Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 646

Chapter 146 : Reunion

*Lena*®

Abigail had spent the last two hours bossing me and Elaine around as we snipped roses in the frontgarden, filling heaping baskets of roses and whatever other blooms we could replace in the garden.Elaine gave me a look as Abigail slowly went through each basket, pulling out what she must havethought were prized flowers based on the judging look on her face, and placing them in clear vasesof water and some special solution to keep them full and perky until the wedding reception.

My fingers were raw and shriveled from wearing gardening gloves all afternoon. I tossed the gloveson the bistro table in the sunroom and unstrapped the baby carrier from my chest, lifting Alexis outof her cozy nap spot that had left my shirt damp with sweat. Alexis's legs were still reflexively tuckedinto her stomach, her little fingers curling into fists as she blinked into the soft sun filtering throughthe windows and grimaced.

"Oh, goodness gracious," I cooed, patting her on the back as I comforted her against my shoulder.When she started to try to suckle on the strap of my tank top, I promptly sat down and gave herwhat she was truly looking for.

“She is so freaking cute,” Elaine grinned as she sat opposite me at the table overlooking the frontgarden. All of the windows were open, but there was no cool breeze to be had. It was absolutelystifling today.

I reached up to wipe a bead of sweat from my brow, wanting nothing more than a cool shower andmaybe something iced to drink. As if I'd summoned her, a maid walked in carrying a tray of cookies,sandwiches, and a giant glass pitcher of lemonade full of ice and fresh lemons, the glass frosted andcool to the touch.

All three of us sighed with relief and thanked her profusely as the maid set the tray on the table.“Luna Hanna wanted me to let you know that she can take Princess Alexis for a while if you needfree hands,” the maid said sweetly as she poured me a glass of lemonade.

I looked down at Alexis, who was staring up at me with a skeptical expression on her face. She'dfinally started waking up a bit over the last few days, giving Xander and me our first real clue abouther eye color. They were fading from a deep navy black to a pale blue, like my father's.

She stopped nursing, her mouth trembling for a moment as I gently stroked her perfectly roundcheeks with my finger.

"What do you say? Do you want to go see your grandma?"

Alexis unlatched, her eyes still firmly fixed on mine, looking at me like she just noticed I was morethan just a pair of boobs.

I nuzzled her cheek, burped her, and kissed her on the forehead before handing her to the maid,who cradled Alexis in her arms and cooed as she turned to leave the sunroom, her hips swaying asshe rocked Alexis.

“She looks just like Xander to me," Elaine said as she poured herself a huge glass of lemonade, thenone for Abigail, who was still busy preparing the roses. “It's the hair. I can't believe she was bornwith all of that!"

“Dad told me it's going to fall out," I playfully pouted, crossing my fingers under the table in anattempt to stop that from happening.

“It's perfectly normal," Abigail clipped, giving me a smug glance. “What color was your hair whenyou were born, Lena?"

"White. Whiter than it is now, actually,” I replied, popping a piece of ice into my mouth and holdingit there. Goddess, it was hotter than hell. There was a fan in the sunroom, but it seemed to just beblowing hot air all over us instead of keeping the room cool.

“You were born with your hair like this?" Elaine gasped, furrowing her brow. “I thought only a WhiteQueen who summoned the power of the Goddess had white hair. It's like a rite of passage—"

“I am the Goddess," I said with a little laugh.

The words felt strange leaving my mouth, however. I'd only ever said it in my head, usually when Iwas trying to convince myself that whatever I was planning to do was a good idea.

"And white hair is a mark of impending death for a White Queen,” Abigail added.

Elaine nodded, raising her brows as she looked at her twin.

“But your grandma is still very much alive,” Elaine noted, and I nodded, dropping an ice cubebetween my breasts and sighing with relief.

Elaine giggled, and Abigail rolled her eyes. Abigail was also sweating profusely, but I knew she'dnever admit to either of us that she was uncomfortable.

"We don't have to sit in here" I began, but Abigail gave me a sharp look, motioning toward theroses.

“They're used to heat after being outside. They will wilt if I bring them out of the sun"

"Okay, okay!" I laughed.

Abigail exhaled through her nose, nostrils flaring as she turned back to her work.

"We could help you," said Elaine, but Abigail shook her head, waving the offer away. “She is veryserious about her work-"

“I heard that!"

“It's true," I said to them both, giving Abigail a grateful smile as I raised my glass of lemonade in atoast to her skills. “I expect the castle in Egoren to be full of flower arrangements day in and dayout."

"Speaking of Egoren," Abigail said as she trimmed a thorn-covered rose stem with her bare hands,“Are you going to... use your degree at all?"

I sighed, narrowing my eyes at Abigail as I adjusted my weight in the bistro chair, my thighs stickingto the seat. I knew this conversation was coming. Abigail might be married to the Alpha King's Beta,but Xander had already filled me in on the crusade she had started back in Egoren before theyreturned to the realm of light. She'd laid out designs for a full renovation of the castle's gardens,which went on for acres.

I hadn't even seen the castle that I'd soon be calling home, but based on what I knew about Xander,I was sure it was just fine. Xander liked nice clothes and was well-kempt. I was sure his home wasjust as well maintained as he was.

“It's the creepiest place I've ever been in my life-thorn bushes everywhere, dark corners, you nameit. Adrian says the castle is haunted.”

“I'm sure he was just messing with you," Elaine retorted, noticing the look of concern flashing acrossmy face.

"What do you mean haunted?"

