Alpha King Maddox nips at my ear. “Do you like that, little flower?” I moan an answer as his other hand slides my nightgown down off of my shoulder so his mouth comes down on me, his tongue lapping at my sensitive skin. ***** I''m just his breeder, traded for a debt. But can I convince King Maddox I could be more--so much more? *Isla* When my pack Alpha takes me to the castle to see the king, I have no idea he's trading me for a personal debt. Scared and alone, I contemplate what might happen to me and miss my family. But then I meet King Maddox. His reputation for being cruel is a contrast to the care I see deep in his eyes. Is it possible he could develop feelings for me? A poor girl brought to the castle to complete a task? I am just a tool to him after all. Or am I? *Maddox* After my wife died, I had no intention of falling in love again, but I need an heir. A simple solution presents itself in the form of a beautiful girl, given to me in exchange for a debt. But the more I get to know Isla, the more drawn to her I am. Is it possible she's just the one to make me forget the tragic night my wife died... a night I take full responsibility for? With pressure from other Alphas to marry one of their daughters, and rumors that Isla isn't who she seems to be, my decision will not be easy. But then, I'm the Alpha King. My decisions are never easy. I hope I make the right one. Because Isla is starting to get under my skin--I want to be on top of hers. Forever Season 5 now available!
View More*Isla*
Rain pounds my back as I follow Alpha Ernest up the wide marble steps to a home I never expect to see in real life. I look around quickly, but he is walking fast, and I don’t have much time to see the outside of the mansion. I only know it resembles a castle. The dreary sky seems fitting, considering my bleak outlook.
Likewise, this castle is fitting for an Alpha King.
Under the wide porch, there is a bit of shelter from the wind. I pull my thin cloak around my shoulders. When Alpha Ernest’s fist pounds on the door, I jumped. Everything about this day is unexpected and has me on edge.
The door opens a bit and a man with a thin, long nose gapes out at us. He is wearing a butler’s suit, and I relax only slightly.
Not that I expected the cruel king to open his own door, but I am thankful not to be faced with him right away.
“Greetings! Greetings!” Alpha Ernest says in his jovial, exceedingly loud voice. He laughs in the back of his throat, his gruff tone as raspy as the thunder in the distance. “It is I, Alpha Ernest of Willow pack! His Majesty is expecting me.”
The butler looks him over and then his eyes fall on me for a moment as if he isn’t sure whether or not the rotund, sweaty man in the white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows could possibly be an actual Alpha. The detail of Omegas that are hanging out in the car that brought us the two hours make it more convincing.
“Come in,” the butler says, pulling the heavy wooden door open.
“Thank you, thank you,” my Alpha says, and I follow him inside, absently wondering why he must say everything twice.
My happiness at being let in from the rain only lasts a moment as I follow along behind the two men who walk quickly down a long corridor. The inside of the house doesn’t resemble the castle in the sense that the floors are not made of stone—they are wood—and the walls are covered in drywall. But it is a huge building, and it is lavishly decorated with fine furnishings, all kinds of pieces of art from paintings to sculptures to ancient vases, and I try to keep up with our guide while my eyes roam over objects that are worth a hundred times more than what my parents make in a year—a thousand times more.
The sale of just one of these objects would have been plenty to pay off my parents’ debts. If I’d had just one painting to sell, I wouldn’t be here now.
I can’t think of that at the moment. My fate is sealed. I grasp my small bag in my hands and struggle to keep up. It doesn’t help that I haven’t eaten much of anything in the past week. I feel lightheaded.
We turn down a few corridors, and it’s clear to me that we are now in the part of the building that is for work instead of show. Artwork still hangs on the walls, but it’s not as elaborate. The doors we are passing seem to be offices, not libraries or parlors.
“Wait here,” the butler says, pausing outside of a closed door. He knocks, and I hear a low gravelly voice call him in.
I feel my heart begin to thump in my chest. I’m still not quite clear what Alpha Ernest has in mind for me. When I came to him for help earlier in the day, he asked me a few personal questions, a smile split his face, and then he told me to go home and pack all of my most prized possessions. He said to tell my family goodbye, if I was serious about paying off my family’s debts, and to be back in his office in one hour.
Then, we’d gotten in the car and driven here. I hadn’t asked any questions other than for him to put it in writing.
“John and Mary Moon are no longer in debt to Alpha Ernest Rock if their daughter, Isla Moon, follows through with the agreement made with said Alpha on this day….” Dated, signed by both parties, and here I am.
Still not sure what that agreement is.
