Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 645

Chapter 145 : Missing a Son

*Xander*

From what I understood, the Alpha of Drogomor was once a stand-alone title that hadn't always been connected to the title of Alpha King of Valoria.

Ethan had been the first to hold both titles, and he had passed the title onto his nephew Ernest in order for Rosalie to rule in Winter Forest. Ethan had kept the title of Alpha King during that time, and when Ernest stepped down from the seat of the Alpha of Drogomor, Rowan took his rightful place upon that throne.

Now Rowan held both titles, the Alpha King of Valoria and the Alpha of Drogomor. He'd held the dual titles for nearly as long as his own father had.

The Drogomor pack wasn't large by any means. Its territory encompassed the area of “Old Town," which bordered the sprawling city of Mirage, where a handful of packs surrounded the city, their people mingling with other packs on a day-to-day basis.

Drogomor was old and had long, winding roots in the culture of the east. The title should have been Lena's by birthright, but she was a woman.

And so far, very few packs had let go of the notion that the males were the ones destined to inherit the title of Alpha over their daughters and sisters.

I already knew that Lena had no interest in becoming the Alpha of Drogomor. She'd never even mentioned it, but I knew it was something Rowan had been considering. As the Alpha King of Valoria, placing his daughter on the throne as an Alpha would have been a tremendous upset to some of the more old-fashioned Alphas.

But putting his nephew on the throne?

No one would bat an eyelash to that, except maybe Oliver himself.

With Charlie set to step into the role as Alpha of Breles alongside his mate, who had very distant ties to the family who laid claim to the title, and Will and Hollis taking over as the Alpha and Luna of Poldesse, Oliver was the only triplet who currently had no claim to any territory.

And as I stood in Rowan's office on the first floor of the castle, I realized Oliver would likely want to keep it that way.

No one would know for sure, not for a while at least, because Oliver was missing, and had been for months. There had been no word from him. No one had seen him, not even a glimpse in passing. There was a rumor that he was in Dianny, but Alpha Robbie and his Luna quickly set things straight in that regard. They hadn't seen him–no one had.

But today, we'd gotten a single shred of news.

“His house is completely empty. It was packed up and sold to one of his friends," Charlie said as he turned from the window to face the men congregated in the office. “His friend said the sale had been done through a mediator. He never saw or talked to Oliver."

Troy ran his tongue over his teeth, glancing down at the floor. Rowan exhaled through his nose, nostrils flaring as he shook his head.

“There are only so many places he can go," I said, tapping my fingers lightly on the windowsill as I mulled the situation over in my head.

Lena was outside with Elaine and Abigail in the front garden, Alexis in a carrier on her chest. They were trimming roses, which were in full bloom, and putting them in baskets at their feet–flowers for the wedding, which was in three days.

Lena and I were getting married at the cathedral in the center of Mirage. Barriers to hold back the crowd as we arrived had already been put into place when I visited the location yesterday. I'd been alone, and no one on the street knew who I was just by a glance. I had the place to myself, and I was in awe of it. It was made of white stone, the ceiling towering several stories above my head. Stained glass of every shade of blue and silver sent sprays of light over my face as I walked down a long aisle between rows upon rows of pews.

I stood at the altar and looked out over the empty rows that seemed to go on forever, knowing in a few days' time it would be filled with people, most of which being the countless relatives connected to the royal family.

It wasn't every day the daughter of an Alpha King got married. It wasn't every day that an Alpha King got married, either.

While Will's wedding had been grand, our wedding was… something else–a public spectacle.

I'd marry Lena right now if I could, in this house, with no fanfare or ceremony. And I knew she felt the same.

But, it was too late for that now, and part of the reason her parents had gone so large and extravagant with the ceremony and reception was that they were trying to draw someone out of hiding.

“Oliver won't miss her wedding," Troy said with conviction. “He wouldn't do that to her."

“I know," Rowan said softly, running his hand over his face as I turned from the window to face them.

Charlie let out his breath, glancing at me with a pained expression. “Could he have gone to Egoren?" he asked.

I shook my head, not wanting to believe that was even a possibility. “Egoren is not friendly to outsiders. The portal is sacred and heavily guarded. If someone was able to pass through into my realm, I would know about it."

“But you're here," Rowan said, and I nodded.

“I would have been told. There have been… messengers going between the realms for years–"

“You mean spies?" Rowan interrupted.

