Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 255

Chapter 35: No Time to Write Wrongs

Maeve

I went back to my room. Troy’s room, after dinner to find it spotless. The mess I had made was righted, and I noticed as I opened the drawers in the bedside tables that he had placed everything back inside, including the wadded-up papers and random rocks. I smiled to myself as I shut the drawers, looking around before thinking better of going to bed right away, and decided to visit the infirmary instead.

Cleo wasn’t there, but I found Myla still sprawled out in the bed in the center of the room, her eyes shut and mouth slightly open as she lingered in a deep, ceaseless sleep. I touched her face, then her hair, murmuring a silent prayer over her as she slumbered.

“She’ll wake up from it,” said Keaton.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, turning to find him leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. “You scared me,” ! said, blood hammering in my ears.

“Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be down here. Cleo’s found a friend in Meran, I’m afraid. Both talkers, those two.”

“I didn’t realize you were on a first-name basis with Cleo-”

“Well, she’s my mate’s mother. I suppose that allows for some kind of intimacy.”

The blood drained from my face as I looked up at him, then back down at Myla. “What did you just say?”

“My mate,” he said matter-of-factly, taking a single step into the room and looking down at Myla.

“No, she-”

*Why don’t we step outside for a minute, Maeve? I think the two of us have some things to talk about.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the infirmary with me close behind him, my mind reeling at his revelation.

Myla’s mate? Him? A pirate?

I suddenly remembered the strange look on his face when Myla was brought aboard the ship, how he had gone to her immediately. struggling to maintain his composure as she laid limp in the stretcher.

Crazier things have happened, I thought dismally, thinking of how shocked I had been when I found out Gemma and Ernest were mates.

Oh, Gemma. I wished she was here. She would be thrilled for Myla. And she would definitely have scolded me for being anything but happy for her.

I buried my grief, following Keaton up the many staircases until we reached the main deck.

“You’re too hard on him, you know.” Keaton was leaning on the rail, looking out over the water. His shirt was billowing in the soft breeze as the waves beat against the sides of the boat, the sails overhead pulling us further into the open water.

“He must have explained what he did to me,” I said shortly, leaning on the rail in a similar fashion, my hair still knotted in a bun on the top of my head. I was thankful for it; I didn’t like the wind whipping my hair into a tangled frenzy.

“He did. You have to realize, though, that he was expecting to find you there in Drogomor.”

“Wasn’t that the whole point? Pretending to be my breeder to gain access to the castle?”

Keaton looked at me for a long moment, then looked away, sighing. “He said you wouldn’t understand.”

“Well, I’m not understanding you.” i tapped my fingernails on the railing. growing impatient. I had already tried to ask about his mate bond with Myla, but he had quickly changed the subject, the pain of her injury and state of being etched into his face. I didn’t push the subject, even though I wanted to

“I’ve known Troy for a very long time, Maeve. If he had known what was going to happen, he wouldn’t have set foot on Valoria, you have my word.”

“Your word means nothing to me.”

“You’re a real peach. I can see why Troy likes you.” Keaton smirked, his eyes a deep greenish-gold in the twilight sky.

“He doesn’t. He doesn’t know me, not anymore. That Maeve died in Drogomor.”

13:46

Chapter

No Time to Write Wrongs

“Well, that’s rather ominous.” He pushed against the railing, facing me.

t’s true. And I didn’t know Troy at all, really. He lied to me. I only knew him as Aar”

“Troy is totally incapable of being anything other than himself, I assure you.” He chuckled then shaking his head. I looked up at him,

אווה ווה או הוריזונה

What do you mean?”

“The man you knew as Aaron was one-hundred percent Troy. I’ve met Aaron, the little prick. He’s worthless. Had he been the one with you in Valeria, well, you’d have been the one trying to get Aaron out of Valoria, not the other way around.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. The real Aaron had been kind of a wuss when we met as children. Perhaps Keaton was right and I would’ve been trying to run the real Aaron out of town if he’d been my breeder instead of Troy.

“How long have you known Troy?”

Keaton looked at me for a moment, deciding whether or not he wanted to tell me anything of substance about his friend. He shrugged, pursing his lips. “Troy joined our band when he was six.”

Your band?”

*Ave, well, by band I mean just a group of orphans who ran amok on Avondale. Beach Rats, we were called. They’re everywhere in the Isles. No pack to claim them, no homes to go back to. Troy didn’t say a word to any of us for an entire year after we picked him up. He just followed us around, sleeping down the beach from us until Robbie convinced me to take him in. We were all around the same age.”

“I can’t imagine,” i said quietly, totally shocked and suddenly heartbroken for Troy. I remembered the portrait of the woman in his journal, the woman whose face was blurred like it had come from a distant, fragmented memory. Does he remember his parents?”

