Sold As The Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 243
Chapter 23: Train Ride to Nowhere
Troy
I was in deep.
Totally andpletely in over my head.
And as I watched Horace approach, his gnarled figure limping through the garden as though he were
simply out on a stroll, I tensed, my shoulders tight and rigid as I straightened up to my full height and
leaned the rake I was holding against one of the freshly pruned bushes.
The garden had be our meeting ce after Maeve had caught me on the outskirts of the castle
grounds on my first day in residence. Horace and I had been leaving notes to each other beneath a pile
of fallen stones in the dpidated shed since I arrived in Valoria several weeks ago as prepared to
masquerade as Aaron, the breeder. Aaron, the one I knew she was falling in love with.
She didn’t know me. She couldn’t know me. And when she cried out his name while I moved within her,
I could have screamed and beat my fists in agony. Oh, I was in trouble. Meeting my mate was not part
of the n.
Neither was trying to save her life.
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I was here to trick her, to stall until Damian’s warriors arrived to take over the castle. That was the
original n, at least. No one had said a thing about killing her. Romero wanted me to actually bed her
and get her pregnant, potentially holding her hostage until the child was born and Romero could do
away with her, or worse, keep her alive to harness her powers.
But I wasn’t Romero’s pawn. I hadn’t even known he existed until the Persephone made port in
Avondale, the capital of the Isles, six months ago when Alpha Damian demanded my presence and
vaguely exined the mission.
I never considered myself part of Poldesse. We smuggl?d and pirated for them, sure, but I had grown
up running wild with the other orphaned “beach rats” until Keaton had stolen enough coins and gems to
have the rotten body of the Persephone towed from its shallow grave on a beach on the ind of
Suntra and fully renovate her.
Then we sailed the high seas. That was my home. My pack. That was where my loyalties lie.
But then I found out I had a living grandfather, and everything changed.
I would have done anything to know him, to look upon his face and maybe, just maybe, see a hint of
the mother I couldn’t remember.
But Romero was a monster. A sick, deranged old man. And as I stood in the garden waiting for Horace
to make his way toward me, I realized how much of a monster I was being to Maeve myself.
I had to get out of it. I had to get her out of it.
“So, it’s done? You’ve-”
“Slept with her?” I hissed, keeping my voice low lest the gardeners were listening. I always spent my
mornings in the garden, not having much else to do. The physicalbor was good for me.
“Yes. Were you sessful?”
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?” | sneered, grasping the rake once more and running it
over the freshly cut grass. Horace’s lips stretched into a thin smile as he watched me, my obvious
disdain for him seemingly adding years to his life. He was always lurking around, keeping an eye on
me. I hated him immensely. I didn’t trust him. And if he everid a finger on Maeve.
Speaking of Maeve, I had somewhere to be.
I tossed the rake across thewn toward the pile of gardening equipment and pushed past Horace,
who looked after me in surprise.
“Where are you going?”
I looked back at him, narrowing my eyes into slits. “Did Ernest not tell you? He’s sending me on an
errand. I’ll be back tomorrow night.” It was a lie.
“Romero wants to see you. You need to be at the castle,” Horace said quickly, his voice low and beady
eyes scanning the garden as he took a step toward me, his arm outstretched as though the skeleton of
a man was going to attempt to grab me and physically prevent me from moving.
“He can wait. He’s not going anywhere, obviously,” I snorted, looking up at Romero’s tower for a
moment before shing Horace a beaming, although fake, smile. “See ya!”
“Get back here, you insolent boy-”
I was already leagues ahead of him, walking briskly through the garden and out onto the pathway
leading down into the vige through the greenbelt. I beelined for the trees, cursing under my breath
that I hadn’t had time to change out of the dirt-smeared jeans and T-shirt I was wearing. I picked grass
clippings from my hair as I walked, tripping over a few roots on my way down. Maeve was supposed to
meet me at the bar. I wanted to get there first.
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Chapter 23: Train Ride to Nowhere
“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Maeve took the ss of sparkling water from her lips, her blonde
brows knitted in a frown.
“It’s not forever. I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“What is this errand Ernest has you going on?” She sipped her drink, her full, pink lips lingering on the
ss a moment.
I felt warm all over, and not from the heat of the day. We hadn’t been together intimately since that
night in the library a week ago. I had been trying to avoid her as much as I could. I always tried to avoid
her. But she kept pulling me back in. I could’ve reached across the table and taken her by the back of
the neck, bending her over
“I have to fetch something from the port for him,” I said, gripping my pint of beer for dear life as the
image faded from my mind.
She sipped from her ss again, then made a face, putting it back down on the café table.
“What’s the matter?”
“Why would Ernest be sending you to the port and not one of his warriors?” “Because I have nothing to
do.”
