Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 71: How Did You End Up Here Too?

*Ciana*

At my parents' house, I waited for Warren to get back. Things with that fake Ciana must have been

going well because it was taking a while for him to return.

I stood up and started pacing around the living room. Warren was taking longer than I thought. A part of

me started to worry about him, but he was Prince Warren. Not even Beta Raymond was stupid enough

to move against a prince. I knew

Warren could take care of himself.

My mind kept wandering back to the man I'd seen, Tallis. Well, that was what Nelson called him, but he

just felt like Theo.

He stood like him, talked like him, and even had his scent. I'd been around the Dark Prince enough to

know the kind of person he was, and this Tallis just reminded me of Theo.

Although, he did look different once I got the chance to get a closer view of him.

But, if I could disguise myself well enough that people thought I was a boy, and if "Fake Ciana" could

use magic to look like me, why couldn't someone do the same with Theo?

Maybe Theo was trying to disguise himself as an unknown carnival worker. But this was Prince Theo!

There was no reason for him to do so.

First of all, he hadn't cared that I was leaving, he hadn't even come to say goodbye to me. Why would

he follow me all the way to my pack? Why would he care what was going on in my pack?

He'd made it pretty clear in the days before I left that he didn't care.

Besides, if that Tallis guy was Theo, why try to hide it, especially from me? The only reason Theo would

come here would be to make good on his word and help my pack. Not because he cared about me but

because he was keeping his word as a prince. But then, he wouldn't have to hide his identity from me.

Sighing, I rubbed my hands on my thighs and sat down on the couch.

As soon as my butt hit the cushion, the doorknob clicked and Warren walked through the front door

with a grin on his face.

"I take it your chat went well?" I asked, jumping up to greet him.

'He nodded. "Your look alike invited me on a date. We'll meet

up three nights from now in the packhouse gardens," he said.

Something flickered in his eyes and his smile fell slightly.

"Packhouse? So she didn't want to come back here?" I murmured to myself, but that didn't matter. "Isn't

that a good thing?"

"Yes, it is a good time for me to fish more information out of her. I'll see if I can poke some more holes

in her identity. It could help later," he suggested.

"That's a good idea. I'd say, mission accomplished for the night," I grinned at him.

"Agreed," he said with a nod. Warren sighed heavily and headed to the couch, flopping down.

"But you're not happy. I'm sorry that I forced you into doing this."

We were getting exactly what we wanted, but Warren obviously still felt bad tricking a young girl.

I sat in a chair across from him and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "You know, you

truly have a good heart. If this is getting too hard, we can figure something else out. I don't want to see

you suffer."

Warren's lips quirked up. "I said I'd help, Ciana. Besides, I can't just sit around when I know there is

someone trying to steal your life and your identity. You don't deserve that. You're an Alpha's daughter!"

"I really appreciate what you are doing," I added. "I hope you understand how much it means to me

and my people."

***

Nelson's traveling carnival had set up a large tent on Alvar territory. It wasn't unusual for traveling

entertainment groups to show up from time to time in different pack territories. They didn't belong to

any pack, but they had to follow the laws and rules of whoever's territory they were in.

I couldn't imagine not having a pack and family. I loved mine too much, which was why I was so

determined to stop Raymond from his insane plan to rebel against the crown.

After a good night's rest, my suspicions of Tallis hadn't diminished any. I put on my disguise so that no

one in my pack could recognize me and headed to the carnival tent to find Nelson and figure out

whatever I could from him about this Theo lookalike, or feelalike, to be precise.

It would be too much of a coincidence for there to be a Ciana and Theo imposter in my pack at the

same time.

The tent was busy. I saw a few women walk by on their hands. Others were dressed in glittering

unitards, trapeze slung over their shoulders. One burly, hairy man was walking around with a bull whip

coiled around his arm.

It looked like they were getting ready for a big performance.

"Hey, you're the young lord from last night. Good day!" Nelson greeted me when he saw me, laughing

heartily and clutching his chest.

"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I just dropped by to learn more about your performance program,

is that okay?" I asked using a deep voice, sounding as casual as possible.

"Of course! I can tell a fellow carnival fan when I meet one.

Come to my office," he said, beckoning me to follow.

Nelson's office was a small corner of the tent blocked off with red, silk curtains. He used a collapsible

table for a desk and old milk crates for a filing cabinet.

