Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 56: Ethan Or Not?

“Miss, did you get your room number yet?”

A young crew member pulled me out of my shock.

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart, then put on a smile and turned to him. “Ah, yes, it‘s on the t

icket.”

No– that couldn‘t have been Ethan. There was no way he was here.

Besides, it would be hard for anyone to recognize me with my disguise on, especially from so far away.

As the boat drifted further and further from the shore, I no longer was able to pick him out in the crowd.

The worry that had surged within me threatened to expose my fear, but I couldn‘t allow it to. I had to get

a grip of myself.

I turned my attention to the young man in front of me. He was holding a clipboard as he walked around

the deck helping the passengers.

He gave me a friendly smile. “Follow me, and I will show you to your room. I just need your ticket.”

I handed my ticket to him, my eyes scanning my surroundings.

Everyone else was busy settling down on the ship, and no one paid attention to me. I was still safe.

I let out

a sigh. I was probably just seeing things. Was it possible that my mind was playing tricks on me because,

deep down. Thad hoped it was him standing there?

“Room seven. This way.” The crew attendant returned the ticket to me and led me along the deck.

The mid–morning sun was approaching its peak in

the sky, and with it came refreshing, cool wisps of sea air blowing against my

skin, reminding me that this was a new beginning. I found peace with my surroundings again.

After walking down a few corridors, we came to a white ship door that looked just like all the others. Here

we are.”

I admired the small room, which

contained a bed and a table. It even had its own small bathroom area. It wasn‘t anything lavish, but that

excited me no less.

“Thank you!”

His face was bright with genuine compassion. “It‘s my pleasure. Please get some rest, and welcome abo

ard your journey to Avondale.”

His smile was heartwarming. For the first time, I was being treated just like anyone else– an

ordinary, free, and independent person.

As he turned away to help other passengers, I settled in to rest without worry.

There was no Ethan, no danger– just a small and quiet cabin for me and my baby.

Thad never imagined that I would get as far as I had. I was more than proud of myself for what

I had accomplished.

“I can‘t wait to get some sleep!” I whispered to myself with a grin.

After taking a nice, warm shower, I lay

down on the small bed. The rhythm of the waves below was gentle, and the darkness slowly slid over me

as I got comfortable– I welcomed it like an old friend.

**Ethan‘s POV

Hues of pink and orange painted the sky behind the castle as it came into view in front of me.

The storms from the night before had finally

blown away, but their departure had done nothing to calm the tempest

that raged within me, threatening to tear my mind apart.

Even sprinting for hours through the

woods in my wolf form hadn‘t helped, I realized as soon as I shifted back.

I had hoped that it would change how I felt–

or, at the very least, that running would distract me from the situation. But even then, I was not spared th

e tormented thoughts that filled my mind.

How could she do such a terrible thing?

I pushed the thoughts aside again and walked on two legs toward a tree with a hollow in it to retrieve so

me clothing I had stashed there.

Mud caked my legs and hands. I didn‘t care.

I took a series

of controlled breaths in and out, willing my mind to focus. I had meetings to get to, duties to attend to, thi

ngs to do. The worst thing I could do was show up in an emotional wreck and sob like a baby.

I retrieved the pair of jeans and T–

shirt I had tucked away deep within the tree, put them on quickly, and then headed back.

As I neared the castle, my eyes automatically drifted in the direction of the cliffs.

I wasn‘t standing in the exact same spot as I had been when I saw Rosalie

leap to her death, but the image still filled my mind.

Another wave of anguish washed over me, and I felt myself shaking.

I was at a loss. How the hill could she do that? It just didn‘t make any sense.

The Rosalie I knew, the one that loved her baby so much and was constantly dreaming of her baby‘s futu

re, always protective covering her abdomen with her arm, would never do anything to hurt our child –

her child. So why would she jump over the cliff and fall to her death, knowing our baby would die, too?

“She wouldn‘t,” I whispered aloud. “She would never do that.”

But I had seen her do it. I had watched it with my own eyes.

“Son of…!”

I slammed my fist with all my might into a nearby tree and left a dent on the trunk. My hand was

bleeding, but the pain felt good.

I shook my head, grinding my teeth, willing my breathing to steady again.

Something wasn‘t adding up. It wasn‘t computing in my brain, and when something didn‘t compute, it wa

s best for me not to think about it at all until I had a chance to gather more information.

For now, I needed to focus on other priorities. My raw, out–of–

control emotions threatened to take me over the

edge. I couldn‘t risk falling apart in front of others– friends or enemies.

I couldn‘t let them see me hurting.

I marched in through the castle gate and immediately saw the relief on the guards‘ faces–

until they noticed my bleeding fist.

“Alpha Ethan! We‘ll call the doctor right away!”

“Back off!” I growled as I walked past them.

They stilled at the danger in my voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them exchange a look, lower th

eir heads, and go back to their positions without a word.

When I reached my suite, the emptiness reminded me again that she was gone. There wasn‘t anyone sit

ting by the window waiting for me any more.

