Sold As The Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 326
Chapter 106: Something Is Wrong
Maeve
We ran in circles around the castle, yipping and howling with delight as we pounced in front of
unsuspecting warriors. who were leaning against a thicket of trees while they guarded the outskirts of
the castle grounds.
One of the warriors shifted, thinking we were a threat be cause he didn’t yet recognize Rowan’s wolf,
which caused Rowan great embarrassment and distress, and he had to shift back to his regr form
and exin the situation, naked as the day he was born, in front of a group of warriors in which he was
now the Alpha just to prove he was in fact who he said he was, rather than just using the mind-link.
An hour passed. I didn’t feel the pained rush of my milk letting down, or the looseness and ache of my
hips. I felt, for the first time since I started to lean into the general mise of my pregnancy, powerful
and strong. Like my old self.
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‘We should head back; it’s starting to rain. You both left your robes in the grass near the terrace.’ Troy
turned to look back at the castle, which was just visible in the distance. We were standing on the edge
of the forest, resting our paws for a moment. I heard a sound, then saw the grass parting as some thing
moved toward us at a high rate of speed.
Chapter 106 Something to Wrong
‘It’s just the dog,’ Rowan huffed, falling in step with Troy as they began to trot back across the field.
Duck must have beening to join us in whatever game he thought we had been ying, but to my
surprise he ran between us, darting into the dark forest.
‘Duck!’ I cried over the mind-link, but he was gone in an instant.
‘What the hell was he chasing? I didn’t see anything run past-‘ Rowan said, his voice distorted by a
breeze that rustled in the trees, twigs snapping over our heads.
‘I don’t smell anything. No rabbits, or squirrels.’ Troy added, lifting his snout and sniffing deeply.
I was truly concerned. Duck had taken to the castle imme diately, spending his time much like he had in
Winter Forest by sprawling out on the carpet with his belly toward the hearth, or wrapped around
someone’s ankles while they lounged in the library. He rarely went out on his own to ex plore the castle
grounds.
‘We have to go get him,’ I said, turning to the forest.
‘No, Maeve, it’s dark!’ Rowan stepped forward, his eyes sharp and dark in the fading light. Clouds had
moved in over our heads, casting the grounds in nothing but darkness.
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‘What are you, scared?’ I retorted, shaking rain from my
coat. ‘It’ll only take a minute.’
Hanna was silent, her head turned to where Duck had dis
appeared between the trees. The path he had taken was not well beaten and was severely overgrown
with brambles and wispy, dried vines.
‘Two minutes, then we go back,’ Troy said in amand ing tone, walking between Hanna and I into
the forest. Rowan
followed.
I stole at nce at Hanna, who was still fixated on the silent depths of the forest. An eerie feeling swept
over me as she turned her head, the fur on her back rising as another stiff breeze sent a vibration
through the canopy of trees over our
heads.
‘Is it her?’ I asked, already knowing the answer deep in my
bones.
Hanna lowered her head and walked into the forest after
Rowan and Troy.
When we caught up to him, Duck was digging against the base of a huge oak tree, its roots snaking
several yards around its base as it towered over us. Troy barked sharply at Duck, but he didn’t cease
his digging. He was frantic, huffing and snarling.
‘Troy, listen-‘I said, a little breathless. I had been trying to
catch up to Rowan and Troy as they chased after Duck. I felt off and didn’t like the feeling I was getting
in the forest. I was regretting insisting on chasing after Duck, especially after Hanna had gone silent
and still when the breeze hit us.
We were outside of the castle grounds now.
Duck started to snarl, then backed away from the tree.
‘Troy!’ I howled, willing him to listen. He turned his head toward me, his eyes glistening the moonlight
coming through the canopy of dried, yellow leaves above our heads.
o
‘What the hell is that?’ It was Rowan who spoke, gingerly stepping toward whatever Duck had found
beneath the tree. He nudged Duck out of the way, and once Duck’s body had moved from the base of
the tree, a faint glow seemed to lift from the forest floor.
‘It’s a tunnel. There’ s… there’s a light on down there – Rowan’s words were cut short by howling
coming from deeper in the forest. All of the fur on my back stood up, and I felt an intense fight or flight
response.
But then there was a smell, faintly sweet. I sniffed, sensing the smell growing more intense, closer, as
if…
Troy began to bark frantically, his teethtching onto my rough to pull me away. Smoke had filled the
area, mingling with the fog swirling around our feet. I turned to see Rowan
Lv.1
t on his stomach, back in his human form, fog rolling over his body.
