Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 1457 - 56 : Wedding Day

*Saoirse*

The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping, yet the butterflies in my stomach still wouldn’t go away.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Rhys said softly, tightening his arms around me and pressing his lips softly to my neck from behind. “I can’t wait to marry you today.”

That was right. It was our wedding day.

“Mm,” was all I could manage to utter back. I was too afraid to open my mouth.

“Are you nervous?” Rhys asked, sounding like he was torn between humor and concern.

“More excited than anything,” I said reassuringly. “But yes, I am nervous too.”

“Don’t be,” Rhys said, pressing his lips to my skin again.

I had to admit, the feeling of his lips on my skin was causing the nerves to go away, but mostly because a different feeling was taking its place.

“Everything is going to be fine,” he whispered, his lips moving lower.

Despite the heat growing deep inside, I couldn’t keep my thoughts to myself. “It just seems selfish.”

Rhys paused in his actions and pulled back slightly. “What does?”

I twisted in Rhys’ arms so that I could face him. His brow was furrowed in worry again, so I lifted my thumb and gently smoothed out the line.

“It just seems so selfish that I can be so happy,” I said, allowing myself and Rhys to smile before continuing. “Especially while my people and the dragons are suffering so much. Hunters Glen is in a state of unrest while I am in a state of bliss.”

Rhys seemed to consider my words, the smile still stuck to his lips. He reached forward and brushed back a piece of hair from my face. I curved my face into his hand, relishing the touch.

“First, I am glad you are so happy,” Rhys said, leaning forward to kiss my forehead lightly. “And second, I promise that as soon as this wedding is complete, we will have no problems in helping both situations. I assure you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the dragons and pack members will have anything they need.”

I leaned up and kissed him hard, unable to contain my smile now either. Even though they were just words, I felt a large weight lift off my chest. If Rhys said something, then I knew I could rely on it. My feelings weren’t completely gone, but they were much lighter given his promise.

The kiss deepened as we lay on his bed. I felt the heat start to build within me again. Rhys seemed just as excited as he rolled on top of me, pinning me to the bed with his body and his lips.

A knock on the door caused us both to groan.

“We’ll just have to save it for tonight,” Rhys leaned down to whisper in my ear.

A shiver passed over me as I thought about his words and the anticipation they brought. We would save it for tonight, our wedding night.

I threw the blanket over myself as Rhys made his way to answer the door. He only opened the door a crack, but I could tell who was on the other side just by the muffled voice. Daxton was Rhys’ best friend, and Beta, which meant that I was around him almost as much as I was around Rhys.

“The fun begins,” Rhys said with a laugh. “Just let me say goodbye.”

Rhys shut the door and walked back over to me.

“I thought only girls were supposed to take all day to get ready,” I said with a smile, sitting up as he got closer.

“Oh, the woes of being a prince,” Rhys said with an exaggerated eye roll.

I thought he was just going to lean down and give me a quick kiss. Instead, he grabbed my waist and yanked me up. Before I knew what was happening, my body was curved into his, and his hand was fisted in my hair as he kissed me fiercely. My body naturally responded, and my fingers dug into his back through the loose material of his shirt.

By the time he pulled away, I was completely breathless.

“Goodbye, beautiful,” Rhys panted against my lips. “I’ll see you at the altar.”

“Can’t wait,” I somehow managed to say.

Rhys’ answering smile made any more words impossible. I just watched as he grabbed something off his nightstand and left the room, Daxton greeting him again on the other side.

I sat in silence for a moment, still catching my breath and trying to process the emotions of the day. I started as I realized it was my wedding day, and I needed to get a move on too. People were probably already waiting for me in my room.

Sure enough, by the time I made it to my room, the team of attendants was already there and antsy to get started. I was happy to see that my mother wasn’t there quite yet. I knew she wasn’t dumb, but I didn’t need her to see me showing up to my room in the morning with a still-made bed.

A sense of calm passed over me as the team began to work. I hadn’t expected to feel calm at all with the hecticness of what was happening. The fact that the day had finally come and I had done everything to prepare for it made me feel like nothing was getting in the way. If something went wrong, then we would just have to fix it.

I was getting married, and nothing could ruin that.

However, that thought would prove false as the day went on.

It was getting later and later, and we were just starting to add all of the finishing touches to me. My mother showed up a couple of hours after the team. She had helped them get me finished all while getting herself ready.

My mother looked gorgeous. I thought she had looked nice the night before at the rehearsal, but it was nothing compared to what she looked like now. She would be the perfect compliment next to me as she walked me to the altar.

“The queen generously allowed me to wear this for tonight,” my mother informed me. “We both thought it would be more fitting than one of the dresses I made.”

“I love your dresses, Mom,” I lied, trying to make my humble mother take pride in herself. “I will admit, this one looks absolutely stunning on you. What use would you have had for a dress like this in Hunters Glen? I’m sure you could make something just like it if you wanted.”

My mother looked at herself in my mirror, truly examining the dress. “You know, I think you are right. The design doesn’t seem too difficult. If I just tweaked my pattern slightly in the hips and added...”

