Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 305

Chapter 85: She Can See the Future

Maeve

The village was buzzing with activity as I followed Mom into the center of the rows of cottages and buildings housing the shops and market. Gretchen had bundled her up in a thick, heavy red wool coat and a matching hat, the color a stark

contrast to the snow and white-washed buildings. Mom was barking orders to the warriors who had surrounded a group of a dozen or so weary-looking people, strangers.

“Who are they? How did they get here?” I turned to Gemma, who shrugged, her face lined with suspicion.

She had heard the commotion from her house and came to fetch us, but the warriors had beaten her there, and we were already in the driveway when Gemma arrived. She had given George to Gretchen and then followed us down to the village, where the warrior had gathered the unfamiliar group into the snow-covered market square.

“They shouldn’t be out here; it’s freezing. Take them up to the castle. Offer food and water. Now!” Mom’s voice rang out through the square.

She sounded every ounce the queen, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I watched her commanding the warriors. The group began to move, the warriors herding them away. But an elderly woman had stopped walking, separating from the group.

She was looking past me, her eyes fixated on something behind me. I turned to look over my shoulder in the direction of her gaze and saw a young woman standing at the edge of the market square, her black hair dappled with snowflakes.

“Who is that?” I asked Gemma, who turned to look.

“Oh, that’s Hanna.”

“Hanna of Red Lakes?”

Hanna’s gaze shifted from the elderly woman to me, and I quickly turned back around, a blush rising to my cheeks. I vaguely remember Hanna from when her family visited. She was a year older than me, but aside from a formal introduction when their family arrived, I didn’t think I’d seen her for the rest of their short-lived trip. She had been nowhere to be seen when Aaron fell from the tree.

“Yeah, she’s Rowan’s mate. I’m sure someone told you,” Gemma said.

“I feel like I’ve only been told snippets of what’s been happening here, Gem. Who are these people? They didn’t come by boat. That means they would’ve had to come through-through the forest? How is that possible?” The old roads were so overgrown now; it would take so long for anyone to get through that way.

Gemma glanced at me, somewhat shocked. “Did your dad not tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Maeve? Is that really you?” A familiar male voice cut through

the air, and I found myself paralyzed by surprise. It couldn’t

1. be.

“O-Otto?” I said, my voice wavering as a man walked toward me dressed in warrior garb. He stopped walking a few feet from where Gemma and I were standing, looking.me up and down. I wasn’t sure I recognized him at first, but then his mouth twitched into a wide smile. “Oh, my Goddess. How?”

“Oh, Maeve. It’s so good to see you!” He closed the distance between us, taking my hand in his and squeezing it. “I heard you were home. I’ve been busy, I should have come up to the house right away but it was my son’s birthday,”

“Son?” I was stunned.

Thadn’t seen Otto in fifteen years, not since he went with the expedition party to explore the Eastern Mountains that separated Mirage and Winter Forest. We all thought he was dead, along with Gemma’s mother, Seraphine.

“I have five children. My wife, Shelly, she,” he paused, looking between Gemma and me to where Hanna had been standing.

I turned to look at her again, an unusual feeling creeping over me. Her gaze was still locked on the elderly woman, who was being rounded up with the rest of the group.

“Anyway, I’ll find you soon, okay? I’m happy you’re home.” Otto patted my shoulder, then jogged back to the other warriors, stopping to speak to Mom.

“Hanna?” Gemma asked as she turned, tucking her gloved hands into the pockets of her jacket. “Do you know that woman?”

“I feel like I do. Does that sound crazy?” Hanna replied, walking toward us as if Gemma’s words had been an invitation.

I went still at her words, her voice sounding so familiar.

“Where is she from?” Gemma asked.

Hanna blinked, then looked around. “Where’s Rowan?” she asked, looking toward Mom.

“Uh, I think he went to the castle with Alpha Ethan this morning-”

“We should go to them. Come on Hanna took us by the hands, the feeling of her skin against mine sending a ripple of familiar energy through my body. I almost let go but felt an odd connection to her.

Like we had met before, and not when we were children.

The castle was bustling with life as I stepped inside behind Hanna and Gemma, shielding my eyes from the heavy snow falling from the deep gray sky. It was late afternoon, and the sun had already set behind the clouds. The castle grounds were washed in yellow light from the lanterns dotted around the façade of the castle, and light spilled from the windows onto the glistening snow.

