Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 347

Chapter 6: My Prince Charming

*Theo*

My eyes were focused on the files in front of me, but my thoughts were elsewhere. The scent of blood lingered in my office even after the cleaners had spent hours scrubbing my office upside down, and after all the furniture was replaced.

There was a knock on the door and I looked up to see Jake standing there. I was expecting him. “Any luck tracking down the assassins?” | started with my question.

He shook his head as he crossed the room to stand in front of my desk. “Nothing yet. I’ve got a team working on it.”

I nodded. I had figured as much. “Their entrance and exit was quick… too quick.”

“I agree. I believe they knew the palace quite well. We haven’t found a single trace of them anywhere. This was defi nitely a professional job,” my Beta said.

I considered his words and found them to be in line with what I had experienced. This was a crafty enemy. Not just anyone could’ve pulled it off. “What did Father have to say about the whole thing?”

“I haven’t spoken to him about it yet. I doubt he knows.”

“Very well. Leave it to me.”

“Alpha, you want to-”

“Father doesn’t trust anyone,” I reminded him. “Even me.”

“Of course, Alpha.” He paused and then asked, “So… why did you spare the girl?”

The girl.

A streak of anger flared up inside of me thinking about her. How dare she speak to me like that?

After taking a deep breath, I replied, “If she’s smart, she won’t say a word to anyone, especially not now.” She was in the zoo, after all, and that should teach her a lesson.

“Uhm, about that.”

“Yes?” My eyes went back to Jake’s face, wondering what he wanted to say about her.

He inhaled deeply, held it for a second, and then in a timid voice not matching his girth, he replied, “I think you may have underestimated this girl.”

| raised a brow and studied him for a moment before seeking clarification. “Underestimated her how? Are you say ing she’s one of them?” That wasn’t possible, a tiny thing like her, covered in dirt….

“No, no. I’ve done a thorough background check on her. She’s definitely not one of them. That’s not what I meant, Al pha.”

“Well, then what is it, Jake?” | asked, growing more irritat ed by the second. “Unless…” | paused for a second, and frowned, “they have disobeyed my orders and actually harmed her?”

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“They” meaning my animals. But how could that be possi ble? They had never done anything against my orders.

Then again, that girl just seemed to be a magnet for trou ble. What if they really…

“No, not that either.”

I let out a breath that I’d just realized I’d been holding a bit longer than I should have.

“I let her out,” Jake said. He leaned back away and looked at me a bit surprised. “Alpha, are you okay? You seemed wor ried.”

“I’m fine.” I relaxed my body. “You let her out already? She fainted that quickly?” | smirked. “Good! She needs to learn. When you see her again, tell her that next time she won’t be so lucky, and that my animals would be happy to break her brittle bones,”

“Alpha,” Jake cleared his throat, not meeting my gaze, “she didn’t faint. You said that once the animals were all fed, she could be released. So,”

I was surprised. “So… she figured out that I meant to have her literally feed the animals?”

She was smarter than I’d thought then.

“Yes, she did, very quickly. She fed them. Every single one of them, and when I went to check on her, she was… she was petting Linus’s head.”

“What?” My eyes widened in shock. Linus was my lion.

1978. 1978. I knew my displeasure was clearly written on my face, so

Jake quickly concluded, “That’s right. She got along with all of the animals quite well. Since she completed the task you as signed her, I let her out.”

Instead of being scared to death by my friends, she’d had a grand time playing with them?!

“Alpha…?”

It took me a few seconds to digest this news. Eventually, I narrowed my eyes and scoffed, “Did she really think she could get out of this so easily? You said she likes animals? Good, she can take care of them from now on!”

“But, Alpha, you do remember that she’s here to be part of your father’s attempt at finding you a wife, right? I worry that if the king finds out that you treat her like a servant…”

“You heard what I said.”

Jake lowered his head. “Yes, Alpha. I will make it happen.”

***

* Ciana*

Yellow scales shimmered in the sun as I gave Prince Theo’ s pet python the last of his treats. We were warming up to one another, and I thought the last few days I’d spent bringing him his tasty meals might be enough for him to finally con cede that he liked me, but he was still keeping his distance.

I had no doubt I’d win him over, though. The other ani mals and I were already good friends. I’d grown up acclimat ing myself to wild beasts, so this menagerie was perfect for me. Even the lions and tigers enjoyed a good belly rub every

day after they’d had their slabs of meat.

To anyone else, this new assignment might be terrifying. They probably would’ve assumed that the uncaged animals would eat them alive, but it was a dream job for me.

The animals’ food was kept in a shed on the other end of the palace, and every day, I had to make multiple trips hauling it out to the courtyard where the animals lived. That was the only complaint I had about this task-the buckets were heavy, the smell of flesh always made my stomach turn, and there was also the waste involved.

“Prince Warren?” Sophia said, and all of the girls quickly curtsied to the prince.