Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 107 : Alexis

*Lena*

Winter Forest used to be little more than a village nestled against an ice-covered inlet, surrounded by

mountains. This time of year, the mountains were bathed in snow so pale it shimmered with every color

of the sunrise as we navigated an ice-covered trail toward the sprawling city that now rose over the

water.

So much had changed over the years. The old village, which had been there when my grandmother

was my age, was still nestled in a wooded bluff near a river, but the new city of Winter Forest was a

cozy metropolis with four-story buildings, an ongoing winter festival, and several schools and hospitals

to house its booming population.

My grandparents had given up the home my dad and Aunt Maeve had grown up in and moved into the

castle, which was also home to my extended family, who settled in Winter Forest when I was a kid.

George and Eliza had grown up here, and in a way, the rest of us had too.

But I'd rarely visited Winter Forest in the winter. We usually spent our summers here. Seeing it in all its

glory, the buildings glazed with icicles and puffing fragrant wood smoke into the air.... Well, I felt an

overwhelming sense of “home" as I held my mother's hand and walked around the outside of the city,

toward the castle.

She draped me in a long parka, but I didn't feel so much as a chill. Xander and Oliver tagged behind

us, Oliver still carrying the book in his hands.

“Why didn't I know about the other temple?" Oliver asked. Mom glanced at him over her shoulder, her

breath puffing mist as she replied.

“Winter is the only time you can access it. Rosalie told Maeve and me that it had been swallowed up by

a glacier long ago, but we found it a few years after you and Lena were born. We'd been out hiking

while your dad and Rowan took you kids fishing, so we could have a break."

Mom had already told us about why she'd come to the old Temple of the White Queens. She'd been

unable to sleep and had a dream that made it impossible to fall back asleep. For whatever reason, she

was pulled to the old temple, and she set out on an early morning walk along the edge of the inlet to

where the remains of the temple laid upon a shallow island that was covered in water most of the year.

She'd crossed the ice and thought she'd heard voices. Lo and behold, there we were.

“I dreamt about this moment before either of you were born," she'd told us as we left the temple. “It was

the first time I saw you, but I didn't know who you were at the time. You were standing there, dressed

the same. I don't think Maeve knew about you yet, Oliver. That was before she found out about the

triplets."

Xander hadn't said a word during Mom's retelling of her two-decade-old vision of the future. He looked

suspicious and tired, his body refusing to relax even as we reached the castle.

It couldn't have been later than 8:00 in the morning based on the cooking smells coming from the open

doors of the dining hall, which was adjacent to the kitchen. Breakfast was being made, and my

stomach curled with anticipation.

We stood in the foyer, Xander and Oliver shivering as they wrung their chilled hands together. Mom

helped me out of my coat as a maid approached, her arms outstretched to receive the parka and the

rest of the winter clothing Mom was wearing.

But I felt Mom's eyes on me, her gaze lowering to the swell of my stomach, which was partially hidden

by the flowing fabric of my dress. The parka had made it impossible to tell that I was pregnant, but

now....

She met my eye, then looked at Xander, her brow furrowed and eyes glistening.

“How much time has passed since we've been gone?" Oliver asked.

My mom turned to him, her face full of confusion and emotion. “You've been gone for a month, Oliver,"

she said softly, then she turned her eyes back to me. “Lena–"

“How long has it been since we stole the Persephone?" Xander asked bluntly.

Mom swallowed, turning her gaze on him. “Three months, maybe a little longer–"

Three months? That would make it… March. A lump formed in my throat as I turned and looked over

my shoulder at Xander.

So much time had passed, and there was so much that needed to happen now. How could we stop this

war? Who would even believe us about what we'd witnessed, and been through?

“Where the f**k have you been, Oliver?"

All three of us snapped our heads up toward the second floor landing where a disheveled looking

Maeve was standing, her face burning with fury. Oliver cleared his throat, coloring as he squared his

shoulders at his mother. She rushed down the stairs, her plush bathrobe billowing out behind her as

she closed in on us.

She stopped short of Oliver and let out a strained breath, then threw her arms around him in a tight

embrace. Mom made a choked noise in her throat, her eyes glistening with tears as mother and son

reunited for the first time in months.

Xander shifted his weight behind me, looking slightly uncomfortable and anxious.

Maeve finally released Oliver and looked down between them at the silk wrapped book he was holding.

He handed it to her as though it were nothing more than a gift from the far off land we'd been exploring

instead of a book of spells that could alter the trajectory of our world.

“What is this?" Maeve asked, turning to look at the group of us. Her gaze slid to my belly, then to my

Mom, then to Xander. “Oh. You all have some major explaining to do."

***

Grandma was listening intently as Xander, Oliver, and I explained what we'd been through, her eyes

darting from us, to Maeve and my mom as we told them about meeting Andromeda. She straightened

her back, tucking a lock of her glossy white hair behind her ear as she lifted a tea cup to her mouth and

took an audible sip.

“Me? I don't understand," Maeve interjected as I told her about how the God of Night had given me the

book and told me to give it Andromeda, and then to the twentieth White Queen.

