Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 33 : Ambassador from the East

* Xander*

The inn had a modest restaurant on the first floor, decorated in a similar fashion to the rooms above. I was sitting at a round table in a far, quiet comer of the restaurant, a huge platter of roast beef with gravy, sourdough bread, and roasted vegetables laid out between me and the ambassador sent from the East.

He was a young man. likely only a few years younger than myself, with rich dark hair and slightly tilted emerald green eyes. He bore the characteristics of the royal eastern family, with his sharp nose and high cheekbones, and a strong jaw and chin. I eyed him curiously as he forked a piece of roast beef from the platter and dropped it on his plate, letting out a long sigh as he blinked down at his food.

‘’Long trip?" I asked, sipping from my pint of bitter, dark ale.

George, a great-nephew of the former Alpha King of the East, looked up at me tluough his thick, dark lashes as a wry smile touched his lips.

‘‘Absolute hell, if I'm being honest. I always forget how long it takes to get anywhere in Finaldi." He took a bite of the roast and sighed again, shaking his head. “I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

"Same," I said, filling my own plate and stealing a glance toward the foyer.

Lena was in for the shock of her life when she came downstairs to meet us. and I was looking forward to watching her emotions play over her face.

"My partner will be joining us in a moment. She needs to... ulun, finish drying her hair."

"I didn't know your field partner was a woman," he said with a c**k of his brow.

I shrugged, hoping the heat still gripping my body from what Lena and I had been up to only half an hour before wasn't evident on my face.

"She's the best botanist Morhan has to offer." I smiled, despite my efforts to remain neutral.

"Well, don't tell my cousin that." George grinned. swiping a piece of meat through the gravy on his plate. "She's a botanist as well, but her field study is in Red Lakes."

I ran my tongue along my bottom lip, arching my brow and nodding my head in response. Oh, hell. This was going to be interesting.

"You might know her, actually. Selene Gray."

"I don't think I do. My course of study is in pharmaceuticals."

"She'd be hard to miss," he said with a little chuckle. "But I haven't seen her since this time last year. The whole damn family still congregates in Avondale every December-"

I was watching him closely as he spoke. I was feeling a little anxious now. wondering when Lena was going to walk down the stairs. Any minute she'd round the comer of the foyer, and she'd either run or come face to face with the truth.

"Did you come here on your own?" I asked.

pertaining to the investigation back to them at the end of my stay." He glanced

said lightly, giving him a

he was still related to the retired Alpha King

ties, but I knew it would take an hour for him to go over every branch on his enormous family tree. He was tied to the West as well, through the marriage of Alpha King Rowan and Queen Hanna, whose family hailed from Red Lakes and whose father was the

Gray's reign was substantial based on the way he had connected the entirety of the pack lands tlu ough marriages and offspring, cementing a hereditary monopoly that would rale for generations to come. It was incredible, really,

glanced at George as I reached for my beer, noticing the

She's pregnant, and wasn't feeling up to a month-long boat ride to

said earnestly, giving him

to his

a surprise," I quipped, leaning back in my chair. I was wanned, and comfortably full, and thankful for the

her family vacationed with mine in Avondale every winter.

said with

eyes. "We eloped.

alive, so I'm guessing the family

"They act tough, but when it came down to it, all they wanted was our happiness. It was my great aunt who silenced

about

felt a glimmer of

my last errand as a royal ambassador, actually. Joy and I are moving with her parents and their

but swallowed it. giving him a

was from Dianny. if you can believe it. Her parents raised the kids that survived, and now what was left of the people in Dianny have outgrown the island of Suntra. They've been building a new settlement on the shore of the southern jungle for a few' years now;

a brief moment, trying

assume?" George shrugged, catching on to

he

"Xander!"

in the foyer, her eyes narrow'ed at me. I stood abruptly, biting

a long time. George opened his mouth, a surprised but genuine smile playing over his face, but then he

I motioned for her to come join

as she sheepishly walked foivvard. her cheeks

beef. I w'atched her for a moment, trying not to laugh as she did everything but make eye contact with George. I wanted to ask what her deal w'as, but I knew' it'd be fruitless. She wasn't going to tell me the truth, no matter

Creek, huh?" George said, giving Lena a stem look that made my skin prickle with adrenaline.

Alpha of Breles?" she interrupted sharply, forking a piece of roast

sucked on his lower lip, Iris eyes fixed firmly on hers for a moment before he surrendered to whatever game they

beer, his gaze flicking to Lena before he met my eye again. "Something unusual was

day she