Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1344 - 99 : The Beauty of Compromise

*Zara*

It finally felt like things were starting to calm down now that Gray had been freed and was functioning within our community. I couldn’t be more relieved after he was released from that dark and lonely jail cell. I couldn’t even believe it when Noah had come up to me to tell me the news.

“Gray is going to be released tomorrow and will work here in Drogomor in order to earn his keep,” he’d said without any kind of preamble. He watched my expression carefully and I thought I detected the tiniest hint of a smirk on the corner of his mouth. It was a resigned kind of smirk that I read as, “Alright, you win.”

I threw my arms around his neck.

“Why are you acting like I did you a favor?” he asked gruffly, but then he hugged me back. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“I’m not,” I said with a shake of my head. I pulled away so I could beam at him. “I’m just marveling at how kind and strong you are.”

He scoffed, but I could see the pleased look in his deep blue eyes.

I was still thinking about Noah’s generous offer to Gray when I was deep in my studies with Luna Estella. I was dutifully taking notes, but I was marveling at his kindness and warmth, a silly grin on my face.

I was grasping a lot of the topics that were expected of me and in turn, Noah’s stepmother started to relax a little when it came to my studies. She was allowing me to do more self-studying while she saw to some paperwork that needed to be done.

I jumped when Tallula tapped my shoulder. She raised an eyebrow as if she knew that I was daydreaming and wasn’t studying as hard as I could be. She didn’t comment, though, and she held a cordless phone out to me.

“Phone call, Miss Zara,” she said before turning and walking away.

I took the phone and blinked before glancing at Luna Estella, who nodded meaningfully to me, giving me permission to take a break to answer the call. I stepped out into the hallway to do just that.

“The Luna Lily cultivation has been shut down as agreed,” my mother said on the other line once we were through exchanging pleasantries.

My eyes suddenly weren’t seeing anything in front of me as I processed my mother’s words. I had known it was coming. We couldn’t go against the rogue priestess without some serious repercussions. Still, it was hard to wrap my mind around it now that it was happening. I’d thought that something could come out of the Luna Lily cultivation. It was hard to let that go.

“Thank you for letting me know,” I told her, trying not to let my true emotions shine through.

“Of course,” she said, her voice tight with emotion. She knew how much the plan had meant to me. “Your father and I had the remaining lilies shipped over to you.”

My eyes rounded in shock. “What?”

“We weren’t sure what to do with them,” my mother said apologetically. “And they do technically belong to you. We felt it was the best course of action considering the circumstances.”

I struggled to keep my emotions in check at that piece of information. They didn’t know what to do with the lilies but felt that I somehow would. I was flattered and somewhat relieved that they didn’t do something drastic with them like destroy them, but I was conflicted as to how to proceed next.

“How many are coming?” I finally asked when I was able to catch my breath.

“There were around two hundred that were salvageable,” she answered.

Two hundred rare and magical flowers were currently on their way to me. It made more sense as to why my parents sent them over to me to deal with. This was a delicate situation that needed to be considered carefully.

I thanked my mom and hung up the phone before returning to the library, trying to mentally prepare myself to have even more things on my mind as I struggled through the day.

Noah was already wary when we reunited in our bedroom later that night. I suggested stepping out onto our balcony, hoping that the cool air would calm my nerves as well.

I eyed Noah as we stood side by side, resting our forearms on the top rail as we looked out over the garden. The moon was just a thin crescent in the sky, hardly providing any light at all. It made the city of Drogomor look incredibly dark.

Noah had been tense ever since he and his father had been leading investigations to find Daven. I knew the threat of the deranged Alpha made him even more cautious and protective. I just had to hope this conversation would go over well.

Noah’s expression was unreadable as I relayed the conversation with my mom to him. There were a couple of short moments when he looked thoughtful, but those were brief seconds as he listened closely. I could see the wheels turning in his head even though he wasn’t giving any emotions away.

“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted finally, my shoulders slumping. “Evidently, neither did my parents since they decided to send all two hundred of the flowers to us.”

“Hmm,” Noah hummed thoughtfully, looking out over the dark garden below us. “We just can’t risk the temptation for ill use of the Lillies by potential enemies.”

“So, what are you proposing?” I asked, having a bad feeling about it already.

He met my gaze, and I could tell from his look that he knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Maybe we should send someone out to intercept the package and destroy it on the spot,” he said, sounding like he was thinking out loud and not really talking to me.

