Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 11 : There's Something Out There

♦Xander*

I found Henry in the warehouse. He'd laid the creature on a tarp and was sitting on an upside down

bucket nearby, looking pale.

I walked toward the old man, not bothering to announce my presence. He knew I was there. He knew

I'd be coming to him with questions.

"It's a wolf, isn't it?* I said, stopping short of the tarp. I looked down at the body of the wolf, noticing for

the first time the lack of blood on the tarp, and on Henry's clothes. I peered at him, narrowing my eyes

as he rose from the bucket. "Who is it?"

Henry shook his head, looking exceedingly exhausted. He ran his hand over his face, looking down at

the tarp through his fingers.

"Gretta was the only worker unaccounted for in Bethany's count."

I closed my eyes, picturing the soft-spoken young woman with glasses and softly curling blonde hair

who I had seen at breakfast the morning before. She hadn't been at the bonfire, of that I was certain.

"What did this to her?" I asked, but Henry shook his head, wiping his hands on his pants as he rose

from the bucket.

"I don't know.’

"Lena and I heard something in the woods during the bonfire, something large-"

"It didn't come from the woods, which are inside of the perimeter," Henry breathed, giving me a look of

annoyance. "It came from over the wall."

"Has this happened before?" Adrenaline was coursing through me. My fingertips prickled as I knelt

down by the tarp, taking a closer look at the remains of Gretta's wolf form. There wasn't much left.

"No one is allowed to shift on the property, especially after dark. Some do... but near the village. Never

here."

"You didn't answer my question," I said sharply, watching the old man closely as he stood with his

hands tucked in his pockets. "What happened to her blood?"

I'd noticed blood staining the ground where her body had been found, and a splatter of it on the wall,

but not nearly enough to have bled her dry like she was now. I reached out to touch the wolf, running

my fingers over her fur.

"I don’t know-'

"Then who would know? Have the authorities been alerted?"

"Radcliffe is on his way."

"What authority does he have to investigate this? I'm talking about the police or the warriors belonging

to the Alpha!"

"Radcliffe will determine what needs to be done," Henry scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"This girl has been murdered, and violently-"

"We don't know that-'

"Are you kidding me?" I rose to my feet, clenching my hands into fists in an attempt to stop myself from

reaching out and throttling the man. "She was ripped to pieces not even a quarter mile from where the

rest of US were sleeping!"

I glanced back down at the remains of the wolf, shaking my head as I closed my eyes. It was the most

awful thing I'd ever seen. Henry was hiding something. His face betrayed his calm, somewhat

uninterested tone. He looked just as terrified and uneasy as I was sure I did.

"I'll be alerting Morhan College to what happened, first thing in the morning. Lena and I-"

"What exactly do you mean to do with that girl, anyway?" Henry asked, staring directly into my eyes.

"What the f*ck do you mean by that?"

"Does her father know she's sharing a bed with the likes of you?"

"Lena’s an adult, for one. Two, don’t try to deflect from-'

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" I blinked at him, taking a cautious step in his direction.

"Henry!" came a sharp voice from the door to the warehouse.

I turned, straightening my shoulders as Maxwell Radcliffe walked into the warehouse, followed by a

tearful Bethany. Her face was reddened and raw from her tears, and I noticed she kept her gaze off the

body of what I assumed had been a friend.

"Yes, sir," Henry said, bobbing his head at Maxwell.

Maxwell stopped short of the tarp, not even looking down at it as he began to bark orders at Henry and

Bethany. I watched in horror as Maxwell commanded Bethany to physically move the body to the

center of the tarp with her bare hands. Bethany's lower lip was trembling, her face contorting as she

tried to stifle a sob as she bent down.

I reached out, clutching her shoulder and pulling her away from the tarp.

"I’ll do it," I said loudly, glaring at Maxwell, then Henry. "Why is she even here?"

Fresh tears were streaming down Bethany's face as she waited for Maxwell to speak. She looked

terrified, which made me want to scream with frustration at the fact she had been called to assist in this

matter.

"Get her out of here, for Goddess's sake. What is the matter with you people?" I hissed.

Maxwell turned to me, looking me up and down before a smirk stretched across his mouth.

"That'll be all, Bethany," he said slowly, dismissing her with his hand. Bethany bobbed her head, once,

then walked out of the warehouse. Henry watched her go, his eyes glossed over with concern. "You

too, Henry. We will talk in the morning."

Henry didn’t even glance in our direction as he stalked out of the warehouse after Bethany.

I rounded on Maxwell, not bothering to hide my contempt. He seemed unphased by the fact that

someone had been murdered on his property.

"What’s going on here?"

"Someone died, obviously,' he said, waving toward the tarp. *No need for alarm. This happens from

time to time."

"Time to time? How often has someone been tom to shreds on your property?’

"Oh, nothing quite like this. That's not what I meant. Only that people do go missing here. The wall is

more than a boundary, you must understand. Those hills to the west... well, no one exactly knows

what's out there. That's why it's a rule that my workers cannot shift on the grounds. If they go into the

village, that's one thing, but here?" He tucked his hands behind his back, walking a wide circle around

the tarp as he peered down at it. "I can't help those that run into trouble outside of the boundary. Past

the wall, they're no longer my responsibility."

"This happened within the walls,' I argued, but he waved his hand in dismissal.

"The Alpha of Crimson Creek has already been notified. If it suits him, he'll send warriors to

investigate."

"If it suits him?" I exclaimed.