I could hear snarls and growls from animals in another section of the tent. There was also a sharp

cracking sound. Probably the bullwhip that animal tamer had been carrying around.

"It sounds like you have some pretty extreme acts in your carnival," I said when the whip cracked

again.

"We've got it all," Nelson said, rummaging through the papers on his makeshift desk. "We've got exotic

animals, high flying trapeze swingers, jugglers, clowns, and a tightrope walker. I can assure you, we

have the finest array of performing artists you'll ever see in addition to normal rides."

"I bet," I muttered.

I needed to find out more about Tallis, but I didn't want to be too obvious. I had to keep it focused on

the carnival. That was something I figured Nelson would talk about all day long.

"Here you go," he said, finally fishing a program pamphlet out. He handed it across the desk.

I flipped through the pamphlet and saw pictures of the animal tamer and trapeze artists. Nelson was

featured on the cover, too, but there wasn't a single picture of Tallis or any mention of him. The other

performers were named in the sections about their acts.

"I don't see Tallis in the program," I commented, using that as my perfect segway to bring him up again.

Nelson shrugged casually. "My little brother likes to think he can make it on his own. He tends to get in

trouble with that bad attitude of his. So, he comes and goes. I help him whenever he gets himself in a

tight mess."

"What are older brothers for?" I asked, grinning at Nelson.

He chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"I've never understood him, though I've tried. He has always been so surly and bad tempered, but he's

never struggled with the ladies, if you know what I mean. They always flock to him.

I'm a successful, attractive, nice guy and it isn't the same for me." Nelson sighed and shook his head.

"Girls like bad boys," I commented.

The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them and I hated myself for saying that.

"Do you have sisters or female friends who are interested in my brother, then?" Nelson asked, arching

an eyebrow.

I set the pamphlet back on his desk, shaking my head rapidly. "No. Not in that regard. I did have some

questions about his act, though. Where can I find him?"

"Ahh, I see that carnival spark in your eye," Nelson teased.

He turned away from me and looked at a standing white board in the corner of his temporary office.

There was a very complicated, color coded schedule written on the white board.

I couldn't make sense of it, but Nelson seemed to know exactly what it said.

"Tallis is in the pack square with some of our visual arts performers, you know the woman with a beard,

strongest man in the world, those acts that people can enjoy without sitting down for the full

performance."

"Thanks."

In the pack square, there were a lot of performers already drawing in a crowd. I kept my hood up and

my head down to avoid being noticed. I still caught a few of the incredible stunts the performers were

doing.

There was a contortionist that could bend and twist in ways I didn't think were possible. A fire eater was

juggling flaming torches and swallowing them. There were a few hula hoop dancers putting on an

incredible show.

So many oohs and ahhs went through the gathered onlookers.

I was grateful for the performers because it meant people were distracted and no one noticed me

moving through the crowd.

When I found Tallis, he was standing in the middle of the square while a bunch of performing artists

worked to set up their collapsible stages. He was standing there, arms crossed, deep scowl on his

brow, and just staring off into space.

I rolled my eyes. Yup, that was a Theo thing to do.

Not only did he resemble Theo in his figure and voice, but he emulated the prince's posture and

expressions, too. That definitely couldn't be a coincidence.

I pushed my hood back and pulled my hair loose, sidling up beside him as casually as possible. He just

kept staring off into space like he was deep in thought. He probably hadn't even hoticed me

approaching.

I wanted to test him, get a real reaction out of him and see if I could throw him off guard.

"So, how did you end up here, too, Your Highness?" I asked, glancing sideways at him.

Tallis sniffed and turned toward me slightly. His scowl deepened even more and I couldn't see into his

eyes.

"What do you mean? I don't even know you," he snarled gruffly.

I took a half step back, a little taken aback by his harshness. Nelson was right, he did have an attitude

problem.

"You remind me of someone," I said, keeping my voice steady. I shrugged. "Rather, I thought you were

someone else."

Tallis grunted and shook his head, looking down his nose at me, like I was an insignificant bug.

"What's wrong with you? My brother told you last night that I' m not who you are looking for."

"I, um..."

"Get away from me," he warned. However, seeing that I didn't move, he gave another order instead.

"You stay right here!"

Then he stalked away.

I stared after him, mouth agape.

With an attitude like that, he could definitely be the Dark Prince