I felt my cheeks prickle with heat as I met his eyes and pursed my lips, my expression giving him my answer. “There was no malice in my intentions to gather intel on your realm."

“You were looking for my daughter, then," Rowan said, breaking our gaze.

The air in the room felt thick, and beside me, Charlie shifted his weight.

“You got me there," I said with a shrug.

Troy snorted with mirth, shaking his head as he clapped Rowan on the shoulder.

“Lighten up, Grandpa," Troy teased.

“You seem awfully chipper for someone who is missing a son–"

“Oliver is not missing," Troy breathed, his tone sharpening. “I know how he's feeling. Maeve and I both understand what he's going through. He needs time, and we've given that to him. But it's time for him to return."

“What if he doesn't?" Charlie asked, his eyes betraying his calculated calm. “What if he's hurt–"

“He's not, Charlie. You know he's not," Troy breathed, giving his son a tight, understanding smile.

Charlie's chest relaxed, but he huffed a breath, shaking his head as he looked down at his shoes.

Troy was right. There was no doubt in my mind that Oliver was alive. I'd seen that son of a b***h fight off vampires and burn entire cities to the ground, sometimes at the same time. There was no one more capable of surviving than Oliver.

If he wanted to survive, that is.

I remembered the shattering grief when I had thought I'd lost Lena. Even with her here with me, safe, I still felt the remnants of that crushing numbness that had threatened to send me spiraling into oblivion.

Darkness, that's what it was. I'd sought darkness. Oliver was doing the same.

I followed Charlie out of the office, leaving Troy and Rowan alone. I fell in step with him as we walked through the castle, which was thrumming with activity as preparations for the reception began.

“Jasmine said Lena had to be refitted for her dress after all," Charlie chuckled as we passed a trio of maids carrying armfuls of fine fabrics, their faces pink with exertion.

“Alexis is nursing her to death, I think. She's thinner than she was before she got pregnant," I replied, unable to hide the concern in my voice.

I hoped that was the reason, anyway, and not the stress of moving to an entirely different realm to rule as my Luna. Lena had seemed more at ease with the fact that her parents would be joining us for a few weeks to help us settle in, and we already had plans to return to her realm for Winter Solstice.

I heard rapid footsteps behind us and turned around, jumping out of the way as Lucas came bounding down the hallway, red in the face.

“Luke? What are you–" Charlie snapped, but was interrupted by a startled exclamation coming from Rowan's office.

The door to the office burst open, and Troy stepped out, his face nearly as red as Lucas's had been.

“Where," he said through gritted teeth, “did he go?"

I gaped at Troy, who was holding a snake in one of his hands, the reptile coiling itself around his arm while he kept a firm grip on its head.

It wasn't a large snake by any means, but it was bigger than the snakes I'd stumbled upon in the grass in the back of the castle.

All three of us looked to the stairs, where Lucas had just stumbled in his haste to get away.

Troy stalked after him as Lucas squealed, stumbling several more times on his way up the stairs and out of sight.

“You're sleeping with this snake tonight! I'm letting it go in your room–" Troy said before his voice faded into the castle above our heads.

Charlie blew out his breath, chuckling lightly. Rowan came up behind us, looking a little pale.

“Little demon," he rasped, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. “He put the snake in one of the drawers in my desk."

“Was it there the entire time we were talking?" I asked.

Rowan nodded, smoothing his button-down shirt over his chest as he cleared his throat.

“It scared me half to death. Lucas was hiding in one of the cabinets lining the wall."

“I better go check on them. I don't like the idea of a snake being loose in the castle while I'm sleeping right across the hallway from him," Charlie laughed, jogging towards the stairs.

I was left alone with my soon-to-be father-in-law. I glanced at him, trying not to laugh at the look on his face.

“Don't like snakes?"

“No," he replied firmly. “I'm going to go get a drink." He turned on his heel and walked away.

I looked around, trying to decide what to do.

It was strange living in another Alpha's space. I'd felt idle and bored for weeks, if I was being honest. We had endless help with Alexis, and Lena had been busy with the wedding preparations. She'd declined my offer of help, even thought it was a burden we both should have been sharing.

I sighed, pursing my lips.

“Do you want to come with me?" Rowan asked from down the corridor, his hands tucked in his pockets.

“Sure," I said, giving my father-in-law-to-be a wry smile. “We don't have many snakes in Egoren, as far as I know, just so you know."