Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 1408 - 7 : From Country to Castle

*Saoirse*

I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. That combined with the decadent scent of pine and earth was making me more comfortable than I had felt since Conall had stepped foot in my village.

I was so comfortable. Something gnawed at the edge of my brain. There was something I should be doing. I needed to wake up.

My body bounced, jarring me more into consciousness, and with it came the thoughts my mind had been forcing down.

My eyes shot open.

"Lady Saoirse, are you okay?"

Deja vu hit me. I turned my head to the alluringly smooth, deep voice that sounded from just above me. Warm amber eyes flicked with specks of crimson stared down at me, and it felt like my heart stopped.

"Did you hear me? Are you hurt?" he continued as I stared at him in frozen amazement.

"N-no, I’m fine," I said slowly, my words not wanting to form.

With another bump, his hand squeezed me, holding me secure. That’s when my brain finally comprehended what was going on. I was in a moving car. To be more exact, I was lying down in the back of a car, and my head appeared to be resting on Prince Rhys’ lap.

As the realization hit, I bolted upright.

"Where are we? When can I speak with the king?"

Rhys looked torn between wanting to smile and being concerned. "We are on the way to the castle now. You do not need to worry about the audience with my father right now. The first thing we need to do is get you checked out."

"I’m fine," I repeated my mantra. "I need to see the king. It’s the most important thing. I can’t wait."

"No, you can, Lady Saoirse. If nothing else, I watched you get slammed to the ground, and you have been unconscious for hours." Rhys’ voice was firmer. My eyes looked into his, which were much more crimson than before. "Not to mention the fact that you have burns on your wrists from restraints. So forgive me, but I am not taking no for an answer. You will see the royal physician as soon as we arrive."

His voice rang with finality, and our eyes stayed locked. Even though his words came out as a command, he was looking at me for approval, which made my eyebrows raise in surprise.

"It’s just very important that we have the meeting," I said slowly.

"By the time we reach the castle, the meetings will be done for the day, and the council will be gone until next week anyway. I promise. I will get you the first available meeting."

"Next week!" I exclaimed, my voice sounding loud in the enclosed vehicle. "That’s too long. I don’t have the money to stay in Egoren for days."

"You will not need money to stay," Rhys said as if it was obvious. "You were invited to the capitol for council. You will have a guest room at the castle during your stay."

"Are-are you sure?" For the first time, I sounded uncertain.

"Of course," Rhys said with a slight nod. "It is customary."

I sat back and slid on the leather seat to position myself at the other window seat across from the prince. He dropped his hands as I moved. I didn’t want to admit how much the lack of touch actually affected me.

My eyes turned to stare out the window. I wrapped my arms around my chest. I wouldn’t admit it to Rhys, but now that the surge of adrenaline was wearing off, I could feel aches creeping into my body. Fortunately, nothing seemed too serious.

It could have been worse.

In fact, I couldn’t guarantee that it was over. If I knew Conall, he would not give up and would continue to follow me in hopes of dragging me back to his imagined life with me. A shiver passed through me.

"Are you cold?" Rhys asked, instantly moving to shrug out of his jacket.

"No, I–" I couldn’t get any other words out before he was wrapping the jacket around my front.

"I insist," he said in a low voice, a small smile on his handsome face.

I looked away from his eyes again. I needed to stay focused.

Without looking at him, I could still feel the presence of the man beside me. It was making me anxious, mostly because I had to fight the desire to scoot close to him. The jacket with his scent strewn over me wasn’t helping matters either.

I looked out the window. In the distance, I could see the outline of the capital, which looked like something out of a futuristic dream. Of course, I had seen pictures of the capital before, but seeing it in person was surreal.

It was also much more humbling.

I seemed to zone out, unable to take it all in as we made our way to the castle itself. Before I knew it or remembered how I got there, I was sitting on a table waiting for the royal physician to see me.

There was a light knock on the door. I looked up to see a woman walking in. I felt my eyebrows rise in surprise. Not that I didn’t think a woman could be a doctor, but I had never seen it myself.

"Hello, Miss Saoirse," she greeted. "I’m Dr. Fidelma. The prince has asked me to evaluate you."

"I’m okay, really," I tried to tell her. I didn’t like the attention on me.

"I’ll be the judge of that," she said, but she gave me a warm smile as she stepped forward.

I didn’t know the woman, but something was soothing about her. I found myself relaxing slightly. She didn’t even bother me as she made quick work of my examination. It was thorough, but even then, I wasn’t uncomfortable.

"And you are sure you aren’t in any pain?" Dr. Fidelma asked again. "It could be a sign of internal injuries."