“Maeve!” Troy came to me the second I stepped into the grand foyer, taking my hand and leading me away from Hanna and Gemma. “I’m sorry I left without a word this morning. Rowan and 1-”

“It’s okay; I slept in for a while. And then… do you know who these people are? Has anyone said?”

“Your dad is talking to their leader right now in the library. I think we should go see them.”

“Why?”

He paused, his thumb tracing a circle in the palm of my hand.

“They’re like the people of Dianny. I think… I think these are the people Una talked about, the ones Lycaon left behind when he was fleeing from Morrighan.”

“Oh, great…” I huffed as he guided me toward the library. I wondered cynically if we were ever going to have an ounce of normalcy in our lives ever again.

Dad was situated at the end of the long library table, his hands folded neatly on the surface and his body leaning forward as he conversed with the same elderly woman I had seen in the market square.

She was filthy, dressed in worn rags. Someone had covered her with a thick blanket and given her a steaming cup of what smelled like chicken soup, which immediately made me hungry.

Dad looked up as we came into the room, nodding tightly as Troy stationed us against the wall near the door. Mom was seated next to Dad, still in her red coat, but she was pale, her face flushed with fatigue.

The woman turned to me, looking me up and down with interest before turning back to Dad, settling herself back in

her seat as she closed her hands around the mug of soup.

“So you can guarantee our refuge?” Her voice contradicted her appearance. She was small, old, and frail, but her voice was youthful and steady.

Dad tapped his fingers on the table, looking at Mom, who was still.

“That depends on whether you will tell us who you are and why you’re here,” Mom said stoically and unblinking, tilting her head toward Dad. “We won’t risk the peace of our pack for unknown enemies.”

“He knows who we are,” the woman said, pointing a shaky finger at Dad. “Lycenna.”

“What happened to your Alpha? Dad said sternly.

The woman waved her hand in dismissal. “Dead. Took him long enough, the old bastard. He outlived his sons and grandsons. His great-grandsons were fighting over his title.”

“Who prevailed?” Dad asked.

“Most of them killed each other

“How many people are fighting over the title, exactly?” Mom’s voice had a tinge of unease to it as she spoke.

The woman gave her a sidelong glance before bringing her soup to her lips. “Well, everyone was related to Julien in some way. So anyone could be the Alpha, any man that is. Carl is the clear choice because he has powers, although they aren’t strong. But he’s an evil man… barely twenty-six and has five wives after he claimed his dead brother’s women.”

Mom was stunned into silence. I felt nervous sweat forming along my brow as the room seemed to tighten all around me. Had the woman really said what I thought she said?

“Where is the dark-haired girl from the market? I need to speak with her,” said the woman abruptly.

Mom shook her head, not understanding.

“Hanna?” I said, not meaning to speak allowed.

The woman turned her head to look at me, her eyes narrowing on mine. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know if I can speak with the girl. She needs to hear it.”

“Why?” Mom asked defensively.

“Because she’s one of us. She is the true leader of Lycenna, as her mother should have been. And her grandmother before her, my sister. The ones with the powers.”

“Your sister?” Mom’s voice wavered, and Dad stood, motioning to Troy to get Hanna from the foyer.

“Hanna, the girl of which you speak, is Leera’s daughter, is she not? Leera was my niece. My sister left the pack when Leera was just an infant, hiding away somewhere in the West. If that dark-haired child possesses even a fraction of the powers Leera possessed at birth-”

Mom stood, her chair falling against the floor behind her. I couldn’t help but flinch, my stomach tightening into a contraction as I watched Mom lean forward, her hands flat against the table.

“What is it to you? Why are you here?”

“A war is coming, White Queen. I got my people out before the Dream Dancer could ravage what was left of our pack, those true followers of Lycaon. The rest-Carl and his people well, they will bend to the Dream Dancer from the south.”

The woman turned her gaze to me, her eyes darkening. “Even your child possesses the powers of Lycaon. Have you not noticed? She even has a familiar. I can feel it. The dog I saw in the village, is it? She can speak to it, can’t she? Every second we are drawing closer to the conclusion-”

Hanna burst through the doors of the library, stepping forward into the light of the massive chandelier. She stopped short of the table, staring the old woman down with a glare so intense I felt a fight or flight response of my own. I decided at that moment that I needed to leave. But Troy was back at my side, his hand tightening around my forearm, holding me in place.

