Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

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.

*Try not to scare him. Maeve will kill me if he takes off,” I said to Robbie as I shook out my stiff

muscles, moving my neck from side to side

I shifted, wobbling a bit as I pawed the ground, testing out my hurt arm. Well, now it was technically my

leg.