Date With the Breeder

*Maddox*

This is a mistake….

I can’t help but think perhaps I should not have arranged to take Isla out on a date. After all, I haven’t dated anyone in… years. Not since Rebecca and I were first introduced. That was almost ten years ago.

At the time, we’d just discovered we were fated mates, and I was so excited to get to know her. She was gorgeous, and I wanted so very much to touch her in every way possible.

But Rebecca was a lady, and she had a reputation to maintain. I had to bide my time with her, waiting until we were engaged before we ever even kissed.

We married a few months after we established our mated bond. After that… everything changed.

Rebecca was a wild woman in the bedroom, completely inhibited in every way. The woman I had been dating and the creature I encountered in the bedroom seemed like polar opposites, and I was shocked with all of the positions and kinky toys she wanted to try.

Personally, I preferred two or three positions that Rebecca thought were boring. But… I did what she wanted, not wanting to be teased for being too “vanilla.”

It was Rebecca’s cravings that eventually led to her demise….

Something told me, Isla would be different. But I had no way of knowing for sure.

The other night, when I had been drugged, I had pounced on her, and she’d responded favorably.

Perhaps my little virgin Breeder would be different in the bedroom as well.

Straightening my tie, I reminded myself that I wasn’t wooing Isla. She wasn’t a woman I was dating so that I could decide whether or not I wanted to marry her.

She was simply a girl I was getting to know before I ravished her and eventually impregnated her, assuming all went as planned.

I hadn’t even sent her to the pack healer’s office yet to make sure she was even capable of carrying my child. Nor had I checked Alpha Earnest’s claim that Isla was a virgin. I would find that out for myself soon enough. What she’d done before she got here was none of my business, so long as she wasn’t diseased. A simple blood test would reveal that much, so I should probably get that done.

I just didn’t want to make her nervous when it was clear she was already frightened to be here.

So… this date was for what? To calm her nerves? To make her think I am a nice guy? To see if we are compatible?

I didn’t know for sure, but after I invaded her room and left her trembling beneath me, I felt I owed her a few niceties.

“You look handsome,” Beta Seth says from my living room area as I walk out.

I grumble at him. “If only you were the girl I am trying to impress.”

He chuckles. “What’s not to like?”

I shrug. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Seth.” I would never admit that to anyone else. “What if she falls in love with me, and it turns out I can’t stand her?”

He laughs louder. “I don’t think that’s possible. Isla is a lovely, sweet girl. I know the kind of girl you like, and she fits the description.”

From what he’s saying, she’s not so much like Rebecca. Even when we just first started dating, before I knew what kind of an animal she was in the bedroom, I wouldn’t have used the word “sweet” to describe her. Rebecca had biting wit and was always thinking of something clever to say.

Isla only spoke when spoken to from what I could tell. She was timid and quiet. I couldn’t imagine she had a lick of quick wit to exchange in banter with me.

I was about to find out.

“Good luck,” Beta Seth says as I head out the door. I turn and smile at him and then go to Isla’s room, which is just down the hall.

I’ve requested we have our dinner served in a private dining room overlooking the rose garden, one where we are less likely to have someone walk in on us. Zabrina was the type of woman who would hunt me down just to try to drive me crazy.

I’d be happy when she left the castle…

A sharp knock on the door, and I hear scurrying on the other side. My stomach twists a bit. I am nervous, and I don’t know why. It’s just a servant girl I’m taking out to dinner, after all—isn’t it?

Visions of her naked bottom fill my mind, the way she felt beneath my body, the taste of her tongue in my mouth….

“Your Majesty!” Poppy says, bowing low as she opens the door.

I wish I could send her away sometimes, too. “Hello, Poppy,” I say, but my eyes aren’t on the maid.

They are on the maiden.

Isla is standing near her bed wearing a sapphire blue dress that makes her eyes twinkle. She is gorgeous, and I can’t even hear what Poppy is popping off about as I walk into the room.

Suddenly, I feel like I should’ve brought a gift—flowers, jewelry, half my kingdom….

“Hello, Isla,” I say to her.

She dips her head. “Hello, Your Majesty,” she says, looking up at me through her long eyelashes.

“Shall we?” I offer her my arm, and she comes forward, slipping her slender arm through mine, and I lead her to the door.

“Have a good time!” Poppy shouts, as if she is Isla’s mother.

The scent of vanilla and roses wafts through the air. She smells lovely, almost edible.

We walk down the hallway to the stairs, and I attempt to make small talk. “How have you been?” I ask her.

“I’ve been well,” she says, “thank you. How have you been, sir?”

I sigh. “We’ve talked about this, Isla.” I chuckle a bit. “You can call me Maddox.”

“Beg your pardon, si—uhm… Maddox.”

The way my name comes out of her mouth makes my groin tighten, though I can tell she is hesitant to use my first name. She’s so damn polite, she just can’t seem to take my word for it that I’m not offended by her lack of formality.

