Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1483 - 82 : Vows

*Saoirse*

I didn’t want to wake up.

It had all been such a nice dream, and I wasn’t ready to face the horrors that awaited me in the real world.

Shylah had finally been kicked out of my body, and Rhys had been there to catch me as always. Everything had fallen together beautifully, and I was in Rhys’ arms, where I knew that I belonged.

I could still remember the feeling... as if I could still feel his arms around me...

I paused.

There were arms around me.

With a gasp, my eyes shot open. I took in the scene in front of me.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Rhys’ rough voice said to me, a serene smile plastered across his face.

"Is this a dream?" I asked in a shaky voice, lifting a hand to place it against his warm cheek. "Are you real?"

I prayed to the Moon Goddess that he was real. He felt real.

Rhys’ smile twitched slightly, but then he replied in the same steady, rough voice. "I am real. You are here with me, Saoirse. You are safe."

I felt tears prick the sides of my eyes despite myself.

"So it wasn’t a dream?" I choked. "It all really happened? You all saved me?"

"Yes, the spirit of Shylah is gone for now," Rhys said, leaning into my hand as if trying to show how solid he was. "You are stuck with just me."

"I wouldn’t want to be stuck anywhere else," I said with a small smile.

"I’ll hold you to that," Rhys said in response, kissing the soft skin of my hand.

Warmth blossomed deep within me. I had to take a couple of breaths before I could refocus.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked.

"Not as long as I would have expected," Rhys said encouragingly. "Only about a day and a half."

"A day and a half!" I exclaimed. "And you haven’t left all this time?"

Rhys shrugged. "I promised not to."

I just stared at him with his nonchalance. He was playing it off as if it was no big thing. Although I couldn’t deny the happiness that I felt at his words. I had fought off sleep as long as possible because I hadn’t wanted to lose any time with him, and it seemed he had felt the same.

"And now that you’re up, I have a surprise for you," Rhys said with a small smile. "Get dressed."

A giddy feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time sprung into my chest, and I jumped out of bed. We were in Rhys’ room, but I was surprised to see that he had moved most of the clothes from my previous room into his. I gave him an odd look, but he only smiled in answer.

Rhys stayed in the room as I dressed but moved to dress himself as well. Once we were both ready, he grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

It was the perfect day, exactly what I needed. We mostly just milled about the castle, going to breakfast and walking around the grounds where I could get some fresh air. Everything reminded me that I was in control and free to enjoy life again.

We even ventured outside the castle walls. At first, I found myself to be a little nervous, but Rhys aided in comforting me. With him by my side, I wasn’t nearly as concerned as I would have been on my own. I wouldn’t tell him, but if it was just me, I wouldn’t leave the castle.

Rhys had turned me around so much with all our walking that I hadn’t even realized where he was leading me until we were already there. My heart squeezed uncomfortably as I recognized the flowering tree coming up ahead. It was the place where my heart had been ripped out.

Rhys sensed my discomfort beside me and squeezed my hand. Even though I knew his missing the wedding wasn’t intentional, this place still held some of that fear and pain I had been going through at the time.

It wasn’t until I felt my hand tugged backward that I realized that Rhys had stopped walking. I turned around and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him before me.

He was down on one knee.

"Rhys," I whispered out. My free hand went up to cover my mouth.

"Saoirse," Rhys began. He then had to clear his throat as his voice cracked. "I love you, and I know this isn’t how it was planned, but I still want to marry you. There is nothing I want more in this world than to be your husband and to be a family with our child."

My eyes started to well up again. Maybe it was all the pregnancy hormones making me so emotional lately.

Looking at the love of my life in front of me, I knew it wasn’t the pregnancy that was making me cry.

"I’m a mess, Rhys," I sobbed. "Are you sure?"

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life," his strong, clear voice echoed. "The real question is whether you still want to marry me."

I opened my mouth to answer, but my words were gone. Nothing was coming out through the emotion raging inside. The love I had for Rhys was too strong for words.

With words gone, I did the only thing I could and nodded vigorously. Rhys got the message. He whooped and hollered aloud as he got back to his feet and wrapped his arms tightly around me, swinging me around.

He pulled back and kissed me hard, knocking my breath away even more. I heard a noise in front of us. I broke our kiss to look. It was music. I couldn’t see where it was coming from, but it was clear, so it had to be close.

"Since you said yes to marrying me..." Rhys said slowly, putting me back down and grabbing my hand. "Is it possible that you would marry me now?"

"What!" I managed to exclaim.

My eyes snapped back to Rhys, who was still grinning, even if he looked a little nervous.

"I want you to be my wife, Saoirse, from now until forever," Rhys said softly. "And I don’t want anything else getting in the way of that ever again."

