Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 328

Chapter 108: Last Words of the White Queen

Maeve

Hayden paced around the room for a long while, lingering in meditative silence as I watched him.Occasionally, he turned to glance at me but made no further moves to touch me, or Troy.

I was kneeling next to Troy, trying desperately to wake him up. He was struggling to keep his eyesopen for more than a few seconds at a time, the effects of the wolfsbane still gripping his body.

I looked around for anything sharp, anything I could cut myself with to give Troy some of my blood,and finally resort ed to bringing my hand to my mouth, preparing to bite into the flesh beneath mythumb.

“Uh, no. Don't do that.” Hayden was at my side in an in stant, knotting his fingers in my hair andpulling sharply. I screeched, which seemed to rouse Troy from his stupor enough to bare his teethand grimace, his fingers twitching.

"Ah, see? All you had to do was scream to wake him up. Let's try again.” He pulled my hair so hard,some of it came clean out of my scalp. I grimaced, shaking as I held in the scream threatening toerupt from my mouth.

“Scream!” he demanded, twisting my hair violently until 1 could help but whimper. Troy moaned,rolling onto his side. “It's useless. This is no fun.” He tossed me onto the ground, shaking his head ashe walked away and began to pace again.

"What do you want?" I winced as I rubbed my head. My hair was already falling out in droves afterhaving the boys, but now I was sure I had a bald spot.

“I'm nothing more than a babysitter right now, I'm afraid. Until it's your turn.”

"My turn for what?”

“Well, once Tasia finishes up with Hanna, then you're next. I think she wants to kill you in front ofTroy, at least that's what I hope. And then your parents, of course. I'm sure she'll have the WhiteQueen watch-"

“My parents?” I stammered. “Are they here?”

“Last I heard, the rogues were battling with some Drogo mor warriors in the forest, so they knowyou're nearby. Gosh, Tasia is just so happy she was able to take care of this now, in stead of waitingfor the solstice.”

Llicked my lips, glancing at Troy before meeting Hayden's eyes again.

"What was she planning to do on the solstice?”

"Well, that is when the stones are at their most powerful. She was going to bleed the two of you dry,you and your mother, that is, and activate the stones to heighten her power enough to bring theentirety of the packlands to the ground.”

I wondered if Hayden was supposed to be telling me any of this. He didn't seem like the sharpesttool in the shed, that was for sure.

“She doesn't mean to combine them?” I asked.

“Well, no. She doesn’t want the Moon Goddess to come down and smite her, I guess. I'm not surehow that all works-" he waved his hand in dismissal.

"Smite her?” I couldn't help but laugh. Having already talked to Tasia, I knew her end goal was to killus all, take over the pack lands, and end the rule of the White Queens forever, paving the way forthose of the Lycaon bloodline to rule.

But she wanted something else from Hanna. That's why she had her alone.

“What does Hanna have to do with all of this?” I asked, squeezing Troy's arm. He was starting to stirnow, trembling as the effects of the wolfsbane left his system

"Well, from what I understand, Hanna is either going to give birth to the next White Queen, who hassome prophecy about her as well, but I don't know the specifics, or she's go ing to try to turn Hannato our side. Hanna is very powerful, as you know. More powerful than Tasia from what Carl has said.Carl wants Hanna for himself, so it's likely he will force Tasia to keep her alive-"

“Shut him up, Maeve. I can't take one more second-" Troy groaned, a little green around the gills."Goodmorning sunshine,” Hayden said mockingly, crouch ing only a few feet away from us andtilting his head as he peered at Troy.

"Get away from me. From her-"

“I'm on strict orders to keep an eye on you both.” Hayden exhaled, standing. He glanced at me, hismouth pulling into a wide, delirious smile before he kicked Troy right in the center

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of the stomach

I jumped up and lunged at him, swinging blindly, missing his jaw by a fraction of an inch.

“Oh, a feisty one. You surprise me, Troy. I always thought you'd end up alone, or with Keaton'ssister-"

"F*ck him up, Maeve. For the love of the Goddess-"I

I screamed in frustration as I charged at Hayden, this time landing a punch right in the center of hischest. He staggered backward, stumbling, and caught himself on the wall.

“Now, now. Let's talk this through-"

I hit him again and again, but he was much larger than me. He had roughly an inch on Troy,although he was not nearly as strong. Hayden swayed and staggered at each of my blows, and soonI had him cowering along the wall, his fists covering his face as I swung wildly.

“That's enough-"

Carl had come into the room. He glanced down at Troy, narrowing his eyes at him before takingthree long strides across the floor and grabbing me by the hair, pulling me off of Hayden.

He tightened his grip on me as he pulled me out of the room by my hair, tossing me into thetunnel.

"Where are you taking me?” I bit out as the red — eyed Rogue covered the entrance of the roombehind us.

