Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 283

Chapter 63: Catching up on the Past in the Pass

Troy

Three weeks had passed since we left Dianny, three weeks spent maneuvering through the shallow,unforgiving waters of the Southern Pass. There came a point in time where we were forced to cutthe engines, pulling the underwater propellers back into the ship so they wouldn't scrape againstthe seemingly endless reef that stretched for miles

It was a slow, arduous journey, sailing with only one sail opened to the wind to ensure we had timeto catch any dangers lurking in the shallows

We passed a handful of shipwrecks, the rotting remains of both modern and ancient crafts stickingout of the shallow surf. It was an eerie place, even with the sun beating down on us and turning thewater a clear, vivid turquoise. It would have been a tropical paradise if not for the ghosts whisperingup from the water, telling us to turn around

I had been spending most of my days above deck, standing at the helm and sketching thelandscape. There were no living maps of the southern pass Even the radar in the engine room wasrunning blindly plagued by constant errors. I meant to map the area, take note of every island andcurve of the distant shore of the Southern Jungle we were following south Pete had

taken up residence in the engine room, proving to have a knack for the technology that both —Keaton and I had struggled with for years. That had been Robbie's job

And Keaton was taking a sabbatical, in his own words, making me interim first captain of thePersephone. Keaton and Myla had been holed up in his stateroom day in and day out, no doubtenjoying some peace and privacy to know and explore each other.

But I wasn't alone, not ever. The crew was constantly above deck, their curiosity about the unfamiliarlandscape too strong to keep them on task. Even Duck followed me around like a shadow, not usedto being off land for so long. He was constantly getting his head stuck between the railing posts ashe peered down at the water, but he did entertain the crew. They had been teaching the animaltricks and tossing a ball made of knotted linen back and forth across the deck, laughing as Duckjumped several feet in the air to try to catch it mid-flight, always missing

And there was Maeve, who should have been resting but couldn't sit still for longer than a fewminutes at a time. She was always fluttering about, bugging me with questions about the maps andsticking her legs through the railings as she watched the water below.

She was restless, and the long journey was proving to be too much for her mind to handle. She wasstarting to break down a bit, racked with guilt and worrying nonstop about her parents. Despite thedanger involved, I was regretting not replaceing a way to get word to her family that she was safe, thatshe would come back to them

And that made me wonder if I would go with her, back to Winter Forest. Surely, I would. I was thefather of her children, of course. Would that be enough to stop Alpha King Ethan from wringing myneck and hanging me from whatever fortress he lived in to make an example out of me?

I blanched at the idea of meeting her father. Her mother sounded nice, sweet, and would probablybe more welcoming. But Alpha King Ethan...

And then there was Rowan, her brother. I winced at the thought of meeting him. If he was anythinglike his sister, I was in for a world of hurt.

But nothing was going to stop me from being with Maeve, from being a father to our children.From making her my wife.

I hadn't brought any of this up to her, of course. Our conversations had been lighthearted and easysince we began our journey south. We had been filling in the gaps that were left from the rushedbeginnings of our relationship, making up for lost time, in a way.

I found out her favorite color was purple, and that her favorite food was rice. When I told her ricewasn't necessarily a food and more of a side, she protested, happy to argue her point for nearly

an hour. I found out she had never learned to ride a bike, that she hadn't learned to tie her shoesuntil she was almost ten years old, and that when she was twelve, she had attempted to run away,hell-bent on having a sweeping, romantic adventure like she had read about in one of her frillyromance novels she so desperately loved. Alpha King Ethan had actually packed her a lunch andsent her on her way, only for her to return several hours later vexed from a badly scraped knee andher lunch stolen by seagulls.

Most of all, I had confirmed what I already knew was true. Maeve was a menace. And she wouldlikely harass me for the rest of my life as she had her parents and brother.

She told me all about them. My favorite story was about a bat that she had spent the better part offour hours trying to catch with a fishing net. She did eventually catch the poor creature and took itinside their house. She tripped on the stairs, and the bat got loose, hiding in Rowan’s room forseveral days before Ethan could finally flush it out.

“Then we fought about what to do with it,” she said, rolling over in bed to look at me. “I wanted tokeep it."

“Of course, you did," I snorted, reaching out to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Dad said it probably had a family, a wife and children. He eventually convinced me to give it upand let it go.”

And on and on she went, telling me about her childhood and her wants, dreams, and desires. Butwhen it came to telling her about myself, I had very little to add. What could I possibly say about myown parentless, unconventional childhood? I had had the responsibilities of a man by the time Iturned seven. I had been working on ships and smuggling goods before I could even form rationalthoughts.