“I’ve been busy,” I admit as we climb the stairs. I hold her hand, rather than her arm, making sure she doesn’t slip in her heels. She takes her time, gripping the railing on the other side. I can tell she’s not used to walking in this sort of a get-up—heels and a gown. She looks natural enough in it, because she’s so beautiful, but clearly, her family is not of the social status that would generally get invited to the sort of affairs where one would be required to dress this elegantly on a regular basis.

“I’m sorry you’ve had so much to do,” she says. I look at her, and she smiles shyly at me.

“It’s always the case,” I assure her, and she nods. I think I see her smile falter a bit. Perhaps she doesn’t like the idea that I might not always have enough time for her.

That was Rebecca’s biggest complaint.

That and she wanted it so hard, I would have to be a jackhammer to completely satisfy her….

We arrive at the dining room and I open the door for her. Isla thanks me and walks in, her eyes lighting up at the beautiful space.

It’s quaint, only one table presently, with carved wooden accents on the walls and a painted ceiling depicting a lovely ball from a few centuries ago. The floor is walnut, the same wood as the carvings and the wainscoting, and as I pull out a chair for her, I see her eyes widen as she continues to look around the room.

Soft violin music plays in the background. I had considered having live musicians, but I don’t want anyone else nearby. The candlelight flickers as I pull out my seat across from her, watching her take it all in.

“Do you like it here?” I ask her.

“It’s beautiful,” she says, smiling, her cheeks pinking.

“Out the window, there’s a lovely view of the rose garden.” I pull the drapes back so she can see.

Isla gasps. “That garden is so beautiful! The one out my window is as well, but this one….”

“This is the prize garden of the castle,” I assure her. “The garden out your window, the Luna’s Garden, isn’t quite as well maintained.” It is full of Rebecca’s favorite flowers, but since I never go there, the gardeners do not spend as much time as they used to… before.

“I just love gardens,” Isla says, beaming at me.

I make a note to be sure to bring her flowers the next time I take Isla out on a date.

The staff steps in quickly and brings the first course. I know she is confused about the forks, so I make a point of saying, “Let’s see, oh yes, it’s this little one on the outside,” so that she doesn’t need to feel embarrassed.

As we eat, we talk about our lives. She doesn’t have much to say. I ask her about her family, and she says, “Honestly, I miss them so much, it’s hard to talk about them.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say. “Perhaps you would like to call them tomorrow?”

Her eyes light up, but then she shakes her head. “My parents can’t afford a phone.”

“There must be some way to speak to them,” I assure her.

She shakes her head, “Not that I know of.”

I will figure that much out. “Do you have siblings?” I know what Earnest has told me, but there’s no way to know for sure that what he’s said is true.

“I have five younger brothers and two older sisters,” she tells me. She smiles when she mentions them.

“What are their names?” I ask her as the first-course ends and the second one begins.

“My sisters are Kenna and Brandy. They’re married and live in other packs. My brothers are Christopher, Jeremy, Benjamin, Ryan, and Blake,” she says.

“And you’re close with all of your brothers?”

“I am,” she says. “I don’t see my sisters much, but my brothers and I have always been close. Especially Ben….” Her voice fades a bit. My brow furrows with concern. She shakes her head, and I decide she just must miss him the most. “Anyway, I’m not sure what they would think of all of this.”

“What do you mean?” I ask her.

She shrugs. “Well, my parents have very high moral standards. They feel that a woman should only have relations with her fated mate and then only after marriage. So….” She shrugs again, and I understand.

“You are afraid they would be disappointed in you?”

She nods.

“Well, they should be glad that you’ve paid off their debts,” I remind her.

“I hope so, but there’s no way to know for sure if Alpha Earnest actually forgave their debt.” She purses her lips together and averts her eyes, looking out the window.

“What do you mean?” I spear a piece of meat with my fork but wait for her to speak before I begin to chew.

“Well, it’s just… Alpha Earnest is not always a man of his word, and I am not completely convinced that he didn’t just take whatever relief he was given but not pass it along to my family.”

“So, it’s your family that owes the debt to him, not you. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” she tells me.

It really doesn’t seem fair that she’s the one here, paying off a debt that isn’t her own.

Perhaps, I should send her home….

Can I even do that at this point?

I can’t imagine letting her go.

Besides, technically speaking, a father can do whatever he’d like to repay a debt whether it belongs to one of his children or himself. It seems like an archaic law, but that’s the way it is.

Yet, I find myself saying, “Well, after a few weeks, if you are terribly unhappy here, perhaps I can let you go.”

Her eyes widen as she looks up at me. I hope she will say that she is perfectly happy here, but all she says is, “Thank you.”

I nod and we go on about finishing our meal. We talk about other things. She asks about my family, and I tell her I don’t have one. My parents are dead, and I have no siblings, just a few distant cousins. Isla is saddened about this, telling me that having a close family is so important to her.

I love to listen to her speak. Her voice is so sweet and soft, almost like a melody. She is intoxicating in every way.

When we are done with our dessert, I stand and offer her my hand. “Would you like to dance?” I ask her.

Isla’s eyes flicker from my face to my hand and then back again before she swallows hard and says, “No."