Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 552

Chapter 52 : Truth Revealed

*Lena*

Oliver stopped short of us, his gaze moving slowly away from my face and settling on Abigail. I looked between them, noticing the flex of Oliver's jaw and the way Abigail swallowed, her mouth twitching into a nervous smile.

Normally, my boisterous, confident Abigail would have had him already wrapped around her finger, deep in some conversation while she purred into his ear. But she was shockingly quiet, and her cheeks had gone pink.

“Abigail, you said?" Oliver bowed his head lightly in greeting, which caused Abigail's hand to twitch as it grazed my own. He met her eye, and the look they shared made me blush. I'd been right, I guessed. Oliver was much more suited to her than Charlie would have been.

“Yes," she replied, her voice dripping with nothing but politeness. She began to curtsy to him, but he held out a hand, touching her lightly on the elbow to stop her before she bent her knees.

“A friend of my cousin is a friend of mine," he grinned, which made Abigail blush even harder.

I rolled my eyes away from them and looked out over the crowd once more. People were milling about in groups of varying sizes. There was no real itinerary for the night's activities. The only thing on the menu was dancing, eating, and being merry. At least, that was according to my extremely stressed-out Aunt Maeve.

My mother walked by our little group and gave me a smile, her eyes glancing at Oliver and Abigail. She tilted her head toward them as she passed, and I shrugged one shoulder, her silent chuckle as she turned away bringing a ripple of warmth across my chest.

Oliver laughed at something Abigail said, and it was a real laugh, not the good-natured chuckle of the aristocrat that he'd been trained to be. I turned back to them, nothing the blush had faded from Abigail's face and she seemed much more at ease now that the theoretical ice had been broken.

“You did the flower arrangements?" Oliver asked her, his eyes dancing with delight.

She grinned, nodding her head and giving him a little shrug of her shoulder. “I did."

“They're delightful," he replied, just as a man walked up behind him, drunkenly slapping him on the shoulder.

“Oli, good to see ya, man. I did'na think you'd show up to this–uh–whatever this is," slurred the young man. He smelled sharply of champagne, and his tuxedo was unbuttoned, his bowtie hanging limp against his chest.

I recognized him as Rex, the son of a lesser Alpha who ruled over a young pack in the eastern tip of Valoria. Rex looked Abigail up and down several times, his green gaze fixing itself firmly on her chest. Oliver shrugged him off, and Rex staggered backward, then forward again, almost crashing into the three of us as he tried to right himself.

“Must be weird for you, huh? At a party for your girl–" Rex swayed again, clasping the shoulder of an unsuspecting waiter who happened to be walking by. “Oops, sorry–" he giggled.

Abigail raised her eyebrows, and Oliver began to seeth, his cheeks going ruddy as he took a step in front of Abigail, shielding her as Rex let go and took one stumbling step forward.

He bumped into me, and I glared at him, but he only giggled like a schoolgirl as he reached up to poke my hair.

“What an odd color. I've heard about you–"

“Go away!" I said with conviction, but Rex's eyes twinkled with mischief. I could see the heat beginning to blaze behind Oliver's eyes as he glanced at me, then looked over his shoulder at Abigail. Oliver loved a good fight. I thought it likely that he'd somehow get Rex out into the back gardens and beat him to a pulp if he had the chance to do so without being seen.

“Who is that?" Rex purred, then hiccuped, pointing a finger at Abigail.

Oliver stepped to the side, his hands reaching behind him to move Abigail into his shadow.

“Ah, new girl, huh? What was it like losing your girlfriend to your brother? Look at this place–" Rex waved his hand in a short circle, his eyes glossed over and red with drink. “This could've been for you–"

“That's enough," Oliver said, his voice sounding so much like our grandfather's.

Abigail glanced at me, but I kept my gaze on Rex. People were starting to stare in our direction, drawn by Rex's not-so-quiet ramblings.

“You're no fun," Rex hiccuped, turning and stumbling away, his body swaying violently to one side and knocking into a woman standing nearby.

She dropped her drink and glass shattered across the floor, followed by loud exclamations for everyone nearby. We watched as two warriors approached Rex, taking him by the arms and dragging him away.

Oliver looked around, his eyes narrowed on the crowd for a moment before he relaxed. He released his grip on Abigail's hands. I hadn't even noticed he'd been holding them until he returned to his original position in front of us.

“Sorry about that," he said with a wry smile toward Abigail, smoothing down his tuxedo.

“What a jerk. His father is going to be so embarrassed," I added, sipping from my champagne.

“His father isn't here. He's one of Will's friends," Oliver said, low in his throat.

I saw a flash of hurt wash over his face, but only for a moment.

“This must be awful for you," Abigail said softly. I could hear her voice wavering for a moment as she said the words.

“I think I may have gotten off easy," he shrugged, settling his eyes on her face. “I mean, Rex wasn't wrong. Look at this place. This wouldn't have been what I wanted. I know Will had little to do with this. This is all Hollis." He paused, looking down at his feet for a moment before meeting my eye. “I don't think I knew her as well as I thought."

I smiled at him, relief flooding through me. I'd been worried about what this week would be like for him. I knew his self-deprecating jokes and overall playful demeanor were just a mask over what he was really feeling.

The two of us had always been good at that.

Oliver turned to Abigail and asked her to dance. She happily agreed and looked over her shoulder at me as he led her away, squealing internally and grinning as broadly as possible.

I thought back on that day in the cafe, the last day anything had felt even remotely normal. Abigail had joked about dying her hair blonde to catch the attention of the princes.

But look at her now, twirling in Oliver's arms, I thought, smiling and crossing my arms over my chest as I watched them.

“Who's that?" Dad asked behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder at him, smiling as I turned back to Oliver and Abigail. “Abigail, my friend from Morhan–one of my roommates."

“I haven't seen Oliver smile like that in a long time," he said softly, then he chuckled as he lifted his glass of scotch to his lips before adding, “Your grandfather will be happy."

“Well, Oliver is his favorite, so that doesn't surprise me," I replied shortly, shaking my head. “When do they get here, anyway?"

“Last I heard, sometime tomorrow," he replied. “Listen, your mother and I need to talk to you about something–tomorrow, when your grandmother is here."

“About what?"

But Dad didn't reply. He turned, greeting another Alpha who had walked up to us, the two of them exchanging niceties and then turning away from me completely.
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