Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

***Talon‘s POV Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

After the conversation I had with Ethan, I went to see Estrella the next day. She had made sure to put Rosalie on a strict diet and rest order to ensure she gained her strength back. A couple weeks had pas sed, and Rosalie had been improving steadily, both physically and mentally. Estrella convinced me that Rosalie needed to get out of the house. That way, she wouldn‘t feel like she was a prisoner within our walls – of course, she would always need to be accompanied. Usually, I watched Rosalie from a distance. My sister Vicky had taken over being Rosalie‘s caretaker when it came to venturing outside of the main ho use. The two of them got along quite well. I knew that Vicky‘s heart would break, though, when Ethan h ad Rosalie killed. Rosalie was a kind spirit that you couldn‘t hate even if you tried. She did no wrong, an d I didn‘t understand how her family treated her the way they did. “Talon!”

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Vicky‘s voice filtered through the air, and I turned in the hallway to see her running towards me.

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“What‘s wrong?” I frowned. She seemed frantic, and I didn‘t like seeing my sister like that.

“Nothing. I just have to go take care of something, and I was hoping you can take Rosalie out into the vi llage today.” Me? Take her out? “Please, please? Help me this once, please? You are the best brother ever!” Vicky blinked at me, her eyes pleading her case. And unfortunately for me, she knew I could not t urn her down on a small favor like this. Plus, it wasn‘t like I didn‘t know what Rosalie did every day. I was always watching her to make sure she was safe, anyway. “Only this once.” I tried to pu t on a stern face, but I knew it held no deterrent for her. “Great! Thank you so much!” she squealed with excitement. She wrapped me in a hug before turning and scampering off. “The höll just happened…” I c huckled to myself as I made my way towards Rosalie‘s room. I knocked on the door and waited for her

to open it. I didn‘t want to intrude on anything she might be doing. Regardless of her status within our pack, she wa s still a lady, and should be treated as such. When the door opened, I came face to face with her mesmerizing blue eyes. “Talon?” She said softly. I couldn‘t help but put on my polite smile. “Vicky h ad to go take care of some errands, so I figured I would take you out to the village today.” She seemed genuinely surprised by my offer to take her out, and quickly nodded her head before following me.

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The village was lively that day.

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After a few hours of wandering around and watching her with the people of the pack, I had to admit iRosalie had luna qualities. She was kind, and sweet. She was still very hesitant around men she didn‘t know, but w hen it came to women and especially children– she was radiant. “Talon…” Rosalie said softly as she padded up to me. “Here.” She held out a scarf that sh e had been making with another woman. I couldn‘t help but be confused. “What‘s this for?” I asked. Her smile faltered for a moment. The hesitant look returned to her eyes. “Oh… um… Well, I made you a gift,” she stammered with her words while her eyes directly went to the ground, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. “You‘ve helped me so much since I came h ere. I wanted to give you something, as well.” I had never had someone give me a gift for doing my job – a job that would lead to her death. “No – please don‘t be embarrassed. I

just wasn‘t sure why you would want to give me something. Here … give it to me.” I quickly took it from her open hand and placed it around my neck. It definitely wasn‘t something I would ever personall y choose to wear, but she had made it for me and given it to me as a gift. So I wasn‘t going to be disres pectful. I had seen how quickly her mood changed when I questioned her. It was a shame she always seemed to feel the way she did. She didn’t realize how capt ivated everyone was with her, and how well respected she already was for someone who had not been here all that long. It was like a feeling deep inside us. Our wolves could sense there was more to her than there seemed. A connection. “Well, what do you think?” I asked, trying to m ake myself look happy. As she looked at me, she actually giggled. “You look great. Those colors look g ood on you. I was a bit surprised when Vicky told me you like colorful things…”. Dammit Vicky! I should‘ve known it was her idea!! No wonder she asked me to take Rosalie out today. She was sweet, but I would never have worn this mix of colors together any other time. I felt like I was wearing a rainbow around my neck. It definitely wasn‘t something you could miss. I tried my best to maintain my smile. “Thank you. I will wear it with pride.” Rosalie scampered off quickly to rejoin the women she had been knitting with, talking and smiling with the group. I grounded my teeth – Vicky, you just wait! “Beta.”

One of the warriors approached me. He was in charge of all the informants we had in other packs.

“The informant reported that a few packs on the frontier were attacked,”

“Details?” I asked curtly, “It seems that some of the outlying packs have been attacked sporadically. There were a few casualties, but there weren‘t too many involved in these first incursions. W

Ethan and I knew that this day was coming.

This was why Ethan was so adamant about always preparing – about having an heir,

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“Any ideas who was behind the attacks?” I asked, trying to piece together more information to share with Ethan. “We have some guesses, but no proof,” he replied. “Get me the list of the packs that were attacked and the details of the casualties. I‘ll need it in thirty minutes.” “Yes, sir.” He disappeared in a blink of an eye, just as he had arrived, but I did notice that his eyes settled on my scarf for a couple se the past few years, the packs along the edges of the country had been bothered by rogue attacks here or there, usually every two or three years. Normally, it wasn‘t a towards me with flowers in her hand and a mysterious glint in her eyes. “Talon… Do you have a piano h out of the blue. I found myself a little taken back by her question. She read my face and quickly added, “But don‘t worry about it if it‘s too much trouble. I was just curious.” I was about to tell her no so that we could return to the pack house. I needed time to sort out the information and report to sudden, I felt bad lying to her. She rarely asked questions, let alone making any requests. It made it really hard to turn since, after she gave birth, she would be .. terminated. The thought intensified my guilt. I understood sac come up with any excuses, I found myself saying, “You know… I think we may.” Seeing her eyes light up, I could not bring myself to disappoint her. “Would you like me to take you to the music room?” I asked. Rosalie‘s a facility. “This way, please.” I gestured to her to follow along. She quickly caught up and walked side by side with me. “I haven‘t played the piano since the day my mother died. Even when I could have, I‘d feel alone most of the time, because she couldn‘t play with me.” “Why Rosalie was doing everything she could to fulfill her role. She was brave. I sighed as we made a turn and arrived at the music room.