“You could ask him, but he’ll probably tell you what he told me. He doesn’t remember his mother, he thinks she may have died around the time he was born. His father, or at least the man he called dad, left him on Avondale when he was four or five, and just left, I guess. His dad was very sick, from what Troy remembers of him. He’s still not sure if it was his real father or just someone tasked with caring for him since his mother was dead.”

“Oh, my Goddess, that’s awful.” i felt sick to my stomach at how I had been treating Troy all of the sudden. Left alone so young? To fend for himself?

Keaton waved his hand in dismissal. “He doesn’t like to talk about it. Don’t tell him I told you.”

I won’t, I promise.”

“Good. Anyway, Troy was a beautiful kid, and I mean really beautiful, with those weird eyes of his and his thick hair. We used him as bait, with permission of course, to lore old ladies away from their purses at those fancy beach-front restaurants under the guise of not being able to find his mommy, and all that. We made a killing in those early years, got ourselves a small cruiser by the time we were ten or so.”

*And I’m guessing that’s when the piracy began?” Something about this felt vaguely familiar.

“Not quite, but it did get us off Avondale. More opportunities elsewhere, if you know what I mean.”

I don’t follow —

*Poldesse was broken up in those days, you know. You were probably born around that time, what are you, twenty? Well, the islands of Papeno and Suntra were the new ports of trade during the Reconstruction, and we ran goods for merchants on our cruiser for years. One of those runs was how we found the Persephone. She was beached on an island south of Suntra, rotting in the sun for Goddess knows how long We worked like dogs until we had enough coin to have her towed to Suntra and renovated, top to bottom.” He patted the railing lovingly, smiling as though the ship were alive.

gaped at him, trying to wrap my head around the idea of three little boys growing up alone for so long, accomplishing so much on their own

“Troy was our navigator, always. He was the reason why we kept the sails. Loves maps, that guy. He wanted nothing more than to stand at the helm with that damn compass in his hands Robbie is our strongman, although he wouldn’t hurt a fly. He just looks scary

“What are you then7″ I asked, trying not to laugh as he gazed at me, surprised

*The pretty face, obviously”

He smiled “In reality, Troy and Robbie are too good. Every band of pirates needs a bad guy*

“So that’s why you’re the captain, then?”

“Someone’s gotta do it

Chapter 35: No Time to Write Wrongs

We stood in silence for a moment, looking out over the water.

“Why didn’t you guys join a pack when you were young?” I asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“We made a vow not to; we were our pack in a way. We didn’t need anyone else.”

“How did you end up working for Damian, then?”

.

Keaton sucked in his breath, looking very serious. I could tell he didn’t particularly want to talk about it, but he seemed to know that I was likely to press the issue if he didn’t tell me now. “Damian rebuilt Poldesse, you know. There was a lot of money in it already. Romero’s money. You may not know about him, but well, he was the reason Troy went to Valoria in the first place.

“He mentioned him-”

“Did he mention Romero was his grandfather?”

I blinked, looking up at Keaton in surprise. “No, he didn’t.”

“Well, now ya know. Damian used that to his gain. He took advantage of Troy. We didn’t catch it until it was too late.”

“What happens now?” i said abruptly.

He looked over at me, searching my face. “You need to talk to Troy about that, Princess,” he said shortly.

“But you’re the captain. Where are we going? I need to get word back to my parents,”

“You are the most wanted person in the land, Princess. Taking you back to your parents would be a death sentence for everyone involved, including them.”

“I could just send a letter-”

Keaton leaned in, desperately serious. “No, Maeve. Right now, you’re dead. You and Troy died in Drogomor, okay?”

I leaned away from him, my throat tightening so violently I found it hard to breathe. I knew for a fact that once word spread about what happened in Valoria, my dad would come after me. He would do everything in his power to find me. If he wasn’t careful, he might be led into a trap, and I would be long gone, sitting on a boat heading to lands unknown.

“No!” i exclaimed, shoving him and pointing my finger in his face. “I WILL be sending a letter. I have to. My family will try to find me, and I won’t allow them to think I am dead.”

“it’s too late. We are drifting at full sail, Maeve. We’ll be far from even the ports in the isles by tomorrow. I’m sorry.”

Igaped at him, tears beginning to well in the corners of my eyes as he looked down at me.

“Trust that we will keep you safe,” he continued, and I glared, shaking my head and turning away.

“I was a pawn

*You were the reason, Maeve. There’s a difference-”

I walked away, my heart heavy in my chest. This was too much.

As I walked across the main deck toward the door, something caught my eyes, the moon reflecting off of something in the crow’s nest on the mainsail above my head. I looked up, barely able to make out Troy’s profile as he sat with his legs dangling from the crow’s nest one hand gripping a book while the other sketched, his head bent, oblivious to my presence.

*Troy?” I said, hoping my voice would carry up to him.

He looked down, his hair falling around his face.

“Can we talk?”