Sold AS The alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 54 Not a Monster

I wondered what in the world I was going to do next. After all, Prince Theo had just given up his best chance at breaking free of the Moonlit Crystal. It seemed like he had made a hasty decision.

Why was he turned down Lady Nita’s offer? Because of my blood? That’s what he said, and that’s what I thought, too, but it seemed like an awful lot for him to be willing to risk cer- tain death over. After all, the dreamberry wouldn’t do him any good if he was unconscious for the rest of his life.

I sat back on the bed next to him. I wanted to ask him a lot of questions, but all I could do was sit and stare at him.

It was clear he wasn’t feeling well. His eyes were begin- ning to close, and he could hardly sit up. Nevertheless, when he spoke, his voice was harsh. “Go ahead and say it. I know what you want to tell me, so just spit it out.”

Taken aback, I asked him, “What are you talking about?” How could he possibly know what I wanted to say to him when I didn’t even know.

“You agree with her. I can see it in your eyes. You think I’m a monster, just like my mother does.” With that, he let his eyes go closed, and I thought he was falling back to sleep.

I couldn’t let that happen, though. Not on this note, any- way.

I placed my hand on his leg. “That’s not true.”

He smirked, “You can be honest. I’m not going to hurt you for telling the truth.”

“Theo,” I didn’t know where I’d gotten the guts to call him. by his name, but I felt strongly that I needed to get this straight. I was dead serious. “I do not think that you are a monster.”

He opened his eyes just a bit. Dark slits looked out at me, his eyebrows arching slightly as he was trying to scrutinize what I’d said.

“When you first got here…” he tried to justify his state- ment, “I killed right in front of you, seven young girls, just like you. That didn’t make you think I was a cold-blooded murder- er?”

Flashes of memories danced before my eyes as I thought about what had happened when I had entered Prince Theo’s office with those other girls. They were assassins, and they had come there to kill him. All that Theo and Jake had done was defend themselves.

“I didn’t know the details of what happened with those packs, and I couldn’t judge you based on what seemed to be going on just on the surface.” I shook my head. “It did scare me a little bit because I wasn’t sure if you were going to be- lieve me when I said I didn’t have anything to do with them. But you took my word and didn’t harm me.”

“I didn’t take your word. You’re too weak to be an assas- sin.”

I rolled my eyes. What was wrong with this guy? Why couldn’t he just accept my honest feedback?

you could have killed me anyway just to be safe rather than allowing me, a potential threat, to remain near you. You chose to let

in reaction to my

me ask you this,” I continued, “when you sent me to your zoo, did you mean to have the animals hurt

“…No.”

the animals, they would behave differently had they been instructed to be aggressive. So, like I said, I’ve never thought that you would do things just for the

hoped my explanation

really appreciate my time in your dungeon, but I do get that you thought I was working with Luther. For the most part, you’ve gone out of your way to protect me. I re- member what happened with that terrible Hawke in my own pack. You saved me then. More than once. So no, I

last part as a joke, but as soon as it came out of my mouth, I saw his face crumble, and

wasn’t sure, but at that moment,

was so tired and sick, he probably couldn’t do much

under the circumstances, but he fought

be the first to run away from me,” he croaked, his

hurt me to hear him say

seven when it started,” he began, and I real- ized then he was letting me in, telling me something he’d probably

I asked

nodded slightly. “She never loved my father. She’d been forced to marry him after he wiped out her pack. Who could blame her for hating

the first time I was hearing this information, having him put it so bluntly made me feel sorry for his

want to have anything to do with me because she said I reminded her of

I quickly wiped it away

I’d do whatever I could to change, so that she could love me. But she

head.

to get her attention… but I… failed at every turn.” He was beginning to sweat a bit, fine beads of perspiration pegging his forehead. It

to

hair back off of his

of that worked though?” I asked him. Clearly not, based

his head. “I tried everything I could. I knew that she loved to read, so I thought I might be able to do some- thing to catch her attention, to show

her.”

let him gather his thoughts before I gently nudged him to keep speaking. “What did

she had planted there, the ones that the maids clipped and brought in to fill her vases every day. No, I wanted her to have something special, so I went beyond the gardens to the grasslands, and I searched high and low to find wildflowers in a variety of