Chapter 8 : Unexpected Visit

**Rosalie POV**

A few days had gone by since I had been brought to my room.

The first moment I stepped into it, I was in utter shock over how beautiful it was, and the fact that he was asking me to stay here.

Well... he wasn’t really asking me himself. In fact, I had not seen him since the day he left the hospital.

It was a sunny day, and the clear blue sky was lovely. It reminded me of that pair of dangerous yet captivating eyes of his.

The cold-hearted Alpha of Drogomor, Ethan… and my master.

It had been two weeks since I last saw him. A part of me longed with curiosity to see him again, but yet… I was also terrified.

Shaking my head, I tried to brush off the thoughts about him. I should have been happy that I didn’t have to face that scary man.

“Rosalie!”

Knocking at the door drew my attention. As I stood from the small chaise in the room, I watched Vicky enter.

“Good morning! I just wanted to make sure they brought your breakfast already.”

She saw the almost-still-full plate, and sat down next to me.

“Did you not like toast? I can ask them to bring something else.”

She was worried about me, I could tell. Not because I was the breeder, but because she truly treated me as her friend.

“Vicky, the toast was tasty.” I gave her a smile. “Thank you for making it for me. I just didn’t have a large appetite… Sorry!”

I was still hesitant about a lot in this place, but at least I had Vicky and Estrella, who didn’t make me feel so afraid anymore.

“You gotta stop saying ‘sorry’, miss!”

She raised her voice intentionally, and pretended to be scolding me. Then a big smile appeared on her face. Vicky always had a lovely way to cheer me up.

“Okay, Vicky! Thank you, really.”

I could not be more grateful for what she had done for me.

“Oh, Talon will actually be by soon to fetch you. Not sure why, but he said just to let you know he was coming. ”

I nodded. Talon had been checking on me almost every day, and I had gotten used to his visits. He normally stayed far enough away for me to feel comfortable. It was hard to believe that the second-in-command of the Drogomor pack was a well-mannered gentleman.

“Here, I brought you some new clothes! Try them on for me!”

Vicky was excited for dress-up, apparently, but I was a bit confused and curious now.

When Talon came to visit, he didn’t need to notify me ahead of time. I was always in my room.

So why did Vicky come to dress me up… unless they wanted me to meet with someone…?

…Ethan?

Thinking about Ethan made my heart skip a beat. The touch of his finger, his beautiful eyes…

But then the chills crept over my spine when I remembered the way he was watching me. Yes, I was under his scrutiny—like a prey being watched by its predator, and like goods being checked by their new owner.

“I know it isn’t my place, Rosalie... But being a breeder isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You will be giving life to the next Alpha of this pack, and a part of you will live on here forever.”

“...I know,” I replied, still unsure of it all.

I knew Vicky was just trying to make me feel better, but it didn’t help. It wasn’t what I wanted in my life. I wanted to be free.

As we talked, I finished changing into a simple dress. It was comfortable, yet it fit me just right.

“Just think about it, okay?”

Nodding my head, I watched as she gave me a reassuring smile, then disappeared from the room.

The longer I waited, the more my nerves got the best of me.

I paced the floor of my lavish room and admired the beautiful view of the outside world from my window. Pack Drogomor was located at the edge of the forest. The vast green surrounding us would bring peace to any anxious soul.

Would there ever be a day I could run free and feel the soft grass under my feet?

“Rosalie...”

Talon’s voice from behind me made my breath hitch. Slowly turning around I saw him standing in the open doorway.

“Are you ready?”

No. I didn’t know what was happening, so how could I be ready?

“Um, yes...” My feet moved forward.

I was bought by the Drogomor pack, but, so far, they hadn’t done anything but nurse me back to health. Estrella and Vicky tried their best to make me feel at home, and even Talon, stern as he was, had been respecting me and giving me as much personal space as possible.

I followed him down the corridors until we arrived in front of two large white wooden doors. As he pulled the door open, I came face to face with someone I thought I would never see again.

My father.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn’t dreaming. It had only been two weeks, but he seemed to have aged a lot.

Father… Did he change his mind about selling me? Did he come to bring me home?

“Father…”

I stood there. It was the least I had expected, and I didn’t know what else to say or do.

“Rosalie...”

At first glance, my father looked calmer than I had ever seen him. Yet behind his eyes was something else. “I got word that you are unsure about being a breeder…”

His words shattered my heart. That was the first thing he wanted to say to me. Not to check on how I was doing, not to tell me that he missed me, not to ask me whether I wanted to go home… He only wanted to know whether I had done enough to please my new master.

