Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 196 I’ll Support You With My Life

I watched as Marcus disappeared on his way to the dungeon and then returned my attention to Ethan. I

had wanted to tell him how happy I was that he was awake ever since I saw him, but I didn’t know how to

get those words out, so I stared at him for a moment, my mouth slightly agape.

He was holding Rowan the entire time during Marcus’ confrontation, and I noticed that he didn’t say

anything. Was he upset with what Marcus had said? I realized that I stepped in when Marcus was

insulting him; would he rather handle that by himself?

liselt!

“Is everything all right, Rosalie?” he asked me.

“Uh… yeah,” I said, feeling my cheeks pink. “Everything is fine. I just thought that-”

“Your Majesty!” a messenger | recognized as one of General Vandough’s warriors shouted, coming over

to me. “We have spotted King Kal’s forces coming around the eastern side of the palace, getting ready to

attack again. General Vandough requests permission to engage with them to prevent them from getting

near the citizens that have just sought shelter in the nearby villages.”

I felt my insides deflate as I thought about what this meant.

Would this war just go on and on forever?

“Yes,” I told him, after taking a few deep breaths to get my head on straight. “Tell General Vandough to

move out and engage with King Kal’s forces but to watch his flank.”

I shook my head. When would it end?

Would it ever end?

“We’ll be there soon,” I assured the messenger and then started to send him away, but Cerina stopped

me.

“My Queen, please excuse me… but I do not think that is the best idea for you to go. Please stay here.”

| arched my eyebrow, questioning her silently why she suggested it.

The wise woman pressed her hands together in front of her and spoke with a calm manner. “Your

Majesty, you have been at this nonstop for over a week. You’ve gone from one emergency to the next,

bare ly giving yourself time to eat and rest, let alone clear your mind. It isn’t good for you to be running at

such a pace, physically or mentally.”

Ethan also nodded at her words and she continued. “Now, Alpha Ethan and the others have done a bril

liant job of cutting King Kal’s numbers down since his return yesterday. General Vandough is a skilled

war rior and leader. He can handle this battle on his own. Let the messenger return to your subordinate

and tell him to move forward with his plans,” she said, grasping my hand between both of hers. “Believe

me and trust them, dear, this is for the best. For all of you.”

Her last sentence was more like a mother urging her daughter than a subordinate advising her queen,

and it warmed my heart.

I looked at Ethan, and he gave me a small, reassuring smile.

Returning my attention to Cerina, I said, “All right then.” To the messenger, I said, “Please tell the genera

al that he may move forward with his attack plans, and if he needs reinforcements, he should send for

Commander Landon.”

“Yes, my Queen,” the man said, bowing his head to me before he took off in a hurry to let the leaders

know of my decision.

| sucked in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and blew it out slowly, trying to calm my nerves.

Cerina was right. I had been going nonstop for quite some time now, and since Ethan was finally awake,

and so was I, perhaps it was the best time to take a small break and gather my thoughts.

My thinking would be more logical if I gave myself the opportunity to process everything that had gone

on. It would also help if I gave my body the chance to physically recover from the strain the war had put

on

“Why don’t we gather in the war room in three hours?” | asked those who had gathered around me, my

most trusted inner circle of friends and advisors.

Everyone nodded and left for their own duties.

Finally, I turned to Ethan. Rowan started to fuss in his arms, but it didn’t seem like he was ready to re

turn the boy to me.

Thesitated and said, “Um… I think the boy may be hungry, and I should take him to my room to feed

him…”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” he said. As he handed Rowan to me, I noticed that he seemed to be quite disap

pointed, so I asked tentatively, “Would you like to… come to my room? You’re welcome to spend some

time with us… I meant, the boy, if you’d like.”

Immediately, a big smile crossed his face. “Yes, I’d like that,” he said, and his eyes lit up. “Thank you,

Rosalie.”

We went into my private chambers, and I got some food into Rowan. Ethan kept his distance but had a

grin on his face the entire time. As I let out a yawn, he urged me, “Get some rest, Rosalie. You have a lot

ahead of you to do.”

I nodded my head and laid on the bed after putting Rowan down in his crib. Ethan sat down on my bed

next to me and covered me with a blanket. His voice was low and soothing. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here to

wake you before the meeting.”

I wondered whether his words had magic power. All of a sudden, I was so tired that I couldn’t keep my

eyes open at all.

Ethan was here, with me, with my baby. There was nothing I needed to worry about.

I couldn’t help but smile. Then I fell asleep.

***

When we got to the war room, a few of the others were already present, and the rest arrived quickly. No

one was late.

“Your Majesty, General Vandough was able to hold our defense.”

“Great to hear.” However, the advisor who reported it still seemed worried, so I asked, “Mr. Heath, you

still have something to say?”

He sighed, “While we were able to hold off their attack, we started to foresee issues with supplies.”

Everyone in the meeting looked serious, and I could tell this wasn’t the first time supply issues were

brought up.

He was right. No matter how good our warriors were, Winter Forest pack’s territory was nowhere near as

resourceful as the rest of the Eastern Kingdom. Long term, we would not be able to fight against the

combined power of both Kal and James.

We all saw the problem, but what could we do to resolve it?