For the first time ever, I noticed how big the room was.

The sound of her melodic voice filled my mind, and I imagined her singing…

I clenched my fists, and the motion made my cuts throb in pain.

Once again, I forcibly pushed that thought away and

went to the dresser to grab a towel to wipe away the blood from my hand.

That was when I saw the letter with my name on it.

My stomach tightened into a knot, but I didn‘t reach for it. Then the knock at

the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Alpha, it‘s us,” Talon mindlinked me.

I went to open the door, and found him standing

there with Georgia and Vicky behind him. They all looked at me quietly.

“What are you guys doing here?” I said, frowning. No one answered.

“We‘re worri…” Georgia started, but I interrupted her.

“Do you have nothing better to do?”

She just looked at me, wide–eyed.

Tignored her and turned to Talon. “How did last night go after I left?”

Talon was taken aback a bit, but he answered my question without delay. “I spent the rest of the night tal

king with Romero and the other alphas. Georgia

reported the situation to James in private. Most guests were socializing and didn‘t notice you

were gone. Samuel took a few of our men and conducted an extensive search for Rosalie..,”

“Still nothing?” I knew the answer, but I asked anyway.

“…No, Alpha.”

Talon‘s confirmation was nothing unexpected, but I held my breath for a second. I felt frustration churning

deep within me– but with it, relief.

I didn‘t want to see it. I didn‘t want to have to know.

I gave him a nod and looked around the room. “Alright, I‘ve gotten the reports. You can go now.”

But none of them moved.

Anger boiled up in my mind, and I raised my voice. “What the hill are you guys still doing here?!”

Finally, Vicky stepped forward. It was apparent that she‘d been crying. Her eyes were red, and her face

was swollen and puffy.

“Alpha, she I couldn‘t believe…” she murmured, but she broke down in tears again.

“Ethan…” Georgia walked over to the desk and held up the letter from Rosalie. “Are you really not going t

o read

it?”

I cleared my throat and turned away, walking past her. “Not now.”

“But, Ethan–” Her hand shot out to grab my arm.

*D*mn it, Georgia!” I said, pulling my arm

away from her, my tone much angrier and out of control than | intended. “I said not now!”

Her eyes widened in shock, and she withdrew her hand.

“What the f*ck is wrong with you! You‘re doing it again.” She stomped her foot. “Whatever!”

I thought she would storm out of the room, but she didn‘t.

I sighed. This was hard on her. She had been excited about the baby. She was going to be an aunt.

I turned around to face Talon and Vicky, and tried to modulate my voice, though

my tone still wasn‘t exactly nice. “What else do you guys want to say? Just spit it out.”

“We‘re worried about you,” Talon said, answering for all of them.

“I‘m fine.” I turned around again and headed for the bathroom. “I need to take a shower. I‘ve got

meetings scheduled for today.

Alpha!” Talon‘s voice was filled with disbelief, but I kept moving, closing the bathroom door between us. “E

In the shower, I let the warm water wash off the dirt and grime, numbing my mind to everything.

wa

I wouldn‘t be able to wash the memories out of my mind– not the memories of

the time I‘d spent with Rosalie or the awful image of her falling

After my shower, I walked to my closet, intending to find some clothes.

I didn‘t care what people thought I should be doing. I knew what I had to do. And I didn‘t need Talon, or an

My hand on a pair of slacks I had been about to pull off of a hanger, I paused, my mind flashing back to th

It wasn‘t that I‘d forgotten it– not exactly, anyway. But I had put it out of my mind.

The same way I needed to put Rosalie and the baby out of my mind. I needed to.

I walked back into the living room, hoping that they had better things to do than sit there and wait for me to

“Why are you still there?” I asked my Beta.

He didn‘t answer– he didn‘t need to.

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. “I‘m fine. You‘ve been up all night. You can go get some

I checked my watch and saw that I had only ten minutes to

get to my first meeting, which was on the other side of the castle. I headed out the door.

I started slightly at the sound of footsteps following me down the hall. Without turning around to look, I kne

“I thought I told you to go get some sleep,” I said as I straightened my cufflinks.

“If you don‘t need sleep, then neither do I,” he replied. “Ethan… Can we talk about this?”

“What is there to talk about?”

I glanced

over my shoulder at him and saw just how exhausted he was. I really wished he would take my advice an

“What‘s done is done, Talon. Did you get a chance to look over those reports for this meeting?”

His eyes widened as if he couldn‘t believe I‘d changed the subject.

“Yes, I read them,” he said. “But–”

“Good. I want to make sure we are on the same page.”

Theaded into the meeting room, and Talon followed me.

Thad work to do. It didn‘t matter that I felt as if I had a gaping wound in my

chest. It didn‘t matter that I couldn‘t understand why Rosalie would do this to me– to herself, to our baby.

For now, I was the Alpha. We were at war, and I needed to concentrate on my people.

Everything else would have to wait until later.