Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 83 : Common Ground

Troy

Well, I was still alive.

I hadn’t been sure what to expect when we finally reached Maeve’s homeland, but I thought Maeve would have been more at peace.

Instead, I watched her crumble at the edge of her parents’ bed, the moonstones in her hands, realizing the act of bringing them together hadn’t worked.

That had been the first time I met her mother, the famous White Queen Rosalie… my future mother-in-law, if Ethan didn’t kill me before a wedding could take place.

We had been in Winter Forest for a full day at that point, and my conversations with Ethan had been short and to the point. I had turned over Opaline to him. I had returned his daughter to her pack. I had given him a complete report on everything that had happened from the moment I first stepped foot in Valoria to the day our boat pulled into the inlet that hugged the shore of Winters Forest’s main village.

Outside of that, he didn’t even look in my direction.

I was only slightly embarrassed that I fell off the dock in front of him, but Rowan made me look slightly better than himself when he jumped in a second time to help me get the moonstone before it was carried away by the tide.

The icy, glacial water had been a baptism of some kind, something that cemented an unlikely friendship between Maeve‘s brother and

1. me.

So, I wasn’t entirely surprised when I woke up the next morning to Rowan in the doorway of Maeve’s bedroom, peering down at me.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” he asked in a whisper, arching his brow.

I ran my fingers through my hair and then over my face, rubbing my eyes. “More room down here,” I tilted my head toward the bed where Maeve was still sleeping like a rock with basically all of the pillows in the house tucked around her body. “What time is it?”

“A little after seven,” he replied, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms over his chest. I looked out the window behind the bed, seeing nothing. It was pitch black. “The sun doesn’t come up until, like, eleven this time of year. You’ll get used to it.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” I blinked a few times, my body and mind not yet acclimated to the strangeness of this place. The sun had set the day before at just after 3:00 p.m., and all my body wanted to do was sleep even though I wasn’t particularly tired.

“It’s hard on everyone for a while,” Rowan continued as I stood and folded up the blanket I had been sleeping on. I laid it over Maeve’s feet, which were peeking out of the thick quilt that she had tucked up around her ears. “How’s she doing?”

I could hear the guilt in his voice as his gaze shifted from me to the bed.

In truth, Maeve wasn’t well. She had cried until she fell asleep the night before, spilling her feelings about her homecoming to me while I held her, whispering reassurances against her neck. Maeve was a wreck, and I couldn’t blame her. It was mostly my fault.

1. me.

So, I wasn’t entirely surprised when I woke up the next morning to Rowan in the doorway of Maeve’s bedroom, peering down at me.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” he asked in a whisper, arching his brow.

I ran my fingers through my hair and then over my face, rubbing my eyes. “More room down here,” I tilted my head toward the bed where Maeve was still sleeping like a rock with basically all of the pillows in the house tucked around her body. “What time is it?”

“A little after seven,” he replied, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms over his chest. I looked out the window behind the bed, seeing nothing. It was pitch black. “The sun doesn’t come up until, like, eleven this time of year. You’ll get used to it.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” I blinked a few times, my body and mind not yet acclimated to the strangeness of this place. The sun had set the day before at just after 3:00 p.m., and all my body wanted to do was sleep even though I wasn’t particularly tired.

“It’s hard on everyone for a while,” Rowan continued as I stood and folded up the blanket I had been sleeping on. I laid it over Maeve’s feet, which were peeking out of the thick quilt that she had tucked up around her ears. “How’s she doing?”

I could hear the guilt in his voice as his gaze shifted from me to the bed.

In truth, Maeve wasn’t well. She had cried until she fell asleep the night before, spilling her feelings about her homecoming to me while I held her, whispering reassurances against her neck. Maeve was a wreck, and I couldn’t blame her. It was mostly my fault.

“She’s fine. Tired,” I answered shortly, pulling one of the thick knit sweaters Gretchen had laid out for me over my shoulders. Rowan watched me closely. His eyes were so much like Maeve’s, the same color and shape, in fact. But Rowan looked more like Rosalie in the face, at least in my opinion. He had his father’s jaw, though, which tightened and flexed whenever they held back their words.

