Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 102: Our World Would End

Troy

Maeve was sleeping soundly beside me, Will and Charlie nestled in her arms. Oliver was asleep on my bare chest, his mouth moving in a suckling motion as he slept. I rested my hand over his back, closing my eyes for a moment. Oli seemed to melt into me, succumbing to full sleep as the minutes ticked by.

It was not very late, but getting all three boys to sleep was an exhausting undertaking. It was not uncommon that one, or both of us, fell asleep with the boys while we fumbled through their bedtime routine.

I waited a few minutes longer before slowly rising from the bed, careful not to wake any of my sleeping family mem bers. I patted Oli softly on the back while I crossed the room to where their bed was, which was just a twin-sized mattress. with a railing all the way around it, like an oversized crib.

Rowan and I had built it only a few days ago, shortly after the gala. We found that the triplets slept better in the same bed, and I understood why. They had been together since the moment of conception. Who were we to separate them when all they had known was each other?

One by one I carried the boys to bed, laying them down next to each other. Will turned to his side and snuggled into Oli, their tiny noises touching, while Charlie sprawled out in the shape of a starfish, his tiny fingers splayed as he dreamed.

They were beautiful. I didn’t know it was capable of loving something so deeply, while also being terrified of that some thing at the same time.

Who would they become? And what would life be like for them when they were my age? I had made a promise when the High Priestess placed the crown of Poldesse on my head that I would help shape a world worthy of not only my sons but my grandchildren, and so on and so forth. That burden, even in its infancy, felt almost impossible to bear.

I left their crib and walked to Maeve’s side of the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and tucking them around her. I wasn’t afraid of waking her up. I could beat on a drum next to her head and she wouldn’t even stir. She slept through the stirrings of the boys as well, and because my sleep was of ten paper-thin, I was the one awake in the dead of night when the boys woke up, and I didn’t mind it at all.

Rocking them back to sleep in the rocking chair near the window made me feel as though I was back on the Perse phone, slowly lulled to sleep by the soft pitch of the boat.

I knew I had at least an hour or so to myself now that ev eryone was asleep.

I could’ve slid into bed beside Maeve, but I was wide awake. I decided to go down to the library and sit beneath the mural for a moment and enjoy the solitude.

But I found myself sharing that solitude with Ethan.

Three days had passed since the gala. Three days of try ing to convince Ethan that Hayden wasn’t a threat, just a menace. Three days, and no word of Tasia’s whereabouts or plans.

We had been busy, however, with the boys and making plans for the future. Maeve and I would need to leave for Poldesse, and soon, to start our new life. But Maeve was re fusing to leave on the grounds that the moonstone business was unfinished, and I agreed with her.

But for now, we all felt entirely stuck in place, not sure of what to do next, and what to expect.

Ethan was sitting near the hearth, an untouched glass of fine scotch sitting on the side table as he looked down at a letter in his hands. He hadn’t noticed me come in, so I walked loudly across the stone floor, trying not to scare him as I came into the light of the hearth.

library to fight the wet chill in the air and was thankful to find that Ethan had already created a warm, cozy

wondering if I’d see you tonight,” he said as he closed his book and leaned back in his chair, looking thought

I sank into the couch and chuckled to myself, remembering the night Maeve and I had spent here after the social, when I had been

the library, which had been a lot less inno cent, and tried to hide my

I was going to get punished for allowing Hayden to get away. So far, Ethan had only been angry he hadn’t had

himself.

reached into the pocket of the thick cardigan-like sweater he was wearing and tossed me a package. It was small, wrapped in brown

tomb. I had a guy in Mirage separate the pages. It took him a while, but he got it done, says it’s

said stupidly, knowing full well Ethan wouldn’t have just given

in the event he saw something he shouldn’t have.” Ethan settled back

speaking further. I leaned against the couch cushions and quietly unwrapped the paper, looking

terest.

detailed Charles’ journey through the pass and the discovery of the tomb. The beginning

entire journal was readable, the man who had repaired had sewn a new spine. I could now flip

from the beginning at first but found it mostly about his family life. Skipping forward, I began to unravel the story of how Charles ended up on such a

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a summons from Alpha King Hector of Val

day, demanding an audience with the King. The

was immediately taken with her. But Onya refused to give her daughter to the king,

Alouette by force, but he soon realized he

was looking for a relic that had been stolen from their temple. A great flood had washed their vil lage, and during the frantic process of trying to save what

had been frantically looking for the stone for decades and had heard the king had an explorer in his court who she wanted to hire to find the stone, since she was unable to travel much

a man named Casimir, in exchange for Alouette’s hand in marriage. Onya took it one

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a map, which would lead Casimir to what she said was

had worked for the King for many years at that point and was immediately summoned to assist the royal ex plorer Casimir in his quest. Why Onya believed the missing relic was in the Southern Pass,

interesting had happened before the quest began. I read over Charles’ words several times to make sure I was interpreting them correctly. I stood, which caused Ethan to look up from his book, his brow furrowed

but I shook my head, begin ning

would be endless, and I feared the length in which I would be separated from my family. King Hector was a kind