Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1256 - 11 : Giving In

Chapter 1256: Chapter 11 : Giving In

*Noah*

Keeping my stare locked on Zara, I let out a sigh. She wasn’t going to drop this because she was as stubborn as I was. I let a silence stretch between us before I finally made the decision, not one I was entirely sold on.

“Fine,” I murmured. “I agree to your plan, if only to prove your fanciful notions wrong once and for all,” I said with a wink.

As expected, Zara rolled her eyes, stubborn as always. It was worth a shot. This back and forth and talk of mystical nonsense was getting on my nerves.

Though, I couldn’t help but feel a bit uncertain about how wrong she could be. She seemed so set on this, with her belief completely unwavering. I didn’t view Zara as stupid, just idealistic.

Could her idealism have some merit? Did this actually mean anything? I pondered this in the silence Zara allowed to stretch between us again for a few moments. I kept my eyes locked on her as I thought things through.

My heart lurched, and I realized some sort of hope was forming within me. That was dangerous because hopes would undoubtedly be crushed when reality hit hard.

There was no such flower. There couldn’t be. Zara’s unwavering faith or not, which was an admirable trait, but in this case, it would be proven wrong.

Letting this flower be found and shown to have no magic, or not finding it at all, would validate everything I’d been saying and set fire to those foolish hopes once and for all.

Refocusing, I stared at her and said in a tired tone, “How long does the wedding need to be delayed?”

“I will need at least two weeks. The flower is in a remote part of the Dark Realm,” she said, causing me to frown deeply.

“What? Where in Egoren?”

“No, it’s in the northern region of the Dark Realm,” she clarified.

“You aren’t going there. Forget it. It’s way too risky.” I said, staring her down.

She returned my stare with a challenging one of her own.

“Yes, I will. Your father is in support of the journey and will be sending me with some Drogomor warriors as well. I will be leaving as soon as possible,” she said.

I scoffed, then shook my head. “You can’t be serious. My father knows where this mysterious flower is and is fine sending you and our warriors there?” I felt a headache coming on and reached up to rub my temples before lowering my hand and returning my stare to her.

Her eyes had never left mine... confident, determined, and utterly gorgeous. I ignored the strong urge that came over me suddenly to shake some sense into her.

“Yes,” she said calmly.

I knew with the Drogomor warriors guarding her she would be fine. But I didn’t like the way I felt about her scouring the Dark Realm at all, though I was certain there was nothing I could say to stop her.

Confusion swirled within me. Why did I care so much? She had everything she needed and would be out of my hair and away from me.

The last thought should have made me happy, but I felt the corners of my mouth tilt downward as my wolf balked at the thought.

Before I could stop myself, I said, “I’m going with you.”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Why?”

There were a few reasons floating in my head, but the excuse I gave her was, “I need to make sure this isn’t some trick.”

I watched Zara’s eyes go from curious to blazing with anger for a moment as she studied me, her strong emotions fading into what felt like sympathy. I almost rolled her eyes. I didn’t need her sympathy.

I watched her as I imagined a silent argument playing out in her head until finally, she nodded.

With a sigh, Zara said, “Fine. You can come with me to make sure the magic I know for a fact is real is no trick.”

I let my light frown fade into a smirk. “That, and you’ll no doubt enjoy my company,” I said smoothly.

“You march around saying my matchmaking is a fairy tale when you’ve spun one of your own,” Zara shot back, and I had to resist the urge to chuckle. Her sass was admittedly very charming.

I was more relieved than I cared to admit that Zara didn’t put up more of a fight.

Deep down, I knew that the Dark Realm wasn’t as bad as it used to be, but still it wasn’t without risk and... my wolf didn’t want her going there without him in case something happened.

She was a pain in the neck, but still a gorgeous, intelligent woman who deserved to be safe despite the trouble she gave me, not that I’d ever outwardly admit that to her. Unsurprisingly, I felt my wolf agree with the sentiment.

I sent a message to Serena to meet me in my study.

***

*Serena*

Making my way to Noah’s study, I frowned to myself, wondering what he wanted. There were still so many details to see to for the wedding. It would be wonderful, and I’d be the Luna of the Drogomor pack like I’d always wanted.

I hoped the matchmaker wasn’t swaying him with thoughts of love. She seemed disappointed when I told her the truth. I wondered if I should have just told her it was true love, but she would have probably seen right through that.

My frown deepened at the idea of everything going to dust because of her attachment to the idea of true mates. I couldn’t be mad at her, though. It was a nice idea for ordinary shifters, not important people like Noah.