“No!” I protested immediately. I sucked in a breath and forced my body into control. “No,” I said in a much calmer tone. “That won’t be necessary anyway. My parents had their Alpha’s help to ensure that the package was being escorted by some of their guards. The flowers are in a state-of-the-art container and are unmarked so that only my parents and us know what is inside.”

Noah looked impressed that those kinds of protective measures were taken, and I tried not to be offended on my parents’ behalf.

“They should probably be eliminated as soon as they arrive here though,” he said in a tone that resembled one that someone would use when putting down an old dog. He sounded slightly regretful, but not as much as I thought was appropriate considering the situation. “It’s too risky to keep them, especially while we are currently trying to track down a dangerous enemy.”

“But they aren’t just normal flowers,” I protested, my voice rising because of the panic that was suddenly coursing through me. I started waving my hands around. “They are extremely powerful flowers with mystical properties! Even if they could be dangerous in the wrong hands, they could be extremely useful and valuable to us as a community.”

I thought it was a good and solid argument until I realized that Noah was shaking his head even before I finished giving it. “The risk far outweighs the possible gain in this case,” he said flatly.

I pressed my lips together tightly. He was using his stubborn voice, meaning that it would be very difficult to persuade him.

This was too important to allow him to win this time. I was up to the challenge.

I turned to face him fully, straightening and hoping it would cause him to take me more seriously. “There has to be a way for us to keep them safely,” I argued.

I turned back toward the garden as if the dark plants below us would offer some kind of insight. I looked to my right where a planter of wildflowers sat. A couple of the petals were just starting to dry out. “I think I have a way.”

Noah looked skeptical but he raised a curious eyebrow. “And what way would that be?”

“We keep the flowers,” I began, causing Noah’s face to immediately sour. I rolled my eyes but continued. “And we dry the petals and preserve them.”

Both his eyebrows rose up toward his hairline. “And what good with that do?” he asked. “That would likely eliminate the mate bond enhancement effect. In that case, shouldn’t we just go with my plan and destroy them all?”

“We don’t know if it would actually destroy the mate bond effect,” I argued, shrugging my shoulders. “I think you’re right that it’s probably likely but in the event that it doesn’t, they will be easier to store if we can flatten them in a similar way that one would do regular flowers in books.”

Noah was silent as he processed my proposal. He was far from convinced. I could tell by the crease between his eyebrows and the way his jaw tightened as he mulled it over in his mind.

There was a chance that his resolve was crumbling though so I kept talking, thinking out loud as I did so. “They could prove valuable in many ways,” I said. “I could see them retaining some of their effects and us using them for future medicinal purposes. We could have our scientists study them more closely in order to understand their properties. They could hold uses that we never thought to think up!”

The way the corner of his mouth quirked revealed that he knew I was grasping at straws but still, the wheels kept turning. He was seeing my point even though I had just come up with them.

As I spoke, I was becoming more confident about it as well. The flowers were worth saving.

“While you make some valid points,” he said at last. “I worry about the security risk from our enemies.”

“We can work that out,” I said. “It will take some time for the flowers to make it here. In that time, we could make a secure enclosure for the flowers so that they will be hidden and protected.”

Noah didn’t say anything for a long moment, just looked into my eyes, his countenance darkening in a way that nearly made me squirm. “You really aren’t going to let this go, are you?” he asked, tilting his head as he appraised me.

I tilted my chin up stubbornly. “I’ve been learning a lot about leading this community,” I said. “And one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is to keep our options open so that we know for certain we are making the right decision for the many.”

Noah smirked at me, but I saw the pride in his eyes. “Fair point,” he said but then he narrowed his eyes almost sternly. “Very well, we will compromise then. We will follow your plan to dry and securely contain the lily petals for now, but we will revisit the decision later pending further research on safe applications.”

I tried not to show my relief too blatantly but couldn’t quite keep my shoulders from relaxing. This just caused my mate to smirk more openly. I rolled my eyes before closing the space between us so I could kiss him.

We got lost in each other for a long, beautiful moment before he pulled away and gave me another stern look. “But remember that our first priority is protecting our family and our pack. At the same time, we will explore how these lilies might benefit others, but we’ll do so in a responsible manner.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, sir,” I said a bit mockingly. “I am well aware.”

He rolled his eyes as well but then kissed me again, and I was just relieved that we came to some agreement.

I just hoped that the decision was the right one.