Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 30 Who Am I to Wed?

It had been two days. Theo didn’t say much of anything else to me, and neither did I to him.

We spent a lot of time in the library or the parlor, me looking for information and him… sulking. At least,

that’s what it looked like to me. Maybe he was using the mind-link to communicate with leaders of

nearby packs or had set up some sort of a network to relay information back to the castle. I honestly

had no idea. All I knew for certain was that he wasn’t speaking to me.

I did my best to look around the pack house, trying to find information about what was going on with

Raymond or figure out how to contact my parents, but both efforts were futile.

All I knew for certain was that Raymond wanted to take control of the pack, and in my father’s absence,

he was acting like he was the Alpha.

It was dangerous, and I had to find a way to put a stop to it, sooner rather than later.

I wanted to discuss the situation with Theo, but I was still mad at him and didn’t want to be the one to

beg.

To my surprise, he hadn’t left. I thought he would after our argument, but instead, he had followed me

around.

“Why did you follow me that day?” I asked him once.

“I ran into you,” he corrected me. “I told you I would investigate, and you happened to be there.”

I almost wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn’t. Because, deep down, I knew he had just come to check on

me, to make sure I was safe, which made me feel that maybe he did care about me.

I guessed my blood must be just so important to him that he couldn’t bear to leave without it.

We were in the parlor of the pack house, and I was looking through an old journal I’d found that

appeared to belong to an Alpha of the pack from before my father took over. It was mostly about crops

and taxes and other boring things, but I was determined to read all the way through it for any clue as to

what might be going on in our pack.

A maid came in and announced, “Miss Ciana, Beta Raymond is here to see you.” She curtsied and

then turned and left.

I stared after her, wondering why she didn’t wait for me to say I’d see him, but he was there an instant

later, walking in like he owned the place.

“Aw, there you are!” He swept into the room wearing a nice suit, his hair slicked back, like he was on

his way to a business meeting. “It’s lovely to see you!”

I stood, my forehead still puckered at his unexpected appearance. “Good afternoon, Raymond.”

His eyes immediately went to Theo, who was still sitting on the coach and didn’t even spare him a

glance.

I was pretty sure Raymond was thinking Theo should be standing next to me, like any other servant.

But then… he already thought there was something romantic going on between Thorn and I, so he

likely thought we were reading love poems to one another or whispering sweet nothings into one

another’s ears.

Then I caught a slightly offended glint that surfaced in Raymond’s eyes-he was probably expecting the

Omega to stand up immediately, bow to him, and offer his service to the Beta of the pack.

I didn’t want Raymond to make any more comments on how a servant should behave, so I asked,

“How may I help you?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t let you know I was stopping by. It’s only… I have some wonderful news, and I’m

certain you will be overjoyed to hear it. I couldn’t wait another moment to tell you!”

Curiosity overwhelmed me as I studied his face. “Wh-what is it?” I braced myself, thinking I probably

didn’t want to know.

“Well, you’ll remember what I told you the other day in the garden about finding a suitable mate?”

Again, he was looking at Theo with disgust written all over his face.

“I remember what you said.” How could I possibly forget? Here he was with his vicious plan of

eliminating my family, with the nerve to make ridiculous comments about me being a bad example to

the entire village by dating an Omega.

Raymond continued, “Yes, well, I was thinking, who would be the best match for our beautiful,

intelligent, kind hearted-”

Theo looked up at Raymond, narrowing his eyes.

“-Wonderful, loving Ciana?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “When you say it like that, I sound pretty remarkable.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I thought of someone. It’s the perfect match for you! The entire pack has already

heard the news, and the elders have agreed, so the marriage is set. All we have to do is hold the

ceremony.”

“Wait!” I implored him. “You’ve already talked to the elders and the pack about this? And you haven’t

spoken to me?”

“I am looking after you, young lady, as your father would want for me to do.” He sounded a bit more

stern now, but he still had that jovial look about him. “At any rate, you won’ t have that attitude when I

tell you who it is.”

“Fine, Raymond. Who is it that you’ve decided I am to wed?” I asked, my tone conveying I was

anything but thrilled.

“Hawke.” His grin widened so that I could practically see his back teeth.

“Hawke?” I repeated, my forehead wrinkling. “Wh-what?”

“Yeah, Hawke!” He said it again, clapping his hands together this time. “It’s absolutely perfect isn’t it?”

I knew Hawke. He was a few years older than me-big, loud, brutish, with unkempt curly hair that was

always standing up all over his head and deep dark freckles that looked like polka-dots.

