Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 929

Chapter 139 : Feeling Watched

*Eliza*

I went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower. I washed my hair and squeezed the water out.

Wrapped in a towel, I checked my reflection in the steam-covered mirror. I dried off quickly and secured my hair in the towel to help it dry faster.

I got dressed in a casual outfit, something that would be comfortable for driving around and walking around. As Jared suggested, I put on comfortable shoes.

As I got ready for the day, I couldn’t shake the sense of uncertainty hanging over me. I wanted to believe that my dream was just a dream, but I wasn’t so sure anymore. Hestia’s voice sounded so real and what she said… was terrifying.

And the worst part was, she was still out there lurking around, and I knew exactly what she was after.

Every shadow started to look like her, and I just couldn’t turn off the unease that writhed in my stomach.

Over and over again, I tried to push those thoughts aside and focus on the good things.

Jared and I were back together. We were spending quality time together doing something fun, no longer fighting for our lives. We had a house, a village, and a baby on the way. I was excited to show him the Light Realm and all the places I knew he would love.

“Knock. Knock.” Jared knocked on the bedroom door.

“Ack!”

“Whoa, you’re a little jumpy,” Jared teased, winking at me.

I shook my head and took a deep, steadying breath. I’d been so lost in my thoughts I forgot he was even in the house. I took a moment to steady myself and stop my skeleton from trembling.

“Eliza, are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you.” Jared came across the room and put an arm around me.

“I’m fine. I was just lost in thought.”

“Can I entice you to come out of your thoughts and join me in the present?” he asked, holding a hand out to me. “Our car is ready.”

I smiled and took his hand. Enjoying a day in the Light Realm with Jared sounded like exactly what I needed to keep my mind off the other stuff piling up in the background.

Jared led me out to the car and we pulled away from our little house. I turned around and watched the house shrinking in the distance as we drove off. In the sunlight, it looked even cuter and more perfect than before.

I couldn’t wait to come home to that house tonight. It did really feel like a home away from home.

“Can you take us to Winter Forest? We’d like to do a tour of the museums and temples there,” Jared told the driver.

“Yes, sir.” The driver replied.

It wasn’t a long drive to Winter Forest, but we still got to see some of the gorgeous landscapes of the Light Realm.

There were rolling hills with little golden flowers blooming on them making them look like mounds of gold in the shimmering sunlight.

When we arrived at Winter Forest, I saw the awe in Jared’s eyes. He looked around at the silvery trees, their leaves full and green.

The town built between the trees was busy but quaint.

The car pulled up at the first museum on our day tour. It was an archeology museum of ancient cultures uncovered throughout the Light Realm.

“Did you work on any of these digs?” Jared asked as we perused some of the ancient artifacts that were almost as old as the Light Realm itself.

“Oh, I wish! I would have loved to be on the dig that discovered this.” I pointed to an artifact in one of the glass cases.

Jared scrunched up his nose and tilted his head sideways. “Uhh… what is it?”

“Are you kidding? This is one of the oldest plane propellers ever discovered. It is hundreds of years old. Our ancestors were trying to master flight that long ago….”

Jared smiled and slipped his arm around my waist.

“I love seeing how excited you get about old artifacts.”

“I can’t help it. You know, I think that the only way not to repeat our past is to document it and learn from it.”

“That is very insightful, Eliza. I think you’re right.”

We stopped at a temple next. It was one of the oldest temples still standing, and the Moon Goddess priestesses that worshipped there weren’t like any other.

They wore pure white, cotton dresses with white and purple flowers in their hair. They walked around barefoot, chanting and praying to the Moon Goddess.

Many of them were gifted Moon Goddess relics once they completed their training and they wore those relics somewhere on their body–rings, pendants, headbands, tiaras, etc.

The temple itself was carved from white marble and when the afternoon light hit it, it looked like it was a gateway to heaven.

Jared and I walked across the tile floor and I pointed to a few of the stained-glass windows and paintings.

“It is said that the first White Queen herself commissioned those windows and paintings.”

“Huh….” Jared studied the face of the first White Queen closely, squinting his eyes. “Lena does look a bit like her, doesn’t she?”

I rolled my eyes. “Hey, there’s a guided tour up there. I bet the guide can tell you a lot more about this place than I can.”

