Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1266 - 21 : Sins and Tragedies

*Zara*

I was as excited as my wolf was to go to this Moon Ball. There was a real possibility of finding my mate and carrying on with my life. Our child would have a happy home, and we would both be able to contribute.

I went through all my clothes, not finding anything that I really wanted to wear for the ball. I frowned, bringing out a few and putting them in front of me.

“How about this one?” I said, holding up a light pink dress.

We were in my room, helping each other in the only way best friends could.

Gia shook her head, totally concentrating on putting us together for the ball. “It’s not really your color. You need something more of a deep blue, or the opposite, a pure white... the shades of midnight, either the stars or sky. It’s always suited you that way,” she said.

I chuckled at her comparison but had to nod in agreement. “Alright,” I said in a happy tone. “Have you found something for yourself?”

Gia nodded with enthusiasm. “Yes. Give me one moment.”

A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, and I gasped.

She was wearing a deep red dress with various swirl designs in black. Lace complemented many parts of the dress, and I felt my heart leap for my friend. She was so beautiful. She’d be right at home on the dance floor in the Moon Ball.

“Wow, you look lovely, Gia,” I muttered.

A knock came on the door, and we exchanged a glance. “Come in!” I called.

In walked Marcus, whose jaw dropped upon seeing Gia in her dress.

“Gia, that is beautiful. I came to ask if you ladies had preference for certain side dishes, but... wow. Is that what you’ll be wearing?” he asked curiously.

Gia blushed and nodded, giving a soft giggle. “Yes. I’m glad you like it. I will admit, I value your opinion... just a little bit, though.”

“Only a little?” Marcus joked back, causing me to smile.

I giggled along with them, feeling ecstatic for my friend. Looking between Marcus and her, I wondered if there was a lasting bond forming between them.

Gia’s eyes fell upon me, and she said, “We’re looking for Zara’s dress, though. We haven’t found the right match.”

I nodded, letting out a soft sigh. “I’m not obsessed with perfection, but I want one that feels right, you know?”

“I understand,” Marcus said, then he snapped his fingers. “Why not ask Angelica? She may let you borrow one.”

“Oh, I could never ask that of her,” I said, already feeling as though I was overstaying my welcome somewhat.

Marcus shook his head, keeping a bright smile.

“Not with that attitude, you couldn’t! But realizing it won’t be any trouble for her just to at least ask, well, it’s worth a shot,” he pointed out.

He had a good point.

I returned his smile, then looked between Gia and Marcus. “Will you two behave yourselves while I go find her?” I said in a joking tone.

Gia stuck her tongue out at me. “I’ll give you a solid maybe,” my best friend said.

With that, I exited the room, heading through the mansion to find Angelica. I was so lost in thought about the matter that I nearly walked right into Noah.

My eyes widened and I looked into his blazing blue orbs.

“Oh, hello,” I said, raising a brow.

Noah studied me, expressionless, though he looked almost... tired.

“Hello,” he said in a monotone voice. “You seem distracted and in a rush to get somewhere,” he added.

“Oh, not in a rush. I’m heading to Angelica to see if she has any dresses for the Moon Ball. Marcus convinced me to go and check,” I said. “Are... you doing alright?”

Noah gave a shrug but chose not to answer my question. Rather, he remained silent for a moment before asking, “How are you feeling in general? Recovering?”

He didn’t speak openly about my pregnancy, which was kind of him. It was a great way to avoid the gossip mill, no doubt.

I gave him a soft smile. “I am,” I said honestly.

I hadn’t struggled at all during the run in the woods we’d had the other day, which was a great thing. Both my baby and I remained very strong. That weariness that radiated off Noah, though, had me worried.

“You know,” I said softly, “you don’t have to go through with the wedding, Noah. Really.” At first, I hesitated, but then I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

I expected him to shrug it off and snap at me, but he didn’t do so. He just stared into my eyes. “It will get my father off my back. It will be better for the pack in the end,” he muttered, his jaw clenched.

“Are you sure about that? Remember what I said before... I really don’t think that’s true,” I said, resisting the urge to cup his cheek again.

I knew that really wouldn’t be appropriate.

Noah’s let out a soft sigh. His stubbornness was still showing, and rather than address it, he tried to give a faint smile. “Look. Find yourself a good dress, beautiful. At least I’ll have a happy, gorgeous friend to look at during the ball.”

“Only because of the dress, though,” I said, deciding to try to tease him. Maybe it would lift his spirits a bit.

“That’s right,” he said, giving a light chuckle. After a pause, he said, “I’m going to go mull this over in the gym.”

I nodded, watching him head out. But then, I heard a low grunt of anger from nearby.

From around the corner came Serena, and I noticed she was a bit... red in the face. She stared at me, her jaw and fists clenched.