No, I was not marrying Hawke.

“I’m sorry, Raymond,” I said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “You are not in a position to

force me to marry anyone, and I will not do it.”

“Oh, but you see, darling, that’s where you’re wrong.” He clapped his hands twice, and the doors

opened. A flurry of servants came rushing into the room carrying all sorts of wedding materials, mostly

dresses, jewelry, shoes, and other accessories. Some of them had flowers in their hands, like they

were going to assemble the bouquet right here and now.

“What is all of this?” I shouted. “No! We are not doing this!” I yelled at the servants to stop, but they

were not listening to me. They would only obey Raymond.

I turned back to look at him, and the smile on his face was still there, but it looked positively evil. “I’m

sorry to tell you this, Ciana, but from now on, you’re on house arrest. You and your servant boy there

do not leave this house until after the wedding ceremony, do you hear me?”

“You have no authority over me!” I shouted at him, but now, several of the female servants had a grip

on me. They were moving me into position, trying to get me measured for my wedding gown, I

supposed.

Raymond chuckled loudly as he backed toward the door. “Don’t worry, Ciana. This is all for the best.

You’ll see.”

“No! Wait!” I yelled after his retreating form.

I tried to break free of the servants, but an older woman with a tight grip and piercing eyes said, “You

will stand still, young lady! We will complete our task! So unless you feel like fighting all thirty of us, I

suggest you get it into your thick head that this is happening!”

She looked stern, her eyes wild and her white hair pulled up so tightly into a bun it had to be painful on

her scalp.

My eyes immediately went to Theo. He was still sitting on the couch, his arms folded, and I couldn’t tell

what he was thinking at all. Was he actually enjoying this?

I didn’t speak to him, not at the moment anyway. I was too busy being poked and prodded, spun and

turned, until I didn’t know which way was up.

Part of me wanted to fight them and run away, but I knew it wouldn’t be possible without Theo’s help.

Judging by his aloof attitude toward the whole thing, it didn’t seem he was interested in picking a fight.

What’s more, no Omega could fight thirty shifters at once, so getting changed and measured, and

trying on different outfits and accessories, wasn’t life-threatening enough for us to blow Theo’s cover.

Finally, after about three hours of torture, Doris, the woman who was leading the whole thing,

announced, “We are finished. Let’s go!” She clapped her hands twice, and the thirty servants

immediately packed up all of the things they had brought into the parlor and began to carry them out of

the room.

Doris wasn’t finished with me yet, though. She bowed to me, yet her words were not so respectful.

“And as for you, miss, try not to leave without permission. For your safety, Beta Raymond has ordered

you to stay here until the wedding.” She looked from me to Theo and then back again before adding,

“But your servant can leave now.”

“No!” I shook my head. “Thorn stays with me!”

She sneered, but probably thinking an Omega wasn’t a threat anyway, so she said, “Fine, as you wish,

miss.” Then she turned and left.

I had to imagine there would be guards at every exit and entry point of the pack house.

Turning to Theo, who was still sitting with a slightly amused look on his face, I almost lost my temper.

“Was it fun to watch my misfortune?” Exhausted, I crossed over to the other end of the couch and

slumped down on it. I felt defeated, but I wasn’t ready to give up.

He chuckled lightly. Watching his smiling handsome face made me want to scream even more.

“I told you we should’ve left.” He put down the magazine he had been reading. “Now, you’re stuck here,

marrying a wolf named after a bird. What kind of a name is Hawke anyway?”

I almost laughed. Sometimes he surprised me, the way he said things with a dry sense of humor.

“Well, I guess it’s just my fate to marry someone I don’t want to,” I said before I truly considered my

words.

His eyebrows knit together and he studied me for a moment before he asked, “Excuse me?”

“What? Am I wrong? Whether it’s Hawke or Prince Theo, I don’t see the difference. Bottom line is, I’m

being forced either way!”

“You’re comparing me with that Hawke guy?”

I opened my mouth to tell him he was right, but then I could clearly sense that he was getting angry and

dangerous… so I closed my lips again.

“Do not put my name in the same sentence as his, understand?”

This time, in order to avoid escalating our already tense relationship, I decided not to argue with the

prince and nodded my head a few times. After all, he’d stayed here for me.

“Good. Who is he anyway?” Theo was satisfied with my reaction.

“Hawke?” I wasn’t sure why I asked the question. Who else could he be speaking of?

“Yes. Why would Raymond pick him?”

I cleared my throat and said, “Because Hawke is Raymond’s son.”