Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 151 I Shifted For The First Time
**Rosalie’s POV**
I needed to get away from Ethan.
As I ran out of the tent and across the camp, my cheeks were burning with shame from what had just happened. I kept my robe pulled tight around me and headed for the solace of the forest.
I couldn’t go far, though. As much as I wanted to take off and just keep running, without my boy, I could only go far enough to get the sounds of the camp out of my ears so I could think clearly for a moment.
Why had I done that?
Why had I let Ethan make love to me when that was the last thing I’d wanted?
Not that I wasn’t willing at the time… I couldn’t deny that I was helplessly attracted to him even till this day.
It was just that I wanted to fight it, fight the desire of him. I knew better than to let my emotions carry me away, and I’d given in to his wanton desire. He had done so much to hurt me!
From treating me like a tool, to planning to kill me, to using me to get to Soren…. All of those things added together made me feel like I should hate him and never want to see him again, and yet I’d let him into my body like nothing was wrong.
Like I was still the girl who would’ve done anything just to spend a little more time with him.
He’d been the one to decide I wasn’t worthy of him, though. He’d been the one to push me aside. So now, I shouldn’t feel bad for doing the same to him.
But I hadn’t. I’d let him right back into my arms, into my bed… into my heart?
Yes, I had loved him once.
Yes, he was the father of my child, and yes, he was still the most attractive man I’d ever seen.
But I wanted to say no, he hadn’t made it that far.
Not yet anyway.
“Mates,” I whispered, shaking my head.
Now that I was outside of the tent, I could see the moon. The bright silvery light was slightly obscured by the trees, but I could still see the round orb up in the sky, looking down at me as if it was the seeing-eye of the Moon Goddess.
I wondered if she was having a laugh at the grand joke she’d just played. I’d begged her to let Ethan find his mate so that he’d leave me be, only to find out that it had been me all along…. And now, I couldn’t feel the pull because she’d granted both of my wishes?
I couldn’t describe the emotions coursing through me. It was as if I struggled for this long and eventually came back and realized that when all of my wishes were granted, I was in a worse situation.
How unfortunate a soul was I?
I desperately needed a place to escape this fate, and all I wanted to do was to run away-run away from Ethan and run away from myself.
I charged through the woods as fast as I could It felt good to not have to think and just let my body carry me along. I ran blindly, not caring about where I was going, until the root from a large tree jutting out from the ground tangled around my feet, and I fell-hard. In that instant, as the ground came up to meet me, something inside of me changed.
My bones and muscles began to move, rearranging themselves as if they’d always known exactly how to do this. Fur sprang up on the outside of my body, and my robe fell away.
In the blink of an eye, I felt my body was ten times lighter, and everything moved much slower. I was about to adjust my body mid-air to prepare for the fall.
To my surprise, I landed gracefully on the ground with no pain at all.
With four legs.
I was stunned and looked down at my body to find a beautiful snow-white wolf with glossy fur shining in the moonlight.
My eyes widened. I found my wolf!
My sight was immediately enhanced and everything was crystal clear even through the night.
I could hear the slightest movement from the tents I’d just left, and even my baby’s smooth breathing, and I could smell Ethan’s scent as he was chasing behind me not far away.
The change was so overwhelming, I could not help but let out a long howl to the moon.
“Oohoooo-I”
The sound of Ethan’s footsteps as he came up behind me had me closing my eyes and retreating into myself as I continued to run. I should’ve known he wouldn’t let me go, but I didn’t want to face him.
However, a moment later, I heard the pounding of paws behind me.
Then I felt a snout hit me in the back left hip, and I was tumbling again. I flipped over and landed on my back, looking up into Ethan’s red wolf eyes. Exhausted from all of the running and the emotional turmoil, my wolf shifted back into my human form. Above me, Ethan’s wolf did the same. Now, he was staring down at me, his hands on my shoulders, keeping me from getting up. I was still pinned.
“Rosalie!”
“Let me go!”
“Come back to the tent. I can’t protect you as easily out here as I can back in camp,” he said quietly.
I was still angry despite the fact that his tone was soft and concerned now.
“No,” I told him. “I don’t want to go back to your rogue camp, Ethan. I want to go home. I’m going to get my baby, and we’re going to head back to the palace where we belong.”
