Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 335

Chapter 115: Other Forces at Work

Maeve

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat on one of the long, marble pews in the temple of the Moon Goddess in Mirage, staring over my shoulder at the small crowd of onlookers who had gathered to witness Tempest, the new High Priestess, be ordained as the leader of the Church.

I’d only ever been to the small services held at the temple in Winter Forest, and those were few and far between, as I could rarely be bothered to sit still long enough to pay attention without fidgeting like mad.

Today was no different.

Troy had returned from Winter Forest the day before, and we were officially counting down the days until we boarded the Persephone once again to head to Avondale, which would happen within the next week.

Neither of us had wanted to go to the ceremony to see Tempest, who we had never met, become the High Priestess, but Lynus had insisted that we both attend, since it was likely Troy would be working closely with the High Elder Council for some time to come.

Better Tempest be an ally, than a stranger.

I was unsure about my feelings toward the Church after the whole Grace incident. In fact, none of us were entirely sure what had happened to Grace after the battle with Tasia.

AUDIVUL

Hanna said she hadn’t been in the cavern, but the rest of us hadn’t seen her leave through the tunnel, either. She and Carl had just disappeared, it seemed!

I stifled a yawn as the elderly priestess preaching a sermon rattled on. She looked like she was over a hundred years old, from my perspective. Even Tempest, a fair woman with thin, blonde hair and glossy green eyes, looked bored, but she had been forced to stand behind the old woman while holding a large book in one hand, and a scroll in the other.

I met Tempest’s gaze for a moment, and to my surprise, she gave me a soft, knowing smile before inhaling deeply and turning back to the crowd, blinking several times to stop the rush of fatigue threatening to put us all to sleep from overpowering her.

Troy nudged me gently as I began to nod my head, unable to keep my eyes open.

“How much longer is this going to take?” | yawned, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Tempest is going to marry Rowan and Hanna, and then it’s over,” Troy replied in a hushed whisper as a few people turned to stare in our direction.

And he was right. After a few minutes more of the elder’s monotonous speech, Tempest stepped forward. A silly hat was placed on her head, and she twirled in a circle twice and unraveled the scroll, signing her name at the bottom.

“And they think White Queens are weird,” I murmured,

slouching in the pew. “What the hell was that?”

Troy shrugged, trying not to laugn.

The crowd who had gathered to watch the sermon began to leave the temple, but we stayed behind with my parents, Lynus, and Alpha Eugene. Eugene was jolly as ever, very excited to see Hanna wed.

Thad noticed Eugene more and more around the castle, and quite often in Hanna’s presence. They seemed happy, but based on what Rowan had told me about his time in Red Lakes, I wondered what exactly had shifted between Eugene and Hanna. He had been fearful of her at one point. Even embarrassed.

Talon, Georgia, Vicky, and Paul came into the temple, greeting the rest of us as they sat down on the pews. Ernest and Gemma came in behind the rest of the family, followed by Kacidra and Pete.

Goddess, I felt like I hadn’t seen Pete in years. He and Kacidra were thoroughly taken with each other, and he hadn’t had a second to spare for anyone else.

They were staying in Mirage while the rest of us were at the castle, and he hadn’t even known about what happened with Tasia until several days later. It didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. All was right in his world; he had found the one thing he’d always been looking for-Kacidra.

Notably absent was Aaron of Red Lakes.

Hanna and Rowan were ushered out of a side door, both of them looking slightly sheepish and uncomfortable. Hanna was wearing a silky, cream colored dress with a rabbit fur coat, her hair pulled away from her face in a long braid. She looked

beautiful.

Rowan looked as though he’d rather be doing anything else. To the rest of the family, this was their wedding, but I knew better. Troy had told me Rowan and Hanna had eloped when they reached Mirage, before the conference, and when Hanna showed up with a ring on her finger at the Gala, Dad put the pieces together and made her stand on stage and be crowned Luna.

Neither of them had wanted a big, flashy wedding.

I’d been teasing Troy about having a big wedding to make up for the fact I had no memory of my own, and he had agreed that we should do it up right. I wondered if my parents would be opposed to us having the reception on the Persephone, a thought that gave me much pleasure and brought a smirk to my face.

Dad had been through hell and back a few times in his life, but he was still a traditionalist.

I turned to look at him as Rowan and Hanna stepped in front of Tempest, and I noticed the tension leave Dad’s shoulders a fraction of an inch as Tempest began to recite the ceremonial rites that would bind Rowan and Hanna together as husband, wifes, and mates.

“Why didn’t they ask you to do it?” | whispered to Mom, leaning around Troy to see her better.

Mom shushed me, then shrugged, tilting her head toward Dad. Dad was watching the ceremony with interest, but his arms were crossed over his chest, his body rigid with tension.

