Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1330 - 85 : Naming Ceremony

*Noah*

As I stepped into the care unit again to visit Zara and our baby, I was struck with a sense of pure warmth. I entered the room quietly, not wanting to interrupt her interaction with our daughter.

At that moment, she was staring into her eyes, rocking her gently back and forth. She cooed, “So warm and giggly. Hi there sweety, hi there!” Her voice was silky and warm, her tone dripping with love.

I felt my heart leap at how tender she was with our daughter. Overwhelming emotion flowed through me as I grinned from ear to ear at just how caring Zara was.

All our daughter’s needs were met. At her cries, Zara figured out what she needed and gave her everything. She was so close with the baby, which was a relief.

She’d been so lifeless since that first contact and had been taking the suggestions from the therapist seriously. Now, her mental health was improving, and her true self as a mother was showing.

My affection for Zara deepened significantly the more I saw her like that. Her sheer dedication and strong attachment for our child was so beautiful, just like her in mind, body, and soul.

Eventually, Zara noticed me staring and chuckled. “Hi Noah,” she said softly. “Here to visit her? She’s so happy today.”

“I am,” I said softly, “her, and you. How are you feeling, beautiful?”

“I am feeling wonderful,” Zara breathed. She walked over to me, cradling our baby in one arm and reaching up to cup my cheek.

What a wonderful feeling. I leaned into her touch, my heart blossoming even more with just how wonderful my mate was.

A surge of minor frustration ran through me that I couldn’t remember all my time with her yet. I wanted to so badly, but times like right then also formed the strong feelings I knew I had for Zara.

“Thank you for being here for me,” she whispered.

“No need to thank me. I will be here for you, and her, Zara. Look at how bright her smile is.”

We both looked at our child, whose tired eyes were staring from me to her. She let out several gurgles and giggles, causing a warm, fuzzy feeling to rush through me.

Zara dropped her hand from my cheek and reached down to gently pinch the cheek of our baby. “She has your eyes, Noah, your gorgeous blazing eyes.”

I examined our child and nodded, giving a smile. “She does. She has the beauty of your face. Your nose....”

I reached over and poked the baby’s nose, then Zara’s, causing both to giggle.

“Your mouth.” I leaned over to give Zara a tender kiss, one she returned. Then, I looked down at the baby again, letting out a sigh. “I’m so happy she is doing better now, and you are so devoted, Zara.”

“Me and you... I couldn’t have done this alone.”

After that, Zara returned the baby to the incubator for rest. She was still under watch but would be able to be transferred to a regular bassinet and our care tomorrow.

What a relief.

Meanwhile, my feelings for Zara were overflowing, and I wanted to do something about it. My thoughts turned to the picnic we’d had in Midnight Sun’s garden.

Zara had been so happy then, and our time together was wonderful. I decided that it was time to do something special for her again, something to seal the deal, to start settling our family.

That night, I had Zara’s parents watch over our little bundle of joy. Zara agreed to be away from her for a little while, because I had a beautiful surprise for her.

I wore a fancy suit, entering her room and giving her a smile. Zara’s eyes glimmered with curiosity, and I walked up to her and took her into a hug.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, always leading with that question. It was genuine. I wanted to make sure she was still doing okay.

“Wonderful,” she sighed. “The baby is doing well too. She loves her rattle,” she said with a giggle.

I nodded, saying, “Not too rattled by it?”

“Was that a dad joke?!”

“It was,” I chuckled, my grin widening at her giggles. “Come on. I have a surprise for you.”

I led her outside, though not too far from the mansion, where a blanket was set up. On it were two picnic baskets, with many delicious foods inside.

Candles were lit up all around the blanket, and bouquets of wildflowers were resting gently on the edge of the blanket, something I’d gathered myself.

Zara widened her eyes and placed her hand over her heart. “Noah, this is beautiful,” she whispered. She turned and took me into a strong hug, one that I returned tightly, holding her there against my chest.

“There’s more,” I said to her when the hug ended. I motioned to the smaller picnic basket, giving a smile. “Check out that basket for me, please?”

Zara smiled at me and opened it, her eyes lighting up with delight. From within it, she withdrew pictures we had taken together with my camera.

She gasped, looking over each one with delight. Her eyes sparkled with wonder, and I waited with anticipation for her to get to the last one.

When she removed the last photo, she noticed the subject of one of the photos. “Oh, Noah,” she squealed. It was her holding our daughter with me standing next to her, smiling.

I’d had that taken secretly by Felix, who’d borrowed one of the cameras we had on pack grounds. Zara had been distracted by the baby and hadn’t noticed the light snapping noise of the camera.

The picture came out beautifully, and her expression twisting in wonder and happiness confirmed that. She teared up.

But that wasn’t all. “There’s one more thing in there for you.”