"No, I’m fine." The word was going to start losing meaning with how often I said it.

The doctor sighed and walked over to a cabinet to the side. "I believe you have been through a great deal. It’s possible that there is still adrenaline in your system, blocking the majority of your pain."

She walked back over and handed me a small tub and a little bottle.

"I’m giving you some painkillers and some ointment that should help with the restraint burns and the bruises, but I want you to promise that you will come back if you notice any other problems," she pleaded. "If you get a horrible headache, it could be a sign of severe trauma."

"I promise," I replied automatically. I was unsure if I would follow through with my words, but I just wanted to be done.

Maybe Rhys had been wrong. Maybe there was some way that I could find the king in time to request an audience.

"Then you can leave," she said. "I’ll update Prince Rhys on your condition."

"Thank you," I said, fixing my simple clothes and hurrying toward the door.

As I opened the door to leave the doctor’s office, I found myself feeling disappointed. Instead of the alluring prince on the other side, it was the man who had been driving the car.

He gave a small bow as he saw me, which made me want to blush. I wondered what it was with all of these men.

"I didn’t introduce myself earlier," he said as he straightened up. "I’m Daxton, Prince Rhys’ Beta."

"It’s nice to meet you," I said, producing a small curtsy of my own. "I’m Saoirse Strider, daughter of Alpha Strider of Hunter’s Glen."

"Did the doc give you the all-clear?" he asked. When I nodded, he continued, "That’s good. Prince Rhys will be happy to hear that. He wanted me to give you his apologies that he isn’t here to show you around, but he went ahead to explain the situation and make arrangements with the king to reschedule the meeting as soon as possible."

"He did? That’s great." I felt some of the disappointment and anxiety ease.

"He would like me to guide you to the room you will be staying in for your time here.”

When I nodded, he proceeded to turn and begin walking. I easily fell into step beside him. It felt weird to be on my feet again. I faintly remembered the feeling of Rhys sweeping me up out of the car and carrying me to the doctor’s office.

My face warmed. I looked around, trying to distract myself from the memories. I looked up just in time to see two servants walking past, openly staring at me. When they saw me looking, they quickly turned to themselves in a rush of whispers.

I glanced down at myself, wondering what they were seeing. My clothes were a little rough from my kidnapping experience, but they weren’t in too bad of shape. In fact, besides a few places I would have to stitch or patch, I would probably be able to save the dress.

The real eye-opener was when I glanced at Daxton next to me. My mouth parted slightly in surprise as I noticed his clothes. They were just as elegant and refined as what the prince had been wearing.

I would have fit in better with the servants walking in the opposite direction.

The thoughts twisted in my head. As much as I didn’t want them to affect me, it became more and more apparent the further we walked because more and more people stared. I was being treated as a guest by Daxton, but it was clear to the others that they didn’t understand why.

I began wondering the same thing.

What was I thinking by coming to the castle? I knew that I wouldn’t fit in there. I should have stuck to my guns and insisted Rhys come to Hunter’s Glen instead.

The feelings grew the farther we walked until Daxton stopped in front of a large door. I realized he had been talking to me the entire time, and I hadn’t said anything. Now on top of looking out of place, I was being rude and disrespectful as well.

Daxton turned the doorknob and swung the door inward, standing back for me. "This will be your room for as long as you need it. None of us are very far. If you need anything, just ask the first person you see and they can guide the way."

"Thank you," I said, my voice sounding flat even to me.

"You must still be tired. You’ve been through a lot." Daxton gave me a sympathetic smile. "We collected your bags from the train car and have already put them in the room for you. Make yourself comfortable. You are invited to come down for lunch and dinner as well."

"No," I said a little too quickly. I took a breath before smiling and continuing. "No, thank you. I’m afraid I don’t have anything fit for a royal meal. And I stand out enough as it is. I’ll be fine on my own."

Daxton stared at me for a moment but then seemed to decide against arguing. With another small bow, he bid goodbye and left me to it.

I spent the rest of the day in my room. My stomach made me regret skipping meals, but even the clothes in my bags were not up to any standard that I would feel comfortable sitting around all those fancy people.

Laying in bed, the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t belong here.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I jolted upright, pulling the silk sheets tight around me. My heart began to hammer. Had Conall found me already?

The door opened. Instead of the man I expected to see, a perky young lady smiled as she rolled a cart into the room. I barely had time to notice the food piled on her cart before more maids followed after her pulling along rack after rack of clothes.

My mouth dropped open. None of them said anything as they placed the racks around the room. The first maid, the perky, young one, brought the food closer to me and then handed me a note.

I glanced down at it. I noticed my fingers shaking a little as I slid the card from the envelope to read it.