Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 170: Rosalie’s Persuasion
**Rosalie’s POV**
The flowers Ethan had brought me remained on my lap. Though I considered pushing them off onto the floor, I didn’t. They were beautiful and innocent, and they deserved to be treated better.
I sighed. I bundled them into a bouquet and placed them on the table along with the necklace. The simple decoration immediately brightened the room.
I heard a discussion at the door of my tent that got my attention. Georgia’s voice boomed above those of the guards and another female voice I thought to be Vicky’s.
“Let me in there right now, d*mn you, or I’ll cut your balls off and shove them down your throat!”
“But Miss Georgia,” one of the guards was saying, “the Rogue King has expressly forbid us from letting anyone inside to see the White Queen.” The next thing I heard was the sound of someone doubling over in pain as I assumed Georgia had punched him in the stomach.
“Go tell Ethan. Now! Otherwise you’ll be the next!” she threatened the other guard.
“M-Miss Georgia…” he stammered.
“Just f*uc*king go tell him, and leave us the f’ck alone!” Georgia scolded.
I heard footsteps running away, and a moment later, my tent door opened, and Georgia and Vicky were walking in.
Stunned, I stood up to hug them. “What are you doing here?” I asked them. Ethan hadn’t let me see anyone except for him since Rowan had left.
Georgia hugged me tightly. “We don’t have a lot of time before Ethan finds out that we’re here,” she explained. She released me, and I hugged Vicky, seeing by her face that she’d been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she had streaks down her cheeks where tears had rolled through the layer of dust that covered her face, likely from a recent battle.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
The two exchanged a quick glance before Georgia said, “It’s Ethan. He’s lost his d’mn mind!”
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” I muttered, folding my arms beneath my chest. “What did he do this time?”
Bursting into tears, Vicky managed to choke out, “Talon! He’s… going to whip him!”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. Talon, of all people? The one person who was loyal to Ethan, no matter what he did?
“Why in the world would he do that?”
Vicky was sobbing so hard now, she couldn’t speak. Georgia wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to her shoulder as she answered me. “Talon was in charge of the prisoners from our recent battle. Ethan told him to have them all executed, but Talon spared some because those were very young rogues…”
I nodded. “Talon did the right thing,” I said. I couldn’t imagine how ruthless Ethan had to have become.
“Well, Alpha didn’t see it that way,” Vicky choked out.
Georgia patted her back as Vicky continued to cry. I felt just awful for my friend, but I didn’t even have a tissue to give to her. “When Ethan found out, he lost his sh*t,” Georgia said. “He had Talon locked up. In the morning, he’s going to give Talon forty lashes as his punishment.”
“Forty lashes?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My hands flew up to cover my mouth. Forty lashes had been known to strip all of the flesh right off of one’s back. Talon would be in serious condition from something like that especially if they became infected.
Most importantly, did Ethan also expect Talon to fight? If Talon went out to battle with wounds like that, he wouldn’t be able to fight effectively, and he could die!
“That’s right,” Georgia confirmed. “We can’t let that happen, Rosalie. If Ethan can do that to Talon, he can do it to anyone. Besides that… Talon doesn’t deserve to be treated that way. He’s been so loyal to Ethan all of these years. He gave up everything to stay by his side. Now, my f*eking brother is willing to stoop so low?”
I could tell by the way she was shaking her head, her lips pressed together, that she was trying to control her rage.
I agreed with her. We couldn’t let that happen. But I didn’t know how to stop it either. “What can we do? Do you think you can break Talon out of the tent so he can run away?”
“No,” Georgia said quickly, like that wasn’t even a possibility. “He’s too well guarded. No, the only way we can keep this from happening is if you can talk Ethan out of it.”
“Me?” I asked, my eyes widening. “How can I talk him out of it?” I was still his prisoner, after all. Clearly, I wasn’t good at talking Ethan out of anything.
“But you did. You’ve done it once. You’re the only one he’ll listen to,” Vicky said between sobs.
“Please Rosalie?” Georgia pleaded. “It’s the only way to save Talon.”
With no hesitation, I said, “Yes, of course, I’ll try. I just… don’t want you to get your hopes up, that’s all.”
“Thank you, Rosalie!” Vicky said, letting go of Georgia to hug me. “I knew we could count on you!” So much for them not getting their hopes up.
Georgia hugged me, too. “Thank you for trying.”
