Sould As The Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 84: Fathers and Sons

Troy

Ernest threw his arms around me, embracing me in a rib cracking hug. I had been, of course, speechless when I saw Gemma on the night of our arrival in Winter Forest and at the news that they had not only both survived, but had a child in our absence. Seeing Ernest in the flesh was even better than the news, however. And I found myself rattling off about our adventure before remembering we had an audience.

Talon, Ernest’s father, and Ethan’s prior Beta, was watching Ernest and me closely.

Ethan was pacing back and forth in front of the ceiling-height windows in the library in the White Queen’s Castle, a space the family rarely used. Part of the castle was a school now, and another section had been converted into apartments for the single warriors of the pack.

Ethan’s office was too small to house all of us men, and there was absolutely no privacy in the house with the amount of family roaming about.

So, we closed ourselves into the library, the door locking in place, holding me captive.

“And Maeve, she’s due soon, then?” Ernest asked with nothing but pure joy in his eyes.

“A few weeks left to go, but the midwife that came with us to the south, Cleo, said she was likely to go early. Any day now, it seems.

Maeve is miserable!” | replied, unable to stop myself from smiling.

“Why? Is everything alright?” Ernest looked concerned, but I waved my hand in dismissal.

“Twins,”

“TWINS?” Rowan roared from the opposite end of the room, closing the book he’d been skimming through while we were waiting for Ethan to finish whatever he was doing.

Ernest looked shocked, but then laughed, clapping me on the shoulder. “No one can say you weren’t a successful breeder-” Ernest’s voice was, unfortunately, not a whisper.

Talon loudly cleared his throat, and the three of us younger men quieted immediately as we caught Ethan’s stone-cold gaze.

“Too soon?” Rowan murmured, which made Ernest flush a vivid pink.

“Are you serious about this, Ernest?” Ethan said, ignoring our remarks. He slammed his open hand on the long table we’d gathered around, his hand pressing a piece of paper against the waxed surface.

“L… I am,” Ernest said, swallowing hard and squaring his shoulders. “I am sure.”

“And you, Talon? This is not what I expected from either of you!”

I took a step away from Ernest, sensing the anger beginning to radiate off of Ethan. Rowan and I were now shoulder to shoulder, watching with interest as Talon nodded his head.

“I agree with Ernest’s decision. I think he’s making the right

choice.”

“Giving up his title?” Ethan bit out.

Rowan went totally rigid, his breath catching in his throat. I fought the urge to nudge him to encourage him to start breathing again, but that was hit with the same realization he had come to.

If Ernest was giving up his title of Alpha of Drogomor…

“Wait just a minute-” Rowan said as he stepped forward.

Ethan raised his hand, silencing Rowan, and turned his gaze back to Ernest.

“Why? You realize this will leave you without a title, a title your son would inherit?”

“That’s not important to me. I’ve discussed it in length with Gemma. We… Uncle Ethan, we don’t want to leave. We both felt it the second we finally made it here, that we were home. Gemma died in Mirage. She doesn’t want to go back. I don’t want her to go back.”

“She would be Luna-” Ethan said, cutting Ernest off.

“She doesn’t want that, Uncle Ethan. I don’t want that for her. We want George to… to grow up with parents who have time for him. We want him to have friends, and a community where he’s not ostracized for being a royal. We want what you built here with Rosalie. A home, not a castle.”

chairs that lined the table, his eyes focused intently on Ethan. “I became Alpha because that was the only life I knew. I never thought I’d find my mate or

He glanced over at Rowan, who was standing like a statue next

pulled one of the chairs from the table and sat down, calm and collected. Ernest nodded, glancing at Rowan, who was

to let me go, Dad,”

anyone but me

picked up the piece of paper, folding it and tucking it into the pocket of

his gaze from the window to Ethan, and I saw a flash of disappointment behind his

and sons, but I knew there was an unspoken conflict between Ethan and Rowan, something that had been brewing for a long time. Ethan was, for whatever reason, holding Rowan

uncomfortably before taking a seat next to Talon, while Rowan and

felt Ethan’s eyes on me, and

who you were expecting, right?” I said, unable to stop the words from falling from my lips. Talon blinked up at me, and Ernest bit the

This was the big

to sit me down and rip

Ethan’s tone was cold, meaning to

the snowmobile up and down the mountain, sore in places where I didn’t know it was possible. I worried if I sat

over his chest, leaning back in his chair. “Was he the one who raised you, Troy? Is he still alive? The last we heard, he had died before you

“I wouldn’t know-”

know?” Ethan looked me up and down, his eyes

haven’t seen him since I was

peripheral vision, shifting in his seat as he looked over at Ethan with a furrowed

left me in Avondale and didn’t come back. I

was staring at me. Ernest and Rowan exchanged glances, then Ernest gave me a nod of

let alone was my relative until last winter, when Damian told me he needed

and I… I wanted to know him. I wanted to at least look at him. I didn’t know what I was walking into. Damian must have known about your plans for Maeve. I was in Valoria for several weeks before

And—”

clenching my hands into fists behind my back, “the moment I saw her, I knew she was my mate. I just knew. I wasn’t able to carry out my mission from that moment

and got her pregnant?” Ethan said bluntly, folding his

could to protect her from Damian, and Horace, and Romero. I had to keep her in the dark until the last possible moment. Maeve is… incapable of being secretive. She can’t lie without it showing on her face. You know

firmly, fixing my gaze on Ethan’s eyes despite the nagging fear ripping through my body. It was some way to get to

with laughter, then

have her, Alpha. I did what I

before asking me, “What do you

I want?” I repeated, unsure what kind of answer he was expecting. “Uh, your daughter, of

her powers, in

a stern

about the fact

us for what happened to your mother?” Ethan said with conviction, his voice an octave lower than it had been

went still, shaking my head in confusion. “I don’t know what happened to

the far side wall. Ethan’s face

“Sit down, Troy.”

“I don’t need to-”

“Sit.”

disobeyed my mind, and I found myself seated in front of

Rowan and Ernest, leaving me alone with Maeve’s father.

weren’t cold any longer. His gaze

to know what happened to her,” I said quickly, before I changed

know about her, Troy. Her heritage makes you who you are… which is an

discuss.”

I’d left the house before Maeve had woken up, and now it was midday. I was sure she’d know that I was with her dad, but still. I didn’t

a family we had chosen in Finaldi, away from the Isles. I had wiped my hands clean of the situation by

had always been told, but I

throat, tapping one of his fingers on the table. “We had a treaty with Damian back then. The Isles, like the east, were in shambles. I gave Damian the money he needed to reconstruct Avondale, in exchange

to Breles, though, so we never got confirmation you had actually been given over to the couple. We sent

didn’t know