Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 550

Chapter 50 : Wedding Preparations

*Lena*®

Sometimes I wished I had been old enough to remember what Avondale was like before the reignof my Aunt Maeve and Uncle Troy. It was hard to imagine what the pack lands had dubbed “TheCity of Gold" as anything less than it was now.

Resorts and restaurants lined the public beaches from end to end of the island capital, their goldenfacades glimmering like gems in the sun. Palm trees hugged the sprawling tropical parks andgreenbelts that wove through the neighborhoods that surrounded downtown Avondale, where thenightlife was lively and the daytime was rich with markets and entertainment.

I'd heard the stories, of course. Maeve and Troy hadn't had the easiest time when they first came toclaim Troy's rightful territory and his pack. The Isles of Denali had been in a state of ruin and decayfor decades.

But they'd done it. They brought the Isles back to life in the two decades they'd ruled as Alpha andLuna. They were beloved by their people, even if their rule had been unorthodox.

Uncle Troy, the Alpha of Poldesse, had been a pirate. Before that, he'd been an uneducated,unattended orphan running with a pack of other young boys and smuggling goods for the previousAlpha of Poldesse before he was even ten years old.

Aunt Maeve, well, she was just Maeve, and rather hard to describe. Her temper was legendary, butso was her kindness. Together, they formed a team that seemed to have been pulled straight out ofthe pages of some sweeping fantasy novel.

Under their rule, Avondale was paradise. Even the incredibly gigantic palace nestled atop thehighest point of the island, overlooking the ocean, seemed cozy and warm. This place was filled withlove.

But even as I sprawled out in the bedroom I'd spent a month in every year since I was born, thewalls painted a pale pink and curtains drifting in the soft, tropical breeze, I couldnt shake theemptiness inside my soul. I'd been here for a week and was no closer to feeling whole again. Notafter Xander.

I wondered, painfully, if I'd ever feel whole again.

Aunt Maeve knew something was up. She'd been giving me that look of hers that told me she wasgoing to replace out the truth. She always did; she had her ways. Oliver and his brothers alwayscomplained about their mother's ability to sniff out the truth and unravel their plans before theyhad a chance to act on whatever misfortune they were plotting.

So far, I'd successfully hidden the fact that my solemn attitude was about a man, and chalked it upto being sad about college being over. My mom was giving me space, for which I was thankful. AuntMaeve, on the other hand...

I'm sure Maeve thought my melancholy mood had something to do with my powers, or lackthereof. It wouldn't take long for her and my mother to replace out I was just a sniveling, heartbroken,puddle of emotions... my heart shattered by a fleeting crush.

I rolled over in my bed, staring out the open window. Bright sun. Blue skies. Another picture-perfectday I'd spent wallowing in my own pity.

But then I heard heavy footsteps in the hall, and Oliver practically kicked in the door on his way in,his voice booming through my cave of self-inflicted depression.

"You're being really lame, Lena,” he said, flopping down on the empty side of my bed. I rolled over,glaring at him before I kicked him as hard as I could in the shin.

Oliver was handsome; I'd give him that, with his curly, copper blond hair, sun-kissed skin, and thesharp, angular features all of us cousins shared. While I had the delicate look of my grandmotherRosalie, Oliver favored his mother, and our grandfather, Ethan-sharp nose, high cheekbones, and awide, white smile.

He was sarcastic and annoying, but I was allowed to say so. We'd been raised more like siblings.

He was the only triplet who'd inherited my uncle Troy's eyes, however. One was a piercing glacierblue, while the other was steel gray. His uncommon eyes were fixed on mine as he reached out andsnatched the pillow from under my head, smacking me firmly over the face with it.

“Get out!" I screeched, but then slid off the side of the bed, my legs stuck in the satin sheets as Isunk clumsily to the floor.

“Well, now that you're up, let's go do something today. Anything-1 don't care; I just need to get outof here."

I peered at him from over the top of the mattress, reaching up to smooth the static from my hairwhile fixing him with a scowl. He blinked at me a few times, then shrugged, rolling off the oppositeside of the bed and walking toward the door.

“I'm supposed to be the sad one," he continued, tapping his fingers on the doorframe.

“I'm not sad-"

"What would you call it, then?"

I pursed my lips, unable to think of a quick excuse for the fact I'd spent the last week closed up inmy room.

“You can tell me all about him while we lay out on the beach," he said, barely slipping out of the waybefore the pillow I'd chucked across the room hit its mark, which would have been his face.

How did he know?

