Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 1416 - 15 : The Truth

*Saoirse*

I continued to stand there, staring at Rhys. I was unsure what to say. My feet shifted.

I fumbled momentarily, trying to think of what to say next.

As if the moment couldn’t be even more embarrassing, I felt the flush return to my cheeks.

“I apologize,” Rhys said, putting his hands up in surrender. “That is none of my business. Forgive my rudeness.”

My mind seemed to thaw at last. “It’s a contract marriage arranged by my parents.”

I wasn’t sure why I had to make that known, but it felt horrible to have Rhys think I would actually choose Conall as my husband. Maybe if I had a better option...

Rhys nodded his understanding, but I still felt the need to keep explaining.

“I am the daughter of an Alpha, not to mention the only child and heir of my father’s lineage. And he has no sons so...”

“Hmm.” Rhys stared at me contemplatively. “You don’t seem the type to go along with an arranged marriage.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

His words had hit me hard, maybe because they were a little too true.

“No disrespect. I just meant that you have your own mind. Your father told you that this beast stuff was nonsense, but you did not just stand by and go with what he said,” Rhys pointed out.

“Because that’s what was best for the pack.” My voice was firm. “And so is a strong marriage. Our pack needs a strong leader and the alliance with Conall’s pack.”

It was true. That was the only reason I had put up with Conall for as long as I had. It was why I had agreed to the arrangement in the first place. I should have told him I had no intention of going through with it now.

But Rhys looked surprised at my answer again, making me frown.

I looked away from Rhys, unable to keep looking into his eyes. I was afraid of what judgment I might see.

When my eyes left his, they naturally drifted toward the area in the woods that would lead me to the clearing. Rhys remained silent. He was probably pitying me and my poor life again.

I was too on edge to turn back and see if this was the case. I decided to walk forward toward the trees. As soon as I passed the small line, the familiar area spread out in front of me.

The scorched earth... The sulfur smell... The lack of wildlife... The dead vegetation...

“Wow.”

Rhys had stepped forward with me and was observing the evidence in person for the first time. I risked a side glance at him to monitor his face.

Rhys reached into his pants pocket as he stared around with a serious face. His hand reached out to me, and I automatically put my hand up in return.

“Let’s collect our evidence,” Rhys said as he handed me a compact camera.

This was our evidence to get the king’s full backing.

I couldn’t help the small smile that spread across my lips.

After a quick lesson on which buttons to push, I moved around quickly, trying to take as many pictures as possible. All the while, I was hoping to find more evidence.

Rhys stayed close on my heels, following my every turn as he looked around with a scrutinous expression. He looked like he was looking for something in particular.

“Was any of this in your visions?” I asked. My voice sounded louder than it should in the barren clearing.

“I can’t be sure,” he replied in a tight voice.

As if unknowingly, he stepped closer to me. I could almost feel his skin as he stood so close our clothes brushed. His visions had made him paranoid, and his weird promise to keep me safe was controlling his actions.

He was the people’s protector. From the little time I had known him, it was obvious that he cared about his people. It was pretty admirable. There weren’t many people I had met who were truly as selfless as he appeared to be.

“What’s that?” he asked, his eyes catching something at the edge of the tree line.

I frowned. I hadn’t noticed that before.

“I’m not sure,” I whispered, the noise still sounding too loud. “Let’s go check it out.”

I pulled up the camera again as we got closer and began to take pictures. On the edge of the trees, we could only see a mass of wood. In reality, it turned into a tall circular mound of branches. Even when we got to the edge, I couldn’t see the top.

It was tall.

I wondered how I had missed this before. The branches had blended into the woods so well, and I had never made my way to this side of the clearing.

“What do you think–”

Before I could finish my question, a large screech made me stumble back. My eyes shot up to where the sound came from. My heart dropped as I saw the terrifying winged beast swooping down toward us.

Rhys was in front of me.

The creature was coming. I could see its large talons. In my head, I remembered how it had snatched up the large stag like it was nothing. It had reached out and spread its wings at the last moment.

I clenched the back of Rhys’ shirt, and he seemed to awaken. Quicker than I would have thought possible, he twisted around and grabbed me, pulling me down and to the side. His body was on top of mine, covering me, but I could hear the woosh as the wings flapped loudly.

From under his arm, I saw the creature climbing back to the treetops.

“Hurry, it’s getting away!” I yelled.

Rhys instantly jumped off of me, pulling me up with him. I fumbled with the camera.

I was supposed to be getting evidence. I inwardly yelled at myself for not taking a picture of the damn thing. My fingers found the buttons they needed, but I was already losing sight of the beast.

Without thinking, I began to run, trying to get a good picture of it. Without a doubt, this was the proof I needed. The adrenaline and excitement were building as I knew we had done it. The king’s council couldn’t deny this.