Maxwell's eyes flashed with mirth as he shook his head. 'Ah, the Alpha only cares about the lives of

young women if they're entertaining him in bed, but even that is short-lived. He has a short fuse, and

an even shorter attention span. I keep him off the property for the sake of our female workers. But, you

wouldn't even know of him, would you? Where are you from, exactly?"

"The south," I said, not going into detail.

Maxwell nodded, accepting this as all he likely cared to know.

"Since Bethany and Henry appear to be useless in this situation. I’ll have you cover the body. Keep

everyone out of the warehouse for the day, at least until the warriors arrive."

"Did Henry do this?* I asked in a low, serious tone.

Maxwell blinked at me, shocked, then threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Oh Goddess, no.

Henry looks and acts tough, but I've known him since my childhood. He’s reclusive now, but he didn't

used to be, no. Lost his mate when he was my age, from what I understand, and never recovered.'

I considered this, watching Maxwell closely as he continued to look down at the wolf on the tarp.

"How did he lose his mate?" I asked, hoping I didn't already know the answer.

"In the manner that has become the reason why I implement the rule of not shifting on the property.

The hills... they call to you in your wolf form. No one comes back from the hills, and if they do-' he

motioned towards the tarp, an odd smile touching the comer of his mouth.

I swallowed against the severe anxiety tightening my throat, watching him as he walked away. He

disappeared through the door leading into the warehouse, shutting the door behind him.

***

Lena was waiting by the door when I knocked. She looked tired, her pale blonde hair sticking out in all

directions of the messy bun she had piled on top of her head. I knew she hadn't slept. Neither had 1.1

doubt we would have been able to if we tried.

I stepped inside the cottage as she held the door open for me. She wordlessly grabbed the kettle off of

the woodstove and poured US both mugs of strong, black tea. I watched her as she stirred sugar into

the mugs, her gray eyes lined with fatigue. In the soft morning light coming through the window I could

just see the strange flakes of blue around her irises.

She was beautiful-hands down the most beautiful woman rd ever seen in my life. I wondered, as I

accepted the mug of tea from her, what would've happened between us last night if we hadn't been

interrupted by a gruesome tragedy.

Kissing her hadn't quelled the searing desire I felt toward her. I needed more.

"So? What happened?" She sat down in the chair by the door, gripping her tea between her hands as

she looked up at me, waiting for me to tell her every detail about how I'd spent my night.

I told her as much as I thought was useful, not wanting to scare her to death by describing the violent

injuries afflicted to the wolf.

But I did tell her it had been a shifter who worked at the farm.

"I don’t understand how that's possible. We were just-just at the firepit. We hadn’t been here longer

than an hour before-'

"I know," I cut in, sitting down on Lena's trunk, which we found wouldn't fit anywhere else in the cottage.

I didn't mention that the fur had been still warm when I touched the wolf in the warehouse, the thought

of it making my skin crawl.

"If she died in her wolf form, wouldn't she... shift back?"

"I thought so, but she didn’t." Was it because the wolf had been totally drained of her blood and the

powers within? I didn’t want Lena to speculate, so I was mum about it.

"Xander, this is serious! What's going to happen now?"

"I don’t know, Lena. Bethany sent everyone to bed and told me we'd talk in the morning. So, I'm here. I

doubt anyone is awake yet." That is, if anyone was able to sleep at all.

There was a knock on the door, which startled US both. I stood up, motioning for Lena to remain in the

chair as I took a single step toward the door and opened it.

Henry was on the porch, looking worse for wear.

"We need to talk," he said gruffly, then turned on his heel and began to walk off.

I glanced at Lena, who was now standing.

"Stay here-'

"Move!" she said, pushing past me in nothing but her pajamas and slippers.

I closed the door behind me as I followed her and Henry, sipping my tea and trying not to spill it as

Henry led us through the grain. He was moving US away from the compound, and I felt suddenly

uneasy about it, hissing under my breath for Lena to slow down so she could walk in step with me.

She didn't listen, of course. But within minutes I found myself standing next to her on the edge of the

forest where a creek was bubbling over moss-covered rocks behind Henry, who was staring at the two

of US, his face void of expression.

"Maxwell is not telling Morhan about what happened,' he said, looking from Lena to me. "And I don't

think you should, either."

"What? Why?" I questioned, although I wasn't totally surprised about the fact that Maxwell wanted to

keep this a secret from the college. Something was up with that guy.

"I don't know. I didn't ask. He is the boss here. But I need you both to leave, immediately.'

"We can't do that," Lena laughed, shaking her head. "I need this to graduate!"

"At the risk of your own life?" Henry argued.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Lena interjected. "I won’t be shifting anytime soon, Henry. I’m not

twenty-one yet!"

"That doesn't matter-'

"Why don't you tell US what's really going on here, Henry?" I said, taking a step forward so Lena was

slightly behind me.

Henry looked me up and down, inhaling deeply and holding his breath for a moment before letting it out

slowly, his nostrils flaring.

"This stays between US. I'm not trying to cause mass panic."

"Alright," Lena said, nudging me to also agree.

I just nodded, narrowing my eyes at Henry.

"There's something out there. I don't know what it is. It's like us, though, a shifter. It hunts at night, and

has been encroaching on Crimson Creek and the surrounding estates for five years now. Five years

ago is when the blood root started to show up near the village, and when our medical herbs started

rotting. I believe it's connected. I believe... all those young women-"

"There have been more?" Lena gasped.

Henry nodded, looking grave. "Several in the village. All young women of child bearing age. All were

found exactly like Gretta was found... bloodless, in their wolf forms. But one... one was never found."

"Carly Maddox,' Lena whispered.

I looked down at her, then at Henry. This was turning out to be a lot more than I'd signed up for.