Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 13 : They're Mates?

*Eliza*

I'd spent the majority of the day in the garden off the kitchen, knee-deep in mud as I helped two other maids turn the soil to make room for a spring crop.

It was hard work, and messy too. But it was surprisingly therapeutic, and I found that the hours ticked by in relative peace. There was no laundry to be done today. Most of the household staff had the day off, save for the kitchen staff. There would be a huge party tonight for a young man who was turning twenty-one and coming into his wolf, and Miriam had made it clear that unless you were cooking, you had to be out of the house and enjoying yourself.

I did try to help in the kitchen. I'd met up with Giselle in the early morning to ask her about Scarlett, and whether she knew about her nightmares. After I found out the rumors behind Scarlett's situation, sitting around doing nothing all day was impossible. I needed to be busy to keep my mind off it.

It turned out I couldn't stand the heat, so to speak, in Miriam's exceedingly busy kitchen, which was in full swing in preparation for the party. Poor Giselle was up to her elbows in pie dough and Miriam was in a frantic mood, barking commands at everyone. I asked for a job, and she breathlessly told me to go out to the garden and find something to do, so I did.

And that's when I ran into Jared for the first time after I'd littered his clothing with cross-stitched flowers.

I was under the impression he'd react in one of two ways. He'd either be incredibly pissed, or he'd say nothing at all.

To my surprise, he'd been somewhat playful about the entire thing but made it clear that another one of his so-called punishments would follow, tonight.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to it, or at least the aftermath.

After soaking myself to the bones in the garden, I retreated to the washroom to bathe and ready myself for an evening of debauchery.

“They do get pretty rowdy," Giselle mused as she scrunched a thick conditioner into my hair. I sighed deeply as her nails dug into my scalp. It felt rather good. “But you'd better come back to the house by midnight."

"Why?"

"Because," she said, then she paused to dump a pitcher of warm water over my head. “Some of the younger men who aren't as experienced in their wolves tend to, well, go a little wild. Jared won't let them hurt anyone, but I've been chased through the village a time or two."

I swiveled in the bath to face her, giving her a shocked look.

"You've been chased?" I said, but she gave me a brilliant grin.

“I never said I didn't like it!"

I splashed her with water as the two of us fell into a fit of girlish giggles. It felt good to have another young woman to talk to.

“I'm going to set your curls, get up!”

“I honestly just let them dry however"

“I know," she scolded as I rose from the bathtub and wrapped myself in a towel. “That's what's wrong with them.” She patted the stool she'd been sitting on in front of a vanity and I obliged, letting her run a comb through my hair.

Another maid walked into the communal washroom, looking for a compact of blush. All of the women who worked in the house had shed their gray dresses and aprons, and I realized I had nothing else to wear, other than my nightgown.

Giselle started coiling my curls around her fingers, casting them in something that smelled like lavender and daffodil.

“My mother had hair just like yours," she smiled, stepping back to examine her work. “Once you're dressed, I'll have you sit in front of the fireplace so your hair dries faster."

“Thank you for forcing me to allow you to do this,” I teased, and she swatted me playfully. “What am I supposed to wear to this thing, anyway? I only have the dress I wear to work."

“I have some clothes. Don't you worry." She motioned for me to follow her into her room, which was a few doors down from the room I shared with Scarlett.

I glanced at my door, noticing it slightly ajar.

"Leggings" she said, bending over to rummage through a dresser. “And... a sweater. Oh, leg warmers, of course. It's going to be chilly when it gets dark. You have boots, right?"

I nodded, trying to balance the clothing she'd tossed at me while trying not to drop the towel that was currently the only thing stopping me from exposing myself.

“There are some jackets downstairs in the storage room in the foyer. Come on, get dressed! I don't want to miss anything.” Giselle was already dressed in an ankle-length skirt and sweater, her hair loose around her shoulders. She shrugged on a wool jacket as I dressed, thanking her for letting me borrow the clothes.

"Now, let's go get Scarlett,” she said with a mischievous grin as she clapped her hands.

"Wait-" I protested, but Giselle was already walking out of the room and across the hall. I rushed after her, not wanting to push Scarlett into joining us in the village.

"Come on, girl! Let's go!" Giselle said as I followed her through the threshold of the room I shared with Scarlett.

Scarlett was sitting on her bed, a book open on her lap. She blinked up at us, furrowing her brow. "You don't have to come-" I said quickly, but Giselle nudged me in the ribs.

"Scarlett, you've skipped the last two parties.”

“I know," Scarlett replied, shrugging a shoulder and tapping her dainty fingers against the cover of her book.

"Archer is going to be there,” Giselle coaxed. “Don't you want to see him before he leaves tomorrow?"

"Where is he going?" I asked, but Giselle was solely focused on rousing Scarlett out of bed.

“Fine, but only if you promise to keep me out of whatever schemes you're planning tonight," Scarlett replied sharply, narrowing her eyes at Giselle.

It was the most I'd ever heard Scarlett say, and I was shocked she'd actually agreed to come out to the village with us with so little prodding. Giselle and I stepped out of the room while Scarlett dressed, and soon the three of us walked out of the house and into the village.