But then the excitement soured and turned to horror.

Rhys growled from beside me. “It’s turned. It’s heading for the village.”

I knew he was right. He didn’t even need to say the words. I knew.

My feet picked up their pace. I was sprinting as hard as I could towards my people. The only thing that mattered now was saving them.

The cost did not matter.

“I’ve mind-linked my men,” Rhys said, easily keeping pace with my sprint. “They’ll warn everyone.”

That little bit was comforting but not enough to get me to stop. I had one focus. I had to help.

When the screams started, I felt like my heart was going to burst from my chest with the effort I exerted.

“Easy, Saoirse,” Rhys said tensely.

He had to be joking.

We were almost there. The trees we had been sprinting through started to thin. I searched the sky for any sign of where the creature was.

“It’s gone,” Rhys said in a tight voice.

I whipped around to look at him, and he tapped his head. I forgot he used mind link.

I didn’t slow down.

When we burst through the edge of the tree line, I could see the chaos happening in my village. People were running around, still screaming, and pointing to the sky.

An older woman was closest to us and seemed to notice our appearance first. She rushed over, looking frantic.

“Prince Rhys, Prince Rhys, you have to save us,” she sobbed. “I saw the creature. It’s real. It was here. You have to save us.”

The rest of her words didn’t make much sense, but there were plenty of voices to fill their spot. More and more people noticed us and came up to Rhys, begging for help.

I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to take action.

I tried to move as yet another person stepped in front of us, grabbing Rhys’s hand like it was the only thing keeping them on earth. When I tried to move, I found Rhys’s other hand snaking around my waist and pulling me to him.

“Don’t leave,” Rhys whispered quickly in my ear.

I stared at him. This time, I had a look of surprise. I questioned how he could possibly take his promise to protect me this seriously. Why was he trying so hard to save me?

There had to be something I was missing.

Even with that thought, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away from the grip on my side. Rhys’ touch seemed to be the only thing keeping me grounded, keeping me on earth...

Keeping me sane.

“It’s not the monster from my dream,” Rhys said with a steadying breath.

“What do you mean?”

“This beast, or dragon, it looks... smaller.”

“Smaller?” I gasped. That beast had been enormous.

“Saoirse!” A voice yelled out, and my gaze shot up.

Two contradicting emotions flashed through me as I saw my father running toward me. I felt relief that he was okay and sad because upon my father’s appearance, Rhys’ arm dropped from my skin.

He surprised me by actually pulling me in for a hug when he reached me.

“I’m alright, Dad,” I said, trying to assure him.

“Why aren’t you in your room? You could have been killed!” he exclaimed.

“I-uh-well, you know how I am, Dad, I–” I stumbled.

“This is why you listen, Saoirse!” Conall cut in. He seemed relieved, but his relief wasn’t at all comforting as he stepped forward and grabbed my hand.

Rhys seemed to stiffen next to me. When I glanced over, he was entirely focused on my father.

“Why are we even talking about this right now?” I asked in frustration. “You just saw proof that I was right. We have to go find this thing.”

There was a pause from everyone around us.

“Your Highness, it appears that the threat our pack faces is true,” my father said, speaking to Rhys instead of me. “I am sorry for objecting to your presence here and would appreciate your cooperation now.”

“That is what I am here for,” Rhys said, glancing at me. “What is it you need from me?”

“We have to follow the creature. We have to figure out where it’s hiding. We can’t sit around and wait for another ambush.” My father’s voice carried to everyone around us. “We must face this threat.”

“I can lead you,” I said without hesitation.

“No.” Three male voices echoed back at once.

It was my father’s voice that took the lead now. “Saoirse, you need to stay put. Conall can guide Rhys and his men deeper into the mountains to see what we can find. You no longer need to be involved in this matter.

“What?” I asked in stunned outrage. “But I–”

“Do as you’re told,” Conall said firmly. “You will do far more good here than with us.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” I said, looking around at all of them.

My eyes landed on Rhys last, wanting him to come to my defense. His eyes flashed crimson again, and he seemed to be at war with himself.

“Daxton,” Rhys said, breaking the long silence, “please take Lady Saoirse back to her room and make sure she stays in the pack house.”

My mouth dropped open.

I felt Daxton’s hand grip mine, but I ripped my arm out of his. The touch hadn’t been half as nice as Rhys’, and now my blood was boiling.

But looking at the three men standing firm, I knew I had no choice. There would be no convincing them. My words would fall on deaf ears.

That was starting to become too usual.

I couldn’t help but glare at Rhys one more time as I turned and started to walk away, feeling more betrayed by him than the other two. The look of guilt on his face didn’t make me feel any better.

All I could think about was Rhys going after that beast.

Fear, not for myself, twisted in my stomach. But there was nothing I could do about it.

Or was there?