Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1314 - 69 : No More Lilies
*Zara*
It felt like things just kept coming up, and my situation was growing worse and worse. Still, I tried to stay hopeful because this could reveal what was blocking our mate bond.
I hoped it did.
On the way to the palace with a bunch of Drogomor guards, I expressed my concern to Noah.
“This is adding to the list of everything wrong lately.”
“I understand. I am happy to hear that given the markings are seen only in the moon, they’re likely not malicious.”
“I guess. But I can’t get out of my head the implication that I need to be protected from... something.”
“Those marks won’t be the only thing protecting you, Zara.”
I smiled at Noah, overjoyed with how determined he sounded. Just like with the lily situation, he was there for me. It touched my heart so much.
After a relatively long drive with thankfully no troubles on the road, we arrived at the capital. The city was a huge bustle, with people hurriedly going about their business this way and that.
I felt myself grow overwhelmed by how busy it was. In fact, and swallowed, my entire body tense. To go from the quiet pack of Midnight Sun to this was a lot.
Eventually, we got to the castle. It was gigantic and imposing, looming over the entire kingdom.
We got out of the car and were formally escorted to the door. I stuck close to Noah, feeling safe with him. He was attentive and polite to the castle guards.
When we got to the throne room, we were directed to sit in comfortable chairs while we waited to meet the king.
But we would end up not meeting him at all.
Emerging from the other room was the pack’s Beta. He dipped his head and said, “Greetings. I am Beta Corbin. Pleased to meet you.”
Noah dipped his head. “Thank you. I am Noah Black of Drogomor, this is Zara Star. Will we be meeting with the king today?”
Corbin shook his head. “No,” he said. “He is away on an emergency.”
Noah and I frowned with concern, exchanging a look before he continued. “I see. I hope things go well with whatever is going on.”
“Thank you,” Corbin said with a smile, seeming deep in thought for a moment before refocusing. “I am standing in for him for now and have been granted the permission to make important decisions.”
Noah nodded and went into detail regarding the rogue attacks and the priestess’s demands. He didn’t sound happy to have spared her, but I was grateful that he had.
That would mean less retaliation in the future, and it was clear what they wanted. Plus, the lilies were proving to be a huge problem.
“I see,” Corbin said. “That is alarming. Well, the king ultimately agrees to send a formal letter to the priestess that you have been ordered to cease all lily production.”
Relief flooded through me at this response. We were getting somewhere, and though my plans were in tatters, it was ultimately for the best.
Corbin continued. “In exchange, the rogue priestess will be required to provide a binding pledge to publicly renounce any claim to the Luna Lilies and promise not to threaten or pursue you again in the future.”
I smiled at him, letting out a soft sigh. “Thank you,” I said in a happy tone. A smile crossed Noah’s face as well, who looked very relieved.
No doubt, he’d been very worried about my safety, so this would help us both get slightly better sleep at night.
I hoped the deal would grant me the security and safety that I’d lacked since beginning the cultivation. I admired how Noah hadn’t been intending on backing down.
In this case, though, it was better for both him and me that we did.
I wondered if it was the lilies or the markings, or even something else, that had caused Noah’s memory loss and the interference of the mate bond.
“Are there any further matters you would like to look into while you’re here?” Corbin asked.
I nodded, glancing at Noah hopefully.
“Are any royal library scholars and historians available for a private meeting?” Noah asked.
“I can arrange for that, yes,” Corbin said. “In the meantime, feel free to enjoy some lunch, courtesy of the palace.”
With that, we were escorted to an eating hall and given a gourmet lunch that settled well in my belly. I rubbed it gently, letting out a soft sigh.
“Thank you for helping me take care of this, Noah,” I said with a light smile.
“You’re more than welcome, beautiful. That’s one problem taken care of in the very least.”
“True. Hopefully, the siege on Silver Fang halts any of their plans too,” I murmured, shivering a bit at the memory of being captured by them, too.
I’d gone from one frying pan to another, so to speak, in that situation. Without Noah, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever actually be let go.
Things were slowly getting brighter now, except for the fact that I had unidentified markings on me, and Noah’s memory loss to handle. Hopefully, we’d get some answers from the scholars about the tattoo issue.
After we finished lunch, we were informed we could meet with the scholars. We were escorted into a fancy office with many bookshelves surrounding us.
