Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder Chapter 555

Chapter 55 : Is He Dying?

*Lena*

I slept in and found the palace unusually quiet when I finally dressed and walked down to the informal open kitchen and dining room area used primarily by the family. There was, of course, a commercial kitchen occupied by the cooks and servants of the royal palace, but it was easy enough for one of us to make a piece of toast or pour our own coffee and tea.

I wasn’t alone as I padded into the kitchen. I looked over my shoulder at the three men seated at the far end of the dining room table, mugs of coffee and empty breakfast plates in front of them–my dad, my uncle Troy, and to my surprise, my grandfather Ethan.

I slid a plate from the dishrack as they eyed me, my father’s gaze especially intense. Whatever murmuring conversation they’d been having had ceased entirely when I’d entered the room. I realized then that there was only one thing they could have been talking about, and that was Xander, of course.

I swallowed and turned away from them as I balanced my plate of fruit, bacon, and breakfast sausages, pouring myself some coffee. Troy murmured something I didn’t catch, and Dad laughed low in his throat. Grandpa, of course, stayed silent.

“Grandpa,” I grinned as I walked toward the table. I set my plate down, deciding to take a seat next to my dad. I walked to the end of the table before sitting down and wrapped an arm around my grandfather’s shoulder, giving him a soft peck on the cheek. Those dark brows didn’t arch a fraction of an inch as I pulled away and slid into my seat.

“Good afternoon, my favorite granddaughter,” he said with a smile as he wiped my chapstick from his cheek.

It was incredibly easy to see that my grandfather had been quite a handsome, albeit formidable, young man. He had the deep cobalt eyes synonymous with his side of the family, eyes he shared with his sister Georgia and had passed on to his daughter and nieces and nephews. His hair was pepper gray and was still thick despite his advancing age. His face showed signs of a long life, a good life, but those lines around his eyes told me he’d seen a thing or two in his day.

He commanded every room he was in, despite the fact he’d been retired for nearly two decades. He was currently flanked by two Alphas but was still the one in charge.

“I’m your only granddaughter,” I grinned, then forked a grape into my mouth.

He gave me a sideways, tight-lipped smile in return before he exhaled through his nose and tapped the side of his coffee mug, glancing between my dad and Troy.

“Did I interrupt something?” I asked, but none of the men looked in my direction.

“Nothing, kid. Just business about New Dianny,” Troy said softly as he leaned back in the muted yellow chairs that surrounded the table. Compared to the rest of the palace, this section was soft, lived in, and felt more like a home than a testament to their rank. Books lined the far wall, nestled in built-in, ceiling-height shelves made of the palest wood I’d ever seen. There was no hearth, which would have been a silly addition given that it was humid and warm in the Isles year round, even in the dead of winter. A worn-in, slightly frayed rug lay beneath the scratched-up dining room table, and there were even rings from water stains in the wood. I traced on with my finger as my dad pursed his lips and tilted his head in Troy’s direction.

“I take it Robbie and Alison have finished their move to New Dianny, with their pack?”

Troy nodded, and his eyes darkened for a moment as he looked down into his coffee.

“They’ve recently finished construction on the village, roughly five miles inland. They mean to keep the jungle intact and build out toward the hills beyond, toward the outskirts of the valley where Dianny used to be.”

Smart, I thought, listening to their conversation in silence as I ate my breakfast. The Southern Jungle was prone to tropical storms of unheard-of strength. The jungle lining the beaches acted as a barrier. The trees and dense foliage would act as a shield for the village, even if the worst of weather.

“And George is truly going?” Dad asked, his chestnut-colored brows arched as he looked from Grandpa to Troy.

shoulder, a gleam of mischief in his eyes as Grandpa groaned

in a fit over it,” Grandpa said hoarsely, coughing a bit as he lifted his mug to his lips. “But I suspect it has more to do with Eliza likely attending university in Mirage next year.

of my coffee mug, each lingering in contemplative silence over a

still had a son at home, a young son. Luke. But

again, clearing his throat.

eyes at him

the color was missing from his cheeks, and the dark circles beneath his eyes were heavier than they had been the last time I’d

“Your friend, Alexander–”

I

head away from the men and pretending to be invested in the single grape that remained on my plate, which was

you then,” Grandpa continued cautiously, although he looked as though he

What could I possibly say? Xander

lied? Maybe not totally. It was more like he’d left major pieces of the truth. He’d also saved my life, marked me, told me

but internally, my mind began to spin. He had said he’d come here to find a Luna for his kingdom, a

come into the room, quiet as a mouse, but left no means to let us continue the conversation in peace as she

and eventually, her eyes turned

she asked, looking more than a little frazzled as she opened

fresh coffee–” Troy began, but she

asked tersely without even glancing

to meet Troy’s gaze with a

you been on

wished I had access to whatever conversation was going on between them, likely over the mind-link, and likely something along

“No–”

binder she had opened, pieces of lace sticking out between its laminated

biting on his lower lip as though he were contemplating saying something cutting, then rose, waving away my dad and Troy’s attempts to help him out of

peace,” he murmured, pointing a shaky finger at Troy, “since you

heard that,” Maeve said with

his

grumbled his farewells, hobbling toward the entrance of the kitchen. He smacked Maeve’s ankle with his cane before walking out of

Troy chuckled to

the man alone,

Troy. Rowan, you have to

course, I have,” Dad said in a low hiss,

seventies isn’t old,” she protested.“Late seventies or no, he’s been

cane.” Maeve was talking to no one in particular as she looked

sick?” I