Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 341

Chapter 121: Who’s That Man?

Rowan

Mom ran her fingers across Selene’s head, admiring her fine white hair. She looked every ounce the doting grandmother instead of a ball of uncertainty, like Maeve. Maeve was pacing back and forth near the fall wall of my bedroom, her arms folded across her chest and her head bent as she tried to organize her shock.

Everyone else had cleared out to give us some privacy. Just Mom, Hanna, Maeve, the baby, and I remained, and Mom had just finished feeding the baby a bottle. Hanna awoke, but she was still groggy from sleeping so much.

“She’s beautiful, Hanna,” Mom said softly, smiling down at the baby in her arms. “What’s the meaning of her name?”

“I-I don’t know. She told me her name, in a dream.”

“We could think of a nickname for her,” I added, chewing on the side of my cheek as I narrowed my eyes on Maeve. Her pacing was heightening my anxiety.

Hanna had described the birth, which had been about as easy and peaceful as it could possibly be. But the midwife had been frantic, and fearful, as a lunar eclipse sent a shadow over the castle and then bathed all of Mirage in an eerie red glow just as Selene was born.

Hanna looked up, meeting Mom’s eyes, and whispered, “She was conceived on a full moon, Rosalie. And then… and then

born on a lunar eclipse. You know… you have to know what this means.”

Mom nodded, resting her hand on Hanna’s leg.

“Your daughter is the Moon Goddess?” Maeve’s words weren’t said like a question. We all already knew the answer.

“Whatever she is,” Mom said, smiling down at the baby with nothing but love behind her eyes, “she is a White Queen. The twenty-first White Queen. And my granddaughter. And that’s enough, for now.”

Hanna took a deep breath and then smiled softly to herself. I

could feel the tension leaving her body, and she closed her eyes. But then, she started to cry.

Maeve was at her side in an instant, taking Hanna’s hands in her own. “Oh, Hanna. It’s going to be okay. We don’t know what this means, for her, for youll for any of us.”

“I’m scared of her, Maeve.” Hanna’s words cut so deeply into my heart I found it hard to breathe. I knew she had been

struggling. I knew she was hurting.

But I hadn’t known that.

“She’s just a baby!” Maeve laughed, reaching out to take Selene from Mom. “Look, see? She looks like you, Hanna. Just lighter. She has your eye shape, and your chin. I think she has Rowan’s nose, though, and that crazy cowlick is definitely from our side of the family-”

Maeve went on and on, her enthusiasm breaking up the heavy emotion that had been crippling Hanna since Selene’s birth.

“She could grow up to be a warrior or a poet. Maybe she’ll want to be a baker and make cookies for a living. That prophecy… it’s over. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that she’s here, and she’s safe. And she needs you, Hanna. She… she loves you.”

Maeve handed Selene to Hanna and rested her hand over Selene’s head. “She’s the best, Hanna. The only girl in the family so far. Troy and I are done, as you know. Gemma and Ernest might have another. But for now, Lena is our baby girl.

“And a few years from now, she’ll be bossing the boys around and making Rowan and Dad play tea parties with her,” Maeve smiled. Hanna smiled too, her eyes glistening with tears.

“We’ll be there for her, Hanna. No matter what.” The words felt heavy in my mouth. It was an oath. Hanna met my eyes and nodded, swallowing back a relieved sob.

“Ethan wants to see her, Hanna. Would it be alright if he came in?” Mom asked, but Hanna shook her head.

“Rowan should take her down to see everyone. I’ll-i’ll take a shower and change first. I’ve been in bed for… well, since she was born. I didn’t know what else to do. I should have had you here, Rosalie. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, goodness Hanna. You have nothing to be sorry for, alright? Come, I’ll run you a bath” Maeve lifted Selene out of Hanna’s arms as Mom helped her out of the bed. Maeve turned, handing the baby to me as we began to walk toward the door.

I looked over my shoulder, watching as Hanna and Rosalie disappeared behind the bathroom door.

“She’s going to be okay, Rowan.”

“There’s more Maeve. You know there’s more.”

Theld the door open for Maeve as we walked into the hallway.

“About Hanna… about her visions from last year?”

I nodded, my throat tightening.

“So much was wrong, Rowan. Even Hanna said so. How could she possibly still believe she’s going to die before Selene grows up?”

“I don’t know. She hasn’t said anything to me about it for months. She’s not dream dancing anymore. She refuses to shift. She’s just… existing. I feel like I’ve already lost her.”

“I feel like I should stay for a while-”

“No, Maeve. It’s fine. You’re the Luna of Poldesse. You’re needed there.”