“Like, ghosts, Lena. Adrian and I have a suite on the far side of the castle. I did some exploring whileI was there and got desperately lost, first of all. Secondly, I swore someone was walking up behindme one day when I was walking back to our quarters, but when I turned around, no one was there!""Oh, please," Elaine groaned, waving her hand in dismissal. “Come eat some, Abi. You're losing yourmind!"

I wasn't afraid of ghosts. The castle we were sitting in right now likely had ghosts creeping aroundat night, based on how old it was. But the castle in Egoren sounded... huge. So did the realm, forthat matter. And I was about to be the Luna of all of it.

“Xander wants me to do some research into the differences between the flora in the Realm of Lightand his realm. He told me he could hire a team of researchers to help me do it,” I said, changing thesubject away from the creepy castle I was going to be living in sooner rather than later.

Abigail opened her mouth to reply, but then her brow furrowed as she gazed out the window, hermouth hanging slightly ajar.

“No f*****g way," she gasped, setting her clippers down on the table where she'd laid out all of theroses.

"What?" Elaine and I said in unison as we turned to look out into the front garden.

A warrior was waving his hands wildly, then pointed an accusing finger at whoever he was speakingto. It was two people, actually, and I sucked in my breath as the first person came into view, pointingher finger right back at the warrior.

Abigail and I darted out of the sunroom, Elaine looking thoroughly confused as we ran through thedoor leading back to the front garden.

“You cannot be on the grounds—"

“Bring your comrades out, I dare you!" Heather snapped, her face reddened with fury.

"Stop!" I cried, trying not to laugh as the warrior whirled around, bobbing his head in a hasty bow inmy direction.

Heather let out her breath, her eyes misting with tears as she threw open her arms and Abigail and Itackled her to the ground, dragging Viv down with us.

“We were still on campus when it happened,” Viv said, swirling her wine glass.

Xander and Adrian were listening intently as we all sat on the back patio enjoying each other'scompany and the cool night air. “We were just sitting at home and this... alarm started going off.The power went out, and suddenly-" Viv paled, glancing at Heather.

“Warriors were all over the place. We didn't know what to do. It was a few days before anyone knewwhat was going on for sure.” Heather shifted her weight in her chair, a withdrawn look in her eyes.“We'd been in the apartment for a full day, two nights... that second night one of our neighborsknocked on our door, needing help. There was a warrior dying in the stairwell. I went down to help,and he told us everything."

“Vampires, can you believe it?" Viv breathed.

Adrian and Xander glanced at each other before they settled back in their seats, looking slightlyuncomfortable. Xander reached over and took my hand, knitting his fingers in mine while he sippeda beer in his other hand.

"How'd you end up fighting, Viv?" Adrian asked.

Abigail walked out of the castle with a fresh round of beers and another bottle of wine. I wassticking to lemonade, nursing the glass I'd been working on for over an hour. Alexis was sleepingsoundly upstairs, but I knew she'd be waking soon to nurse. I wanted to hear the rest of their story,however. I needed to know.

“We tended to the injured warrior until daybreak, and then we, along with some of the tenants inthe building, went out to try to replace some help. Heather and I ended up in a war camp, and we wereasked if we were... able to fight. They were desperate. We signed up immediately.”

"Viv and I were given weapons and sent out into the city at nightfall,” Heather said solemnly. “Thatwas the night-the night Morhan University was attacked. It was... it was Hell, you guys. I don't knowhow else to explain it."

A hush fell over the group. All of us had been students there. At that moment, it didn't matter thatAdrian and Xander had been faking it. They'd had friends there. They'd sat around the fountain andchatted with their peers. They'd walked through those halls, gone to the same parties we hadHeather sucked in her breath, her eyes glistening with tears. “The dorm for the first-year studentswas under attack. I could hear them screaming. We'd all been told to stay in our homes. There wasno order to evacuate, not in Morhan. Now I know that Morhan was one of the first cities to beattacked, but I was angry about it for a long time. I still am. Some of the other warriors startedtorching the campus. Viv and I were with another small team of civilians and warriors who weretrying to clear out the people stuck in the dorms. We had to fight our way in to save those firstyears. We couldn't get to them all.” Heather hung her head, and Abigail moved toward her,wrapping her arms around her.

Viv swallowed, her eyes totally and completely dry. She was looking out over the back garden, hereyes focused on nothing and everything all at once. I realized, as I squeezed Xander's hand, that oursweet, innocent Viviene was gone. Troy had told me that she'd fought. She'd become a warrior.

I had a hard time believing him at the time. But looking at her now, I could see it. I believed it.

“I fought in Breles," she said, a distant look in her eyes. “Then I was transferred up north. Heatherwas injured in Morhan and joined the healers working in the northern camps. We've been living inRed Lakes for a few weeks now. Your aunt Kacidra found us, Lena. She gave us the weddinginvitations.”

“I didn't know where you were," I said through tears. Viv turned to me, and I saw the ghost of asmile touch her lips. “But I heard you were likely up north.”

“It feels like it was all a dream,” she breathed. “Now we're here. You and Xander are getting married,which is just... I remember the day Heather burst into the coffee shop and told us he was askingabout you-"

Heather choked a laugh, her mouth stretching into a smile.

“And you had a baby? You have a baby upstairs! We're alive. We're alive! We f*****g made it."

I looked around the patio, taking in the faces of my roommates. We'd been through everythingtogether the last three, almost four years.

Xander put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close.

“Do you think Morhan is going to give me my tuition back for this past semester?" Viv asked after amoment, a teasing smile touching her lips.

Heather and Abigail laughed, as did Adrian, throwing his head back and nearly spilling his beer.Xander leaned his head against mine as the conversation took on a lighter tone. I sat in awe, unableto contribute, lost in my own thoughts.

We were okay. We were alive. And we were together again.