Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 175 The Ritual
**Rosalie’s POV**
“Your mother would be proud of you,” Cerina said, standing next to me, looking over my mother’s tomb. This was for Ethan to hear so that we wouldn’t make him suspicious.
In my mindlink, however, I heard Cerina’s disapproval ‘Your Majesty, This is too dangerous. Please reconsider performing the ritual!’
‘Cerina, I’ll be fine. I haven’t been using my powers much recently,’ I replied. I knew what she was worried about.
Ethan seemed to sense something, and he glanced toward me with a look that reminded me that it was time to leave However, we were far from achieving the goal of this trip.
I needed to say something aloud so that Ethan wouldn’t suspect Cerina and I were conversing via mindlink, so I asked Cerina, “My father told me she died from disease and that they couldn’t let me go close to her body, but I’ve always wondered… what happened to her?”
Ethan walked over and demanded, “Rosalie, we don’t have time for this. Let’s go.”
I held Rowan in my arms and insisted, “Ethan, I need to learn about my mother’s past! Rowan deserves to know his grandmother’s story too.” However, upon seeing his frustrated expression, I added, “Please?” He stared at me for a moment and released my arm unwillingly. “Be quick.”
I nodded. “Cerina, could you tell me more about her? My father rarely mentioned her after she passed away…”
“Queen Willa gave up her life for the welfare of our pack”
What Cerina said took me by surprise. Cerina lowered her head and said a prayer Then she turned to look at both me and Ethan. “There was a terrible force that crept close to our land, and with them they brought an illness unlike anything we had ever seen before. So many of our people were dying, and it didn’t matter which medicines we used. Nothing worked,” Cerina replied with tears in her eyes.
I wasn’t sure what hardship had befallen Cerina at one point, but looking at her now as she gazed down at my mother’s grave, I could see the pain radiating through her.
“You lost someone?” I whispered. Her eyes met mine with hesitation as she quickly blinked back the tears.
“I did,” she admitted. “I was a mother once before as well. My son would have been just a year older than you now. However, when the illness came, he was one of the first to go A parent should never have to go through burying their own child.”
Broken. That was the feeling in my heart at that moment.
I looked down at Rowan. It was painful day and night without him in my arms. Being a mother myself, I couldn’t even dare to imagine what my High Priestess had gone through.
“So, my father knew then what my mother did?”
Shaking her head, she gave a meek smile. “No. It was too dangerous. She couldn’t risk your life or your father’s life….”
None of us interrupted her. Even Ethan was listening.
“She sent him a letter telling him that she never loved him, as well as some other things. She couldn’t tell him the truth. She thought it better that he hated her than know the truth.”
My eyes widened in shock as my breath caught in my throat. Was that why he never talked about my mother? All these years, he thought one thing, and because of it, my father treated me so cruelly. However, even then, he couldn’t bring himself to believe what she had done, and he only said that she was sick. Was my father so hurt that he couldn’t even tell me that my mother ran away?
“She wouldn’t-” I breathed out, shaking my head. ‘Why would she do something like that?’
“Your Majesty,” Cerina replied, her hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me. “She did it for you. Queen Willa loved you more than anything else in this world. The day that she came here was the hardest for her because she wanted to go back and get you.”
“For me?!” I exclaimed. “How is that doing anything good for me?”
Letting out a deep breath, Cerina’s eyes went back to Ethan for a moment. His brow narrowed, but he didn’t say anything.
Cerina smiled bitterly. “She did it to give you a normal life. She forbade us from reaching out to you. She had hoped that you wouldn’t have to live through what she did and wouldn’t have to bear her burden. She wished for you to live your life simply and happily….”
I thought about my life. Ever since her death, I had been miserable and pathetic, and so was my father- until I went to the Drogomor pack.
“I wish she had brought me along…” I replied with tears in my eyes.
“Unfortunately, she didn’t expect that your father’s personality would change that much after her death. I’m sorry about that.”
I sighed. “Not your fault at all, Cerina.” Cerina patted my back, and I looked down at Rowan. I wished I could stay here and mourn for my mother, however, I also knew why we had come there. I took a few seconds to recollect my thoughts and then I turned to Georgia.
“Georgia, would you hold Rowan for me for a moment while Cerina and I say a few words over my mother?”
“Of course!” She smiled eagerly, taking Rowan and kissing his chubby cheeks.
I kneeled down before the grave, which was part of the altar, and closed my eyes, seemingly saying a prayer so that Ethan could hear. “Mother, please guide me and help me…”
At the same time, I mindlinked Cerina. ‘Cerina, can we use this spot to perform the ritual?’
‘Yes, Your Majesty. But there is no telling if it will work.’
