Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 45 : Stay

*Sasha*

“Your hair is so beautiful," Trina gushed as she brushed through my long, blond locks. Another new friend was doing

my nails, as I had done for her.

“I wish I had those tight curls you have," I responded.

Phoebe sipped her mimosa and then raised her glass to us. “Pedicures next!"

“I like the way you think," Trina said.

It was a lovely afternoon, in a series of lovely afternoons. The women of New Dianny had welcomed me with open

arms. I'd never been so pampered, nor felt so much like I… belonged. There were more dream dancers in New

Dianny that I could exchange experiences with. None of them had my kind of power, but it was still nice to talk to

people who “get" it.

“You know," Trina mused, sharing a wink with another girl, “you should stay here, like, permanently. Make New

Dianny your home."

I blinked at her, startled. “You… you'd really like me to stay?"

“Of course, silly!" Trina said. “You're the coolest person we've ever met!"

“But I bring… a lot of trouble with me," I replied with a wince.

Trina shrugged. “Our Alpha was an accomplished pirate. I'm sure any trouble you bring will just end up walking the

plank."

Laughter bubbled up in me and soon we were all giggling. “Yeah, I got that impression about him," I said.

“There's nothing Alpha Robbie can't handle. Just think about it, okay?" Trina asked.

“Okay," I agreed with a nod. “I'll think about it."

“Oh!" Trina exclaimed. “How excited are you for your birthday?! Luna Alison and Joy have been planning the bash of

the century!"

I blushed. “They really shouldn't go to so much trouble."

“Sure they should! It's not every day a dream dancer comes into her wolf," Trina winked.

“Well… I suppose not, though it must happen here more frequently than anywhere since Lycennia," I said.

“Probably. But it's still a big deal." Trina finished my nails and flopped back on her lounger, soaking up the sun. “And

you'll find out you're mates with that handsome devil you pal around with."

I pushed my hair behind my ear nervously. “Actually, I'm kind of worried about that. I have feelings for him. But

what if he's not my mate?"

“He's your mate," every woman there, including Phoebe, insisted.

“And… you know… there's all the stuff we have going on back home and in the Dark Realm and...." I went on.

“Ugh. Honestly, people in love are SO silly sometimes!" Trina sighed. “If he's your mate, and we all know he is, that

stuff isn't going to matter. Really. You'll just want to be together all the time."

“I already want to be with him all the time," I admitted softly.

“Then you should tell him so," Phoebe said. “I mean, what does this mate business even mean? If my true mate

walked right in front of me right now, you know what I'd be doing? Racing right back to Brady. It's biological, yeah,

but it's also a choice. Why don't you two just decide to stay together regardless?"

I gave that some thought. “Yeah. We could decide to stay together regardless."

“Exactly," Phoebe replied. “Love is love. It might not be a huge rush of wolfy hormones, but it's something deeper

and more important."

“You're right. You're right," I agreed. “I...."

Trina got up and tugged me out of my lounger by the wrist.

“What are you doing?" I asked, stumbling to my feet.

“Well, obviously you have to go talk to him now," Trina said.

“Now?" I repeated.

“Oh yes. Right now. Get it all ironed out before tomorrow," Trina confirmed.

I looked at Phoebe, who was also nodding.

“Best course of action, really," Phoebe said.

All the women were nodding now. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. “Alright, I'll go talk to him now."

A cheer went up as I went back inside the packhouse from the patio.

Lucas was not hard to find. He was brooding in our bedroom, staring at the orb as though it were a snake that was

going to bite him.

“Afraid to touch it again?" I asked, rapping my knuckles gently on the bedroom doorframe.

“How did you guess?" Lucas responded with a lopsided smile.

“Well, considering the fact that it nearly blasted you right out of our cabin the last time...."

Lucas chuckled and covered the orb again with the silk. “I was just wondering what the other orb is going to look

like, where it is, and what the hell we'll be doing with THAT one once we have it."

I sat down on the bed next to him. “That's a lot of questions."

“It is. We've got so much hanging over our heads, and besides that we're both trying to be Royal Engineers," Lucas

said.

“True." I twisted a lock of hair behind my ear. “Um… Lucas?"

“Hmm?" he asked, nestling the orb back in his bag among his clothes.

“I… you know I love you, right?" I began.

Lucas turned back to look at me, frowning in confusion. “... yes…,"

“Do you love me?" I asked him.

“Sasha, you know very well this isn't a conversation we should be having until tomorrow night," Lucas said sternly.

I put my hand on his knee. “I mean it. I mean, Brady's not Phoebe's true mate and they've decided to stay together.

If… if WE'RE not mates, we could do the same. I can't… I can't imagine loving anyone but you."

Lucas patted my hand. “Sasha. I could never deprive you of your true mate. Let's just discuss this tomorrow night,

okay?"

“You don't want to stay with me even if we're not mates?" I whispered, feeling my eyes sting.