“Of course,” I sighed. “I only hope I can make Ethan listen to me.”
“Listen to you about what?”
Ethan’s voice boomed from the opening of the tent, making all three of us jump, even Georgia. Ethan’s expression clearly told us that he was beyond furious.
“We should go,” Vicky said quietly.
“Guards,” the Rogue King said behind the other two guards, “take them to…”
“Ethan!” I shouted out, redirecting his attention to me before he could come up with another horrendous punishment for my friends. Ethan’s eyes lit up, and he walked towards me, seemingly forgetting what he was about to say.
Georgia and Vicky exchanged a look and quickly fled the tent. The guards looked at us for a moment and quietly exited the room as well. Once they were gone, Ethan was right in front of me. “What’s going on, Rosalie?”
I took a deep breath. As angry as I was at him for everything he’d done to me and what he was threatening to do to Talon, I knew it wouldn’t do me any good to yell at him. I had to keep myself calm and patient.
“Please take a seat.”
Ethan was surprised, but he didn’t question me.
I took a few moments to organize my thoughts. My eyes darted to the flowers and the necklace on the table. Then I cleared my throat and said, “Thank you for the flowers.”
He followed my gaze and saw the flowers on the table, and it seemed to me that he was pleasantly surprised that I made them into a bouquet. I was really glad that I didn’t throw them away like I originally planned to. I added, “And the necklace.”
Ethan looked at me in disbelief. The red in his crimson eyes seemed to have faded a little, and I could see an expression similar to a smile on his face. He cleared his throat and murmured, “You’re welcome.”
I stared at him with my mind blank for a moment.
I knew it was wrong to feel this way, but when I saw his reaction, I couldn’t help but soften my tone. “What happened to Talon?” I asked him, as if I didn’t already know.
His smile faded now that he realized that was the only reason why I wanted to talk to him. However, he still answered my question. “I don’t like it when people disobey direct orders,” he grumbled and put his hands on his hips.
I nodded. “I can’t blame you for that. I don’t think any leader likes that. But it doesn’t sound like Talon to do something like that just because he felt like it. He’s always been so loyal to you. He gave up everything to be here, to make sure you weren’t alone.”
His expression shifted as his lips pursed slightly, and he looked away from me. He knew what I was saying was true. “I don’t know what got into his head today, but I gave him a direct order, and he disobeyed it”
“Did he say why?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He looked down at the ground fora minute. “He didn’t think it was necessary. But it’s not his place to question whether or not my orders are ethical!” he shouted.
He was starting to get angry. I couldn’t let that happen. “No, of course, it’s not, but at the same time, it’s not like you’ve been yourself recently. Perhaps he just wanted to make sure you’d thought this through.”
“What do you mean I haven’t been myself?” he growled.
I sighed and waited a moment, choosing my words carefully. “This rogue business has changed you a little, you know?”
A little… that was an understatement. His forehead knit together, then he scoffed, “For the better, I guess.”
I didn’t argue with him, but continued with my original statement “Ethan, you’ve become a little more… ruthless than before. Surely, you have to see that.” I didn’t give him a chance to answer. “Talon would do anything for you. Even now, he wouldn’t hesitate to stand there and let his back be ripped to shreds simply because you wish it.”
Ethan retorted, “He deserves it!”
I didn’t deny him, but I went on. “If you think so. However, in this case… what would happen if he runs into another battle tomorrow after a life-altering punishment like this?” I looked him in the eye, “Are you ready to lose your best friend for life?”
His face softened a bit, although he still tried to persuade himself, he had made the right choice. “I can’t let the others see me as a weak leader.”
“No, they won’t,” I said. “They’ll see you as a merciful leader, one who is reasonable and can reconsider the situation when new information is brought to light.”
He thought about that for a long moment before he finally said, “Fine. I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you,” I said, knowing that was his way of letting the whole matter go. “For Talon and for those young lives.”
He stood up and quickly cleared the space between us. “I’ll grant you your wish,” he whispered, “as long as…”
Ethan swallowed and I saw the lump in his throat move. I was immediately on high alert, looking at his lustful eyes warily.
If he wanted my body in exchange, what should I do?
However, he only printed a kiss on my cheek and quickly pulled away before I got the chance to condemn him.
“I’m glad you’re up off the bed,” he said before he left the tent.
I didn’t know how to respond as I sat there for a long time, letting my heated face slowly cool down.