By some miracle, I had the wherewithal to teach myself how to read and write. I was very good atmath, which was how I ended up being the navigator for the Persephone and the keeper of all ourfinancial records. I was handsome and a good actor, obviously. And I did, in fact, come from a royalbloodline. I had skills, intelligence.

But I was not like Maeve. And the further we traveled through the pass, and the past, the further feltfrom the life I thought we had a chance of having. She was a future Queen.

I barely even knew who I was.

But we were here, on this insane, unfathomable adventure together. I was thankful for that. Butwhen it was over?

"And then he has to convince her brother-in-law that the wedding was, in fact, legitimate.” Maevewas lying on her back, flipping through the pages of one of the novels I had found in Keaton'soffice. He had a very lengthy selection of romance novels tucked away in what should have been adusty, unused corner. I would use this against him later, for sure.

“But didn’t the wedding already take place?”

"Yes, but they eloped the first time, but her family believed he forced her to marry him.”

“Oh,”

"And, I mean, he kind of did. But now they're in love.”

“Sounds consensual and... romantic.”

She swatted me with the book, then placed it gently down on the nightstand, her fingertips dancingalong the worn cover. “More romantic than maps, that's for sure.”

“I read more than maps,” I laughed, rolling over to face her.

"Oh, you're right. Astronomy is so romantic,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes

“If you think that's romantic, you should read my copy of The History of Celestial Mechanics andDifferential Calculus.”

She blinked, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of what I just said. “Goddess, Rowanwould love you,” she huffed, shaking her head.

I really doubted it.

We lay in silence for a moment, listening to the rain pattering against the window above the bed."Were you ever in love?” she asked, her voice sleepy and somewhat dreamlike. I arched my brow. “Imean, other than me.” “No, I haven't been,” I said honestly, watching several different emotionsdance across her face. "Have you?

She paused, looking past me to the wall behind my back. “No, I don't think I have

"You hesitated,” I teased, tucking my arm under my pillow.

“I've had crushes, I guess. I told you about one of them.”

"One of them? i couldn't help but laugh. Maeve was an absolute stunner. I was sure she was thebeauty of Winter Forest during her time there. Of course, she had crushes, and I'm sure many a manwas interested in her as well.

“A few, but I didn't ever have a boyfriend, or anything like that.” She sighed, still laying flat on herback. She knitted her hands over her chest. “No one liked me back nearly as much as I liked them.”“Oh, how come?”

"Well, my mom said I just hadn't found my person yet, and that it was okay. But Dad said it was mypersonality-"

I laughed, unable to stop myself. I liked the picture she was painting of Ethan. There was a chance,although a thin one, that he would accept me based on the single fact that I was willingly putting upwith his daughter.

“Whatever,” she grumbled, reaching out to swat me with her hand, but I caught her wrist, knittingmy fingers in hers and tucking her hand on the bed with mine. She took a breath, swallowingwhatever sassy remark she had planned. “How many girlfriends have you had?”

“None,” I said casually.

“Oh, I don't believe that

“Hard to believe, is it? Based on my good looks, charismatic personality, and unmatched intelligence“You're done!” she giggled, shaking her head.

“But seriously, no. I haven't ever been in a relationship with someone. Not like that.”

to “Just... sexual, then?”

I felt a hot blush prickling my cheeks. “I never said I was a saint,” I said, unsure of where she wasplanning on taking our conversation.

“It doesn’t bother me, Troy. I'm more curious than anything. Myla and Gemma, you know...well,Gemma isn't a good example because she was lying about her sexual escapades in Mirage whenshe was really sleeping with Ernest. But Myla definitely got around. Bragged about it, too. But Inever... it was never an option, you know, to date. Not with who my parents are and theexpectations everyone places on me.”

I let go of her hand, reaching up to run my fingers along her jaw.

“I'm royalty. Even though my parents tried to ensure Rowan and I would be able to do thingsdifferently. It just... it isn't the way of our kind. When Ernest refused to replace his mate

“I know,” I said in a whisper, seeing the look of regret pass over her face. She sniffed, shaking herhead. No one could have predicted the chain of events set in place when Ethan gave the title ofKing of Drogomor over to Talon, even if it wasn't supposed to be forever.

“But look at me now,” she said, a choked laugh escaping her throat. She snuggled deeper into herpillow, her eyes fixed on mine. “You know, I accepted my position because I was sure I wouldn't replacemy mate. I think the curse is why my mom agreed to it, honestly. But now I-this is fate, isn't

“It has to be,” I whispered as we relaxed into sleep, watching as her eyelids began to flutter.