She arched her brow, looking out over the street where the market stalls were flooding with people.
“What are you fetching?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”
She gave me another look, her face somewhat clouded with emotion this time.
“Are you upset?” I asked.
“What happens now, Aaron?”
I bit the inside of my cheek the way I always did when she mentioned Aaron’s name. I knew this
conversation wasing. I had fulfilled my duties as a breeder this past week. Now we waited.
If she was pregnant well, the real Aaron would’ve been packed up on a ship headed for Finaldi in a
week’s time. What’s the n? I thought helplessly. looking over at her and trying to steel my
expression. Damian’s men would be here in two weeks to take over. Romero would be free. Maeve
would be at his mercy.
But not if I could get word to the Persephone first.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly, looking into her eyes. “But I promise you’re going to be okay.”
She gave me a quizzical nce and opened her mouth to speak as I quickly drained thest of my
beer, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand. I stood and rounded the table, squeezing her shoulder
as I bent down, whispering, “We can talk about thister. I have to go if I’m going to make the next
train.”
I desperately wanted to kiss her, especially as she opened her mouth to protest. My fingers ached as
my touch left her skin, and I walked off the curb. I tucked them in the pockets of my jeans as I walked,
willing myself not to look back.
The post office had given me a schedule for the Port of Valoria when I requested one two weeks ago. I
was looking for the Persephone, knowing she would dock at the port at least once during my stay. I
knew Keaton wouldn’t be a part of Damian’s invasion, he had made that very clear. But, I needed to
catch her first and get word to Keaton somehow, let him know I needed him to linger in the waters off
the coast of Valoria and expect me to board when Damian and his pack flooded port on their way to
Mirage.
And I would be bringing Maeve with me.
I bought a train ticket and waited on the tform, ncing over my shoulder every once and a while to
be sure Maeve hadn’t followed me.
The Persephone was supposed to dock today, and I had at least a six-hour journey to the port by train.
I could have shifted, of course, but I didn’t know my way around the center of Mirage. The railway to
the port was new, constructed in thest ten years or so based on what Maeve had told me, and it
would take me directly to the port, and from the port I could do my best to locate Keaton and his crew.
But when I finally reached my location, well after the sun had set over the southern horizon, I was met
with a nearly empty port, the little seaside vige quiet and somber in the light evening rain.
I walked into one of the taverns near the docks, running my fingers through my hair to bring the wet
strands away from my face.
I sat down, looking around as I did so, hoping to see a familiar face. “What can I get you, mister?” A
plump waitress with a pretty, young face was standing before me, her round hazel eyes alight with
flirtation.
smiled at her, nodding to the bar. “Whatever’s on tap. I’m not picky.”
She smiled, bobbing her head and walking away, joining up with a group of women who were obviously
working in the tavern, the trio looking at me over their shoulders as the waitress poured my beer.
I looked around again, spotting a man sitting in a corner booth with his head hanging over arge
ledger, pencil in hand. He looked up at the window periodically, frowning, his wire-rimmed spectacles
following down the bridge of nose as he checked his books again. I stood, ignoring the fact that the
waitress was on her way over with the beer, and walked toward the man, sliding into the booth and
sitting opposite him.
He looked up, surprised.
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Chapter 23: Train Ride to Nowhere
“I’m looking for the Persephone,” I began, watching suspicion twist his brow. “She was supposed to be
docked here today.”
“Aye, yeah. She was meant to dock. The weather’s holding off several of therger ships that are
coming from open water.”
“So, she hasn’t been here yet?”
The man shook his head, arching his brow in my direction. “You have business with the captain of that
ship?”
“He’s a friend,” I said honestly.
The man looked back down at his ledger, my suspicions about the contents being correct. He was a
port master, and the estimated arrival and departure times were clear as day in ink in his books.
“Well, don’t wait up for him. This storm is holdin’ strong; I doubt anyone is going to attempt to cross the
channel tonight. Could be tomorrow afternoon before they drop their anchor.”
“Is there a way to get word to him in my absence? A letter, perhaps?” I reached into my back pocket
and pulled out my wallet, shing a handful of bills. The man’s eyes narrowed for a moment before he
leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “That ship is well known on the seas, you
know. Captain Keaton, is it? He’s a smuggler.” .
“Yeah, and there’s a cut from his recent shipment for you if you can get a letter to him when he makes
landfall.”
The man sighed deeply, looking outside for a moment before looking back at me, his expression
rxing as he held out his hand, palm out and open. I ced the bills in his hand and he tore a piece
of paper from his ledger, handing it to me along with a pencil.
“Be sure this gets into his hands directly,” I said as I reluctantly passed him another bill, waiting for his
nod of understanding.
Keaton, there’s more to this than I realized. Wait for me. Don’t leave the waters of Valoria. I wille to
you in a week.