“Leera’s child-” The old woman grinned. “I knew it. You look like us, you know. You look like your grandmother, Esmerelda.”

“There are three of us,” Hanna said coolly, looking the woman down. “But I am here. Explain yourself. Why did you lead your people to Winter Forest?”

“Three? Do you all have the power of Lycaon?”

Hanna shook her head from side to side, her hair rippling in the soft amber light of the chandelier as she approached the table. “What do you want?”

“Refuge,” the old woman sighed, knitting her hands together. “And to tell you what’s coming.”

“Then tell us,” Hanna sneered.

I watched her, feeling overwhelmed by her prowess. Surely, this wasn’t Rowan’s mate? I’d always pictured him with someone shy and quiet, not a commanding sorceress.

But I caught the look of shock on Mom’s face as she looked at Hanna. She had obviously never seen or heard Hanna command herself in such a way.

Dad came to Hanna’s side and put his hand on her shoulder. She straightened her back, her lower lip trembling slightly as she tried to maintain her composure.

“Lycenna has been operating under a cloak of secrecy since the first White Queen. We watched your war, Alpha King, that ravaged our forests. We know you used the Moonlight Lily, White Queen. That act, that use of ancient, sacred magic… it opened the door for us to come out of hiding. The door between our world and the world of the contemporary wolf had opened.

“You still teach your young the stories, don’t you? But you leave out the names of Leto and her children. They are myths, to you. To us, it is our life. Our culture. But we have more in common than you think. Your daughter, with the red hair. She will be a White Queen. She will have powers that will be far beyond the scope of your own- she pointed to Mom, who bristled.

“But the child of my great-niece, well… her child will be the

first to combine the blood of the two lines. That child will be the next coming of the Moon Goddess herself. Alpha Julien knew the time was nearing. He sensed the fated mate bond between the two lines in your son. We knew there could only

be two options. Leera’s child, or the Dream Dancer from the south.” The old woman paused to sip her soup, sighing deeply as the warm liquid touched her lips.

“How do you know all of this?” Dad asked in a sharp tone.

Troy’s hand ran down the length of my forearm, his fingers intertwining with mine.

“Dream Dancers are the sacred ones to us. Those that can manipulate the world and move within the spirit realm. It’s rare, despite the efforts of Lycenna to strengthen it by breeding. But, some of us, especially the women, possess the power of sight. I could tell you your future right now, if you wished to know. I could tell you how you will die, and when. I can tell your daughter about the future of her unborn sons, and which will inherit the dynasty their grandfather is crafting.”

Troy tightened his grip on my hand, his body leaning toward the door as though it was willing him to leave, to take me with him.

“But you knew someone like that already, didn’t you?” The old woman looked from Dad to Mom, waiting for a response. Mom looked down at the table, her eyes glistening with tears. “Gayla was my oldest sister; she left with Esmerelda, helped her hide Leera from Julien… Leera showed powers from birth. She would’ve been passed around for breeding the second she-”

“Stop!” Mom raised her hands, shaking her head.

“What do you want from me?” Hanna said softly. Her voice was full of hurt and uncertainty, and again I felt a sense of

familiarity when she spoke.

“Tasia of Dianny was the Dream Dancer Alpha Julien had been waiting for. She wants the stones, and she will do anything to retrieve them, including massacring her own pack. Julien thought Tasia would be the prince’s mate. It was prophesied upon his birth. But Julien was wrong. He didn’t know about you, Hanna. All of you can thank Gayla for that.”

Mom let out a choked sob. I stepped forward to go to her, but Troy stopped me, slowly shaking his head from side to side. Mom and Dad had both loved Gayla. I had considered Gayla a grandmother. Her passing had been exceedingly painful for all of us. She died when I was ten, but the pain still felt fresh.

The old woman turned in her chair, looking straight at me, her eyes boring into mine.

“You’re not cursed, child. Gayla couldn’t see past your tenth birthday because that was the year your brother met Hanna, his mate. The introduction of your families signified the dawn of the prophecy to unite the stones, to bring forth the Goddess.

“But Leera couldn’t see the woman you’d become. She didn’t know your strength or your unyielding loyalty to those you love. She was blinded by love for her son. You will come into your powers, child. As long as the stones are in your possession.”

The old woman turned to Dad then, her gaze focused on his eyes. “If Tasia gets the stones… it’ll all be over. No one will survive the war. And there will be war. It’s already begun.”