“I didn't say that...." Lucas said.

I snatched my hand out from under his and stood, deeply hurt by how calculated he was being about all of this.

“Never mind, Lucas. If being true mates is sooo important to you, maybe I shouldn't be depriving YOU of YOURS."

“Sasha...."

I grabbed the orb out of Lucas's bag over his protests and stomped toward the door. “Don't you dare follow me,

Lucas Black!"

Disappointment washed over me when Lucas didn't follow. Sometimes, men were SO dumb.

I made my way down to the beach, finding a little, hidden alcove just for me. If Lucas was going to be so

disappointing today, then maybe I'd have better luck with the orb.

Tucking my legs under me, I sat lotus-style in the sand and held the orb in my hands, letting my dream dancer

powers unfurl.

Initially, everything seemed to be working as usual. My vision swirled and brought me somewhere… else. Only this

time it was a place I recognized.

I saw myself, sitting in my little clearing all by myself, perched on an old stump. I was perhaps… nine years old? The

book in my lap nearly dwarfed me, but that was the sort of thing I read in those days.

Fondly smiling, I started heading over to see what I'd been reading that day, only to freeze when a bunch of boys

wandered into my clearing.

“Hey, bookworm, haven't seen you around the playground much these days," one of them snarked, filing into a line

across from me. In the line were Lucas and Brady.

“Didn't know you cared," nine-year-old me replied with a shrug, not even looking up from my book.

“I don't," the boy stuttered, glancing around at his cohorts to make sure the others also knew he didn't care.

“Good. Now you can go away," nine-year-old me sniffed, turning a page.

The boy who'd been starting to taunt me turned bright red. “You trying to tell me what to do?"

“I wouldn't dream of it," nine-year-old me deadpanned.

“Sass. You're sassing me right now," the boy said while the other boys snickered at his predicament. He must have

been twelve or older, yet this little wisp of a bookworm was telling him to go take a flying leap.

“Well spotted," nine-year-old me grunted, turning back a page. “Could you just go, please? You're interrupting an

important chapter."

The boy marched up and slapped the book out of my hands, landing it right in the rich, wet dirt around the roots of

the stump. “What did you say to me, freak?!"

Then another boy marched up and sucker-punched the bully in the jaw.

Nine-year-old me looked up from carefully brushing mud off the book to see Lucas squaring up with the boy.

“Hey, Lucas, what gives?" the boy snapped, rubbing his jaw. “You got a death wish or something?"

“Come at me and let's find out," Lucas said, his fists held up in front of him.

The boy growled and swung at Lucas, who punched him in the nose this time.

Blood rolled out of the boy's nose and he made a sound of rage in his throat. “Damn it, Lucas Black! You're dead,

you hear me? You're f*****g dead!"

“Haven't seen any signs of that yet," Lucas snorted.

The boy took another swing at Lucas, who deflected the punch, then got the boy in the ribs.

With a grunt, the boy went down to a knee, holding his ribs. “Fu-uck...."

“Lucas," Brady said. “Maybe you should lay off him now. You don't want to get in trouble."

“Maybe I do. Besides, it's too late for that. This coward's going to go run to his mommy and tell her what big, bad

Lucas Black did to him," Lucas taunted the boy.

The boy snarled. “Hit me with your best shot, Lucas. Go on. I dare you."

“Lucas… really… don't...." Brady begged.

Lucas kneed the boy right in the face, forcing his head to snap back and his whole body to land on the ground.

Then Lucas settled himself on the boy's chest and began punching him mercilessly.

“Lucas… LUCAS!!!" Brady said and he and a few of the other boys ran over to pull Lucas off the bully.

“Sweet mercies of the White Queen, Lucas...." Brady hissed as we all looked at the mess Lucas had made of the

boy.

The boy struggled up to his feet and weaved a bit.

Two boys went to him, each putting an arm around their shoulders.

“I'm not telling my mom," the boy said, spitting blood and raising his chin defiantly. “I'm telling my DAD."

“You can go whine to the Goddess herself, for all I care," Lucas barked back. “You just make sure you're listening–

that all of you are listening–when I tell you that NOBODY CALLS THE FREAK A FREAK BUT ME!!!"

The boys all looked at each other, then nodded in unison, even the bully.

“Nobody calls Sasha a freak but you," they said, almost in the same cadence.

“Good. Now get me to a healer. I think I might have stubbed my toe kicking Jordan's ass," Lucas grumped.

He winked at me as he passed and the others shuffled away.

Nine-year-old me stared after him. Then, true to form, she sat back down and started reading again.

My vision went black and the orb stopped revealing anything to me, even though I tried to direct it back toward the

people of the past I was probably supposed to save. I tried and tried, but nothing happened. No visions came.

Frowning, I set the orb aside, wondering why it had shown me that particular vision.

Was my whole life really wrapped around Lucas Black?