Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 286

Maeve

Damian was not what I was expecting. He was an older man, tall and lean. He was probably not much older than my own father, but was significantly gray, his eyes framed by wire-rimmed

glasses. He looked more like a kind old schoolteacher than the super-villain of my nightmares, but based on Troy’s body language I realized there was much more to the man than I could gather based on a single glance.

Damian was standing, rocking on heels, and watching us. Pete was lying on the ground nearby. unconscious, and another unfamiliar man of a size that rivaled Robbie was leaning against one of the dead trees, his arms crossed over his chest.

“What are we waiting for?” Damian said in a casual, almost friendly voice.

Troy didn’t move; he was still as a statue, his focus on Damian.

“How are you here?” Troy finally said, his voice edged with fury and confusion. Damian arched his brow, giving Troy an incredulous look.

“I made some new friends,” Damian smiled, shrugging as he took a single step forward, craning his neck to look around Troy to catch a glimpse of me. “Ah, would you look at that? The rumors are true She does look like Ethan.”

“We‘re leaving,”

“And going where exactly, Troy? I owe you; you know. When I first got word about the level of your intimacy with the princess, well, I thought it would cause me nothing but grief. But you’re here now, with her. This will all be over quite soon, and you can have your prize-”

“Prize?” I asked, looking up at Troy.

His shoulders fell a fraction of an inch, but he still stared straight forward, his eye on Damian, unblinking

I knew the original plan and the fact Troy was going to be paid handsomely for breaking Romero out of the castle, but that wasn’t what Damian had been planning all along. Troy was tricked. Surely, Damian didn’t mean to pay him still, if he had been planning to do so at all.

“I did promise you didn’t l?” Damian took another step forward.

“Promise him what?” I snapped, attempting to step out from behind Troy.

Troy blocked me, pulling me back behind him. But Damian had seen me fully, and his eyes widened, then his mouth curled into a malicious smile.

“Well done, Troy.”

“Don’t speak to me, or to her. Leave, now!”

I’d never heard Troy speak in such a tone before, his voice carrying through the clearing in a crisp. commanding way

“I was going to make you my heir, you know. You, the rightful prince-but wait, Romero is dead, isn’t he Troy? My man Horace saw to that, for you.”

“What is he trying to say, Troy?” I whispered into his back.

“Why don’t you tell her for yourself, Troy? Who you really are?”

“I suspect she already knows.” Troy answered, his tone biting.

I had no idea what he meant, honestly. He was Madalynn’s child; I knew that much. He mentioned his father’s name had been Behar. And his grandfather was

“You’re a prince,” I said quietly, the pieces falling into place. I didn’t know why the thought hadn’t crossed my mind before.

“More than that,” Damian folded his hands behind his back and paced, meeting my eye. “He’s the hereditary Alpha of Poldesse.”

I bit my lip to prevent myself from saying my thoughts aloud. Surely, Troy wasn’t planning on acting on that

“It can be all yours, Troy. The Kingdom of the Isles. Valoria is weak, ready for your hand to rule. I paved the way for the dynasty your grandfather always wanted. All you have to do is give me the girl.”

“No,” Troy said firmly without hesitation.

“No? This was your mother’s dream, you know.”

“I didn’t know her,”

“You would’ve been a different man had she raised you. A better man-”

“I will not allow you to lay a hand on Maeve.”

“What would it matter? I just need her blood. You can have the child she carries-”

Troy lunged forward, knocking Damian flat on his back. But before I could act, the large man, Damian’s crony, had his arm around Troy’s neck and was forcing him to his knees.

Damian got to his feet, gracefully brushing the dirt from his knees. He looked at me, smiling.

I swallowed back the fear beginning to well in the center of my stomach. Old Maeve would’ve given this man a piece of her mind, maybe even socked him straight in the nose.

Pregnant Maeve was a little tired.

“Maeve, run!” Troy bellowed, just as the large man threw him to the ground.

I turned on my heel and started back toward the tunnel but tripped over Pete, who was still sprawled out on the ground. I caught myself on one of the beams holding up the entrance to the tunnel, one arm wrapped protectively around my stomach.

