Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

“Well, I’m not understanding you.” i tapped my fingernails on the railing. growing impatient. I had already

tried to ask about his mate bond with Myla, but he had quickly changed the subject, the pain of her injury

and state of being etched into his face. I didn’t push the subject, even though I wanted to

“I’ve known Troy for a very long time, Maeve. If he had known what was going to happen, he wouldn’t

have set foot on Valoria, you have my word.”

“Your word means nothing to me.”

“You’re a real peach. I can see why Troy likes you.” Keaton smirked, his eyes a deep greenish-gold in the

twilight sky.

“He doesn’t. He doesn’t know me, not anymore. That Maeve died in Drogomor.”

13:46

Chapter

No Time to Write Wrongs

“Well, that’s rather ominous.” He pushed against the railing, facing me.

t’s true. And I didn’t know Troy at all, really. He lied to me. I only knew him as Aar”

“Troy is totally incapable of being anything other than himself, I assure you.” He chuckled then shaking

his head. I looked up at him,

אווה ווה או הוריזונה

What do you mean?”

“The man you knew as Aaron was one-hundred percent Troy. I’ve met Aaron, the little prick. He’s

worthless. Had he been the one with you in Valeria, well, you’d have been the one trying to get Aaron out

of Valoria, not the other way around.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. The real Aaron had been kind of a wuss when we met as children.

Perhaps Keaton was right and I would’ve been trying to run the real Aaron out of town if he’d been my

breeder instead of Troy.

“How long have you known Troy?”

Keaton looked at me for a moment, deciding whether or not he wanted to tell me anything of substance

about his friend. He shrugged, pursing his lips. “Troy joined our band when he was six.”

Your band?”

*Ave, well, by band I mean just a group of orphans who ran amok on Avondale. Beach Rats, we were

called. They’re everywhere in the Isles. No pack to claim them, no homes to go back to. Troy didn’t say a

word to any of us for an entire year after we picked him up. He just followed us around, sleeping down

the beach from us until Robbie convinced me to take him in. We were all around the same age.”

“I can’t imagine,” i said quietly, totally shocked and suddenly heartbroken for Troy. I remembered the

portrait of the woman in his journal, the woman whose face was blurred like it had come from a distant,

fragmented memory. Does he remember his parents?”

“You could ask him, but he’ll probably tell you what he told me. He doesn’t remember his mother, he

thinks she may have died around the time he was born. His father, or at least the man he called dad, left

him on Avondale when he was four or five, and just left, I guess. His dad was very sick, from what Troy

remembers of him. He’s still not sure if it was his real father or just someone tasked with caring for him

since his mother was dead.”

“Oh, my Goddess, that’s awful.” i felt sick to my stomach at how I had been treating Troy all of the

sudden. Left alone so young? To fend for himself?

Keaton waved his hand in dismissal. “He doesn’t like to talk about it. Don’t tell him I told you.”

I won’t, I promise.”

“Good. Anyway, Troy was a beautiful kid, and I mean really beautiful, with those weird eyes of his and his

thick hair. We used him as bait, with permission of course, to lore old ladies away from their purses at

those fancy beach-front restaurants under the guise of not being able to find his mommy, and all that. We

made a killing in those early years, got ourselves a small cruiser by the time we were ten or so.”

*And I’m guessing that’s when the piracy began?” Something about this felt vaguely familiar.

“Not quite, but it did get us off Avondale. More opportunities elsewhere, if you know what I mean.”

I don’t follow —

*Poldesse was broken up in those days, you know. You were probably born around that time, what are

you, twenty? Well, the islands of Papeno and Suntra were the new ports of trade during the

Reconstruction, and we ran goods for merchants on our cruiser for years. One of those runs was how we

found the Persephone. She was beached on an island south of Suntra, rotting in the sun for Goddess

knows how long We worked like dogs until we had enough coin to have her towed to Suntra and

renovated, top to bottom.” He patted the railing lovingly, smiling as though the ship were alive.

gaped at him, trying to wrap my head around the idea of three little boys growing up alone for so long,

accomplishing so much on their own

“Troy was our navigator, always. He was the reason why we kept the sails. Loves maps, that guy. He

wanted nothing more than to stand at the helm with that damn compass in his hands Robbie is our

strongman, although he wouldn’t hurt a fly. He just looks scary

“What are you then7″ I asked, trying not to laugh as he gazed at me, surprised

*The pretty face, obviously”

He smiled “In reality, Troy and Robbie are too good. Every band of pirates needs a bad guy*

“So that’s why you’re the captain, then?”

“Someone’s gotta do it

Chapter 35: No Time to Write Wrongs

We stood in silence for a moment, looking out over the water.

“Why didn’t you guys join a pack when you were young?” I asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind

my ear.

“We made a vow not to; we were our pack in a way. We didn’t need anyone else.”

“How did you end up working for Damian, then?”

.

Keaton sucked in his breath, looking very serious. I could tell he didn’t particularly want to talk about it,

but he seemed to know that I was likely to press the issue if he didn’t tell me now. “Damian rebuilt

Poldesse, you know. There was a lot of money in it already. Romero’s money. You may not know about

him, but well, he was the reason Troy went to Valoria in the first place.

“He mentioned him-”

“Did he mention Romero was his grandfather?”

I blinked, looking up at Keaton in surprise. “No, he didn’t.”

“Well, now ya know. Damian used that to his gain. He took advantage of Troy. We didn’t catch it until it

was too late.”

“What happens now?” i said abruptly.

He looked over at me, searching my face. “You need to talk to Troy about that, Princess,” he said shortly.

“But you’re the captain. Where are we going? I need to get word back to my parents,”

“You are the most wanted person in the land, Princess. Taking you back to your parents would be a

death sentence for everyone involved, including them.”

“I could just send a letter-”

Keaton leaned in, desperately serious. “No, Maeve. Right now, you’re dead. You and Troy died in

Drogomor, okay?”

I leaned away from him, my throat tightening so violently I found it hard to breathe. I knew for a fact that

once word spread about what happened in Valoria, my dad would come after me. He would do

everything in his power to find me. If he wasn’t careful, he might be led into a trap, and I would be long

gone, sitting on a boat heading to lands unknown.

“No!” i exclaimed, shoving him and pointing my finger in his face. “I WILL be sending a letter. I have to.

My family will try to find me, and I won’t allow them to think I am dead.”

“it’s too late. We are drifting at full sail, Maeve. We’ll be far from even the ports in the isles by tomorrow.

I’m sorry.”

Igaped at him, tears beginning to well in the corners of my eyes as he looked down at me.

“Trust that we will keep you safe,” he continued, and I glared, shaking my head and turning away.

“I was a pawn

*You were the reason, Maeve. There’s a difference-”

I walked away, my heart heavy in my chest. This was too much.

As I walked across the main deck toward the door, something caught my eyes, the moon reflecting off of

something in the crow’s nest on the mainsail above my head. I looked up, barely able to make out Troy’s

profile as he sat with his legs dangling from the crow’s nest one hand gripping a book while the other

sketched, his head bent, oblivious to my presence.

*Troy?” I said, hoping my voice would carry up to him.

He looked down, his hair falling around his face.

“Can we talk?”