“I was hoping she’d be awake, so I could… talk to her. Say hi, I guess.”

It’s

yeah,” he said awkwardly, pursing his lips and tilting

you want me to

minute before Talon and Ernest get back from Mirage today.” Rowan shifted uncomfortably, then tilted his head toward the hallway. I nodded firmly, my chest tightening with anxiety as

coffee as she chopped potatoes. She looked up from the butcher block, her eyes creasing as her mouth stretched into a beaming smile. “Good morning!” she exclaimed, setting the knife

of them with coffee and added a liberal amount of fresh cream, which made my stomach tighten with anticipation. We had been eating nothing but dried food and grains for weeks, and no one aboard Damian’s cruiser could cook worth

breakfast.

sipping my coffee and watching as Gretchen began to pour pancake batter into

as she flipped the pancakes. “It certainly takes a specific type of man to peak Maeve’s

look. She was a friendly older woman who exuded what I could

man. You and Maeve should’ve been twins, I always say. So alike. It’s no wonder your mates are such quiet, humble people.

grabbed two plates

to the point of being uncomfortable. This was Rowan’s domain. Maeve’s childhood home. I was, to be blunt, an unwanted guest. Surely, Gretchen knew about the situation, having worked so closely with the family over the years. Maeve called her Grannie,

the plastic containers in his hands, thanking Gretchen as she filled two

Rowan.

I know,” Rowan said over his shoulder. “Thanks for

the stairwell that led down to the garage. I had slept there the night we arrived in Winter Forest, but it had been very dark. I could only make out

as I followed him down

“I’m from the Isles,”

for snow. It’s very similar.” He flipped on a light switch as we reached the bottom of the stairs, and the garage

not larger, than the house itself. Four snowmobiles sat near the garage door, primed and ready for use. An assortment of other outdoor equipment leaned against the walls, bikes and several sets of skis and snowboards. A large pickup truck sat idle in the far corner of the garage next to what looked like a tractor, both covered in tarps. I hadn’t been around cars in my life, but I could tell the truck was old… Vintage, some might say. Rowan

my tongue along the inside of my lower lip, wondering if Rowan would protest if I poked around

know. It just showed up one day. He had to have it towed up here from the port, and it’s been sitting in the garage for fifteen years or so now. Mom says it

said, unable to hide my shock, “I don’t

of gloves and padded jackets. I walked around, glancing at the tool bench before letting my gaze wander further into the recesses of the garage, which was double the length of the house, built

in the back, a bathroom and what looked like a small office or storage room. I could see an icon bouncing around on

computer?” I

he was holding and

“Yeah, it is.”

never seen

built it.” I could hear the apprehension in his voice, and I quickly realized why his cheeks had colored. He

I‘ve only ever read about them.

outside of… of the dashboards on boats and planes.” The war had destroyed most of the technology to use them, so

my excitement. “I’m building more radio towers. I needed a way to test the frequency needed to connect the

said earnestly, wanting nothing more than for

helmet on his hip. “Maybe when we

shaking his head. “I’m not

to him and we spent the next fifteen minutes suiting up to take the snowmobiles out. It was arduous work, and I was sweating by the time we had

to ride one of these!” Rowan shouted

figure it out!” I replied, not sure if he could hear me. “You’re not planning on leading

had heard, and he threw his head back, laughing. “You’re not who I was expecting you to be, Troy.

***

stepped off of them. I looked out over the

like something I had never seen before, so close I felt like I could touch them. A green band of light danced over the mountains on the other side of the inlet, like a ribbon, casting a strange glow over the far

I set my helmet down on the snowmobile and lifted the thermos

But nothing is worse than getting snowballs stuck between the

yeah. I can

containers and we sat on our snowmobiles to eat in relative quiet, watching the aurora continue

not going to apologize for punching you,” Rowan said after a

wasn’t expecting an apology,” I replied, closing up the empty container and putting it in