Rosalie, wake up. Your loving father vanished long ago.

Over the past two weeks, I had been combing through my memories of my life since my mother passed away. I had started to accept that the home I used to call home wasn’t the place for me to be.

Yet, when I saw my father again, I immediately tried to fool myself into believing that he still wanted me back, that he still loved me as his daughter.

But even though I so wished to believe the lie— reality always brought me back to the truth.

I looked at my father, the one whom I had loved, feared, and tried to take care of for years. I always told myself that it was all the alcohol’s fault that he behaved the way he did.

Now he was standing in front of me sober, but in his eyes, there wasn’t sorrow or sadness. Only frustration and anger just like usual.

If I was back home, by now, I would’ve been on my knees begging for his forgiveness, and then most likely would have received some beating before being released to my room. But for some reason, I didn't feel like there was any reason for me to do that today.

“Father...” I looked him in the eyes. “You told me I was to be a maid, was that true?”

I wasn’t sure where my courage came from, but I was so tired of being lied to. I just want to hear the truth from my family. Just this once.

“You are to be what he wants you to be!” my father yelled at me, causing me to shake in fear.

The shadow of Talon came to stand next to me, and I saw how the fear flooded my father. Talon wasn’t going to allow him to hurt me.

As my father’s expression quickly changed, he softened his voice.

“Look, Rosalie... If you don’t do this... Then our family will be ruined. Alpha Ethan wants a breeder, and I must have got things mixed up...” my father began to say until Talon cleared his throat. “Okay—I lied, okay... but only because I knew you wouldn’t agree.”

As he looked at me for what felt like the first time in years, I realized that I was not afraid of him any more. I was just bitterly disappointed.

“...I’m sorry,” he added unwillingly, glancing over at Talon.

Shock and anger coursed through me.

My father lied to me and sold me. I didn’t have a say in anything, and yet here he was trying to act normal, but only because Talon was here keeping a watchful eye.

“I don’t want to be a breeder...” I whispered, my eyes full of tears. I just wanted to be free.

“Rosalie... Please.”

My father got to his knees in front of me, begging me to agree.

The action surprised and terrified me. I took a step back.

That was my father, the Alpha of our pack. He was supposed to be all of our strongest protector. He was to be loved and respected at all times.

But, in this moment, I only saw a pitiful old man, someone who would plead with his daughter to exchange herself for money.

What happened to him…? Was he still my beloved father?

Deep, deep sorrow ran through me. It was time for me to wake up and face the truth and accept who this pitiful old man really was.

But I didn’t have the heart to ignore his pleas, no matter how much he had hurt me over the years. They were the pleas of my pack.

What should I do?

It was only a few months… right? Pregnant for a few months, and then I would be free to leave. I could go to a small town and start over, become someone new.

The idea of taking this on broke my heart, because I wanted to save myself for my mate. But did I really have a choice?

I turned to look at Talon. “what happens if I don’t do this?”

“If you don't, your father doesn’t receive the rest of the payment, and the debt doesn’t go away. Most likely, your father will be killed, and the pack taken over by someone else.” Wide-eyed, I stared at him in disbelief.

As I looked at my father, I saw a defeated look upon his face, and it broke my heart.

My mother’s words ran through my mind. My mate would forgive me one day. It was a sacrifice for my people.

After a moment, I sighed. “If I do this, father, we are even. My debt to you is paid in full, and this will be my last repayment of family affection.”

His teary eyes looked up to me, almost shocked. “Rosalie…”

“You’ll no longer have a daughter,” I said firmly, trying to find any courage I had left in me.

“I understand. Will you do it?” he asked.

My heart broke at that moment.

This was all he cared about... Money.

“I wish you hadn’t come today. That way, I at least…” I murmured to myself.

My father tried to come closer to hear what I said, but was stopped by Talon.

“I will do it,” I announced. “I will be the Alpha’s Breeder.”

My words were soft, but held great weight.

Joy filled my father's face. My eyes slowly left his as I turned to Talon.

“May I please go back to my room?” I asked him, no longer wanting to be in my father’s presence.

“Yes, of course, Miss Rosalie.”

Talon turned with me and walked me toward the door that led back towards my room. I couldn’t help but stop in the doorway, though, and look back at my father, who was now on the phone smiling and talking to someone. Probably Isis.

He was happy, and it killed me.

My father… he was supposed to think about me before himself, and he never did.

Did he ever even love me?

My cruel father... It would be the last time I saw him.

After this... I would no longer have any family.