Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 94 : 1 Kissed Her

Rowan

“It wasn’t easy,” said the metalsmith as he wiped his grimy hands on a rag. He spun around in his car, plopping a small, smooth ring in the palm of my hand. “You were right about the stone; it was jade-a sizable, practically flawless hunk of it. Say, where did you find it?”

“On the beach,” I said softly, turning the ring over in my hand.

The entire thing was made of jade, carved right out of the stone Hanna had found on our walk on the beach several weeks before the snow had begun to fall. That was months ago, I thought, wrapping my fingers around the ring. Things had some how felt easier then.

“There’s enough of the mother-stone left for a second ring, at least partially. Half would need to be metal of some kind, I rec ommend platinum. It’s what I used to give the first ring support, you see.”

“It’s… it’s fine. It’s just a gift.”

IL11

A parting gift.

Something I had planned on giving to Hanna under very dif ferent circumstances. I had carried that damn rock around in my jacket since the day she found it, marveling at the pale sea – green band of jade running through it whenever I had a moment of solitude to fish it out of its resting place.

I had imagined making a ring with it, one of pure jade, think ing the color would look perfect against the paleness of her skin. I

had imagined slipping it onto her finger and taking her hand in mine, as my wife.

I swallowed back the pain and paid the metalsmith, thanking him for his time. The ring felt heavy in my hand as I walked through the center of the village, crossing the road leading up to my house and through the woods toward Hanna’s cabin.

It had been a week since Maeve and my parents left for Mi rage. Two days ago, a pilot from Mirage had arrived in a Cessna 210, large enough to fit six passengers. He had come bearing news of Maeve, but we didn’t have much time to grieve her expe rience. She was fine, as were my three nephews, but the large seaplane that had been carting my family back and forth to Mi rage for decades had crash-landed and needed repairs.

We had all been summoned to Mirage. And I knew in my ab sence, Hanna would likely go back to Red Lakes as planned.

I wanted to ask her to come with me. I was ready to beg. But I knew it would be fruitless.

Any future I had with her seemed to evaporate the second she told Maeve and me what she had seen in her vision of Maeve’ s future. Maeve and Troy had been discussing what sounded like a succession of sorts, facilitated by my dad. My interpretation of the dream was that one of their sons was ascending a throne, which couldn’t have been Troy’s soon-to-be – title of Alpha of Poldesse. That left only two options: Alpha King of Valoria, or Al pha of Drogomor.

Which were the titles I was meant to inherit.

Which could only mean that I would have no children to pass them on to.

of hope I had was that Hanna had been Wrong about only two of the triplets

it matter? Hanna was leaving. There

couldn’t carry the hunk of

had walked, lost in thought, until i was standing at the bottom of the

my foot on the first step did she open the door, her black hair hanging loose over her shoulder and a plush

be at the seldom used and grossly neglected landing strip outside of the village in

was it. This

stairs for you again, but 1-” | started, motioning toward the three

in the porch light. “It’s okay, Rowan. Pete can do it.

more than to toss it to her without a word and run then try to continue to stifle the heavy, overwhelming heartbreak. I understood her reasonings for want ing-no, needing to leave. But I would never understand why she felt like I

you’re leaving

Now, actually. I have to… I wanted to

The truth was, I likely wouldn’t be returning to Winter Forest for a long time. Dad had called a major conference in Mi rage, and all of

Drogomor, officially. And I would

up at Hanna, holding out my hand. I placed the ring in her open palm,

expect you to wear it. I don’t expect… I don’t expect anything. I respect you, Hanna. I respect you as much

sec ond before

of my Cessna 180, which looked like a toy compared to the glossy two-prop Cessna 210 that was idling only ten yards away on the ice-covered

and he was staring forward at the dashboard of the plane, mesmerized by the

asked, her voice distorted by the

the plane to drape a

securing the headset over Gemma’s ears. I reached

grabbed the front passenger seat, which had been folded forward to allow Gemma to

with a wide

reluctantly switched on his mic, and his

sternly, looking a little pale as she sat behind us with George in her

I laughed, which elicited a steely glare from

actual lessons from someone in Winter Forest when I turned eighteen.

of course, sitting in the co-pilot seat. If the pilot was smart, he

to fly

It had only two rows of seats, big enough to carry four adults at the most. It also didn’t have heat, so we were all bundled up in parkas and heavy gloves. George seemed fine with the arrangement, and within minutes, the

Gemma’s voice cut through my headset, and I turned to look at her, adjusting

going with the wind, not against it. We’re landing on the strip near the castle so that cuts our trip short.” And that was the truth. The seaplane could fit our entire family in

crash!” Gemma glared