Zara’s smile widened, and she gasped. She withdrew a small jewelry box and widened her eyes. When she opened it to see what was inside, I cleared my throat.

“I wanted to make this official, beautiful. Will you marry me?”

Zara took a deep breath, tears spilling down her cheeks. Her beautiful emerald eyes met mine, and she asked softly, “Did you get your memories back?”

I shook my head. “I have enough current memories to know I’d be an absolute fool to let you go.”

Zara put the box aside and lunged for me, taking me into a strong hug. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her there for a moment and basking in the wonderful love flowing between us.

When the hug ended, she turned her attention to the box, which held an absolutely stunning ring. It had taken me a while to pick out just the right one.

“It looks like a little star,” she whispered, “sparkling so brightly. Oh Noah, this is gorgeous,” she breathed.

“Something you deserve, beautiful, for how much you light up my world.”

She sniffled and sobbed happily, something that warmed my heart so much. Our future was so bright, just like her... and I had a warm feeling about our life together.

***

The next day, I was called in to meet my parents, along with Zara, too. My heart clenched at that with worry. Great. I wondered if I was I going to be given a hard time again.

Although, they often visited with concern for Zara, and the way they looked at our daughter was touching and warm. Maybe this would be a pleasant meeting, I thought.

I hoped so.

My father sat there with a box in front of him, as did Estella. It was wrapped in paper with little trees on it, and I realized it was a present.

I raised a brow as Zara sat next to me, somewhat tense. My father cleared his throat, looking between us. “Thank you for meeting with us. We understand you are busy.” 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

His expression faded from neutral into a warm smile. “We wanted to tell you how happy we are to see that you and Zara have risen to the early challenges of marriage.”

I widened my eyes, glancing over to Zara, who leaned forward and wore a smile of her own.

“Thank you, Alpha Issac,” she said softly, grinning from ear to ear.

I leaned over and ruffled her hair, unable to let out a happy chuckle at this news. My eyes fixed on Estella, who beamed at us.

“I second that. We have gifts for the baby here. We’ve been informed by Calvin that she will be well enough for a naming ceremony soon.”

Nodding, I let out a sigh. “Thank you, both of you. I am relieved that we got through the hell that was... well, everything.” I frowned somewhat, and muttered, “The Elders.” My tone was a low growl.

My father shook his head. “They are on edge, especially after your outburst. But they have conceded that given the hardship Zara just went through, she has proven that she can handle Luna duties.”

Estella added, “That applies to us especially, though, you two.” Her tone was beyond warm. “We saw your devotion as a mother. I believe you will be an excellent Luna. We want to give you our full blessing.”

Zara squeaked with happiness and turned to take me into a tight hug, something that I returned with strong, warm arms.

“Thank you, both of you. I appreciate that. I won’t let you down,” Zara said, determination in her tone. I was so happy she had such a strong attitude toward this and the pack in general.

My mind was set on just how wonderful of a mother and Luna she would be.

With their full blessing settled, the naming ceremony was planned, and the news of it was spread throughout Drogomor.

The ceremony wouldn’t be overwhelming for our baby. I made sure of that. Calvin and several other healers would be there in case they needed to intervene should something go wrong.

A few weeks later, the baby was strong enough to handle the ceremony, and there we were. She rested in my arms as I looked out at the pack.

So many happy, eager faces, and whispers of support flowed through the pack. I felt a surge of pride at how supportive they were.

Even the Elders were there in the shadows, eyeing me warily but with tentative acceptance.

It was time to announce the name of the baby, something Zara and I had spoken about extensively. She leaned against me and gazed out at the pack, a delighted smile on her lips.

I cleared my throat, a microphone in one hand, and the baby cradled in my other arm. “I’m sure you all have been waiting for this, and the rumor mill has been on fire.”

That got a laugh out of the pack, but then, I grew serious. I dipped my head, and said, “It’s time to quell everyone’s questions and speculations. Our newest member of the pack will be known as Briella.”

Resounding cheers rang out through the pack, which caused more excitement and happiness to flow through me.

Following the announcement, I added, “I’d like to see if baby Briella has anything to say.” My tone was amused, and I snickered as Zara giggled out. Then, I held the mic up to our baby. “Anything to say, sweetheart?”

Briella gurgled into the microphone, then let out several giggles, opening and closing her hands, and staring at me.

There was a resounding, “Aw!” from the pack, and several chuckles intertwined with it.

As we sat down to continue the ceremony, I looked among the happy faces and spotted Aunt Sasha and Uncle Lucas. Widening my eyes, I glanced at Zara.

“Guess who’s here?”

“Hm? Who?”

“Uncle Lucas and Aunt Sasha Black.”

Zara gasped. “Oh, Noah! They made the trip for the ceremony?! This is wonderful news!”

I hoped that now, finally, we would be able to get some of the answers we’d been looking for.