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.”

days. It’s

lips and tilting his head from side

me

Talon and Ernest get back from Mirage today.” Rowan shifted uncomfortably, then tilted his head

breakfast sausage and 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 down and turning to pull two mugs out

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 a damn. Yesterday, we‘d been too busy to eat a proper

breakfast.

and I followed suit, sipping my coffee and watching as Gretchen began to pour pancake batter into a large cast iron skillet slicked with

said sweetly as she

Rowan said over the rim of his coffee mug, smirking at Gretchen as she cast him a dirty look. She was a friendly older woman who exuded what I could only describe as “grandma energy,” and she looked the part

It’s no wonder your mates are such quiet, humble people. Is Hanna coming

her place later, if not,” Rowan said, watching as Gretchen grabbed two plates from the dishrack. “Could we get breakfast to go? Would

darling.” Gretchen rummaged around in the cabinets for two plastic containers as we continued to drink our coffee. I felt a little shy to the point of being uncomfortable. This was Rowan’s domain.

plastic containers in his hands, thanking Gretchen as she filled two thermoses with coffee, which she

wearing your helmet, Rowan. You know how

over

had slept there the night we arrived in Winter Forest, but it had been very dark. I could only make out the immediate area around me, which was a tool bench and a

as I followed him down the stairs. “Ever been

“I’m from the Isles,”

reached the bottom of the stairs, and the garage erupted into light. I took a moment to be shocked, then composed myself and swallowed the many, many

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

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

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 takes up too much

my shock, “I don’t think that matters that much. This

off the shelves on the far wall, pulling down an assortment 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

a set of rooms in the back, a bathroom and what looked like a small office or storage room.

a computer?” I asked, turning

the helmet he was holding and

“Yeah, it is.”

never

his voice, and I quickly realized why his cheeks had colored. He was

read about them. I

destroyed most of the technology to use them, so there was no reason for

“I’m building more radio towers. I needed a way to test the frequency needed to connect the packs of Valoria and

said earnestly, wanting nothing more than for him to show me exactly what he could

balanced the helmet on his hip. “Maybe when we get back I can show

he paused, pursing his lips and shaking his head. “I’m not supposed

laugh. Rowan motioned me over 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 packed the food and coffee into

need to tell you how to ride one of

not planning on leading me away from the village and stranding me somewhere,

be, Troy. I think that would be a

***

the snowmobiles and stepped off of them. I looked out over the village, which seemed to

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

why we couldn’t have just shifted,” I said as I set my helmet down on the snowmobile

is worse than getting snowballs stuck between

I

the food containers and we sat on our

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 my backpack. He did the same, but