Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 196
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
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.