I narrowed my eyes but didn’t say anything yet. She clearly had some strong and possibly unhinged emotions flowing.

Serena said, “Are you really going on about the wedding still, Zara? So what if we’re not true mates in your eyes? It can blossom eventually. Your idea of love at first sight is so... twisted. Fate deciding who we love?”

She frowned deeply, offended that I was still talking about it, apparently.

I would have had sympathy for her, and even agree that she had a point, if I didn’t know the real reason why she was getting with Noah.

Fated mates or not, it wasn’t because she loved him.

I stood my ground, keeping my eyes locked on her. “I am going on about your wedding because you two are doing this out of convenience, or for power. Issac, Estella, and I can’t convince you to stop it... but I can’t deny my belief that this is a mistake.” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Serena bared her teeth at me and was clearly about to snap at me, but I raised my hand, not wanting to her some sort of snarky remark.

I wasn’t done yet.

“For you too, Serena... this isn’t just about Noah. I know the idea of being a Luna is some mystical, amazing fairy tale. But it won’t make you happy. Seriously, it won’t. You deserve happiness, and so does Noah. Marrying for power or status will not bring you happiness.”

“Tch. You don’t know me. I will bring something wonderful to this pack as a Luna–you watch,” she said, completely missing my point.

I said in an exhausted tone, “I’m coming from a place of care, Serena. I am worried. You really don’t have to do this. You would be happier finding your true mate.”

I could tell that Serena didn’t believe me by her completely doubtful expression.

This was a horrible mistake.

I couldn’t talk her out of it. Rather than stress myself further by speaking to a wall, I muttered, “I’m going to go find Angelica now.”

The tension in the room was rising, and I was glad to go seek out Noah’s sister for some solace.

Thankfully, as it turned out, Angelica did have just the dress for me. I was so eager to wear it to the ball and had almost forgotten about the situation that’d just happened until Angelica brought it up again.

“There’s no convincing them out of this wedding thing still, huh?” she asked in a sad tone.

I shook my head.

“No luck for me either,” she said.

“There is still time for them to come to their senses,” I said, though I didn’t really believe it. Angelica gave me a shrug and sighed.

“Well. Either way, I hope you and your friend have a good time at the ball. It is a wonderful event. Make sure to eat lots of food and get moving on the dance floor,” she said.

I nodded. “Thank you for this dress, by the way. It’s beautiful. I will bring it back without a thread out of place,” I said.

“Keep it,” Angelica insisted. “It suits you. I have plenty.”

She insisted that I didn’t pay for it, either, and wasn’t going to let me press for it.

***

The journey to Windy Clouds wasn’t long at all, and my spirits were lifted when we arrived. Gia and I chatted the entire time, with Marcus contributing to the conversation every so often as well.

Gia and Marcus were all smiles toward each other, which was so sweet. That didn’t change when the ball started.

We got a table together in the hall, which was decorated like a starry sky. Many moon decorations were set up everywhere to emphasize the theme.

My wolf was restless, and we felt a powerful tug on our very soul. There was some strong magic at work here tonight, which made my heart pound with excitement.

Would I meet my mate again? I hinged my hopes on him being local to the region, as Marus suggested. I watched people dance in the center of the hall, nodding my head to the music and trying to figure out when to join the dancers.

Admittedly, I felt a bit shy. I had always been a top-of-the-class intellectual, so dances like this could be intimidating.

I decided to look toward Gia for inspiration, and I smiled happily as my friend did a twirl in front of Marcus. They hadn’t left each other alone since we got here, and I felt my heart sing at that sight.

In fact, I watched as Marcus offer a hand to Gia, and together, they began to dance, both with a beautiful amount of grace.

They were clearly having a great time, and I was beyond happy to see it. I let out a breath, wondering if I’d meet my mate on the dance floor.

Would I bump into him? Would he even be here? I furrowed my brow.

A voice off to my side caught my attention. I tuned in, realizing it was Serena talking to some members of the Windy Clouds pack.

“Oh, this is so beautiful!” she said. “I want to put on something like this in Drogomor when I’m Luna. Things are going to be made even better when I take over. Well, when Noah and I take over, I should say.”

I shook my head, not at all surprised. It seemed at times that she was trying to do well for the pack, but at the same time, she was coming across as so... snobby.

I even heard an added comment of, “The blues selected for this midnight theme are beautiful, but I would have gone just a touch lighter, you know? Better atmosphere. I’ll demonstrate during one of our balls someday, you watch.”

I found myself wondering where Noah was, though admittedly I wasn’t surprised he wasn’t hanging around Serena.

He and his stubbornness... I knew I had to put that aside for now and focus on finding my life mate, for the sake of our future happiness together, and that of our child.