“Damn, I forgot to have you sit by the fire so your hair dries,” Giselle murmured as she reached up and tried to adjust the frizzy curls now springing from the top of my head.

“My hair dries fast,” I assured her, smiling as I turned to look out over the village, which was cast in a deep golden glow as the sun began to set over the forest in the distance.

Lanterns had been lit in a wide circle around several warming fires. We passed tables lined with food and drink on our way to one of the fires, and lively string music filled the air.

“Rhubarb wine or cider?" Giselle beamed, spinning a reluctant Scarlett in a circle.

Scarlett pinkened at the attention, and I saved her by telling Giselle to fetch me a glass of wine, and she skipped away, disappearing into the growing crowd.

"Thanks," Scarlett said softly, adjusting her scarf.

“It's okay," I smiled, and Scarlett gave me a soft, shy smile in response.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the crowd. Men of all ages were congregating around the fires, all of them jolly and loose with drink. I scanned the crowd and saw Jared standing with Archer and a few other men I recognized from the group I'd traveled with through the woods when they'd taken me from the breeder auction. As if he could feel my gaze, Jared turned his head, meeting my eyes for a moment.

He winked at me, then turned back to his conversation.

I furrowed my brow, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Did he just f*****g wink at me?" I muttered to myself.

"What?" Scarlett said, totally oblivious.

“I have secured the wine!" Giselle sang, turning in a circle with an entire glass jug of wine clasped in her hands. “Don't tell Miriam I took the whole thing!"

“Well, you just announced it to the entire village,” I teased as she handed me the jug. I took a small sip, then a larger one, surprised at how good it was.

I passed the jug to Scarlett. She gingerly took it from me and sniffed

“There you are,” said a boisterous young man who appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Giselle around the waist.

Giselle squealed in delight, but Scarlett and I jumped, startled by his abrupt appearance in our tight circle. 1 didn't realize I'd gripped Scarlett's arm and pulled her closer to me until she nearly dropped the wine and I had to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Come dance with me,” the young man purred into Giselle's ear. “It's my party, and dancing with you is all I want.”

“Go play with the other pups, Tommy. I'll dance with you when you're a wolf, not a boy," Giselle teased, then she kissed him soundly.

I felt myself blushing a bit at the intimacy of the kiss, and with absolutely no regard to Scarlett and me standing right there, not even two feet away.

He pulled her into the crowd, the two of them laughing and twirling with the music. Through the crowd of dancers I caught Jared's eye again, his gaze fixed firmly on mine. His expression was slightly concerned, like he'd witnessed what had just happened and was checking in on me, and on Scarlett as well. I nodded at him, watching from afar as his dark eyes reflected the flames of the fires burning between us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Archer stepping closer to Jared, whispering into his ear. Scarlett took the jug of wine from my hands and took a long, deliberate swig.

“Does Archer bother you?" I asked, taking the wine back from her.

She contemplated this for a moment, then shook her head, struggling to swallow the wine. “No, he doesn't."

“He seems to really like you-"

"He's my mate," she breathed. She wasn't looking at me, and didn't notice my obvious shock. Her eyes were fixed on the crowd, her expression distant and unreadable.

"Oh," I said stupidly. “But-"

“We haven't, uhm... we haven't done anything about it," she continued, stealing a glance at me. “Did you reject him?"

"No," she replied firmly, but then she reached for the jug of wine but hesitated before drinking from it again.

I felt the sudden urge to ask her to confirm what Giselle had told me about her past. I'd been told Scarlett had been sold by the orphanage she grew up in as a breeder when she aged out of their care, and that the baby had been taken from her.

I couldn't even begin to imagine that kind of pain. The revelation had been shocking, and it explained her almost nightly nightmares. But finding out Archer was her mate was also a huge shock.

“It's my fault,” she said, a little sadly. I blinked at her, furrowing my brow.

"How so?"

“I-he tried to... help me, and I refused to let him even... touch me, to come near me. When he left for the war in the Realm of Light two years ago-"

"What?" I said sharply, straightening up.

“The war," she repeated. “The Alpha King gathered an army-"

“I know," I whispered, mostly to myself. I looked back across the crowd to where Archer and Jared were standing. They noticed me looking at them and must have noticed my stunned expression because Jared started moving toward me.

"Archer's good," Scarlett whispered, heartbreak lining each word. “I'm just a used-up breeder. He deserves better for a mate"

"Scarlett!" I cried, turning to face her. I took her by the shoulders, shaking her. The jug of wine she was holding trembled with the movement. “Don't say that!"

"Are you two alright?" Jared asked, leaning down to speak discreetly to us.

“Lettie,” Archer said, appearing at Scarlett's side.

Scarlett had tears in her eyes, and Archer turned his gaze on me, fire burning behind his eyes. “What did you do to her?" he snapped at me.

“What? Me?"

“That's enough, Archer. Take her inside," Jared commanded, sounding every bit the Alpha he was, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Archer glared at me as he turned Scarlett toward the house and walked away.

“They're mates?" I hissed, just as Jared opened his mouth to say something.

He gritted his teeth, looking down at me with a sigh. “Yes—"

"And Archer fought in the war against the vampire king? Did you, as well?"

Jared eyed me, his hand coming to rest on my lower back.

“Come on, I want to show you something," he exhaled