Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 250

Chapter 30: You Let Her Die!

Maeve

“Get away from me!”

I was running, frantic, tripping and stumbling through the dense greenbelt that lay between the castle ground and the village below. There was noise all around me; screaming, shouting, the eerie high-pitched howl of wolves.

I could hear him behind me, his breath catching in his throat as he cursed aloud, begging me to stop.

“You’re running right into it, Maeve. You need to stop for a minute. We need to come up with a plan to get to the port-”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” My face was tight from my dried tears as I spoke.

“Look around!” he bellowed as he clutched me by the shoulder, pulling me to a stop. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was in incredible pain. One arm was dangling at his side, bent and bleeding profusely from a terrible, protruding fracture in his forearm. I should help him, heal him.

No. I wouldn’t. He was as good as dead to me.

But he was right; fire was blazing in the village. We could see the amber light through the trees and the smoke beginning to drift into the canopy of leaves over our heads.

I turned to him as his hand left my shoulder. He cradled his arm again, his chest heaving with effort.

“Who the f*ck are you?” I said, unable to hide the heartbreak in my voice.

He shook his head, sweat dripping off his jaw as he bent forward, leaning into a tree for support. “I’m really hurt, Maeve. I can’t shift like this. I thought we had more time.”

“More time for what, Troy? If that’s even your real name-”

“It is.”

“What is happening right now? What happened to Gemma?” My voice cracked as I said her name. I hadn’t processed it yet. Everything that had happened within the last half hour was a total blur, only little fragments of memory floating around in my mind. But Gemma’s screams were clear. They were still ringing in my ears.

* Alpha Damian of Poldesse is invading. He’s taking over Drogomor.”

“Why? Is that why you’re here?”

“No. At least, I didn’t know this was his plan. I thought,” he swayed, pitching forward. I felt my body moving to help him without my permission, but I righted myself, my fingers curling into fists. “Romero he-Damian used me. I was a decoy to keep you and Ernest distracted while he made his move.”

“What does this have to do with me? I’m not the Luna yet-”

He looked up at me, his eyes shining with unimaginable pain, “Damian wants you for something I don’t understand. Romero was in on it, he tried to explain it to me but I thought he was just a mad old fool, I-”

A scream ripped through the air around us and I jumped, startled.

“We don’t have time for this. I’ll explain later. I can’t think straight. I need to get you to the river,” he said.

“I already said I’m not going anywhere with you.” I started to walk forward again, grinding my teeth as my skin prickled with mingled guilt and fury. I didn’t need him. I could figure things out on my own, right?

“I need to get you to my ship. You’re not safe in Valoria. All of Damian’s men will be looking for you.”

“You let her die,” I said, turning around to face him once more. “She was right there. She was just behind the door, and you didn’t help. You didn’t do a f*cking thing.”

“They would have killed her regardless. They would have killed me, too. They would have taken you to Damian, and I am certain your fate would have been worse. I did it to protect you-”

“That wasn’t your decision to make.” I swallowed a sob, blinking back a fresh batch of hot tears.

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Chapter 30: You Let Her Die!

“We have to go, Maeve, We can’t talk about this now.”

“And then what? I just – trust you? Let you take me to your ship? Where exactly are we going to go, Troy?”

“You have to trust me.”

“I don’t-”

*Then trust that I will keep you safe, Maeve. I will reunite you with your family.”

“And what about Ernest? He’s my family. He’s out here all alone”

Fire flashed in Troy’s eyes for a second, then he looked away, hurt lining his face. “Ernest wants to be on his own. He doesn’t need us to help him do what he needs to do.”

“What does he-”

“He just lost his mate,” he said. “I have no way of describing to you what that feels like. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Neither would you!”

He looked into my face, searching for something behind my eyes. “I do know. I know what it feels like to find your mate. To lose her.”

“Oh?” I felt ill as a sudden rush of jealousy rippled through my system. I swallowed it down, praying it didn’t show on my face as he continued to watch me.