She continued to speak, but I got up to answer a quick knock that had sounded at my door. Most of the women around me were busy cleaning up, so they hadn’t noticed the knock either. It didn’t bother me to get it anyway. I was starting to get restless. I could count the minutes until the ceremony now, not just the hours.

When I opened the door, I was surprised to see a little girl standing outside. “Lady Saoirse?”

“Yes?” I asked in return.

“I have an urgent message from Prince Rhys,” she said. Her eyes were unfocused as if she was trying to recite something from memory. “Prince Rhys regrets to say that he had to step away to handle an emergency crisis.”

“What?” I asked, the panic clear in my voice.

“Oh, and he gave me this to give to you,” she said, handing me a small piece of paper.

With that, and without waiting for a reply from me, the little girl took off down the hall. My eyes followed her as my brain tried to catch up with what was happening. Eventually, I looked down at the paper in my hand.

It was just a small piece of paper folded over a couple of times. My fingers shook as I slowly unfolded the paper to find the hastily scribbled note inside.

“Saoirse,

I’m so sorry. An emergency has come up with Alexa, and I must help. I promise I won’t let this delay our wedding. See you at the tree at sunset.

Rhys”

All feelings of calm were gone. However, my brain wasn’t sure what feelings to let take their place.

On the one hand, anger was playing a big role. What could have possibly happened to Alexa to warrant his involvement on our wedding day? Could nobody else help her? She probably didn’t have anyone else who liked her enough to help her. I sure didn’t.

Along with those feelings came feelings of suspicion. The timing was just too convenient for me to believe that something actually happened to Alexa. The woman had just been threatening to ruin my marriage and wedding to Rhys, and then she just happened to have an emergency requiring his attention.

It was too suspicious.

That brought out the strongest feelings of all: fear and doubt. If Alexa was behind this, I was sure she intended to sow doubt between me and Rhys. As much as I hated it, I knew that it was working.

While I knew she was behind this, I wondered how Rhys could not know. Was he that blind to what Alexa was doing? She could have laid the trap, but that didn’t explain how he fell for it.

Plus, it was our wedding day.

Tears threatened the corners of my eyes, and I felt a sob working itself up my chest. Nothing had happened yet. I couldn’t get worked up. He had promised this wouldn’t affect our wedding. I had to believe him.

And I had to make sure that I didn’t cry and ruin the hours of work these women had just spent on me.

I finally stepped back into my room and rushed to the window, cracking it open so that the fresh air could dry the tears that had started to form and settle the panic still working its way up. I was indifferent to the other people in the room, which was why I jumped when my mother softly touched my arm.

“Saoirse,” she said slowly as if she was talking to a spooked animal. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

I tried to open my mouth to talk, but only a grunt escaped. The women around me were starting to look at me funny as well, but I couldn’t see my panic reflected back in their eyes. I turned to look out the window again, breathing in quick breaths. My hands came up and started fanning myself.

Had it been that hot in my room before? How had I not noticed?

There was movement around me, but I didn’t pay attention. I focused on one spot outside the window and didn’t look away. It was keeping me grounded. When my mother talked again, I didn’t spook.

“I sent everyone away, Saoirse. Now, please, tell me what’s wrong,” my mother said. I think she sounded concerned, but I couldn’t tell. My processing skills seemed to be delayed.

Instead of turning to look at her or talk to her, I just handed her the letter. It was quiet as she read the letter, and I continued to hyperventilate.

“Oh, Saoirse, this is nothing,” my mother said. This time, I could hear the relief in her words.

I glanced at her for a moment before glancing back outside, still unable to talk.

My mother’s hands gripped my shoulders tightly and turned me to look at her. I gripped her hands on me, trying to steady myself as I looked at her. She smiled slightly, which almost seemed to signal to my brain that everything was alright. I could feel my heartbeat slowing ever so slightly.

“Calm down, Saoirse. It’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright,” my mother comforted me. “This is nothing.”

“Nothing?” I repeated as she uttered that word again.

“Yes, nothing,” she continued assuredly.

“You didn’t see that Alexa woman last night, Mom. She was awful. She–” I stuttered out.

“It doesn’t matter. She can be as awful as she wants or do desperate things, but it doesn’t change anything,” she said in the same soothing voice. “Rhys loves you and only you. And he has never given you a reason to ever doubt his commitment to your relationship.”

I felt myself calming down more at her words, though questions still raced in my head. She was right. Rhys had always done everything for me. We had our fights, like normal couples, but he had never once moved on to someone else.

“That man has always come through for you before,” my mother continued, noticing her words were working. “I mean, come on. He jumped on a dragon for you. And then he went and rescued you when you were taken by his people. You come first to him, Saoirse, even before himself.”

At that, I felt the panic simmer out. She was right. She was really right. I loved Rhys, and he loved me. Nothing would get in the way of that. I refused to let these eleventh-hour games ruin my confidence or trust in Rhys.

“You are right, Mom,” I finally said, glad my voice came out normal as well. “Let’s go get me married to the love of my life.”