giving up on her.”

“And I know she will be forever grateful to you for that, as am I, and our children.”

Underneath Xander’s kind words, I could sense that he wanted to be alone with his wife.

“I’ll come back a little later and read to her more.” I gave Lena’s hand one last squeeze and headed back to the deck of the boat.

Every morning, I walked the deck. I knew it like the back of my hand.

My guards trailed behind me as I walked the deck again after leaving Lena’s room. Other than reading to her and walking around, there wasn’t much else to do.

When I stayed alone in my room, I just thought of Jared and I got upset. On the deck I got fresh air and exercise. It was better than lying around weepy and mopey.

Automatically, my feet took me to the back of the boat. Every time I walked the deck, I ended up there, even without thinking about it.

We’d been traveling for a few days, and I could still see the border of the Dark Realm.

“Jared,” I whispered to myself.

Even though I had family with me, I still felt alone. Why hadn’t Jared asked to come along? If he had… maybe none of this would have happened.

I hadn’t told him he couldn’t come; he’d just assumed. Instead of being supportive, he’d dismissed my concerns about my cousin and my desire to help her.

My heart clenched and I covered it with my hands like I could keep it from falling out of my chest.

This was all wrong. He wasn’t supposed to….

The pain from the rejection coursed through me again and tears wet my eyes. I sniffled and bowed my head.

One of my guards handed me a tissue. I nodded and accepted it. It was the same guard every time. The other one didn’t seem to notice.

I watched the Dark Realm fade through blurry eyes and returned to my stateroom.

The moment we crossed into the Light Realm, I knew. The air tasted differently.

A helicopter flew in to meet the boat. Xander must have sent word ahead.

The helicopter scooped up Xander and Lena and took them straight to the hospital. I stood on the deck and watched the helicopter disappear; my unruly, curly hair even more tangled from the wind the chopper kicked up.

Xander left his men and guards with me on the boat, but a heart-sinking loneliness set in. Everyone I loved was so far away now….

“I did the right thing,” I told myself, pacing back and forth on the deck. “It’s what had to be done.”

Tears stung my eyes again and I stopped pacing, wrapping my arms around myself.

My faithful guard was there again with a tissue.

I took it from him and dabbed at my eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He spoke in a strong, deep voice but I could tell he was young, a lot younger than I expected, more like my age.

I smiled a little. “Oh, so you do speak?”

He pulled his helmet off and grinned at me. His eyes twinkled with kindness, and his smile was so genuine and pure. “Only if you want me to.”

I nodded. “I’d like to have someone to talk to, now that my family is gone.”