Suddenly Troy let go of me and fell to his knees, back in his body. “Wolfsbane. Maeve, she’s h-”
He fell t on his face before I could catch him.
But I was still a wolf. I turned to Hanna, who was still a wolf as well.
‘What’s happening?’ I said over the mind-link.
‘Duck, run home! Go!’ Hanna howled, and to my surprise, Duck understood her. He took off through the
forest in the di rection of the castle without looking back.
Within seconds we were surrounded by unfamiliar, enemy wolves. Some had eyes that glowed a
vibrant red as they stepped out of the darkness. Hanna and I stood shoulder to shoulder, guarding
Rowan and Troy, who were totally uncon scious.
I remembered Troy’s story about how the people of Dian ny had used torchesced with wolfsbane to
create a noxious smoke that pulled them from the wolf forms, knocking them out cold.
I also remembered how the ancient healer in Dianny who had used it to bring me back to my senses
after what hap
pened in the stone circle.
It had a different effect on me, and on Hanna. I didn’t dare nce at her, but I could feel the tension
and fear between us.
A man stepped out of the woods into the clearing. He was dressed in all ck, his hands tucked
casually into the pockets of a trench coat. His hair was incredibly blond, nearly t
Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.
inum, but he had the telltale ck eyes that marked him as
Lycennian.
He looked remarkably like Opaline, and Alpha Julian the younger. They had likely been siblings.
He threw a handful of linens in front of us without saying a
word, but his meaning was clear.
I stole a nce at Hanna, knowing this was it.
I reluctantly shifted back to my human body, finding the act slightly painful but not nearly as bad as the
first time. Naked in front of at least a dozen wolves, I reached down to pull a length of linen up to cover
my body. Hanna did the
same.
They were dresses, ankle length a pale cream in color. Ar chaic. Sacrificial. I swallowed against the
fear gripping me as I adjusted the linen over my body, smoothing it over my hips.
“You’re Carl,” I said shortly, looking up at the man. He nod
ded, once, his eyes boring into mine, searching for something. “Your sister is Opaline I’m guessing?”
“Where is she?”
Lv.1)
“She failed. She is my father’s prisoner now. You’ll never find her.” And that was true. Opaline had told
us everything in her attempt to gain my father’s mercy. We knew all there was to know about Lycenna
because of her.
Opaline was in shackles now, crossing the formidable, bar ren icend that was known as the Northern
Pass with the refugees from Lycenna, heading into eithernd’s unknown, or certain death.
Carl considered my words but didn’t seem the least bit af fected by them. He shrugged, then reached
up to run his fin gers through his filthy hair.
“You stink,” I bit out. He nced at me, then chuckled.
“I didn’t expect you to be a white wolf. Tasia will be pleased.”
“Tasia can kiss my ass,” I bellowed, hoping she was close enough to hear.
“Ah, I see her descriptions of you have been correct. She said you were bullheaded with a foul mouth.”
Chapter
“I’ve been called worse,” I said coolly.
“Well. I’m not disappointed. Shall we?”
“Shall we do what, exactly?” My heartbeat was thundering in my ears as I fought to keep myself under
control. I was try ing as hard as I could not to think about the boys or Troy. I was on the edge of tears,
but I couldn’t let them see it.
“Don’t you want to see her again?”
“Not particrly.”
Carlughed, then snapped his fingers. Fourrge, burly men stalked out of the woods and stood
behind me.
“Come. Tasia is waiting for you.”
Lv 1
What were our options? Fight, totally outnumbered so close to the castle where my family was readying
for dinner? Where my children were presumably safe, and sound?
“Let’s go, Hanna,” I whispered, willing my voice not to shake as Carl’s cronies stepped around us to
pick up Troy and Rowan. “Let’s finish this.”
***
Rosalie
I was ying the piano in the library with George bnced on myp. He was bent forward, chewing
on the keyboard and smiling whenever I touched the keys nearest to his mouth. Gemma danced
around the room with Charlie and Will in her arms, who were cooing with delight.
Ethan sat in a chair, resting, near the hearth, his head slumped to the side as he snored softly with
Oliver sleeping against his chest.
I nced out the windows, seeing nothing through the dense fog. It was starting to rain.
o
“They’re fine, Rosalie!” Gemma said as she spun in a slow circle. Charlie was beaming, his chubby
little body clenched as a thrilledugh escaped his gummy mouth. Will, on the other hand, had been
looking for Maeve for quite some time, and
wasn’t nearly as enthused as his brother.