Alpha Ernest goes inside of the office, and I am tempted to strain to see inside, too, but I don’t. I’ve never seen him before, the Alpha King, the head of all of the Alphas and all of the territories in our region, for thousands and thousands of miles. I’ve heard lots of stories about him, though.
Presently, I am hoping that most of them are not true.
I would like to see his face, to know if the rumors of his attractiveness are accurate.
But I’d rather not see him at all, if I had a choice. Word of his cruelty proceeds him, and it is said that he is just as brutal as he is handsome.
“You may sit,” the butler says, gesturing to a chair near the door that has closed behind Alpha Ernest.
I nod, but I am not capable of thanking him verbally right now, not when my teeth are near chattering with fear.
I sit down, still grasping my bag in my hands. I wish I had put on more than the thin cloak my mother had given me last winter. Cloaks were cheaper than coats, so that’s what I had.
I wouldn’t hide the trembling that was beginning to ravage my body, though.
Doing my best to ignore the shaking, I tried to focus in on the faint voices I could hear coming from behind the thick wooden door. I didn’t expect to be able to hear because the door looked sturdy, but Alpha Ernest is loud.
And Alpha Maddox…. Well, he just sounded agitated.
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice,” Alpha Ernest was saying.
When Alpha Maddox replied, it was harder to hear. He wasn’t as loud. “I don’t know why you’re here unless it’s to pay me the money you owe me.” At least, that’s what I think he is saying.
“Unfortunately, sir, I don’t have the money—not exactly,” the other man replies. I hear Alpha Maddox grumble in response. “But I have something else to offer you instead. Something better.”
“Something better than the one and a half million dollars you owe me?”
My heart catches in my throat and I nearly choke. One and a half million dollars? Did I hear that correctly? What in the world could Alpha Ernest have that is worth that kind of money?
“Oh, yes!” Alpha Ernest says. “Please, sir, hear me out. I have a bargain for you. One that will allow me to settle our debt and help you with a certain… problem you have.”
Problem? What problem could Alpha Maddox possibly have—other than the fact that he might have killed all of the people that he wanted to yell at.
I sit with my feet flat on the floor, my eyes focusing on the eggshell wall across from me, listening, not believing what I am hearing.
“Ernest,” Alpha Maddox says, “you are the last person on earth I would turn to to help me solve a problem, not that I even know what you’re referring to.”
“Let me enlighten you, sir, if you don’t mind?”
Alpha Maddox growls again. If he says anything else, I don’t hear it.
Alpha Ernest continues. “You have just turned twenty-nine last month, yes?” I assume Alpha Maddox confirms this because my pack Alpha continues. “Everyone knows that the Alpha King is expected to have an heir by the age of thirty.”
“Alpha Ernest—” the king says.
“Give me only a few moments of your time, Alpha” Ernest says, and I can imagine his hands up in front of him. “You need someone who can bear you a child, someone with no complicated relationship involved, someone who is beautiful, with good, healthy genes. A strapping mother who has born many children and proven herself to be from good stock.”
With every word he speaks, my heart leaps higher into my throat, even though my brain still doesn’t want to compute what he is saying.
“What are you proposing, Ernest?” Alpha Maddox says. “I don’t have any problem picking up women. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes, yes, of course!” Alpha Ernest says. “But women at court are complicated. They have expectations. I know you don’t intend to marry again. So… what you need is a willing, compliant, beautiful girl who is eager to spread her legs to earn money, bear you a child—or two or three—and then fade away. And I have just the girl for you.”
I take a deep breath and hold it. Surely, Alpha Maddox will not agree to this. Why would he agree to this?
Why have I agreed to this?
Did I agree to this?
“Let me see if I understand you correctly, Alpha Ernest,” I hear Alpha Maddox say, and I can’t tell if he’s angry, offended… or intrigued. “Are you proposing I take some girl you’ve brought with you into my home for the sole purpose of having a child?”
“That’s right, Your Majesty,” Ernest says. “I’m proposing you take on… a breeder.”