Pleaned back in the pew, tapping my fingers on the seat.

Rowan pecked Hanna on the mouth, his cheeks coloring as some of the family members clapped. It was very unromantic, but I didn’t expect anything else from them. Rowan and Hanna were both shy, private people. Kissing in front of our entire family must have been mortifying.

The ceremony was quick, and Rowan seemed pleased to have it over with. He held Hanna’s hand as the family stood and gathered around them, showering them with congratulations.

But I felt someone touch my elbow, and I turned to see Tempest standing next to me, tilting her head toward an empty corner of the room.

I glanced at Troy and my parents, who were not paying attention to either me or Tempest, and I followed her out of the fray.

“I wanted to introduce myself formally to you in particular,” she said, her voice shockingly deep compared to her appearance. She was a beautiful, but dainty, woman who was likely a few years older than Gemma, but she had a deep, whisky voice. “I am called Tempest in the church, but my

given name is Monica.”

“Uhm, I’m Maeve,” I nodded in greeting, lacking the business like social graces my mother exuded. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to greet her, having grown up outside of the Church of the Moon Goddess and their practices.

“I know,” she said with a little laugh, smiling gently. “I am pleased to finally meet you. I could tell you were just as bored as I was during my ascension ceremony. It’s an outdated

practice. In all honesty, I’ve been doing the duties of the High Priestess for a long while. Grace had her positive attributes, of course, but she let a lot slide I’m afraid.”

“You can say that again,” | snorted, shaking my head. “I’m sure you’re well aware of what happened.”

“Yes. Your father told me everything. I can assure you the Church has no need for the moonstones. Those belong to the White Queens and should be housed in your temple, not ours. But I wanted to speak to you alone, for a moment, before your family departs.”

“About what?”

“You and I are close in age. It’s likely, unless the Goddess has other plans for me, that I will be High Priestess when you come into your title of White Queen in the future, a distant one I hope, but still.

“It’s important to me that I not only mend the rift between our two churches, but also work to eliminate the stigma the Church places on the White Queens. You are not pagans or witches; of that I am certain.

“If anything, the Church should be following the practices of the White Queens more intently, and that is something I hope will happen in the future.”

“I’m not a White Queen yet,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. “And I have a feeling I won’t be for a long time, so I don’t know what I can do for you-”

“I’m not asking for anything but an understanding that I am not like my predecessor,” she said under her breath, meeting

my eyes. “I want a union, not a rift.”

“I mean, I’m okay with it-”

“And since I’m now on the High Elder Council, I will be working closely with you while you assimilate to life in the Isles. There is much to be done. But, Maeve… |-” she closed the distance between us, her eyes downcast as she murmured, “listen. Tasia failed because there are other forces at work. I can’t… now is not the time to explain-”

“Maeve!” Mom called out to me, motioning me over. Everyone was starting to funnel out of the temple, ready to catch the train to the castle where a dinner party was being held in Rowan and Hanna’s honor.

“We will speak again, at a later time. Hanna, too,” Tempest said quickly, nodding a farewell before she turned on her heel and walked briskly away. I gaped, a chill shooting up my spine. Why did I feel like this wasn’t over?

“Maeve, come on!” Troy bellowed, his voice echoing through the temple.

I looked around, finding myself alone.

The whole damn family was packed onto the train like sardines. I fidgeted in my seat next to Troy, my breasts full and aching with milk.

I was looking forward to making our way to Poldesse, enjoying a week-long ride on the Persephone with the babies instead of the never-ending social engagement I’d be

subjected to while we stayed at the castle.

I missed the boys, and I had never felt so out of control of my own schedule in my life.

Kat, Vicky’s youngest daughter, was throwing an absolute hissy fit toward the end of the train car, wailing on her older sister with her fists while Paul did his best to drag the angry little demon away.

Vicky looked annoyed, giving the little girl a stern, motherly glance, but had her attention fixed on a conversation taking place between Georgia, my mom, and Gemma.

Troy was fast asleep, his head against the window.

I looked around, taking in the faces of my family. Everyone was happy. We were all together. I wondered when it would be like this again.

The train pulled into the station after a thirty-minute ride to Old Town Drogomor. We disembarked and walked as a group through the quiet main street, the castle of Drogomor rising up in the distance.

Troy was walking just ahead of me, flanked by Rowan and Ernest, the three of them jovial in easy conversation.

I sighed, hugging my arms around myself, trying to find some peace in solitude.

I wanted to feel like things were going to be easy again, that I would feel normal. But after my quest, my journey through the pass, finding the moonstones…

“Hey, kid,” Dad said softly behind me, catching up to me and

keeping in step. I turned to him, surprised he wasn’t walking ahead of me with the rest of the family. “We need to talk.”