Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 63: A Final Plea

*Ciana*

I didn’t have a response for Theo when he said I must want to marry Warren. His cold words had taken

their toll on me, and I was done.

“You know what, Your Highness? It’s been a long day and you‘ re right, I should go.”

With that, I turned around and walked away from the three of them, even though Warren shouted my

name for me to come back.

I was done playing this game with Theo. He continued to baffle and confuse me at every turn, and I just

couldn’t take

much more.

I walked back to my room and my initial plan was to start packing–I needed to go check on the situation

in my own pack anyway, but I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking about Theo.

A sharp knock on the door got my attention. It wouldn’t be Brook, because even her knock was gentle. I

walked over and flung it open, not really wanting to put up with anyone else at the moment.

I was a little surprised to see Sophia standing there, but only because she had knocked. It seemed to

be more like her to just barge in. “What do you want?” I asked her.

However, if I hadn’t heard it with my own ears, I would never have imagined those words were from her

mouth in my wildest dreams.

“You should give Prince Theo another chance,” she blurted out. “I think he likes you.”

With my eyes bulging, all I could do was raise an eyebrow and stare at her for a second before a

sarcastic laugh bubbled up and out of my lips.

“Why do you say that? Didn’t you just overhear what he said to me in the garden?” She was right there

with us!

“Yes, I was there,” she admitted. I went back to my bed and pulled out my suitcase.

Sophia bringing up the situation from her perspective only made me feel more inclined to pack and

leave. After all, Theo certainly wasn’t interested in me. He’d made himself clear more than once, and I

was sick and tired of being his punching bag.

Sophia followed me into the room and stood at the foot of my bed while I threw my clothes into my

bags.

“Listen, Ciana, it’s not what you think it is,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… the only time he ever wants me around is when you‘ re there. He summons me whenever he

knows you’re going to see the two of us together, and then he pretends like he might be interested in

me. But the moment you’re gone, he discards me without a care in the world.”

I stared at Sophia for a long moment, not sure what to make of her statement. It didn’t seem to me like

it could possibly be the truth. After all, this wasn’t the first time Theo chose her over me as his

attendant anyway.

She made it sound like he was intentionally trying to make me jealous, but that didn’t make any sense

to me at all.

I continued to toss my clothes into my luggage, not knowing how to respond to her absurd comments.

But then I realized, she wasn’t here out of concern for me or for Theo.

“What do you want me to do, Sophia? And why would you want me to do it?”

She swallowed so hard, I could see the lump in her throat. “I want you to try and win Prince Theo over,

get him to admit he has feelings for you, so that Prince Warren gives up on you and doesn’t try to

pursue you. Especially now that the king has given Prince Warren permission to choose a woman as

well.”

“And…” I began, “why in the world would you want me to do that?” I already knew the answer to my

own question, of course, but I had to ask anyway. I wanted to hear it from her own mouth.

She wasn’t so quick to tell me the truth and answered my question with another question.

“Prince Warren is wasting his time on you if you already like Prince Theo, isn’t he? Why would you

want to torture a good man like that?”

I smirked at her. “Sophia, tell me the truth or else you can

forget about me doing anything except for packing up and catching the next train out of here to go back

to my own pack. After all, it’s not like I owe you anything.”

She grunted and shook her head.

“Fine,” she said. “Prince Theo is… cold. He’s aloof. I can’t get him to open up to me no matter how

hard I try. But Warren… Prince Warren is different.”

I knew exactly what she was talking about, of course. Theo never let his walls down for anyone,

whereas Warren was an open book. He was always willing to open up and talk about anything,

including his feelings. They were quite opposite to

one another.

But I still hadn’t gotten an adequate response from her. “So why does it matter to you that the two

brothers are different?”

“Well, because… I want Prince Warren to give up on you.”

“Let me get this straight.” I watched her eyes shift uncomfortably under my scrutiny. “You, Sophia, the

girl who has everything, who barks orders at us right and left… you’re interested in the gentle and mild

Prince Warren but not the bold and powerful Prince Theo?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I thought I was about to get a taste of the attitude I’d just reminded

her of.

But she lifted up her chin and looked me firmly in the eye. “Yes, I like Warren,” she confessed bravely.