SorenBlake’s suite, essentially a private apartment within the castle, is on the far eastern side of the palace. His view is of the more rural, affluent neighborhoods of Moonrise and the thick forest beyond–quieter and more secluded compared to Maeve’s suite overlooking the lake and city center. I take in the gray walls and modern furniture before turning to the man sipping a glass of scotch as the sun fades from view, the sunset broken by dark clouds promising another snowstorm, but it’s warmer today. Humid. I can almost taste the rain on the horizon. It’s nearly spring. I hope it’s a good summer. Maeve stares Blake down from the far side of the room, her eyes briefly flicking to mine before she clears her throat, “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” She taps her foot impatiently, but Blake just looks her up and down before turning to me. “Patton didn’t have a tracker in his upper arm like you did. Misty checked. He’s clean, otherwise.” I grit my teeth, unsure what to
MaeveI blink into the shadows of my room. The curtains are still drawn, but strips of deep, golden sunlight creep between the seams of the fabric, alerting me to the time. It’s nearly sunset. I slept most of the day, save for Cole occasionally checking on me, but now my stomach is tight with hunger, and my body feels… strange. I smooth my hand over my belly, but the baby is sleeping, curled in a snug ball right against my ribs, her favorite place to kick. The door creaks open. I pop my head from beneath the blankets as a tall, dark shadow steps inside the room, carrying the scent of food with him. “Are you awake?” Soren’s voice is… soft. Casual, showing no signs of pain or stress. I lift onto an elbow as he steps into the room and walks to the windows, opening one of the curtains enough to softly illuminate the space, and turns to me, his eyes scanning mine. “What’ve you been doing all day?” I ask, my tone lifted in suspicion. “It’s nearly nightfall.”“I’ve kept myself busy.” He
SorenMaeve’s room is painted in sunlight that reflects off the pale pink wallpaper inlaid with what I believe are real rose petals. This room smells like her–warm and rich with that underlying, unmistakable magnolia blossom scent that makes my mouth water despite my best efforts to remain neutral and calm throughout this entire ordeal. If anyone had asked me what I was actually planning on doing when I reached Moonrise two days ago, I wouldn’t have had an answer. I broke into the castle–shattered a fucking window knowing how easily I could have been overtaken by guards–but at that point, nothing mattered. I had to get to her, but when I did, and I saw her… fuck. Everything has changed. I watch Patton cross the room, taking several cautious steps toward Jane, who’s clutching a spiral bound planner like her life depends on it. Jane’s light brown hair is neatly pulled away from her softly beautiful face as she looks up at him, her cheeks burning a deep crimson. “Jane, would you give
MaeveMisty doesn’t ask questions, and I’m thankful for it. Blake watches with a scowl as Soren sits on the edge of the bed and extends his arm to Misty, who inspects it then looks at me. “It was an accident,” I tell her, swallowing past the guilt, and honestly, shame of hurting Soren like this. “I meant to do that to Blake.”Misty glances at Blake with a frown. “What the hell has gotten into you two?”Blake widens his stance, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at his shoes instead of answering her question. “Later,” I breathe. “Can his arm be healed fully?”Misty nods, but her eyes betray the motion. She inspects his wounds with a sigh then motions for him to lie down. Soren looks at me with a skeptical expression shimmering behind his eyes but does what she asks, and in a matter of seconds, Misty’s light begins to dance around the room. Soren takes several shallow breaths as she grips his hand, sending her magic of light and healing deep into his veins. I watch, ti
MaeveWhen I was young, Aviva told me a story about her early days in the Silverhide pack and the first time she ever saw Ryan in his beast form. I didn’t understand why back then, but she explained that newly mated couples occasionally go through a bit of a rough patch in the first days of their relationship. The men, she explained, were generally uncontrollable and often territorial of their new mates, going as far as to attack other males for even looking in their direction. Touching another man’s mate, however? Especially his heavily pregnant mate?That’s a death sentence.“Soren!” I rush out, but it’s too late. Soren and Blake collide, Blake’s iron grip on my upper arm snapping away in an instant, leaving me teetering off balance in the dark hallway. The sound of the men colliding with the wall and my new plaster cracking and falling to the floor brings me back to startling focus, and I quickly flip a light switch, flooding the corridor outside of my room with glaring light. “Y
Maeve“What did you say?” My mouth goes painfully dry. I try to swallow but fail, humming a choked sob as I search his eyes for understanding. The four feet of distance between feels like an ocean when he balls his hands into fists at his sides, widening his stance like he’s preparing for battle, and maybe he is. I can feel my own power prickling over my skin as it stands. “You’re my mate, Maeve.” I imagine this is what it feels like to be stabbed in the heart. I clutch the corner poster of my bed for support as I sink onto the mattress, overcome by… a sudden, overwhelming understanding that makes the last nine months make absolute sense. This whole time. All of these feelings–this insane, otherworldly heartbreak… “How long?” I ask, unable to look him in the eyes. “How long have you known?”“Since the morning after you danced on that table at the hotel in the Highlands,” he admits, his voice level and deep, like he’s holding back whatever he’s feeling. “I nearly–”“You almost ma
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