Sould As The Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 83 : Common Ground

Troy

Well, I was still alive.

I hadn’t been sure what to expect when we finally reached Maeve’s homeland, but I thought Maeve would have been more at peace.

Instead, I watched her crumble at the edge of her parents’ bed, the moonstones in her hands, realizing the act of bringing them together hadn’t worked.

That had been the first time I met her mother, the famous White Queen Rosalie… my future mother-in-law, if Ethan didn’t kill me before a wedding could take place.

We had been in Winter Forest for a full day at that point, and my conversations with Ethan had been short and to the point. I had turned over Opaline to him. I had returned his daughter to her pack. I had given him a complete report on everything that had happened from the moment I first stepped foot in Valoria to the day our boat pulled into the inlet that hugged the shore of Winters Forest’s main village.

Outside of that, he didn’t even look in my direction.

I was only slightly embarrassed that I fell off the dock in front of him, but Rowan made me look slightly better than himself when he jumped in a second time to help me get the moonstone before it was carried away by the tide.

The icy, glacial water had been a baptism of some kind, something that cemented an unlikely friendship between Maeve‘s brother and

me.

So, I wasn’t entirely surprised when I woke up the next morning to Rowan in the doorway of Maeve’s bedroom, peering down at me.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” he asked in a whisper, arching his brow.

I ran my fingers through my hair and then over my face, rubbing my eyes. “More room down here,” I tilted my head toward the bed where Maeve was still sleeping like a rock with basically all of the pillows in the house tucked around her body. “What time is it?”

“A little after seven,” he replied, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms over his chest. I looked out the window behind the bed, seeing nothing. It was pitch black. “The sun doesn’t come up until, like, eleven this time of year. You’ll get used to it.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” I blinked a few times, my body and mind not yet acclimated to the strangeness of this place. The sun had set the day before at just after 3:00 p.m., and all my body wanted to do was sleep even though I wasn’t particularly tired.

“It’s hard on everyone for a while,” Rowan continued as I stood and folded up the blanket I had been sleeping on. I laid it over Maeve’s feet, which were peeking out of the thick quilt that she had tucked up around her ears. “How’s she doing?”

I could hear the guilt in his voice as his gaze shifted from me to the bed.

In truth, Maeve wasn’t well. She had cried until she fell asleep the night before, spilling her feelings about her homecoming to me while I held her, whispering reassurances against her neck. Maeve was a wreck, and I couldn’t blame her. It was mostly my fault.

me.

So, I wasn’t entirely surprised when I woke up the next morning to Rowan in the doorway of Maeve’s bedroom, peering down at me.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” he asked in a whisper, arching his brow.

I ran my fingers through my hair and then over my face, rubbing my eyes. “More room down here,” I tilted my head toward the bed where Maeve was still sleeping like a rock with basically all of the pillows in the house tucked around her body. “What time is it?”

“A little after seven,” he replied, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms over his chest. I looked out the window behind the bed, seeing nothing. It was pitch black. “The sun doesn’t come up until, like, eleven this time of year. You’ll get used to it.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” I blinked a few times, my body and mind not yet acclimated to the strangeness of this place. The sun had set the day before at just after 3:00 p.m., and all my body wanted to do was sleep even though I wasn’t particularly tired.

“It’s hard on everyone for a while,” Rowan continued as I stood and folded up the blanket I had been sleeping on. I laid it over Maeve’s feet, which were peeking out of the thick quilt that she had tucked up around her ears. “How’s she doing?”

I could hear the guilt in his voice as his gaze shifted from me to the bed.

In truth, Maeve wasn’t well. She had cried until she fell asleep the night before, spilling her feelings about her homecoming to me while I held her, whispering reassurances against her neck. Maeve was a wreck, and I couldn’t blame her. It was mostly my fault.