Her honesty surprised me. I would’ve thought Sophia was the type to go after power, yet, here she

was, admitting her

feelings in front of someone she never got along with.

She certainly had her reasons. “He’s different from any of the other men I’ve ever been interested in,

that’s true. But from the moment I first laid eyes on him, I’ve just thought… he was wonderful.”

Yes, I could understand what she meant. After all, I’d had a crush on Warren for years, from the time I

only knew him as the boy from the forest.

Now that I’d gotten to know him, however, he wasn’t quite the man I’d thought he was back then.

True, that he was sweet and kind hearted. He was thoughtful, patient, and caring. I couldn’t think of

anything bad to say about Prince Warren at all.

However, for the reason I couldn’t understand till this day, he didn’t ignite a spark of intrigue in me. I

started to think that there must be something wrong with me. How could any girl turn down a man like

Warren?

“Work with me on this, Ciana, then we’ll both get what we want.”

Although she didn’t use the word “please“, this was the first time I’d actually had a normal conversation

with her. It was probably the best attitude I could get out of her.

“Oh, well, I am here to serve you,” I said sarcastically, but I couldn’t help but smile at her at the end of

the sentence. She hung her head a little bit, like she was a bit uncomfortable.

I guess she was too proud to ask for help. In the past, she only

needed to give the orders, and someone would just get it done for her. Anyhow, I’d stopped packing.

Maybe I shouldn’t do any more for a little while.

Or maybe I should just go ahead and finish tossing my stuff into my suitcases and get out of here, cut

my losses, and go back home where it was quite clear my pack needed my help.

“Ciana…” Sophia said, with a question mark hanging over her head, “are you interested in Prince

Warren?”

Quickly, I shook my head. That much I knew to be fact. “No, you don’t have to worry about that.” I saw

the breath of relief she released as it practically stirred the curtains across the

room.

“I’m not sure if what you have had to say about Theo is true or not, but I can promise you that I am not

interested in Warren.”

“So… if he asks you to stay here and be his woman, you won’t do it?” she clarified.

I shook my head again. “No, I won’t stay for Warren.”

“But… you might stay here for Prince Theo?” A crooked grin spread across her face, and for once it

wasn’t malicious, just

curious.

“I honestly don’t know… I would say, most likely, no.”

Surprisingly, this time she didn’t continue to pry. I figured she‘ d gotten the answer she wanted already.

I had a lot to handle back home. I’d delayed long enough already… A few days ago, I felt that I owed

Theo his berry and wanted to make sure he was okay before I left the palace, and

both of them were checked off my list. There really wasn’t any reason for me to stay.

She nodded. “That’s all I can ask for. I do appreciate your candor. I know you and I have never been

friends, and

perhaps we never will be, but I do respect that you never back down from what you believe in.”

“Thank you.” I tried to think of something nice to say back to her, but it was hard. I grabbed the low

hanging fruit. “I’ve always thought you were very pretty. Perhaps the most beautiful woman here.”

Sophia flashed me a broad grin and said, “I know.”

She straightened her hair and spun on her heel, headed out the door, leaving me chuckling at her

antics.

Then, I thought of Theo, and I wasn’t laughing anymore.

A thought came to my mind. Perhaps I could give him one more chance, but I couldn’t approach him

directly like I had earlier in the day. No, I had to be more subtle.

With a deep breath, I left the room, my bags packed but not within my grasp.

It took me a little while to find the man I was searching for, and when I approached him, I was a bit

leery of which version of him I’d find.

Theo wasn’t the only one who ran hot or cold around here.

Thankfully, when Beta Jake turned to look at me, he had a smile on his face. “I see you haven’t left

yet.”

It was almost like he was happy to see me.

“Not yet,” I confirmed the obvious. “Can you do me a favor?”

“I can try.” He gave me a firm nod.

“Will you deliver a message to your Alpha for me, please?” My heart was beating out of my chest as he

nodded that he would. “Will you please let Prince Theo know I’ll be at the pavilion at midnight. If he

wants to see me before I go, he should be there, too.”

Jake replied, “I’ll let him know, Ciana.” I could hear the sympathy in his voice, and that made me

wonder if I was doing the right thing.

How would I feel if he didn’t come?

Broken, probably.