Sould As The Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 94 : I Kissed Her

Rowan

“It wasn’t easy,” said the metalsmith as he wiped his grimy hands on a rag. He spun around in his car, plopping a small, smooth ring in the palm of my hand. “You were right about the stone; it was jade-a sizable, practically flawless hunk of it. Say, where did you find it?”

“On the beach,” I said softly, turning the ring over in my hand.

The entire thing was made of jade, carved right out of the stone Hanna had found on our walk on the beach several weeks before the snow had begun to fall. That was months ago, I thought, wrapping my fingers around the ring. Things had some how felt easier then.

“There’s enough of the mother-stone left for a second ring, at least partially. Half would need to be metal of some kind, I rec ommend platinum. It’s what I used to give the first ring support, you see.”

“It’s… it’s fine. It’s just a gift.”

A parting gift.

Something I had planned on giving to Hanna under very different circumstances. I had carried that damn rock around in my jacket since the day she found it, marveling at the pale sea–green band of jade running through it whenever I had a moment of solitude to fish it out of its resting place.

I had imagined making a ring with it, one of pure jade, think ing the color would look perfect against the paleness of her skin. I

had imagined slipping it onto her finger and taking her hand in mine, as my wife.

I swallowed back the pain and paid the metalsmith, thanking him for his time. The ring felt heavy in my hand as I walked through the center of the village, crossing the road leading up to my house and through the woods toward Hanna’s cabin.

It had been a week since Maeve and my parents left for Mirage. Two days ago, a pilot from Mirage had arrived in a Cessna 210, large enough to fit six passengers. He had come bearing news of Maeve, but we didn’t have much time to grieve her experience. She was fine, as were my three nephews, but the large seaplane that had been carting my family back and forth to Mi rage for decades had crash-landed and needed repairs.

We had all been summoned to Mirage. And I knew in my absence, Hanna would likely go back to Red Lakes as planned.

I wanted to ask her to come with me. I was ready to beg. But I knew it would be fruitless.

Any future I had with her seemed to evaporate the second she told Maeve and me what she had seen in her vision of Maeve’ s future. Maeve and Troy had been discussing what sounded like a succession of sorts, facilitated by my dad. My interpretation of the dream was that one of their sons was ascending a throne, which couldn’t have been Troy’s soon-to-be – title of Alpha of Poldesse. That left only two options: Alpha King of Valoria, or Al pha of Drogomor.

Which were the titles I was meant to inherit.

Which could only mean that I would have no children to pass them on to.

1 The only shred of hope I had was that Hanna had been Wrong about only two of the triplets surviving. The entire vision

was

carry the hunk of jade in my

had walked, lost in thought, until i was standing at the bottom of the steps leading

no sooner had i put my foot on the first step did she

the sky an inky purple dappled with stars. I needed to be at the seldom used and grossly neglected landing strip outside of the

was it. This

shovel the stairs for you again, but 1-” | started,

porch light. “It’s okay, Rowan. Pete can do it. You’ve… it’s been

wanted nothing more than to toss it to her without a word and run then try to continue to stifle the heavy,

said you’re leaving

I have to… I wanted to

truth was, I likely wouldn’t be returning to Winter Forest for a long time. Dad had called a major conference in Mi rage, and all

Alpha of Drogomor, officially. And I would set up residency in

at Hanna, holding out my hand. I placed the ring

the piece of Jade you found on the beach. I thought… I want you to have it, despite everything. I couldn’t leave without knowing you had it. I don’t expect you to

eyes for a split sec ond before I turned and walked

idling only ten yards away on the ice-covered river. He handed George to Gemma, who immediately started fussing

hat Gretchen had knit for him, and he

have his blanket?” Gemma asked, her voice

stepped into the plane to drape a heavy wool blanket over his mate and

I said, reaching back to hand Ernest a headset, which he put over Gemma’s hat, securing the headset over Gemma’s ears. I reached

seat, which had been folded forward to allow Gemma to climb into her seat, and put it back into position. He climbed in next to me, closing

you know how to fly this thing?” he joked with a wide smile, securing

mic, and his laugh boomed in my

looking a little pale as she sat behind us with George in

six months old,” I laughed, which elicited a steely glare from Gemma. “We’re just waiting on the other plane

how to fly. He was a shitty pilot, howev er, and Mom and Dad had allowed me to take actual lessons from someone in Winter Forest when I turned eighteen. I turned my gaze to the other plane, watching as Georgia and Vicky settled all three of my

in the co-pilot seat. If the pilot

to fly the

also didn’t have heat, so

is the flight in this thing?” Gemma’s voice cut through my headset, and

fit our entire family in comfort but

if you crash!” Gemma glared forward