He shook his head, and I could see in his red eyes that he was doing his best to stay calm. “Rosalie, I can’t let you do that. They are after you. You must stay here with me.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore, Ethan!” I shouted at him. “I am not your breeder slave girl. I am a queen, and I get to determine for myself what is best for me and my baby!” I pushed him off of me, and he let me get up. I saw the remains of my tattered robe a few feet away and walked over to pick it up. I tossed it around me, thinking a bit of coverage was better than none.
“He’s our baby,” he corrected. “And I’ve already missed out on too much time with him. I’m not going to let you take him out into the woods where Goddess knows what may befall him.”
He latched on to my arm again, but I pulled free. It seemed that perhaps I was stronger already, though I was just barely twenty-one and had just met my wolf.
“Leave me alone!” I shouted, wishing I could call for Talon or someone to help me. But I knew they were loyal to him beyond anything else. Even Georgia and Vicky would likely choose his side over mine.
“Just because you are the queen, that doesn’t mean you’re making the best decision for yourself and my son!” Ethan shouted.
“What is that supposed to mean? That you think I’m stupid?” I snapped back at him.
“No, that’s not what I said,” he replied, running a hand through his hair. “I’m saying… common sense would tell anyone they should stay here while there are rogues and members of armies out there looking for them!”
“Oh, so now I don’t have any common sense!” I yelled back at him, putting my hands on my hips. “Well, why would you even want to claim me as your mate then if I’m such an i***t? Why don’t you just reject me and get it over with?” I wished he would. If he would reject me, then I wouldn’t be bound to him any longer.
Ethan shook his head again. “Don’t be unreasonable, Rosalie. I know you’re very intelligent. You’re just not thinking straight because you’re mad. Come back to camp. Now.”
That was the old Ethan. He was commanding me again.
“No!” I told him, and I turned away, thinking perhaps I’d go into the forest and hide and then come back and get my baby later. He was too fast for me, though. He grabbed me again, harder this time, though he wasn’t intending to hurt me. “It’s not safe out here, Rosalie,” he said, tugging me as he backed up toward the camp.
I had two choices—struggle, hurt myself in the process, and end up going with him, or just go along.
It was difficult to get my feet to cooperate when I didn’t want to do as he’d told me, but if I didn’t, I was going to get hurt. And I’d still be his prisoner.
I let him tug me back into camp. He stopped along the way to put on his pants but didn’t let go of me. Several people stood staring as he escorted me in, but one sharp look from Ethan, and they all turned away to mind their own business.
He took me back to the same tent I’d been in before. Tugging me inside, he backed over to the bed and pushed me down.
The scent of our lovemaking still hung in the air.
I hoped he wasn’t about to try that again right now because I was not in the mood.
Ethan dropped to his knees in front of me, his hands in mine.
“Rosalie,” he said, his tone calmer than before. “I don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t want to upset you, but trust me when I say it’s better for you to stay put for the time being, all right?”
What could I say? I’d already let him know that I didn’t want to stay, and he’d dragged me back here anyway. I was his prisoner now. Nothing I could say was going to change that.
“Can I have my baby, please?” I asked him.
“Not right now,” Ethan said. “You need to rest.”
“I want to see him, and I want to see him now.” I looked right into his red eyes, stressing that I meant it. If I was going to be a compliant prisoner, he was going to need to give me my baby.
Ethan let out a little sigh. “Why must you fight me on everything?”
I wanted to tell him that I felt the exact same way. I only continued to stare at him.
“I’ll bring him in when he wakes up so you can feed him. Now, you both need to rest and you need to recover from your wounds.” It seemed funny that he wasn’t that worried about my wounds when he was on top of me, thrusting inside of me. Ethan stood and leaned in to kiss my cheek. I stayed completely still, like a statue as his warm lips grazed my cheek. “I love you, Rosalie,” he said as he got up to leave.
I said nothing. I couldn’t echo his sentiment.
At the tent door, he looked over his shoulder at me, but he didn’t smile. He only stared at me before he finally turned to go.
As soon as I was alone, I fell backward onto my pillow and covered my face with my arm. Why did I have to be so foolish? I should’ve never let him get to me
again. I had already given him my body. I couldn’t let him take my heart. I might be his fated mate, but he wasn’t mine. I didn’t have one. I’d sworn that off. So it didn’t matter how badly he wanted me to love him, I wasn’t going to. I wasn’t going to fall for that again…