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

most days. It’s a lot… the

yeah,” he said awkwardly, pursing his lips and tilting his head from side to side,

want me to wake her

back from Mirage today.” Rowan shifted uncomfortably, then tilted his head toward the hallway. I nodded firmly, my chest tightening with anxiety as followed him down the hallway and through the darkened

of breakfast sausage and coffee as she chopped potatoes. She looked up from the butcher block, her eyes creasing as

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

breakfast.

my coffee and watching as Gretchen began to pour pancake batter into a large cast iron

as I imagined you, Troy dear,” Gretchen said sweetly as she flipped the pancakes. “It certainly takes a specific type of man to peak

at Gretchen as she cast him a dirty look. She was a friendly older woman who exuded what I could only describe as “grandma energy,” and she looked

So alike. It’s no wonder your mates are such quiet, humble

Gretchen grabbed two plates from

was Rowan’s domain. Maeve’s childhood home. I was, to be blunt, an unwanted guest. Surely, Gretchen knew about the

his hands, thanking Gretchen as she

be planning on wearing your helmet, Rowan. You know how your mother feels

Rowan said over his shoulder. “Thanks

we arrived in Winter Forest, but it had been very dark. I could only make out the immediate area around me, which was

I followed him down the stairs. “Ever been on

“I’m from the Isles,”

of the stairs, and the garage erupted into light. I took a moment to be shocked, then composed myself and swallowed the many, many questions swirling through my

the garage door, primed and ready for use. An assortment of other outdoor equipment 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 and gave me a crooked smile. “It’s Dad’s. He’s been working

my tongue along the inside of my lower lip, wondering if Rowan would protest if I poked around the garage for

the port, and it’s been sitting in the garage for fifteen years or so now. Mom

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

pulling down an assortment of gloves and padded jackets. I walked around, glancing at the tool

and what looked like a small office or storage room. I could see an icon bouncing around on what looked like

computer?” I asked, turning

holding and inhaled deeply, his cheeks

“Yeah, it is.”

never

the apprehension in his voice, and I quickly realized why his cheeks had colored. He was

serious? I‘ve only ever read about them. I

on boats and planes.” The war had destroyed most of the technology to use them, so there was no reason

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. It

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

he balanced the helmet on his hip. “Maybe when we get back

his head. “I’m not supposed

get it.” I couldn’t help but laugh. Rowan motioned me over to him and 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

need to tell you how to

could hear me. “You’re not planning on leading me away from the

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

***

so fine it didn’t make a sound as we parked the snowmobiles and stepped off of them. I looked out over the village, which

them. A green band

see why we couldn’t have just shifted,” I said as I set my helmet down on the

worse than getting snowballs stuck

I can

one of the food containers and we sat on our

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