‘It will,’ I said firmly. It had to work. Cerina was not convinced. ‘I still don’t think it’s a good idea.’
‘It is needed. We can’t win the war on our own. We need to work with Ethan- normal Ethan This is my order, Cerina!’
James, Kai, and Madalynn were all waiting to take us down. Winter Forest pack wouldn’t survive their combined forces.
We needed to work with Ethan-not the ruthless, cruel, bloodthirsty Rogue King, but the kingdom’s guardian, the Alpha of Drogomor.
She sighed and gave in. ‘Yes, we can perform the ritual here. However, I must remind you that if you feel overwhelmed, you have to stop the ritual right away!’
I promised her, ‘I will. Now, please get everyone ready.’
‘Yes, Your Majesty!’ she answered. I knew she mindlinked others to prepare for the ritual.
“Ethan, can you come here, please?” I called him.
His eyebrows arched over his still crimson eyes. “Me?”
I nodded, “Please? I want you to pray over my mother’s grave with me, too.”
He was surprised by my request, and he hesitated I wasn’t sure whether it was because he thought the Moon Goddess had given up on him, or because he didn’t want to kneel before my mother. “You are the father of her grandson…. It would mean a lot to me,” I tried to persuade him
I saw him take a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking at the ground.
I kneeled there with my hand extended to him, waiting for him to come over and take it. Reluctantly, he sighed again and came over to hold my hand as we circled my mother’s grave.
With Ethan standing next to me, I nodded at Cerina, the High Priestess of the pack, to begin the ritual.
She started the way that we had discussed. “Oh, holy Moon Goddess above, we beseech thee today to look down upon us and bless us with your undying love as we celebrate the life of Rosalie’s mother, Queen WiIla, the former White Queen. We thank you for all of the blessings you have bestowed upon our pack, Winter Forest pack, and we ask you to please be with each of us as we continue to do the work Queen Willa would expect us to do.”
I kept my eyes closed and listened intently, waiting for her to get to the part that I had to help her with as the current queen and the only one who could truly free Ethan.
Behind me, I felt other pack members move into place, blocking Ethan’s path, should he try to retreat.
“Now, Moon Goddess,” Cerina continued. “We ask for a miracle from you. We ask for your holy grace to rain down upon the one of us who has lost his soul.”
With that, I felt Ethan tense up next to me, his grip on my hand tightening I could feel his eyes coming open as well.
Cerina continued, quickly. “Give our queen the power she needs to do your work!” With that, I took over, reciting the phrase she had taught me. It was in an ancient tongue that Cerina taught me during the time I was studying in the palace
I began to chant it over and over again, as I kept my grip on Ethan’s hand. “Dieta de Lune, ma devo ti solasta gor libertia du essencia de ma harte de surita enilationa de ula exestian!”
Ethan was struggling to get away from me as I continued to say the phrase over and over again, faster and faster. The warriors behind him were struggling to keep him there, but when I dropped further to the ground near my mother’s grave, with the intensity and strain from my rapid repetition and the pull on my power it was creating breaking me physically, Ethan began to groan.
It started out as a low rumble deep inside of his chest, and the longer it went on, the louder it got until he was roaring. The warriors released him, and he crumbled to the ground next to me, writhing and twisting in obvious pain.
I turned to look at him, my eyes wide open. Cerina motioned for me to stop, and I finished the phrase one last time and then placed my hands on Ethan’s chest, partially to steady him, but also to alleviate any pain if I could.
I didn’t know if I could help him without my blood, but as I touched him, an electricity pulsed between us, and I felt it, too.
The intense, unbelievable pressure weighing down on my chest pushed the breath right out of me, and I imagined this must be what it would feel like to have a thousand-pound boulder crushing my lungs.
It didn’t last more than a few minutes, and when it was over, I found myself sucking in air as if I’d been underwater for hours.
Looking at Ethan, I saw that he was doing the same, breathing deeply, his eyes closed, his arms crossed over his chest, like he had been trying to protect himself.
Eventually, he stopped moving, his eyes still closed.
Sweat beads formed on my forehead, and I felt that all of the strength in my body was gone. I looked toward Cerina and nodded at her, telling her that I was able to handle the ritual with control. She let out a sigh of relief and stayed where she was.
She was watching Ethan intently and didn’t move. No one did.
Even though I stopped chanting, I continued to pray in my head to the Moon Goddess over and over.
Dieta de Lune, ma devo ti solasta gor libertia du essencia de ma harte de surita enilationa de ula exestian- Moon Goddess, I channel your power to free my loved one from the fate of a doomed life. Until Ethan’s eyes opened.