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.”

Alpha because that was the only life I knew. I never thought I’d find my mate or have children.

He glanced over at Rowan, who was standing like a statue next to me, his eyes focused on the windows

the table and sat down, calm and collected. Ernest nodded,

to let me go,

doubted anyone but

then picked up the piece of paper, folding it and tucking it into the pocket of his jacket. “We’ll

to Ethan, and I saw

conflict between Ethan and Rowan, something that had been

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

on me, and slowly returned his

lips. Talon blinked up at me, and Ernest bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from smiling. “You were expecting someone

expressionless. This

is when he was going to

was cold,

was sore from riding the snowmobile up and down the mountain, sore in places where I didn’t know it was possible. I worried if I sat down, I wouldn’t be able to get up again. “Behar was my

over his chest, leaning back in his chair. “Was he the one

“I wouldn’t know-”

you wouldn’t know?” Ethan looked me up

since I was four years

in his seat as he looked over at Ethan

was my father anyway, well, he straight up left me in Avondale and didn’t come back. I grew up with a group of orphans. You’ve likely heard of Keaton, the captain of the Persephone? He was

exchanged

even existed let alone was my relative until last winter, when Damian told me he needed me to go to

was my grandfather, 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

And—”

back, “the moment I saw her, I

bluntly, folding

keep her in the dark

nagging fear ripping through my body. It was some way to get to know my future wife’s dad,

snorted with laughter, then

let them have her, Alpha.

exhaled, looking over at Talon briefly, before

want?” I repeated, unsure what kind of answer

powers, in

Ethan a

if Maeve had told her parents about the fact that

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

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

wall. Ethan’s face went through a transformation, his expression darkening as he considered my words. Then, he looked oddly…

“Sit down, Troy.”

“I don’t need to-”

“Sit.”

mind, and I found myself seated

motioned, and Talon left with Rowan and Ernest, leaving me alone with Maeve’s

weren’t cold any longer. His gaze was soft and

to her,” I

makes you who you are… which is an Alpha.

discuss.”

I was sure she’d know that I was with her dad, but still. I

to a family we had chosen in Finaldi, away from the Isles. I had wiped my hands

I had always been told, but I didn’t know

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 for Poldesse dissolving. I didn’t know Poldesse was operating

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

didn’t dare breathe. I didn’t know if I wanted him to