“I'm not-" I was interrupted by the door closing firmly behind him, leaving me alone, again. I sighedheavily, pulling myself upright and walking across the plush, carpeted floor to the vanity on theother side of the room, glancing at my ruffled reflection in the mirror before pulling a silk robe overmy pajamas. I tied the robe across my middle as I padded barefoot toward the door to mybedroom, but paused as my hand rested on the doorknob.

Maybe talking about Xander would make me feel better, despite how foolish I felt.

I opened the door and stepped out in the breezy hallway, then made my way toward the informaldining room on the first floor.

“It's a shame, really,” Aunt Maeve murmured as she lounged with her bare feet propped on the sofa,a pen between her teeth. She was holding a stack of papers in her hands, reading over the fine printof some documents pertaining to the wedding. “I often wonder if all of this is for show. The flowers,the band, the candlelit walk down the aisle.... It'll be daytime.” She ran her pen over a line of printwith a sigh.

I shifted my weight in the armchair I was sitting in, looking past her at the open doors of the terracethat wrapped around the backside of the castle. “Why is it a shame?" I asked.

Maeve glanced at me, her deep blue eyes flashing playfully as she turned her attention back to herpapers.

“I don't think I've heard you say a single word since you got here, honey.”

“I haven't been feeling well," I replied, crossing my legs. “I'm... jet-lagged.”

“Mhmm..."

I chewed the inside of my lip as she set the papers down on the coffee table, twirling her pen overher fingers.

"Where's Mom?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

Maeve's eyes narrowed on mine for a moment, but then she shrugged, motioning her hand towardthe terrace.

"She went on a walk with your dad. They'll be back in time to greet your grandparents and whoeverelse shows up today.” Her face fell a little as she spoke, her brows arching as she sighed. “So muchto do"

My great aunts and uncles would be arriving for the wedding, which was taking place in just a fewdays. My great aunt Vicky's three daughters, their husbands, and all nine of their children were alsoexpected to attend. George and his two sisters, Eliza and Beatrix and their parents, my great auntGeorgia, and my great Uncle Talon, had just arrived this morning.

My mind spun as I tried to remember all of the faces and names. No wonder Maeve was feelingoverwhelmed.

“Can I help in any way?" I asked.

Maeve considered her answer, looking me up and down before rising to her feet. She was tall,almost a head taller than me, and I had to look up at her to meet her eye.

“Well, the ballroom is being set up for the party tomorrow night. The florists will be here anyminute. Maybe you could oversee the centerpieces?”

My stomach was tied in a knot as she spoke. Oh, Goddess. Out of everything she could have had medo, this was it?

She walked away before I had a chance to ask for another task.

The ballroom was decorated lavishly, and I could help but gape as I walked inside. Luke, my ten yearold cousin and the fourth and final child of Maeve and Troy, was walking beside me, looking boredwith a glimmer of mischief in his gray eyes.

“Don't touch anything," I said sternly, to which he rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in the pocketsof his shorts.

“This is so boring! Why do I have to be here?" he griped, kicking at the mosaic tile with the toe ofhis sandal.

“Because your dad said so, that's why." I didn't have much patience at the moment. Luke was a littlemenace, and my grandfather had said on multiple occasions that he was Maeve's karma for all ofher antics as a child.

Luke was gone in a flash, his curly brown hair flying out behind him as he sprinted to the far side ofthe ballroom.

“Time how fast it takes me to run back to the other side! I can do it with my eyes closed, and whileholding my breath!"

“No! Don't-" I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes fixing on the red-haired woman watching myexchange with Luke. She was looking right at me, a good distance away, but I knew she'drecognized me in an instant.

“Lena? What are you doing here?" Abigail said excitedly, setting down a basket of orchids and liliesas she walked in my direction. I froze.

I'd known this moment would come. Viv and Heather would have already not only received myletters explaining everything, but also two invitations to the wedding, and a tab paid by the palaceat the same shop where I'd purchased my dress.

“Leeeeeeeena! How many seconds was that?" Luke screamed as he slammed into me, nearlyknocking me off my feet.

pn

"Oh my Goddess, how the hell did you get a nannying position here?" Abigail gaped as she closedthe distance between us. She peered down at Luke, whose face was previously pink. Little devil.“That's a bad word,” he mumbled, and Abigail gave him a brilliant smile, which made him beam upat her. “Lena's not my nanny, she's my cousin!"

The floor dropped from beneath my feet. I closed my eyes, wincing as I waited for the onslaught ofshocked and angry questions to flood from Abigail's mouth. But when I opened my eyes, she wasjust smiling at me, a smirk plastered on her mouth.

"So," Abigail grinned slyly, crossing her arms. “Are you going to introduce me to the princes, orwhat?"