Page 17 of The Alpha's Sold Pregnant Mate

Old man Job better not be right.

A strange fog that hovered over the town, and the closer they got, the more audible the whispers from within the fog grew. She could swear that she heard a feminine voice call out her name eerily.

‘Esme…’

The hairs on her skin rose, and she felt a tingle on her fingertips. Her breath was becoming more and more difficult to catch, and her heart was burning, as were her green eyes.

She noticed that the soil was black and the trees were dead and bare of leaves. All the plants seemed to be without life. The land was barren.

Esme noticed one giant tree standing tall at a distance as they closed in on a settlement. The tree was not yet dead, but it was dying, withering slowly.

She clasped both hands over her ears in a feeble attempt to block out the whispers in her head.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” he inquired casually, without understanding the pain that she was in.

“The voices,” she complained, straining faintly. It was like a thousand women were talking to her at the same time, and it hurt so much. “Make them stop. They won't be quiet.” She groaned at her headaches.

Asher noticed her struggles and brought the car to a halt. He hurriedly stepped out and helped her out.

“Are you alright?” he asked, beaming with concern. Esme smiled at how gentle and careful he was with her.

They stared into each other's eyes, and gradually, the whispers faded into thin air, ending the turmoil in her head.

Esme smiled and said, “I'm fine now, thank you.”

She stood beside him, shy and a bit afraid, as they were soon surrounded by a few villagers, most of whom were clothed in robes made out of animal skins. She observed the beads around their necks and some on their wrists. A couple of them had hats adorned with feathers protruding out of them.

“Where are we?” She leaned close and asked quietly.

“At the Ghostbound lands,” he replied with the same tone.

“The Ghost…” she stressed the whisper, suddenly alarmed and displeased, “The Ghostbound lands. Are you kidding me?” Now, she was certain that they were at the settlement many of her villagers told horror stories about. “Why didn't you tell me?” she spoke through gritted teeth, hiding her disapproval now that she realized where she was.

“Would you have come with me if I had?” he replied with a charming smile.

“So you tricked me?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“I didn't trick you. I simply omitted that part,” he replied with that smile which was Esme was beginning to find annoying.

“The most important part of your story,” she emphasized, holding on to him as the small crowd drew closer to them.

“Esme Florian…” he announced, audibly, “Welcome to the Ghostbound Pack.”

There he goes again with that word.

“Why did you introduce your villagers as ‘Pack’?” Esme whispered to him.

“Because we're a Pack of…”

There was a loud howl that pierced the air that instant, prompting Esme to ignore him and focus on the giant wolf that was bounding toward them.

“Ohh… My God…It's a…a…” her voice grew fainter and thinner by the second as the sight seized her breath. Fear overwhelmed her, and the weird burning in her heart returned, together with the eerie whispers that were now louder than before. Her pet, which had poked out its head again, immediately slipped back into her pocket at the sight of the impending danger.

Esme's eyes rolled back, and her legs could no longer carry her. Unconscious, she fell into Asher's arms—out like a light.

Chapter 5 - Asher

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