Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 265

Chapter 45: Duck and Run 

Troy

“Look at that thing.” I said to Keaton as we pulled the skiff to shore once again, the high tide beginning to retreat as we dragged the skiff onto the beach. I tied the rope to the stake above the shoreline, double checking the knot before looking back at the dog, who was following Maeve around as if she were a mother duck, and he was the duckling. “That’s it. That’s his name.”

“What is?” Keaton asked, wringing water from his shirt. We had almost capsized the skiff as we broke over the reef where the waves crashed into the shallows with vigor. Keaton had gotten the worst of it, the wave soaking him from the neck down.

“Duck, that’s a perfect name for him.”

“You’re naming the thing now? I thought we weren’t keeping it.”

“Try telling that to Myla and Maeve,” I said, shaking my head.

Robbie was walking towards us, looking out over the water before stopping short of us, allowing us to catch up to him.

“The crewmen we sent out as scouts last night are back,” he said, motioning to the group of men congregating around Olly’s cooking fire. “Pete said they saw no signs of the other skiffs.”

“Any signs of other people?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

“No, not even a scent. They did pick up on a lot of wildlife, though. Pete went a little nuts, according to the others.”

“Well, none of the crew has shifted in weeks. I don’t blame him for feeling the urge to chase lizards through the brush.” Keaton leaned over and shook his wet hair back and forth, spraying me and Robbie with water.

“I could use a shift,” Robbie said, wiping the water from his shirt as he glared down at Keaton.

“Aye, we all could. Go ahead, Rob. Let us know if you run into anything worth noting,” Keaton said as began to walk up the beach ahead of us, his sights on Myla.

“Want to come with?” Robbie asked.

“Sure, why not.” 1 shrugged, glad he asked. I hadn’t shifted since I was at the castle and had access to the grounds.

We walked up the beach for a moment with the intent of letting the others know I would be joining Robbie.

But then I had an idea.

Maeve was sitting on the beach, rolling a seashell in the palm of her hands as we approached. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the Sun with her hand.

“Hey, what’re you—”

“Where’s the dog?” I asked, looking around. Robbie whistled loudly behind me, the sound startling me and making me flinch.

The dog came bounding up the beach towards us, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth.

“How big do you think his brain is?” Robbie asked.

“Pretty small. I mean, look at him,”

“Leave him alone, Troy!” Maeve laughed, patting the dog on the head as he came to a stop in front of her and leaned into her, sitting down on one of her knees as he looked expectantly up at Robbie.

“You’re coming with us, Duck,” I said to the dog. He seemed to understand this. He barked excitedly, his tail smacking Maeve repeatedly in the face.

“Ow!” she squeaked, shielding herself from the attack. Duck bounded past us, zooming across the sand in a wide circle at least three times. Robbie watched in delight, clapping his hands as Duck did a fourth circle, kicking sand in his wake.

“Something’s wrong with that thing,” I said, reaching down and ruffling Maeve’s hair just to annoy her. She swatted my hand away.

“What did you call him? Did you say Duck?”

“Yeah, that’s his name.”

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Chapter US Dexa

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Srce when that’s a terrible name for a dog.”

1’ll tell you later I’m going out for a run with Robbie We’re taking the dog with us.”

She looked a little upset about this, but I couldn’t tell if it was because she couldn’t shift or because we were taking the dog with us. “You might scare ham if you shift

“Hedant just appear out of nowhere, Maeve. He was obviously someone’s pet at one point. We’re just taking him seeing what he can do.”

She pursed her lips looking down at the shell in her hands

“Find some more. We can decorate our tent with them. I said, and she glared up at me, tossing the shelt back into the sand. I’d take you if VOU could shift Maeve.”

“How are you even going to run with your arm still injured)

It feels fine, really i insisted. The break was healing just fine, and the bruising from being tossed across the ship was starting to fade. need to do this. Maeve I’m feeling”

know. It’s fine,” she sighed, stretching her legs out in the sand, Just don’t lose my dog, okay?”

I smiled, crouching down in front of her. Things had been easier between us, but there was still an obvious rift. I kissed her, nonetheless, thankful when she returned the kiss with a soft one of her own.

it was a small win.

I resisted the urge to ruftle her hair again, my hand clenching into a fist to stop myself from messing with her just to see the rush of annoyance color her cheeks.

I caught up with Robbie, who was still watching the dog run excited circles around the camp, and soon we were walking in the dense, humid jungle beyond the beach, reaching the freshwater pool.

We stripped out of our clothes, Duck sitting patiently by the water’s edge.

I started to feel numb, my head beginning to spin.

‘Robbie?’ I turned, looking for him. He was laying in a heap on the ground, back in his human form. I looked down, seeing my fingers instead of the dark brown paws I was expecting.

I saw torches, flames dancing in the smoky air as several figures approached, their faces hidden behind strange, distorted masks.

I fell flat on my face as my arms gave way, the smoke filling my lungs. “Robbie!” | croaked, reaching toward him. But my view of him was obscured by legs. I looked up at the figure as it crouched beside me, tilting its head to the side as it lowered the torch to get a better look at me in the dim, smoke-filled light.

“Get back!” I yelled with all of my might, but my voice came out as a choked cry. What the hell was happening to me?

Robbie groaned as three men picked him up, his feet dragging on the ground as they carried him away.

“Hey! Let him go!” I tried to say, but I had no voice left. A slow, creeping paralyzation was taking over. I couldn’t help but close my eyes, barely noticing as I was picked up and carried away as well.

#*

I woke with a start, my heart practically leaping from my chest as I bent over, my stomach threatening to spill all over my lap. I was slumped against a stone wall, my legs sprawled out in front of me. My legs were tingling painfully as I tried to move them.

“Where the f*ck-”

I saw Robbie slumped in a similar position, dressed in an odd shirt and matching pants made of what looked like coarse, homespun fabric. I looked down, seeing the same fabric on my own body, my arm wrapped in a makeshift sling.

“Robbie!” I hissed. His eyes fluttered as his head fell forward, then back up again, trying his best to wake up.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“I have no idea.” I looked around, seeing nothing but bright sunlight drifting through a break in the stones, the light flooding the space between us. “It’s day, though. We’ve been out since sunset yesterday.”

Robbie nodded his head, then turned to the side, vomiting.

I winced, looking away as my stomach turned painfully.

“Wolfsbane,” Robbie said, his voice cracking.

“Wolfsbane? What’re you—” The realization swept over me. The smoke. The smoke had had a strange smell to it. It had caused us to shift back involuntarily. It knocked us out cold.

And whoever had taken us had been wearing masks.

Suddenly, a door opened, and three men stepped into the room, slamming it behind them. One of the men stepped forward, looking down at Robbie and then over at me. He crouched in front of me, looking into my eyes.

I didn’t have the strength to even turn my head to look at him fully.

“Why are you here?” he asked, his voice lifted in an unfamiliar dialect.

| snorted, shaking my head. “You’re the one who brought us here,” I replied, my mouth numb as I ran my tongue over my lower lip, “Why don’ t you tell me?