"But wha-what about the officiant?" I asked. "The witnesses?"

"I’ve arranged it all," he continued. "Just a small ceremony for us to commit to each other and tie our lives together."

The idea of tying my life together with Rhys’ was intoxicating. That was all I wanted for so long. And he had a point. If we were going to get married, why bother waiting? I didn’t want to have to go through the whole planning process all over again.

Plus, Rhys had orchestrated this entire thing for me by himself. The act in itself was so romantic that I would have married him even if I didn’t love him. Lucky for me, I loved him more than anything else in the world.

I nodded my head again. Rhys’ answering whoop was just as loud as the first one, making me laugh.

Rhys pulled me up to where I could see the intimate wedding setup underneath the flowering tree. A nervous smile played on my lips as I saw the king and queen standing there waiting with smiles on their faces as well. But other than them, it was just the officiant.

We began to walk up to the altar. I noticed the wildflowers I loved so much scattered about to make an aisle for us.

"It’s perfect, Rhys," I said through the tears threatening to spill from my eyes again.

The ceremony itself was short and sweet, with just the legal sayings and the intimate promises between the two of us that we had already uttered a million times—the promise to never leave each other again.

As soon as I said “I do” following his own, Rhys swept me up off of my feet, kissed me hard, and started to walk away. I heard the officiant pronouncing us man and wife in a yell as Rhys hurried off.

I laughed again. Rhys continued his hurried, serious walk all the way back to the castle and back to his royal suite. Once inside the room with the door shut, he finally put me down. As soon as my feet hit the floor, he was pressing me up against the wall, his lips smashing against my own.

The passion in his kiss awakened a need inside of me that I hadn’t even realized I had been missing. Rhys was the only one I felt it with. When he was gone, there had only been a void.

"Sorry," Rhys panted against my lips. "I couldn’t bear to just stand there anymore. I had to touch you, to hold you, to kiss you..."

His lips pressed against mine again, and I eagerly responded, fisting my hands into his hair.

This was the furthest we had gone since being reunited, and I didn’t want it to end. It was making me feel whole again in ways I couldn’t even comprehend. Rhys’ hands trailed over my body. Everywhere they touched felt like he was reclaiming my body as my own and his own.

I was his, spiritually and now legally.

"Husband," I whispered gently.

Rhys stopped and stared at me. "What did you say?"

"Husband," I said slowly with a smile. "You’re my husband."

Rhys groaned in response, diving back in for more.

"That sounds so right," he said as he trailed kisses along my neck.

The way he responded to my words made me feel in control, which was something I had been missing for the past weeks. I could feel Rhys holding back as if he wanted me to make the choice. He was giving me the freedom that I needed to be me...

The freedom to heal.

"Husband," I whispered back in his ear. "Take me to bed."

Rhys didn’t hesitate. His hands reached up underneath me and lifted me easily, carrying me over to the bed before he threw me down on it. He stood at the edge of the bed just looking at me. The tears stung my eyes as I saw the look of love and devotion that burned on his face. Rhys truly loved me for me. He knew me. He saved me.

"I want you," I whispered to him. "I need you."

Fire burned in his eyes, but he hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"This is my body, and I want you to give it pleasure," I said, my cheeks reddening.

Rhys’ eyes burned red. He started to crawl toward me on the bed. "Your wish is my command... wife."

Afterward, as I lay safe in Rhys’ devoted arms, I felt more myself than I had since the fiasco with the first wedding happened. I felt whole.

At that moment, I vowed that no matter what storms brew ahead, I would fight to make my family a sheltering haven. Rhys had saved me enough. It was my turn to return the favor.

And my vow was holding true.

Over the next several weeks, Rhys and I established a comforting routine within the sheltering palace walls. I felt my walls continue to crumble slowly as I embraced my new role and identity as Rhys’ wife and the princess of the Egoren Kingdom.

My anticipation built for the future royal heir I was nurturing in my womb. It was easy to distract from the haunting memories of the past events as I began to excitedly make plans for a new royal nursery. I brought in the best consultants and planners I could to help me in the feat.

Nothing was too big for our baby.

As the weeks went by, Rhys became busier and busier handling crucial affairs of the state in the wake of political rifts ignited by the recent mystical chaos. And with Rhys gone more, I focused on the baby more. As strong as I felt like I was getting, it was still hard to be alone.

The thoughts would come creeping back in...

Rhys didn’t like to be away from me either and made a point to constantly check on me. As much as I told him that he didn’t need to do that, I felt better each and every time I saw him. There was one thing that I could not deny.

Despite how safe the castle felt and that I refused to think about what was happening outside those walls, I knew that wasn’t the case.

Unpredictable threats still loomed outside, looking for their opportunity to sneak in.