Sould As The Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 104: The White Wolf

“Look, this line, right here-” Mom and I were standing be hind Troy, leaning over his shoulders to peer down at the neat, faded scrawl just above his finger.”

“What does it say? I can barely see the ink!” I narrowed my eyes, wishing the rectory had more than archaic candles to light the dim room.

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“King Hector-his name is right here. He was the king men tioned by Charles in his journal. Look, he did in fact marry Alouette… and they had a son.”

Mom was silent as she scanned the page, her brow fur

rowed in confusion.

“That means there was a break in White Queen line at some point, right? Can that… can that happen?”

“Your family believes it can,” Mom broke in, looking con fused, like she was thinking of some long-forgotten memory or conversation. “He told me once that if Rowan had a daugh ter, she would be in line to my throne. It was a discussion we had before you were born, Maeve. Before we knew you were a

irl”

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“But would… say a female cousin of a White Queen hold the same powers as the White Queen herself? There’s no men tion of Onya, the White Queen in Charles’s journal, having any other children.” Troy turned to face Mom.

“Perhaps, but I’m not totally certain. There are no texts on this, you know. All there was… was the names of the queens etched into the temple in Winter Forest. That wall was de stroyed. We might never know who the Queen after Onya was, whether Aloutette became the Queen after her mother, or if it was someone else. There is the library in the castle in Winter Forest, but I’ve never seen any text in there that discussed this.”

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“So if I don’t have a daughter, Rowan could? And she could rule?” A strange glimmer of hope tightening around my heart. How close I had come to death for my sons… I knew in my heart I could not sacrifice myself just so the pack lands could have another White Queen.

Suddenly Troy jumped up, nearly knocking both me and Mom to the ground. He was pale, frozen in place for a moment before he turned to us, fear etched into every curve, every line of his face.

“Oh, Goddess,” he breathed, the words meant for no one but himself. He slowly looked at me, sheer pain flashing be hind his eyes.

“Troy, what is wrong? Are you hurt?” Mom had her hands on his arms, trying to get him to look her in the eyes, but he

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couldn’t.

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“Rosalie,” he said, looking past the both of us at the far wall. “Please don’t take offense to what I am about to say. But I must know. I have to know if Rowan and Hanna have been in timate. Have they-is there any way at all that Hanna could be pregnant?”

I gaped at him, then at Mom, who looked just as shocked as I was.

“I assume so, Troy. They’re mates for Goddesses sake!”

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“We need to go to them, right now. Hanna she-oh, how did I not realize this before?!”

wrong with you!” I shook him hard, damn near ready to smack him to get him to snap back to reality be fore his gaze

There were inscriptions… carvings everywhere. I didn’t think… I could read it. I had seen it before. On the map, I was sure. But I

was shaking her head, anxiety

right, Rosalie. About Hanna. The moonstones,

hasn’t been born yet. She will be the twenty-first White Queen.

for rational thought, “what does that have to do with

the expedition the king sent out to retrieve the moonstone in order for Onya to allow Alouette to marry King Hector came

would have caused a break in the White Queen line,” I mumbled, seeing the big

running his fingers

hair.

to rule alongside Ernest,” Rosalie said softy, sitting down. “He said Rowan could rule over Winter Forest in the future if he had a daughter. I argued that wasn’t how it works, that the powers had to be direct… through a daughter of

couldn’t figure this out?” I

ever know. I don’t plan

and walking away from the dusty desk, tapping his

She destroyed the temple. She’s going to take the stones and kill Hanna. That’s what we know, and all we need to know. It’s time

Troy

the atrium, overlooking the fields of long, brittle yellow grass. Hanna and Maeve

of fog was rolling around their legs, whis pering through the grass. The sky was gray, thick with mois

him exactly what was going on, and how his family was connected. I felt my stomach tighten, knowing how close we were to battle. But I could barely wrap my

already heavily guarded by warriors. I

perimeter of the castle’s grounds, little specks of

gaze settled back on Hanna

she pregnant?”

gave me a dirty look, then settled, crossing his arms over

It only

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is enough,” I grunted, leaning on

twice.”

Lycenna said, do you? That Hanna is going to the mother of the Moon Goddess? It’s

a wide circle, his tongue lolling. Pete and Kacidra had arrived only an hour ago, bringing the

who threw a stick far into the field, and he took off like

didn’t at first. But

long silence flooded the distance between me

thunder in the distance and the crinkle of the grasses as a breeze rippled through it. Tasia could move the air, and every time a gust of wind rattled the windows of the castle, I thought

I was

castle grounds. Do you hear me?” Rowan shouted in a fatherly tone, which made Maeve turn her head sharply

shouted back, turning away from us to

“I don’t like the idea

 Rowan said hastily, pursing

your Dad is going to want us to come to talk to the family soon, fill us in on the plan,

other for a moment, then began to shed our clothing down to our

we walked toward them, crunching through the grass.

another word, shaking out

than upset, and shifted myself. Her eyes went wide, and I realized the only time she had seen me as a wolf had been for a split second before Damian had brought the tunnel

tomb over me.

ear. Maeve hugged her body with her arms, shaking