Damian grabbed me from behind, his fingers tangling in my hair as he yanked me off the beam and dragged me toward the door of the tomb.

“Get off of me!” I screeched, reaching up and pinching his hand with my fingernails.

He was surprisingly strong for his age, but he wasn’t much taller than me. I thrashed and squirmed against his hold on my hair until I heard his breath quicken with effort.

Troy had been cursing and trying to twist out of the large man’s grasp.

“Turn his head toward her,” Damian commanded, and the man knelt on top of Troy, his knee keeping Troy flat on his stomach. Troy was furious, his lips pulled back over his teeth. “If you shift, Troy, I’ll kill her right now, right in front of you.” Damian produced a knife from his pocket, testing the sharpness of the blade on the sleeve of my shirt.

I went still and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself by breathing through my nose.

“Maeve, it’s going to be okay,” Troy said hoarsely.

Damian tugged my hair again, making me wince. He laughed, enjoying the spectacle.

“You don’t even know her powers, do you, Troy? Spawn of a White Queen,” Damian pulled up the sleeve of my skirt, exposing my skin. “Cut her and she heals-”

“Don’t! She hasn’t come into power yet!” Troy said in desperation.

I focused my gaze on him, trying not to cry. Had it just been me, Damian would be on the ground beneath my feet, begging for his life.

But I had the babies to consider. Damian needed me, and if I cooperated, I could likely secure Troy’s safety as well.

“Do you know how to open the tomb?” I exhaled, turning to look Damian square in the eyes.

He seemed taken aback by my sudden submission, but seemed pleased, loosening his grip on my hair

“I do, but you‘re not going to like it.”

“Try me,” I said, my voice edged with annoyance.

He tossed the knife in the air and caught it, gripping it tightly as he let go of my hair completely and positioned himself between me and Troy, blocking Troy’s view of my face. I swallowed the fear that tightened my throat and waited for him to say, or do, something.

“It requires a sacrifice, Princess A dead White Queen must be laid before the door-”

“You‘re wrong, Damian.” I mustered all of the courage I had to speak with my voice wavering.

He arched his brow, giving me a look of pure challenge. “Oh?”

“Give me the knife, I’ll show you. You need me, don’t you? I will open this door for you. I will show you how to access the moonstone’s power. But I want something in return.”

He blinked, the corner of his mouth twitching as he contemplated his response. “What makes you think I need you to access the power-”

“It’s your decision, Damian,” I said, hoping he didn’t call my bluff. I didn’t know what to do with the moonstones once I had them. Una hadn’t been sure.

He looked at me for a moment, then turned his head to look down at Troy. Shrugging, he handed me the knife, taking a step away from me lest i lunged at him.

I thought about it, especially as I examined the knife’s weight and feel in my hands. I could throw it at him, aiming for his neck, killing him in an instant.

But I’d have his big, burly bodyguard to worry about after that, the same man who had his huge hand pressing Troy’s head into the dirt.

“Go ahead, Princess,” Damian said calmly, tilting his head as he watched me while I lifted my hand up, bringing the tip of the knife to the palm of my hand.

I resisted the urge to grimace as the blade sliced shallowly into my skin. Damian was grinning broadly, his eyes creasing with pure, unadulterated greed as I squeezed my hand, my blood welling between my fingers.

He took a quick step toward me, plucking the knife from my hand as I stole a glance at Troy, who was glaring at me in warning.

“Don’t do it, Maeve,” Troy hissed.

I bit my lip, hoping he could see the desperation in my gaze. Then I turned from him and walked to the entrance of Lycaon’s tomb, my breath catching in my throat as the air seemed to still around me, as though it was holding its own breath as I stood before the door.

What next?

I held out my hand, inhaling deeply, then placed it on the symbol in the center of the door.

My hand tingled, little pricks of electricity racing through my palm and up to the tips of my fingers. It was uncomfortable, but I fought against it, keeping my hand planted firmly on the stone.

I could hear Damian laughing behind me, his voice lifted in excitement as the door began to give way, the rock crumbling at my feet.

Suddenly, I was being pulled backward by Troy, his arms coming around my chest and moving me out of harm’s way as the door splintered and fell away in large chunks.