“She’s fine. Tired,” I answered shortly, pulling one of the thick knit sweaters Gretchen had laid out for me over my shoulders. Rowan watched me closely. His eyes were so much like Maeve’s, the same color and shape, in fact. But Rowan looked more like Rosalie in the face, at least in my opinion. He had his father’s jaw, though, which tightened and flexed whenever they held back their words.

awake, so I could… talk to her. Say hi, I

It’s a lot… the pregnancy,

lips and tilting his head from side to

you want me to

Rowan shifted uncomfortably, then tilted his head toward the hallway. I nodded firmly, my chest

the kitchen, surrounded by the smell of breakfast sausage and coffee as she chopped potatoes. She looked up from the butcher block, her eyes creasing as her mouth stretched into a beaming smile. “Good morning!” she exclaimed, setting

coffee and added a liberal amount of fresh cream, which made my stomach tighten with anticipation. We had been eating nothing but dried food and grains for weeks, and no one aboard Damian’s cruiser could cook worth a damn. Yesterday, we‘d been too busy to eat a proper meal, so I was hoping whatever plan Rowan had for

breakfast.

followed suit, sipping my coffee

just as handsome and patient as I imagined you, Troy dear,” Gretchen said sweetly as she flipped the pancakes. “It certainly takes a specific type of

friendly older woman who exuded what I could only describe as “grandma energy,” and she looked the part as well, dressed in an apron decorated with embroidered tea pots and apples. She clicked her tongue at Rowan, pointing

are such quiet, humble people. Is Hanna

later, if not,” Rowan said, watching as Gretchen grabbed two

of being uncomfortable. This was Rowan’s domain. Maeve’s childhood home. I was, to be blunt, an unwanted guest. Surely, Gretchen knew about the situation, having worked

up with the plastic containers in his hands, thanking Gretchen as she filled two thermoses with

your helmet, Rowan. You

know, I know,” Rowan said over

I asked as we reached the stairwell that led down to the garage. I had slept there the night we arrived in Winter Forest, but it had been very

said simply, shrugging as I followed

“I’m from the Isles,”

the bottom of the stairs, and the

leaned against the walls, bikes and several sets of skis and snowboards. A large pickup truck sat idle in the far corner of the garage next to what looked like a tractor, both covered in tarps. I hadn’t been around cars in my life, but I could tell the truck was old… Vintage, some might say. Rowan caught me looking at it

did he find it? I’ve never seen a vehicle that old before.” | ran my tongue along the inside of my lower lip, wondering

one day. He had to have it towed up here from the port, and

my shock, “I don’t think that matters that much. This

started to grab gear off the shelves on the far wall, pulling down an assortment of gloves and padded jackets. I walked around, glancing at the tool bench before letting my

back, a bathroom and what looked like a small office or storage room. I could see an icon bouncing around on what looked like a screen and couldn’t hold

that a computer?” I asked, turning to

he was holding and inhaled deeply, his cheeks turning

“Yeah, it is.”

I’ve never seen

his voice, and

ever read about

of the dashboards on boats and planes.” The war had destroyed most

shoulders losing some of their tension as he picked up on my excitement. “I’m building more radio towers. I needed a way to test the frequency needed to connect the packs of Valoria and keep track of the data.

I said earnestly, wanting nothing more than for him to show me exactly what he could

broadly, blushing a little more as he balanced the helmet on his hip. “Maybe when we get back I can

and shaking his head. “I’m not

we spent the next fifteen minutes suiting up to take the snowmobiles out. It was arduous work, and I was sweating by the time we had packed the food and coffee into

don’t think I need to tell you how to

I replied, not sure if he could hear me. “You’re not planning on leading me away from the village and stranding me somewhere, are

not who I was expecting you to be, Troy. I think that would be a waste. Plus, Dad would

***

parked the snowmobiles and stepped off of them. I looked out over the

I had never seen before, so close I felt like I could touch them. A green band of light danced over the mountains on the other side of the inlet, like a

just shifted,” I said as I set my helmet down on the

getting snowballs stuck

I

handed me one of the food containers and we sat on our snowmobiles to eat

to apologize for punching you,” Rowan said after a few minutes of