“Good to meet you,” the palace scholar said with a smile. She adjusted her glasses and studied us for a moment, then asked, “How can I help you?”
“Hello,” I said with a light smile of greeting. “We’re trying to investigate some strange markings tattooed on my back. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about their origin.”
The scholar frowned with concern and nodded. “I can take a look for you now and start an investigation.”
Noah shook his head as she approached me. “You wouldn’t be able to see them now. They only appear in the moonlight. I have some images here on my phone.”
With that, he took his phone out and handed it over to the scholar, who studied them wordlessly for a moment. I watched her expression, hoping for some good news for once.
She looked perplexed, and when a few other scholars and historians joined our meeting, she showed them as well. They murmured amongst themselves while Noah and I sat waiting in anticipation.
The original scholar who’d spoken with us turned and gave me a soft smile. “You will need to give us a few days to look into it, and we’ll let you know. This is a fascinating case, to say the least.”
Another scholar gave a nod. “We don’t recognize them right away, so we’ll need to dig deep to find out what could be happening here.”
“Only revealed in the moonlight... how interesting,” another said.
“If it’s meant for protection purposes, I wouldn’t know what I’m being protected from,” I said. I wore a deep frown at the thought of something dangerous coming after me that I didn’t know.
“That is alarming,” the head scholar agreed. “Perhaps our research will reveal that too, if such is the case with these markings.”
I thought about the situation for a moment, then refocused on the scholars. Something was plaguing my mind, and I really hoped I’d not get bad news at this next question.
“We just came from the Midnight Sun pack,” I said in a tone dripping with worry. “We were told Jared Crimson was cursed and had tattoos as well.”
Noah focused intently on their expressions and listened for their response, no doubt fixated on how mine could be a curse, too.
The head scholar shook her head. “He was cursed and did have tattoos, but this case is very different. I think your mention of protection here has a lot of merit.”
“I agree,” said another scholar. “The moonlight typically grants blessings, so this could be one such situation.”
Other murmurs of agreement erupted from the other scholars in general, causing my shoulders to relax somewhat. At least they didn’t think this was some sort of a curse.
But until I found out exactly what was going on, it would still be at least a very tiny worry in the back of my mind.
After a pause, I asked, “Are there artifacts that could help us figure this out?”
The head scholar shrugged, giving me a reassuring smile. “We will need a few days of research to look into that. Good thought, though. Trust me, it is on our agenda.”
One of the scholars added, “Historically, some artifacts have solved situations like this. Those blessed by the moon can be very powerful.”
“Right,” another agreed. “And if the markings are seen in the moonlight, there could be a chance said artifacts would be able to reveal the truth.”
I let out a breath. “Thank you so much for looking into this,” I said with a smile. “It’s definitely been troubling me ever since we found out.”
The head scholar nodded. “I understand entirely. We’ll dedicate a huge chunk of our agenda over the next few days to this. It could be a wealth of knowledge, and it’ll put you at ease, regardless of the answer.”
One of the scholars grunted. “Knowledge is power,” they muttered. “Hopefully, it is blocking something nasty rather than being trouble, and we can figure out what specifically it would be for.”
That sparked something in my mind that made me wince. “My mate bond has been impacted. I was thinking it could be the lilies, but it may also be this....”
The royal scholar frowned with concern. “That will be something else we look into while we investigate then. Thank you for bringing it up. How has it been impacting it?”
I noticed Noah, who had stood supportively nearby, tense up at the mention of the mate bond. A knife of despair went into my heart for him.
I knew the fact that he couldn’t get his memories back was bothering him.
“My mate can’t keep his memories after we’re intimate under the full moon,” I said softly.
The connection to the moon wasn’t always a good thing, clearly.
If he lost his memories then, I wondered if these markings could be the culprit, protection or not.
The scholar thought this over for a moment. “That is important information we will cache away. Hopefully, they aren’t the cause. We’ll need to figure out how to deactivate it, if so.”
“That could lead to other complications,” a scholar added, causing me to wince.
I felt distress billow in my belly, intensifying even further than before. This all was so much. It seemed like as soon as we solved one thing, another popped up.
I tried to keep my chin up and not let my worry show. Given how my tone was slipping in melancholy frequently, though, I didn’t think I was that successful.