I glanced around the room, and I could tell that everyone had thought about the challenge. So had I.

“Why don’t we talk through our options?” | said. “Mr. Heath, since you were the first one to mention this

problem, I would like to hear your thoughts on how we could overcome it.”

Heath nodded, and as expected, he had come prepared. ‘Your Majesty, my opinion is straightforward.

There is no better defense than offense!”

Commander Landon jumped in and added, “I agree! We are currently fighting so many different ene

mies, and they seem to be taking turns coming after us here, at the palace, where they know they can

find us. But if we launch attacks proactively, we can draw them away from the innocent civilians here.”

Georgia pointed out, ‘That means the Queen would have to be the one leading the attack. You know they

want her…”

“And our Alpha,” Talon reminded us.

“Exactly.” Heath said. “We request for both Your Majesty and Alpha Ethan to lead the troops…”

Cerina frowned. “Put aside the safety of Her Majesty and Alpha Ethan. What if the enemies still attack

the palace? Then there wouldn’t be any protection left for the citizens!”

“I think you misunderstood what I meant, Cerina.” He looked her in the eye. “I didn’t mean launch the at

tack in our Northern tier. I mean,” he took a pause, and grabbed everyone’s attention.”-we attack Mirage

and take over the kingdom!”

Commander Landon pounded his fist against the table and announced, “Let’s do this! General Van

dough also supports this plan. We need to end the war once and for all!”

Cerina stood up and disagreed. “That’s an act of an invader! If we do that, what’s the difference be tween

us and King Kal?”

Georgia backed Cerina up. “I see Cerina’s point. If we were to launch an attack of that size, we would

end up bringing more destruction to the people, even if we are able to win the war.”

Heath glared at her. “Then you have a better idea than launching the attack?”

Before Talon could say anything to defend Georgia, Jace jumped into the discussion. “Woah, woah!

Heath, don’t get personal. We’re just sharing our concerns.”

Georgia shook her head and gave an honest answer. “No, I don’t.”

The meeting went on as we tried to weigh the pros and cons. The discussion was heated a few times

since the supporters of both sides were quite passionate about their opinions.

After all, we all tried to make the right decision for our people.

“Everyone!” Soren eventually raised his voice to press down the debate in the room. “Why don’t we hear

what the queen has to say?”

With his words, all eyes landed on me.

Yes, I was their leader, and it was up to me to make the final decision.

I knew we needed to do something proactively, but I would never want to be an invader and be the cause

of more havoc to the people on the Eastern Continent.

The room was silent. Everyone was waiting for me.

“I need some time to think about this. Let’s regroup in fifteen minutes, and I’ll have my answer ready for

you when you return. Now, let’s take a break.”

My leaders exchanged a few words among themselves, and they started to walk out of the room. “Al

pha Ethan,” I called. “Would you please join me for a walk?”

“Of course, it’s my pleasure.”

We walked side by side to the smaller temple of the Moon Goddess inside the palace grounds.

“Ethan, why didn’t you say anything just now? I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“Because It’s not my decision to make.”

I sighed. “I have thought about all that before, but it was hard to decide. Ethan, what if I make the wrong

decision? So many lives are in my hands… I am afraid.”

As we walked into the temple, I stared up at the statue of the Moon Goddess behind the altar. It re

minded me of the temple where my mother and the rest of my ancestors were buried.

He turned to me and gently rested his hands on the outside of both of my upper arms. His tendek gaze

was on me. “Rosalie, I can’t tell you what to do, but I want you to know that no matter what your decision

is, I’ll support you with my life. I have faith in you.”

Tears rushed up my eyes. I lowered my head, and I had to try really hard to not let them fall.

His warm skin was against my arms, and it was as if he shared his determination and inner strength with

me.

When I looked up again, I saw my own reflection in his blue eyes. I was brave and confident.

I smiled. “Thank you Ethan! I think I’ve got it. Let’s go back!”

He nodded and gestured for me to lead the way.

When I walked back into the room, the others had returned. All of them were looking at me with wide

eyes, waiting to hear what I had to say.

“Everyone, I have my decision,” I announced. “I’ll lead our troops to push our enemies out of our lands

and we’ll continue to move south to Mirage.’

I could see the smile and excitement on Heath’s and Landon’s faces, while Cerina frowned, pressing her

lips tight.

“However, spread the word to the Alphas whose territories are on the way to Mirage. Tell them that the

White Queen is coming. If they promise to let us pass and not to help our enemies, we’ll promise not to

bother their civilians. But if they choose to stand against us, then,” | glanced at Ethan, who nodded his

head at me as I exclaimed, ‘They’ll have to face the rage of Alpha Ethan Gray!”

The room went eerily quiet for a few seconds. Cerina was the first one to stand up and bow to me, “Your

Majesty, so be it!”

Heath and Commander Landon lifted their hands into the air. “So be it!” they shouted,

Everyone else followed suit.

I turned and looked at Ethan, and he was smiling at me.

He mouthed to me, “So be it.”

His hand reached out to me under the table. I felt his warmth on my fingertip, and my heart fluttered.

We were going to do this-drive out the enemy and end this war-and we were going to do it together.