“Did the people of Dianny ever mention anything like this when you were there?" Mom asked as she

flipped through the book. Maeve was leaning over Mom's shoulder, shaking her head.

“No. Not at all."

“They said you'd be powerful, Maeve," Grandma said, tilting her head toward the book. “We never

knew what that meant."

“What am I supposed to do? Start casting spells?" Maeve huffed, looking around the table. Xander and

Oliver were seated at the end of the table, picking at their plates of breakfast and looking overall no

worse for wear.

“It would be fantastic," Oliver mused, “if these 'higher beings' had any idea what the hell we're

supposed to do–"

“It's a game to them," Xander cut in, his voice void of emotion. “They already know the outcome of this

war. Andromeda likely knew exactly when, why, and how Queen Maeve is supposed to use this book."

“Just Maeve," Maeve smiled, her eyes linking with Xander's for a moment before she looked down at

the book again. She sighed deeply, squeezing Mom's shoulders before walking back to her seat. “Well,

it'll take me a while to study this book. Rowan and Troy have already sent their armies to Breles."

“How quickly can I get to Breles?" Xander said, and I started, my chest tightening as I tried to meet his

eyes, but he was looking at Grandma.

“By plane, a little over a day," she replied.

“I need to find my Beta and go to Egoren to gather my troops. How quickly can the plane be readied–"

“Xander," I said, rising from my chair.

Xander shook his head, meeting my eye for the first time since we had all sat down at the breakfast

table.

“Within an hour," Grandma said softly, and my gaze shot to her.

I didn't bother to hide my heartbreak. Xander and I hadn't talked about this.

Xander only nodded, murmuring something to Oliver, and the two of them rose from their seats. I tried

to follow, but Mom's hand clasped around my wrist, bringing me to a halt.

“Mom–"

“Lena, we need to talk to you about this," she said, her eyes pleading with mine for understanding. “We

need to have a serious conversation about the fact that you're pregnant. You can't follow him into war

like this."

“Your mother is right," Grandma added.

Maeve looked like she was struggling to agree, but she nodded her head regardless.

“Just give him a moment; we won't prevent you from having a moment alone with him before he

leaves," Mom whispered as I sat down.

Grandma was speaking to a maid, directing her to have a plane readied for departure. I slumped into

my chair.

They wanted to know how exactly I'd managed myself in the realm of the vampires. I told them

everything, sparing no detail about what I'd seen and what I'd done. Mom's eyes never left mine, but

the color of her cheeks changed several times in line with the emotions playing across her face. Maeve

listened in stoic silence, and Grandma seemed proud, if not slightly amused.

Half an hour passed with Xander and Oliver returning. Both were dressed in fresh, warm clothes and

carrying duffle bags of gear. Xander was freshly showered, his hair still wet as he set his bag down and

turned to look at me.

“Can we talk?" he asked.

“Yes," I replied hurriedly, rushing to get out of my seat. I followed him into the foyer, and then led him

into a sitting room in the main hall. A fire was burning in the fireplace, and the warmth embraced me as

a chill of nerves ran up my spine at the same moment.

Xander shut the door behind him, clicking the lock into place before rushing toward me. I pressed

myself into his chest, his hand cupping the back of my head as we stood in each other's arms.

“I have to do this," he whispered into my hair.

“I know," I cried.

“I'll find you, I promise. I'll be there with you when our daughter is born."

“Don't promise me that," I said in a choked whisper.

I was so tired of the separation. I was tired of the danger and what ifs, and whens, keeping us apart. I

loved him. I was so stupid for not admitting that right away. If I had, I would have had more time with

him, more time to just… be with him.

He had to battle, I could see it in his eyes. He'd fight for not only his lands but mine. He'd fight for his

unborn daughter's future. He'd fight for me, for us.

And I could do nothing but sit back and watch as he threw himself into bloodshed and chaos that I

didn't yet know how to stop.

“I love you," he whispered, clutching me against his chest.

“I love you," I replied tearfully, closing my eyes as my tears wet the sweater he was wearing.

“You're my mate, Lena. I'll be here, always. If anything were to happen to me–"

“Don't–"

“Our daughter. I know you'll protect her. I know you'll love her. Tell her–" his voice broke around the

words, and I whimpered as he continued, “Tell her everything. Tell her how I was a fool for not telling

you I loved you the second I saw you for the first time. Tell her I love her."

“Xander, don't–"

“I will be there when she's born," he whispered, kissing my forehead, “even if it's only in spirit. I

promise, Lena. I promise you."

I wanted to say I was going with him, to demand it. But I knew it would be in vain. His hand slid to my

stomach, and against his touch I felt the baby flutter, which caused fresh tears to fall from my lashes.

“What are you going to name her?" he asked in a strained whisper as he pressed his forehead to mine,

the two of us beginning to sway as though we rocked the baby between us.

“Alexis," I whispered, meeting his eyes. “Her name will be Alexis, after my mate. Her dad."