Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 24: What’s in a Name?

Gemma

I slipped from Ernest’s bed, quiet as a mouse. He rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around his

pillow, barely waking as he moved and quickly fell back to sleep, his eyelashes fluttering against his

cheeks.

I reached down and gathered my clothes, clutching them to my naked chest as I searched in vain for my

underwear in the darkened room.

The only light was an eerie green glow coming from the windows where rain hammered against the side

of the castle. Thunder boomed in the low-lying clouds, the sound strangely comforting as I pulled my

shirt over my head and shimmied into my skirt. The storm raging outside the castle walls had covered

the sounds of pure ecstasy coming from the Alpha’s quarters, and I felt deliciously exposed as I snuck

from the room, carrying my shoes in one hand, my underwear still very much missing,

Oh, I was behaving like an idiot. I was setting myself up for heartbreak. I couldn’t help it. I really couldn’t.

Ernest’s hands on my body and his words whispered against my neck had awakened something deep

within me. I couldn’t put out the flame now, no matter how hard I tried.

And I had tried.

But I smiled softly to myself as I walked down the corridor, a blush touching my cheeks asi ascended the

stairs, and I realized I was walking with a slight

limp.

Oh, what would Maeve say when I told her “Ouch!” I dropped my shoes, bringing my hands to my face

as I cradled my nose. I could smell the blood before it began to flow, the wetness rolling from my nostrils

over my lips and between my fingers. “Shit, Gemma!” Aaron grabbed me by the shoulder, using his free

hand to tilt my head back by my chin. He was soaking wet, the water dripping from his clothes onto the

floor. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you. I couldn’t-”

“Where are you coming from at this hour?” I said, my voice a nearly inaudible gurgling sound as the

blood rolled into my open mouth.

“I went for a.. for a run.”

He was lying

I took my hands from my face, inhaling deeply and then sneezing with force, which caused him to jump

backward out of my line of fire. “Is it broken?” he asked, gingerly stepping forward again. “No,” I said,

sighing with relief. Luckily I’d found some tissues on a side table to stem the bleeding. “But it hurts. What

did I run into?”

“My shoulder. I didn’t see you walking by at all.” His voice was trembling slightly. I narrowed my eyes to

peer at him through the dark but could barely even see the outline of his figure.

“Where are you going? Your room is on the fourth floor?”

*** I forgot something.”

“Forgot what?

“It’s nothing.”

He was lying again. I just knew it. I pressed him further.

“It’s obviously something if you’re wandering the castle sopping wet.”.

“I just told you. I was out for a run.”

“Don’t lie to me, Aaron!” I stepped forward, thinking I was closing the distance between us but ended up

to the side of him.

“I’m right here, Gem!”

“You don’t get to call me that,” I hissed, turning toward his voice. And I have it on good authority you

were seen boarding a train today, the two o’clock train to the Port of Valoria. What were you doing there?

“Ernest sent me

“No, he didn’t. I was with him-“I bit my lip. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But before I could retract

my statement or attempt to deflect, Aaron had me by the shoulders again, steering me across the

corridor and into a storage closet

“What the hell – I nearly screamed before his hand flew over my mouth and he pressed me against the

wall of the closet, his free hand reaching up to turn on the tiny, flickering lightbulb over our heads.

Chapter 24: What’s in a Name?

“Don’t scream,” he said calmly, his hand still planted firmly against my mouth. He took his hand away,

and I inhaled deeply, a shriek erupting from my mouth before he clamped his hand over it again. “No one

can hear you over this storm, Gemma. I’m not going to hurt you. I need your help.”

“My help?” i said into the palm of his hand. I gripped his forearm, pinching his skin with my nails until I

drew blood and he finally let go.

But he was blocking the door.

“I’ll scream again,” I warned, stepping toward him.

He wiped his bloodied hands on his wet jeans and looked up at me, shaking his head. “You won’t.”

“Oh? Let me out or take your chances-” “This is about Maeve. She’s in danger. I need to get her out of

Valoria, tonight.” He stood there, only feet from me, his face drawn with deep lines of fatigue.

“What?”

“I’ve been at the port, you’re right about that. I was trying to get word to my boat.”

“You’re boat? What are you talking about, Aaron?”

He took a step forward, fixing me with a serious stare. “Romero. Did you know he’s in the tower, right

above our heads?”

“Romero –The Romero? Of,”

“Of Poldesse, yes.” “Don’t lie to me!”

“I’m not lying!” he pleaded, looking as though he was about to drop to his knees. He looked absolutely

exhausted.

“Did you run here? From the port? You shifted and ran all that way, didn’t you?”