“Back to Tasia. She's ready for you now.”

Carl led me through the tunnel, which forked at one point, reading us along a narrow passagewayfull of moss and tan gled tree roots, the space having been taken over by nature for some time.“Don’t think about running, Maeve,” he said coolly, “it's entirely too easy to get lost in here.”

“It must feel like home to you,” I quipped, my tone dry and sarcastic.

“Close,” he replied, smirking. “Did you ever hear the fable?”

"About how Morrighan chased Lycaon out of what is now Winter Forest? Yes -*

"Ah, yes. That did happen. But did you hear what she did, exactly? How she used her power to tryand stop her twin?"

I shook my head. He was walking behind me, holding a lantern up as we walked into the pitch blackof the tunnel, which had now turned into an intricate cave system.

"Well, she used her powers to bring down the north east ern mountains, sparking a massive volcanicexplosion, so leg end goes. Lycaon had no choice but to leave his family behind and seek refugeelsewhere-"

“But he left his mate and had children for another woman. That is where the people of Dianny camefrom, from what ! was told. He sounds like a total douche-"

Carl flicked me sharply on the back of head.

"Ah, well. Many years had gone by, by the time that hap pened. The family he left behind burrowedinto mountains,

living within the cave systems created by the eruption. The same caves we stand in now.”

"Here? How is that possible? The eastern mountains are hundreds of miles away!”

“Morrighan prayed to her mother, who had already left them, for guidance and help. Lycaon'sbetrayal angered the Goddess herself, you see. Morrighan had access to that anger, and her powersshowed it.

“Think back on what you know of your mother, and ances tors. Tell me, when has a White Queenever used her powers to their fullest? It's a once in a lifetime occurrence, from what I'm told. Yourmother’s life was spared when her true mate took on her burden of death, and he was only sparedbecause your mother used the Moonlight Lily, which wasn't hers to take.

“Lycenna had been tending to that plant for hundreds of years and it was sacred to us. But yourgrandmother used her gift to heal her pack during a sickness, I believe? How boring. Especiallywhen she could've brought down entire kingdoms had she simply prayed for it-"

“It's because White Queens are good.”

“No, it is because they are weak, Maeve. You used your gift to see your future, didn't you? That'swhat Tasia said. She said you didn't mean to do it, and for whatever reason you were spared. Youwon't have the chance to do it again, I'm

afraid. How sad. Watch your step, now-"

I stumbled as we began to walk along a decline. He held the lantern up over my head, illuminating amassive cave, the light reflecting off huge stalactites that formed like columns

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all around us.

ouchert

“Tasia will destroy the stones. Once she does that, and kills both you and your mother, the MoonGoddess will have no physical tie to our world. We'll be free of her, and Lycaon’s descendants canfinally rule what is rightfully theirs.”

"Why trick Damian and Romero into saying the powers had indescribable powers?”

“It wasn't a lie, not for the average wolf. Any power out side of being able to shift is infallible tothem, you know. We needed their help to access you, Maeve. All I had do was offer Damian riches,and the possibility of having a single day added to his life, and he was in.”

I remembered what my Dad had told me before the ball, that no one else could know about themoonstones. He, and Carl, were right in that regard. Greed was rampant. And what did everyonewant, even if it was never mentioned?

Power.

We walked on for a moment longer, swallowed by the vastness of the great cave. How often I hadexplored the for est outside of the castle grounds whenever we visited Mirage when I was a child,never knowing such a place existed be neath my feet.

I could see a light nearby, reflecting off the stalactites as we covered more ground. The strange,crystalline formations

gave way to a large open area.

And I saw my Mom

“Mom?” I stammered, unable to hide not only my shock

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but my deep concern. “How did you get here?”

"Maeve, don't say anything,” she warned, turning her gaze back to an area that was hidden fromview by several large columns of crystal.

A fire burned in the center of the space, but the flames were strange. They were the brightest, mostvivid blue I had ever seen, and beneath the fire, no embers burned. I saw the eudialyte stones onsecond glance, the flames licking over their shiny surfaces, making them glow.

A cloaked figure stepped into view as Carl pulled me to a stop, squeezing my shoulder hard.

The woman let her hood fall back, revealing Grace, the former High Priestess.

“Fancy meeting you here,” I snarled. She only smiled, giv ing me a tight, businesslike nod ingreeting.

"Well, now we can begin,” Tasia said from her perch atop one of the crystal formations. She hoppeddown, brushing pale dust from her pants as she stalked toward me, taking me forcibly by the elbowand leading me over to where Mom was standing. I could now see the rest of the space, my view nolonger blocked by obstacles.

I gasped as I met Hanna's eyes, her face bruised and bloodied, as she sat next to Rowan, who waskneeling, his wrists bound behind his back, looking just as beaten.