“You’re my brother, Rowan,” she said, resting her hand on my arm. “Just tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”

I thanked my sister for her kindness, and then the two of us headed downstairs to see what everyone else had been doing while my mother and sister tried to help Hanna gain the courage to emerge from our room.

The entire family had gathered in the dining room and was chatting amiably over a very impressive spread that had been laid out by the kitchen-two prime rib roasts, a honeyed ham, and three roast ducks were the centerpieces of the table, all of which were being enjoyed liberally by everyone.

George was fast asleep in Ernest’s lap, his face dappled with

gravy. Maeve’s sons were being passed around the table in an effort to keep them entertained. Hanna sat at the head of the table, flushed with pride as Georgia and Vicky gushed over Selene.

Georgia and Talon had settled in Winter Forest and had built a house there. Vicky had come from Breles with her now seventeen-year-old daughter Caroline, who would be moving to Mirage next spring to attend the University of Mirage.

The last time this many people had been in the castle had been before everyone took their leave after the family defeated Tasia and put an end to the nearly year-long quest to find, and understand, the significance of the moonstones that were now returned to their rightful home in Winter Forest.

Dad was at the other end of the table feeding tidbits of cake to Oliver. He caught my gaze and smiled.

“What now?” I wondered, breaking from Dad’s gaze as I looked at my wife and daughter at the other end of the table. Hanna was running her fingers through Selene’s fine hair, her beautiful brown eyes creased with pleasure.

***

Maeve––7 Years Later

“And now, they kiss-” Selene tilted her doll toward Oliver, who seemed reluctant to allow his cherished action figure, who harbored the likeness of a hero from a very popular children’s novel, to continue to be assaulted in such a manner. He clutched his action figure to his chest, his lower lip quivering

for a moment before he took a deep breath and relented.

“Yuck,” he murmured, looking down at his toy with a look of sheer disgust on his ruddy face. I smirked, flipping the page of the book I was pretending to read as I watched the two of them play their game in the sand on the beach below the castle of Poldesse.

Hanna had warned me of Selene’s new fixation on playing “wedding” with all of her dolls since the wedding of her uncle Aaron last year. Rowan and Hanna arrived only a day ago for a long visit, and Selene had already taken over the playroom and had been keeping Oliver very busy. They were two peas in a pod, despite Oliver’s reluctance to bend the knee to her girlish games.

After a few minutes of bickering, they went back to building their sandcastle in relative peace. I looked down the beach in the opposite direction, watching as Will and George dragged a long piece of seaweed out of the water. Troy and Charlie were asleep on two beach towels in front me, laying in identical positions with their legs splayed and their hands knitted over their chests.

It was the calm before the storm that had become our annual Winter Solstice celebration. The entire family descended on Avondale every year for an entire month, and the number of children seemed to grow by at least two each year.

It was absolute chaos.

Thad never been happier.

“Who is the man that looks like grandpa?”

I squinted up at Rowan’s daughter, who was suddenly standing over me, the sun creating a halo of brilliant light around her head and soft white hair that was cut into a short, curly bob around her ears.

“Who?” I asked, wondering if I had heard her correctly.

“The man who’s coming. He said he’s coming home. He looks like grandpa! He said his name is.I don’t remember. Can | have a snack?”

| arched my brow, propping myself up on my elbows as the lounge chair squeaked under my weight..

“What man? Ernest looks a lot like your grandpa-”

“No, Aunt Maeve. The man isn’t here yet! He’s older than Uncle Ernest. His name is…is Black.”

I was genuinely confused as I scanned her face, trying to understand. A wave of unease prickled over my skin as I looked into the young girl’s eyes.

“Did you dream about him? Or is he here now?”

“I saw him in my head,” she answered shortly, turning away as her short attention span deviated towards something more interesting than our strange conversation.

“Selene, honey, who are you talking about?”

She was already gone, and I watched her sprint down the beach towards the ocean without even looking over her

shoulder at me in response.

“Maeve? Is she talking about who I think she’s talking about?”

Troy asked, rolling over onto his belly. He gave me a knowing look, which confirmed my suspicions.

There was only one man who looked remotely like my father, who would be older than our generation of cousins who shared his likeness. Only one man that age shared the last name Black

And it was someone I hadn’t seen in a long, long time.

End of Season 2 – Breeder to the White Queen.

Thank you so much for reading Breeder for the White Queen! Thope that you enjoyed Maeve’s story and will stick around for Runaway Breeder of the Dark King, coming soon! This season will take us to new exciting lands, with intriguing new characters, and a sizzling romance you won’t want to miss! You never know who might pop up, so be sure to read every chapter of Runaway Breeder of the Dark King, coming soon!