He nodded, his chest rising and falling as he took a deep breath. “It was faster than waiting on the train. I

needed to get back here.”

“Why were you there? Tell me the truth!” I bellowed, which caused him to wince and tilt his head toward

the door.

“Keep your voice down, okay?” He stepped closer to me, his hands outstretched in surrender, “Like I said

before, I needed to get word to my ship-”

“What are you talking about–”

“I’m trying to explain—”

“What ship. Aaron?”

“My name isn’t Aaron!” His hands were clenched into fists and trembling at his sides, his eyes downcast

toward the floor.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came from between my lips, only the sound of my labored

breathing as I tried to catch my breath.

Once I had, I asked, “Who are you?”

“You knew the whole time, didn’t you? That I wasn’t Aaron of Red Lakes?” He leaned against the door,

his eyes bloodshot and lined with dark circles. I nodded, my breath catching in my throat. I swallowed as

the hair stood straight up on my arms.

“Where is he? Aaron? Did you-”

“No. Aaron is fine. He’s alive, and well. I promise you that.” “How can I believe a single word you say?”

“You have to. You have to trust me right now. You can hate me later. Maeve is in-“| “Danger? What the

actual f*ck, Aar. What the hell is your real name? Who are you!”

“My name is Troy.”

“Your last name?”

“Black Troy Black..”

“What pack are you from?”

“I don’t have a pack.”

“So, you’re a rogue”

“No! Jeez, Gemma! We don’t have time for this.” He grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. “Please,

Gemma. Listen to me. Maeve has to get out of here. You need to get out of here. You have to go back to

Winter Forest.”

He was desperate

“I don’t understand-get off of me!”

Chapter 24: What’s in a Name?

He let go of my shoulders and let his arms drop to his sides, defeat lining his face. “I love her. I can’t let

them. I can’t.” He backed away, looking at me pleadingly.

*Please, just let me go. Just leave, whoever you are. Just leave the castle tonight. Please!” i begged.

“I can’t do that. Not yet.”.

“Why?”

“I need you on my side,”

“Your side of what? What happened to Aaron? Why the hell are you here?!”

He told me everything, the words falling from his lips in rapid succession as he leaned his back against

the door, closing his eyes. Aaron had been left on an island in the Isles of Denali while Troy had come to

Valoria in his place. He told me how he had no intentions of even touching Maeve, that his mission had

been strictly to break Romero out of the tower.

He told me about Horace, the explanation sending ripples of gooseflesh up my arms as the pieces of the

puzzle began to fall into place. Horace was a spy. and Troy was sure there were others in the castle

working toward that same end, the end that took my breath away.

Troy had been deceived by everyone, he explained. His true mission was much, much more than he had

anticipated. Poldesse was coming. They were coming for Drogomor. Alpha Damian and his warriors

were coming to take over and leave destruction in their path.

He told me he was Romero’s grandson. He told me about Romero’s sick mind, and his sick plan.

—-

“I love her,” he repeated. Over and over. “I wanted her. I couldn’t stop myself. I took advantage of the

situation. I have to get her out.”

“It’s too early to know if she’s pregnant,” I stated, my voice shaky and uncertain. He looked up at me,

tears welling in the corner of his eyes. He only . nodded, grimacing as he struggled to take a breath. He

had quieted after telling me his story, but something else was weighing on him. Something severe.

I stepped forward, reaching out to him, my hands trembling as I touched his shoulder.

“Damian wants something. Something that only Romero can give him,” he said quietly, sleepily.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. I tried to ask. Romero is sick in his head, I’m sure of it. His words are nonsensical

ramblings. I.. I think he’s deceiving Damian. I think this is a trap. I think all of us, including Damian, are

falling into a trap.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know what else to say. This is all I know.”

“And what of Maeve? Will she be safe in Winter Forest?”

He shook his head from side to side, his eyes downcast. “I don’t know. I need to wake Ernest.”

“No, please don’t,” i begged, my heart twisting into a knot. I didn’t trust Troy. I had no idea whether what

he was saying was true, I didn’t know if he actually meant to go down to Ernest’s room and strangle him

to death. “Let me do it. I will tell him. I promise I will tell him.”

“You have to do it right now.”

“Wh-why? You said they were coming but… the Isles are so far-”

“I was looking for my ship when I noticed the name of Damian’s cruiser on the port master’s ledger. It

was supposed to reach the port today. If not for the storm, we would have been overrun by Damian’s

army. He has a fleet. He was using the port reservation as a decoy.”

“An army? He’s sneaking an army into Valoria? Are you serious?”

Troy stepped forward, his eyes deadly and utterly serious.

“The weather won’t stop them, Gemma. We have until morning.”