"What the hell -" I started, but Mom reached out to me, taking my hand in hers. I could feel hertrembling, but her face remained sharp, focused, and expressionless.

“I'm going to ask you again,” Tasia sneered, walking over fo Hanna as she directed her words atMom. “Where are the stones?”

“I don't know,” Mom said softly..

Tasia smiled, chuckling to herself. Then she wound back her arm and slapped Hanna so violently thesound echoed through the cave for several seconds.

“Get your hands off of her you filthy bitch!” I said, yanking my hand free of Mom's grasp andstarting forward

“Ha! Oh, Maeve. You can end the torment now if you just tell me where the stones are.”

“I won't,” I said, swallowing against the fury and fear tight ening my throat, “I wouldn't, even if Iknew.”

“Carl,” Tasia called out, tilting her head in his direction, “Tell me. Have the infant princes beenlocated yet?”

My heart dropped into my stomach.

“Don't tell her anything, Maeve!” Hanna screamed before Carl could reply.

“We have rogues watching the safehouse as we speak, Ta sia.”

“Ah, that is good news.” She turned to face me, arching her brow. “Ready to tell me where thestones are?”

"You're going to kill all of us anyway,” I spat, “including my children, who carry my blood. Whywould it matter if I tell you where the stones are, since you have no bargaining chip, Ta sia? Whatare you going to do, let my children live?”

“You know I cannot do that,” she said slyly, giving me a fight smile, “but I could possibly spare yourmate.”

I swallowed and lowered my gaze, shaking my head. “No. Troy would rather die than carry onwithout us, Tasia. I will not tell you where the stones are. I will not let you have them.”

“I'm sure your father will be more apt to tell me. That is, if he survives whatever battle is taking placeon the surface. He was once a Rogue, was he not?”

"He was,” Mom answered, her throat bobbing as she swal lowed.

"And you saved him from a life of emptiness and sorrow when you changed him back to his formerself? Then, you used the Moonlight Lily to save him? Ah, Rosalie, see? You started all of this. Thatact, that selfless act that saved your mate was the dawn of the prophecy.

“Now your son will perish, and his daughter, the sacred one, will never be. Do you have any regrets,I wonder? Would you have stayed in your little house, with your tyrant of a fa ther and sadist of astep-brother had you known what was in store for you? Twenty — six good years you had. Was itenough?”

Mom's eyes darkened, her cheeks coloring deeply as she looked at Rowan, who was sneeringaround the gag in his mouth.

"Do it," Tasia said shortly, casually as she motioned to the Priestess. Grace looked scared, fearflashing through her eyes as she unsheathed a knife from her belt. It gleamed in the light of theblue fire, and landed with a clang as she dropped it into the flames.

“My mother learned a great deal from the keeper of the stone, the very stone that was stolen fromthe White Queens long ago. Seraphine. Oh, I do not remember her. She left us before I was born. Ihad no idea a moonstone had been hid den in Dianny until my mother made it known to you,Maeve, and to Troy. She kept it from me on purpose. Now, I know why. Maybe she saw this momentin my future, knew I would turn on her.”

“You still have a chance to stop this, Tasia. You too, Grace. I knew you to be a good woman for along time.” Mom's voice echoed through the cavern.

Grace shifted her eyes to her feet, a single tear falling from her silver lashes.

“Too late for all of that,” Tasia sighed. Then, to my utter shock, she reached into the flames andgrabbed the knife, gritting her teeth as her skin wilted and reddened around its hilt.

Crazy bitch.

“Any last words?” she asked the group, looking around.

I was too stunned to register her movements, watching the skin of her hand blistered where sheheld the knife. I felt sick to my stomach by the sight and the smell of burning flesh. I almost didn'tnotice Tasia drive the scalding knife into Rowan’s chest.

Mom screamed, lunging forward, but was held back by Carl, who forced her to her knees. Hannawas pushing against Tasia, fighting her for the knife. I wondered for a split second why none of us,other than Rowan, had been tied up.

But then I realized this was exactly what Tasia wanted. A Challenge. A reckoning. A trial.

Our deaths couldn't be easy. We needed to be prey, and she the predator. When we were gone, thestory of our deaths would live on. She wanted nothing more than to look like the hero of Lycaon,not a murderess who executed her victims one by one.

I didn't realize I was moving in on her until I had her by the shoulders. I spun her around, lookingher in the eyes for a fraction of a second

Then I headbutted her so hard my vision momentarily went black

She staggered backward, dropping the knife.

“Maeve, GO! Go replace your Dad! Please!” Mom cried.

Carl let go of her, stunned as Tasia fell to her knees.

I looked down, grabbing the knife before Carl could lunge for it. I held it out, pointing it at him as Ibacked away towards the entrance of the cavern.

“Maeve, RUN!"