Right?

I entered Noah’s study. He was sitting there, his gaze lowered to the table, no doubt lost in thought.

My eyes drew over his chiseled jawline and locked on his blazing blue eyes. I could do worse, that was for sure. He was a handsome man. Even if we weren’t really ‘fated,’ in time, we’d grow to love each other and successfully lead the pack together.

“Hello Noah,” I said sweetly, taking my seat and giving him a wide smile.

His eyes fixed on me, and his expression told me he was both contemplative and bored. I wasn’t sure whether to be concerned by his lack of warmth toward me or not.

“Hello, Serena,” he murmured, studying me for a moment. “We’re going to need to delay the wedding.”

“What?!”

“Yes. I know the news is sudden, but Zara is determined to find some Luna Lily to show her we are ‘fated mates.’ Or, the more likely scenario, this fairy tale is pointless and I can move on from there,” he said.

I felt my chest tighten and lowered my head. “But we both already know our union isn’t fated. It’s practical and reasonable. What will it do to find a flower that only proves what we already know?”

Noah blinked several times as if he didn’t understand my point.

“Who knows? The flower could show we are meant to be,” he said, without a hint of enthusiasm. He clearly did not believe it would.

“Noah if you don’t want to marry me then just say so... I will understand.”

“You will?”

“Of course, I am here for you. If you really want to test the Luna Lily, I’m okay with that. But if you really just want a way out of getting married, then just say so.”

“I am the future heir of this pack. There is no way out of marriage for me. Zara is determined to get this flower, and... it would be better for the pack if we at least say we gave it a try.”

I shook my head. “What Zara does shouldn’t matter,” I murmured. “I have doubts it will benefit the pack, Noah. We shouldn’t postpone the wedding at all. We should try to carry on with it.”

“I know you are looking forward to the wedding, and I am too. Putting this bullshit to rest and moving on with what will be convenient for both of us would be ideal. I just want to make sure the little matchmaker is finally satisfied that we are making this decision with clear and level heads.”

A sinking feeling began to form in the pit of my gut.

“That doesn’t make sense. She put us together. She should be happy with a job well done. She succeeded in what she was trying to do in the first place. The pack has a future Luna. We will produce future heirs,” I tried, my voice breaking a bit. “How could proving what we already know even matter? How could we tell if it is reliable at all if it doesn’t work?”

Noah gave me a strange look. He looked as if he were ready to answer but then changed his mind. Did he in fact want to find his true mate?

I was so close to my dream, to finally be somebody important in this pack and have a little bit of power I could use for their benefit. Delaying this wedding would leave more chance for everything to just fall through.

I couldn’t help the tears that sprung in my eyes and quickly wiped them away.

“Look. This will just be a minor delay,” Noah said in somewhat of an impatient tone. “As soon as we find the Luna Lily and give it a shot, no matter what happens, the wedding plans will be back on track.”

I sighed and nodded, having to cave, in the end. His tone left no room for argument.

Begrudgingly, I nodded. “Fine,” I sighed. I ran our conversation through my head one more time before widening my eyes.

“What is it?” Noah asked when I stared him down, furrowing my brow.

“‘We’? You mean you’re going with Zara?” I asked, bewildered.

Noah nodded, clearing his throat, and saying, “Yes.”

Was there some reason he had to go with her? I tried to shove that worry out of my mind, but it stuck entirely. This was not good.

Opened my mouth to question him but closed it knowing that I wouldn’t like whatever he had to say about it. Finally, I met his gaze.

“I’m coming along too,” I said, my tone now leaving no room for argument.

Noah furrowed his brow, now looking at me again, and eventually nodded. “Of course, you’re welcome to come. But I didn’t think you’d be interested in hiking through the Dark Realm.”

“What!?” I felt my mouth hang open.

I hadn’t known they were going to the Dark Realm. As far as I knew, there was nothing pleasant about that place.

“Sure. At least it will make this process faster. We can find the flower together and use it right then and there,” he reasoned before I could think of an excuse to back out. “I think the pack would love it if we went together to prove our determination.”

“Right,” I agreed, trying not to think of the frightening tales I’d heard of the Dark Realm.

I really wished I could give Zara a piece of my mind. I thought her idealism was cute at first, but now I realized it was just going to get in the way of what I wanted.

I felt resentment begin to bubble within me.

Zara was going to become a thorn, no doubt. If this Luna Lily didn’t work out the way she hoped, what would she do next?