We headed to the tour group and tagged along.

The guide gave an extensive history of the temple and the different artifacts.

I was familiar with a lot of the history, so I began to wander away from the tour group a little. I was looking at a white, marble statue when a chill ran down my spine.

Freezing, I held my breath for a moment and slowly looked around. The hairs on my arm and back of my neck stood on end.

I felt like someone was watching me but I couldn’t see anyone. Everyone in the temple was going about their own business and paying attention to things in front of them, not to me.

Instinctively, I looked for Jared.

He was talking to the tour guide, asking a lot of questions by the looks of it.

A fond smile touched my lips. I was glad he was enjoying himself.

Sighing, I shook off the uneasy feeling. It was probably just me being a little paranoid from this morning. No one knew where Jared and I were, and we were out enjoying the day.

I went to Jared and slipped my arm through his.

“Ready to take a lunch break?” he asked me.

I nodded and we headed out of the temple. Right across the street there was a café with outdoor seating. Jared and I got a table with an umbrella to cast some shade.

We ordered lunch, and I couldn’t help but feel like something was off. It was that same feeling of being watched but There were only a few other people at the patio table.

“What did you think of the temple?” I asked Jared, trying to push my feelings aside.

“The Light Realm puts so much into the worship of the Moon Goddess.”

I giggled. “Well, yeah. The White Queens come from the Light Realm and they are essentially the Moon Goddess incarnate.”

“That’s a good point.”

When our food arrived, I glanced around the café again. I just couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

There were a few other couples sitting outside at other tables. I noticed one woman sitting by herself. She wasn’t looking in my direction but I get a strange feeling when I looked at her.

“Eliza?”

I shifted my attention back to Jared. “Hmm?”

“How’s your lunch?”

“Oh, it is fine.” I picked up my sandwich and took a bite.

“Good. If you could let your mom know that I’m taking good care of you and feeding you well, I’d appreciate that.”

I giggled and nodded. “I’ll make sure that she knows.”

Jared and I talked a little more about the next museum we’d be going to, but by the time I finished my lunch, I needed to relieve myself.

“I’m going to take a quick trip to the restroom, then we can get on the road again.”

I was washing my hands when I noticed a shadow in the corner move in the mirror. Lifting my eyes, I tried to follow the reflection in the mirror but it was gone.

“Cool it, you’re just imagining things,” I whispered to myself. I dried my hands off.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulder.

I whipped around, coming face to face with the woman from the outside tables. She was standing way too close to me.

“Personal boundaries,” I muttered, holding my hands up and trying to put some distance between us.

The woman smirked. “I know who you are,” she spoke in a low whisper.

I froze. Her eyes were intense and her look was steely. My knees trembled.

“You’re the one Hestia is after.”

I swallowed hard. My heart pounded in my chest. I needed to get out of here, now….

Keeping my hands raised, I backed toward the bathroom door. I looked around the bathroom, hoping that someone else was in there.

I remembered that when I came in it was empty. This woman must have been waiting for me, or she snuck in after me.

Either way, I was alone with her and I knew she was working for Hestia.

I took a step back and the woman took a step forward.

With a cruel smirk, she opened the palm of her hand revealing a pile of yellow powder in her hand. She blew on the powder.

“No!” I threw my hands up, trying to shield my face.

The fine grains of the powder blew into my eyes, blinding me. I blinked furiously, trying to clear my vision. All I could see was a blurry mustard color, the powder turning to goo in my eyes. I swiped out with my hand, trying to keep the woman back.

All I struck was air.

Then, a hand came down on my belly. Terror ripped through me as I realized this woman was going after my baby….

“Don’t touch me!” I cried, trying to push her hand away.

She just laughed, tightening her grip. She was too strong. I couldn’t push her away.

Tears wet my eyes as I realized I was powerless to protect my child.

Searing, white-hot pain shot through my spine and down my legs. I screamed, my legs giving out from under me. I collapsed on the bathroom floor, jolt after jolt of pain tearing through me like I was being stabbed over and over again.

Through my blurry vision, I saw the woman’s form disappearing out the bathroom door.

My body twisted as shock after shock of pain ripped through me.

I screamed again.