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

stopped walking, stunned into silence. I turned to

Lv.1

neck. I hadn’t meant to

“I’m sorry,”

arched in surprise. Then,

is so funny?” | stammered, tightening my hands into

you talk like that before. You sound ed… so

from him as adrenaline prickled across my skin. I was thankful we were out of earshot of the house. Even though I was

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

“In front of Dad?”

going to kill all of us. Your moth er ended up being

“Oh, no.”

no

as we started walking again. “I’m just… I don’t know what to do here. I just know Hanna wouldn’t hurt any one, anything… She

the truth, Rowan. That’s all.

Kacidra first. Okay? She’ll

happened. I

some kind, maybe?” | suggested, but Talon shook his

Shelly and Kacidra had were bruises

too, and those wounds haven’t

despite the chilly, early fall weather. Mom should’ve healed almost

ran her gloved fingers over the altar, which was cracked in half, the statue of the Moon Goddess directly behind it

this. There was a bright light and… it felt like all the air had left the

in a circle, looking up at where the

happened in Hanna’s dream. I don’t know what happened though; she hasn’t said anything to me about

me through it,” Talon turned to us, his hands

grimaced, tucking 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

do

hazel eyes darkened to a deep green by the overcast, gray

I craned my neck to look around Talon’s body as I

turned around to face them, a silence falling over the temple

Shelly said, her voice bold and

and I felt a pang of jealousy at the look of comfort that passed

had been priori tizing splitting my time between getting to know Hanna and helping my dad piece together Maeve’s whereabouts

She is the mother of the boy, my brother, who fell out of that

least the man who was