Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 117 : Wolf of the Moon Goddess

*Lena*

Mara had her legs crossed, her foot tapping with silent rhythm and she flipped through the spellbook. I was watching her with marked suspicion, my arms crossed over my chest, not even hiding the glare fixed on my face.

Clare was pacing back and forth behind the couch Mara was sitting on, and occasionally Clare looked over her shoulder, peering down at whatever page Mara was studying. Maeve was talking in a hushed voice to Grandma and my mom, who were standing in the corner of the cozy sitting room near the dining hall in the Castle Drogomor.

Night was falling. We'd arrived around midday, and I'd spent the rest of the day listening to the news beginning to trickle in from the west.

It was all bad news–terrible news. Grandma and Maeve had immediately gone to the hospital in Mirage to donate blood for the influx of wounded and dying shoulders we were being carted across the sea towards Valoria for care. The Valorian army, those reserves who had stayed behind, were already setting up a perimeter around the southern tip of the territory to protect the great, bustling cities within.

I donated only a few vials of blood in the infirmary at the castle. I was pregnant, after all. The act made me dizzy and lightheaded for the rest of the afternoon.

But then Grandma and Maeve came home with Mara in tow, and now it was time to figure out what the hell we were supposed to do with this stupid book.

My mom, Clare, and Mara had their powers of sight. My powers of sight only came to me in dreams, which wasn't entirely helpful since I had little to no control over what I saw, and when. Apparently, we were supposed to use our combined powers to do… something.

“This is all in Prithen," Mara mused to herself, flipping another page and dragging her finger down the text.

“Prithen? What the hell is Prithen?" Clare leaned over the back of the couch to look at the page Mara had stopped on.

“An ancient language, something from before the time of Morrighan and Lycaon from what we know. The Church of the Moon Goddess has a few scripts but that's it, never a full… a full example of the alphabet those early people used. This is… priceless."

“It doesn't belong to the Church," Maeve said firmly as she rounded the couch and came to sit beside me.

Mara gave her a side-eyed look as she flipped another page.

“Can you translate it?" Mom asked from the corner of the room.

Mara let out her breath and nodded, then shrugged. “Some. I think I knew enough to get the gist of what this book is about. It's a fairytale."

“It's not a fairytale," Maeve retorted. “It's a book of spells."

“It's a book about spells; that's the difference. This comes from Leto's people before she was a Goddess. This book in particular is about a girl who is given the powers of a wolf so that she can effectively hunt during an especially brutal winter. There's a spell for it–"

what?" Maeve interrupted, looking

what happened, anyway. I already said there's only

heart falling into my stomach.

on how, and why, we have the powers of wolves," Mom

for food, and for protection against enemies,"

jumped to her feet and snatched the book

in Dianny, I thought it was you and me, Mom. I thought I was standing over you, both of us in our wolf forms. White wolves–Una and the rest of the women of Dianny interpreted that as you were dying, and I was ascending to the throne. But they were wrong!" She turned to me, her eyes widening. “I know what I'm supposed to do now. I

look in her eyes. She looked

the vampires. I could see it in your

from ever accessing our realm again," Mom cut in before I could say anything, nodding

her,

until she comes into her

on?" I asked sharply. “What are

she held it up to

***

this was a good idea. People shifted all the time

cast that would activate wolf powers,

didn't have time to care. I was itching to get going, to get to Breles like we'd planned. I would be going with Maeve and Mara while everyone else stayed behind. We had a seaplane waiting for us at the port

than ready. I'd had a sinking feeling in my gut all day long, and that tethered thread binding me to Xander? It had

were all standing in the chilly back garden and night was falling, casting a pale purple glow over the castle behind us. I shivered, then crossed my arms defensively

continued, pointing to

gaze back on Mom and Grandma. Everyone needed to help say the spell. All of them would need to tap into their powers,

painful, but again, I was beyond

I repeated, catching my mom's gaze. “And

small voice, her eyes glistening with uncertainty.

fetch the book. Mara murmured something, pointing to a page.

you. At least, I'm

why, but

Clare reached out to Mara, then my

to hold hands when doing group

a mere foot from where I stood. She placed her hand