Before us was a tunnel built into the side of the hill, carved into the stone. Damian was already inside of it, looking around, his face twisted in delirium. He looked like a child, really, seeing something

incredible for the first time.

“We’re going, we have to get Pete and get back to the ship-”

“I need the moonstone, Troy. Do you not remember what happened in Dianny?” I whispered, watching Damian closely.

“He can’t use it without you,” Troy protested, his voice a low hiss.

“We don’t know that for sure. We don’t know how it works. We don’t know if he already has one.” pushed away from him, stepping forward into the tunnel

Troy huffed, beyond frustrated, but he knew he wasn’t going to convince me otherwise. I didn’t wait for him to catch up as I followed Damian into the depths of the tomb, my eyes forward.

“Where the hell is it?” Damian was furious, looking more like the sinister man I had envisioned he would be. He swept his arm across a table, sending the ancient crockery to the floor in a shower of hardened clay and ash.

“I don’t know,” I said firmly, looking around the wide stone room littered with overturned pots and other stone vessels filled with what would have been priceless artifacts.

But there were none left.

Someone had already been in the tomb. Their footsteps in the dust when we breached the main room was a dead giveaway. Damian had screamed in frustration and panic, kicking and breaking things like an unhinged toddler.

Troy, and the large man who Damian had been calling Rex, were standing with their arms crossed, waiting for Damian to finish his tirade,

“You know where it is, don’t you?” he sneered, baring his teeth at me.

I arched my brow, losing my patience. “Yeah, I’ve been here before. I come here all the time!”

Troy cleared his throat, his mouth twitching into a smile and showcasing the dimple of his right cheek. Rex was holding a lantern, lighting up the entire area in soft yellow light.

“You stupid, stupid bitch! Where is the moonstone!”

“Not here, apparently. Maybe listening to Romero was a bad idea, Damian. I never met the guy, but from what I heard, he had more than one screw loose-“| shrugged.

Damian kicked another large clay vase and knocked it over, screaming at the top of his lungs in fury. He was breathing heavily, his shoulder tight with tension and his hands clenched into tight fists. He mumbled a curse under his breath, then turned to face us, his eyes flaming in the lantern light.

“Lets go,” he grunted, starting back towards the tunnel. Troy was at my side in an instant, his hand gripping my upper arm as we walked between Damian and Rex. My heart was pounding against my chest, adrenaline coursing through my veins as the light of the outside world came back into view. I

didn’t know what was going to happen once we were outside.

But suddenly the ground seemed to fall from beneath my feet. I stumbled, Troy catching me as struggled to stand upright. I couldn’t breathe.

“Troy?”

“Maeve? What’s going on?”

I closed my eves, trying to catch my breath. But when I opened them again, I wasn’t in the tunnel. I was standing beneath a birch tree, its yellow leaves rustling in a cold, mountain breeze.

“She will never know her mate! She won’t, do you hear me? Do you understand

“The doctor is on his way, I promise. Please, Leera, let me help him!” Mom was crouched over the body of a young boy, her white hair falling over her face.

“That child is a curse on your family! Everything she will set in motion-” The woman with the black hair said, her gray eyes fixed on mine as she spoke. Mom turned her head to look at me, her brow furrowed, her blue eyes glistening with tears.

“Run, Maeve,” she said softly, her voice heavy with emotion.

“Mom? How-”

“She’s everywhere. Run. Please-”

*I don’t understand!”

You can’t come home. You have to get far, far away. Promise me!”

“No, I

“Maeve! RUN!

She was gone in an instant, passing through me as I came back to reality. “Troy, something’s wrong. Somethings

I was standing in the clearing outside the tomb, Damian holding a knife to my neck. Troy was just inside the entrance, in his wolf form, his eyes narrowed on Damian and his lips pulled back to show his teeth

Rex was holding something in his hands, looking over at us, waiting.

“Do It Damian sneered, his breath tickling my ear.

I watched in horror as Rex turned to the entrance, pressing a button on the detonator in his hand, which sent a rush of rocks tumbling down over the entrance of the tomb with Troy still inside.