Sould As The Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 77 : An Act of War

Rowan

Dad had been in Mom’s room with the door closed for two days. Gretchen, Georgia, and Vicky had busied them selves with making food and tending to the house, carrying trays of tea and snacks upstairs on a regular basis, the trays untouched as they rested on the carpeted floor until they were eventually cleared away by Gretchen.

Despite the amount of people in the house, it was dead silent. Every once in a while, someone started the washing machine in the laundry room, or a tea kettle squealed in the kitchen, but otherwise, the many occupants of the house walked around in somber, quiet steps, waiting for the door of the master bedroom to open and for Ethan to come out and explain to us what we needed to do.

Mom was alive. So was Hanna. We didn’t know until we got home from Mirage that they had both survived whatev er catastrophes had happened in our absence. The plane ride home had been the longest five hours of my life.

I was sitting in the den with my hands tucked between my knees, watching Vicky and her daughters chopping vegetables in the kitchen. Talon came into the kitchen, looking grave as he bent his head to whisper in his sister’s

ear. He noticed me as he straightened up, giving me a tight nod, then motioned his head toward the back door as he stepped into the den, willing me to follow.

| stepped outside, closing the backdoor behind me as I moved with quick steps after Talon, who was walking briskly toward the gate leading to the trails that wove around the grounds of the White Queen’s castle. All plans to move the extended family into the castle, for the time being, had ceased when we returned. No one wanted to be far from Mom.

“We need to talk to Hanna.” Talon held the gate open for me as I passed through, shutting it with a soft click. “Now.”

“No,” I replied firmly, tucking my hands into the pockets of my flannel jacket against the cool breeze rustling the trees. We walked along the fence, and I knew he was mean ing to walk out onto the road leading down to the village. Kacidra and Hanna were staying in a cabin on the outskirts of the forest, not far from where we were now.

“I understand that she’s your mate, but,”

“But nothing. Hanna didn’t do this.”

“Gemma isn’t sure”

“Gemma wasn’t there!” | swallowed against the fury ris ing in my throat, struggling to catch my breath. We had heard a brief synopsis of what happened in the aftermath of the event that had momentarily killed my mother and put my mate in a coma.

coma.

Gemma had saved Mom’s life, but how she had done so was a mystery. She told us Mom made her promise not to tell anyone what happened in the bedroom where Mom’s body had been laid out. Not even Dad, which made him fu rious. He had locked himself in their bedroom after that, no doubt to get the truth out of Mom.

“Otto has already tried to talk to Shelly. She’s terrified, Rowan. She’s not saying a word.”

“Then we will talk to Kacidra, she was with them. But not Hanna.”

“Why not? Tell me,”

“Because I forbid it.”

“You’re mate killed your mother, Rowan-”

the f*ck

stunned into silence. I turned to

Lv.1

neck. I hadn’t meant to say that

“I’m sorry,”

my surprise he smiled, his brows arched in surprise. Then, he laughed heartily,

so funny?” | stammered, tightening my hands into fists in my

like that before. You sound ed… so much like your dad. It caught me off

I was thankful we were out of earshot of the house. Even though I was a grown man, if Dad had overheard me say that to Talon … “Mom told me Aunt Georgia taught Maeve and I curse words when we were

wasn’t much of a help in that regard, either. I’ll never forget the time you called Ernest a ‘shithead in front of your father. You must have been seven, I think it was shortly after Maeve’s first birth day because we were all in Winter Forest for a visit. He turned-turned purple, just furious beyond belief. I was try ing so hard not to laugh and then Ernest turned to Georgia and asked

“In front of Dad?”

going to kill all of us. Your moth er ended up being the one to tell Ernest

“Oh, no.”

no is

you, Uncle Talon,” I said a little sheepishly as we started walking again. “I’m just… I don’t know what to do here. I just know Hanna wouldn’t

to get the truth, Rowan. That’s all. Until she,

Kacidra first. Okay?

to take us to the temple and show us exactly what happened. I haven’t seen it yet,

kind, maybe?” | suggested, but Talon shook

Otto said the only injuries Shelly and Kacidra had were bruises and

and those

despite the chilly, early fall weather. Mom should’ve healed almost immediately. Her blood had powers. It wasn’t

the altar, which was cracked in half, the statue of the Moon Goddess directly behind it was missing its head. Talon looked

could have done this. There was a bright light and… it felt like all the air had left the temple. Then the air

be… this…. this was a weather event?” Talon turned in a circle, looking up

though; she hasn’t said anything to me about it. She hasn’t said anything at

you to walk me through it,” Talon turned to us, his

a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “The air… it was wind, but it was deliberate. Like it was knowingly chaotic. I know that doesn’t make any sense but… it shattered all the win dows. Hanna, she… I think she pushed Rosalie out

do you

by the overcast, gray sky above our heads. “Rosalie went into the

I said weakly, looking around. I craned my neck to look around Talon’s body as I caught Otto in my peripheral, Shelly walking beside him with her arm tucked into the crook

silence falling over the temple as Shelly

Shelly said, her

by her presence, and I felt a pang of jealousy at the look of comfort that

I had been busy. I had been priori tizing splitting my time between getting to know Hanna and

know about Leera, Talon. She is the mother of the boy, my brother, who fell out of

At least the