I was starting to think Maeve, Troy, Hanna and Rowan had been gone long enough. I abruptly stopped
ying the piano, which sent a wave of somber energy over the room. Gemma stopped dancing
abruptly, her brow furrowed.
“Do you think something is wrong?”
“I don’t think everything is right,” I breathed, bncing George on my hip as I rose from the bench and
crossed the room to look out the window. Droplets of rain were falling against the ss now.
Ethan stirred, groaning as he rolled his neck. “How long have I been out?” he asked, ncing down at
Oliver, who smiled in his sleep at Ethan’s voice.
“Two hours,” I said nervously, moving to the next window to get a better view of the field. I couldn’t see
anything but rain and fog. I tried to mind-link with them, any one of them, but was unsessful.
“Two hours? Good Goddess-” Ethan grunted as he rose from his chair, careful not to rouse Oliver.
Gemma looked from Ethan to me, her cheerful countenance waining as she studied the look on my
face. Ethan noticed the tension in the room as he blinked away sleep from his eyes. He looked around,
his face undergoing an incredible transformation.
“They’re not back yet, are they?” he asked.
I shook my head, turning to face them.
“Alright, take Oliver–”
“You mean to go out there and look for them?” I said, my chest tightening as he nodded.
Gemma looked frantically from me to Ethan, clutching the boys to her chest.
Suddenly, a gust of wind mmed into the castle, rattling the windows so violently it made us all jump.
Oliver woke with
a start, his lower lip quivering as he threatened to scream in
rm.
All of the downy hairs on my arms stood on end as the air outside abruptly quieted. The light’s
flickered, and then turned off, the entire castle powering down.
I turned to Gemma slowly, then nodded, seeing her under standing of my inner thoughts shing
behind her eyes.
Something was wrong, and that something was Tasia.
“Get the nanny,” I said softly to Gemma, patting George vigorously on the back to keep him calm.
Gemma adjusted her hold on Will and Charlie. She nodded, but tears were welling in
her eyes.
“Where can we hide the babies?” she whispered, the fear in her voice tearing me to shreds.
“Just fetch Ingra, and we will figure that out,” Ethan said calmly, still cradling Oliver. Ethan was the
picture of calm re serve, but I could feel his anxiety. He nced at me, and I nod ded, letting him pass
Oliver to me so I was juggling both of the boys in my arms as he swiftly left the room, leaving me alone.
Not half an hourter, I joined them outside. Keaton was pacing back and forth across the terrace,
talking to Robbie. A dozen warriors were waiting for direction in the field below, shuffling their feet
ufortably as rain pounded against the
tops of their heads.
George and the triplets had been safely removed to an undisclosed safehouse in Mirage with Gemma
and Ingra, the nanny. Ernest and M went with them, but no warriors. Ethan reiterated Keaton’s
opinion to me about Tasia picking us off one by one, and I agreed that surrounding our family with
warriors made us stand out too much.
All I could do was pray that they had made it safely, and that when this was all over, I would see them
again.
“It’s not the solstice, though.” I whispered as Ethan pulled a thick wool hat over my ears.
“It’s close enough, Rosalie, Another three days. If she has them, she could be meaning to keep them
until then. If Maeve and Rowan are just out there in the forest, goofing off and all is well…”
“I want to believe that, but I don’t,” I said, giving in to my worries. I blinked away tears as Ethan turned
from me to ready himself by pulling a coat on.
“The stones, are they hidden? Don’t say where. Goddess forbid this bitch can read our fu*king minds.”
“They’re hidden.” It was all I could say.
We walked out onto the terrace together, but Ethan quick
ly broke away from me and passed Keaton and Robbie. He stood in front of the warriors and began
barkingmands.
I looked behind me, my gaze traveling up to the upper sto ries of the castle where I could just see the
outline of three fig ures looking down from a window on the fourth floor. Vicky, Georgia, and Alison
were staying behind, left in the care of
Talon.
Keaton was silent. Robbie was anxious. We were all wait
ing for Ethan to tell us what the n was.
But then I spotted him.
O
Duck was running through the field, the grasses parting as he leapt through the air, his feet barely
touching the ground as he sprinted towards the castle. I called out to Ethan to look, and soon everyone
was watching as the dog neared, barking frantically.
He spun in a circle several times.
“He wants us to follow him-” I began to say, but Ethan al ready knew.
He yelled at the warriors to follow Duck, and suddenly we were off, running as fast as our feet could
carry us into the un
known.