Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1706 - 148 : Unshakable Support

*Kryzen*

“I’m not sure about this dress.”

I finished straightening my tie before looking over at my mate.

She was staring at herself in the full-length mirror, turning and staring at her reflection from a bunch of different angles.

I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to see even a single flaw in her look. As usual, that was an impossibility. She looked as perfect as she always had, with her dark brown hair spilling in gentle waves down her back and around her heart-shaped face.

She had mentioned that it was the dress she wasn’t sure about, so I gave the garment a thorough once-over. It was a nice dress that was a soft pink color. It was cinched at the waist and showed off my mate’s round curves. As my eyes raked over her, I could no longer keep myself away from her. I quickly crossed the room so I could wrap my arms around her.

“You look flawless as always,” I told her, pressing a kiss to her cheek and meeting her gaze in the mirror.

As I predicted, she huffed at me and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at me through the reflection. “I was asking about the dress,” she said. She grimaced. “It makes me look a little wide.”

I couldn’t hold back my mischievous smirk and slid my hands lower to squeeze her hips. “Only in the spots that matter,” I said huskily, trailing kisses along her neck.

Briella slapped my hands away, her cheeks coloring beautifully, the pink fabric of her dress bringing out the healthy hue. “I’m serious,” she said. She gave me an almost shy look. “You don’t think it looks like I’ve put on some weight?”

I dropped a kiss to the top of Briella’s head, hiding my eyes while I did so that I could roll them. It wasn’t the first time in the last month that Briella was worried about her figure. She had been saying ever since having Emberly that her body hadn’t been the same.

I agreed with her that it wasn’t the same as it had been. She had been beautiful then, but she had filled out in all the right places. I could barely keep my hands off of her whenever we were in the privacy of our bedroom or even sometimes when we weren’t. I loved to feel her soft curves against my body.

She seemed to be turning more heads wherever we went due to her figure. While I felt myself glaring at random men who dared to look at their queen with that kind of desire, I still wouldn’t change Briella.

“You’re definitely not the rail-thin little girl I once knew,” I told her. I rubbed my hands up and down her sides as I kissed her cheek once more. “But I wouldn’t change that, love. You look stunning.”

She finally smiled at me gratefully and turned in my arms so that she could hug me more fully. “I love you,” she said, looking up at me with her sparkling green eyes.

I cupped her face in my hands, brushing her cheekbones with my thumbs as I gazed down at her. “As I love you,” I said, dropping my forehead to hers and just holding her tenderly.

The world always seemed to fall away when Briella told me that she loved me. She probably said it several times a day, but I never grew tired of hearing it. I was still amazed that it was a fact, and I was so fortunate to hear those words from her every day.

I was about to kiss her fiercely when our door slammed open. We both jumped and turned toward it to find our little girl standing in the doorway.

Briella giggled and waved. “Well, hello there,” she said to Emberly. “How did you ever escape from the maids?”

Emberly just grinned up at us and started to toddle over. She was only a year old but was already so expressive for her age. She didn’t talk much and was surprisingly shy despite her cheerful personality. When it was just the three of us, however, she was quite the handful.

“Someone looks all ready for her birthday ball,” I said, bending to scoop my daughter up in my arms.

She was dressed in a pink frilly dress that Briella had designed. The skirt had a ruffly design and was covered in tiny bows. A gold tiara was fastened to the top of her curls. I doubted she would keep it on for long. We would have to keep an eye on her.

As if reading my mind, Emberly reached up and pulled the tiara off of her carefully groomed curls before sticking one end of it into her mouth.

Briella gasped before gently grabbing our daughter’s chin and urging her to open her mouth before she could cut herself on the metal headpiece. Briella let out a breath when she had the tiara safely out of Emberly’s mouth and back on top of the little girl’s head.

That was when one of the maids came rushing in. She bowed low. “My deepest apologies, Your Majesty,” she said. She straightened, her dark eyes widening. “I turned my back for a second, and the princess had disappeared.”

“No harm done,” Briella said, smiling kindly at the older woman.

Emberly wrapped her arms around Briella’s neck and hid her face in her chest shyly. Briella rubbed her back soothingly, and we all headed downstairs.

It was hard to believe that Emberly was a year old already. She was growing quickly. It had been so meaningful to watch her personality develop.

The ball was already in full swing when we descended the steps, Emberly in her mother’s arms. There were boisterous cheers and coos when we came into view, causing our daughter to shift a little nervously.

“It’s alright, Ember,” I said gently, reaching out to stroke my daughter’s back soothingly. “Everyone is here to wish you a happy birthday.”

Thankfully, the cheers quieted considerably when the guests realized Emberly’s shyness. They cheerfully went back to dancing and chatting animatedly.

“Your favorite uncle is here, Niecey!”

The first to step forward to greet us was the future Alpha of Drogomor, Kellan Black. He grinned widely and immediately took Emberly out of Briella’s arms, causing my mate to roll her eyes with a fond smile.

Thankfully, Emberly loved her uncle and beamed up at him, reaching out with a small, chubby hand to pat his cheek and giggle happily.

“You are becoming quite the young lady,” Kellan said, grinning tenderly and bouncing our daughter up and down, causing her to squeal with laughter.

I put an arm around Briella, leading her over to the front door where we would be stationed for a while to greet all of our guests.

Briella looked longingly at our daughter and her brother but dutifully allowed me to guide her by the door. Emberly didn’t have many people she warmed up to, so this was a good opportunity to let her bond with her uncle and for us to greet guests.

As soon as we settled by the entrance, the Alpha and Luna of Drogomor approached us.

Briella lost all royal professionalism upon seeing her parents and threw herself at them, causing Alpha Noah and Luna Zara to chuckle and hug their daughter close.

“It’s so good to see you, Briella,” Luna Zara said, stroking her daughter’s hair back. “Motherhood becomes you, dear. You are absolutely glowing.”

Briella looked a little embarrassed but grinned. “Thanks, Mom.” She then turned to her father. “Alpha,” she said curtly with a wink.

The corner of Alpha Noah’s mouth quirked. “Your Majesty,” he teased right back with an exaggerated bow. He then grabbed Briella’s arm and pulled her in for another hug.

It was extremely rewarding to see my mate so happy. It had only been a few months since Malphas was defeated, and the weeks following had been peaceful but trying as well.

We no longer lived in fear, but there had been much that needed to be done, including purification rituals throughout our kingdom, piles of paperwork, and furthering defense systems in neighboring packs.

There had been quite a mess to clean up after Malphas’ demise. There were questions as to what should be done to the obsidian palace as well as the land of shadows. We finally signed off to have the palace torn down, which had taken more planning and paperwork than should have been necessary.

I had been tempted several times to go there myself and burn it all down.

Since we had so much to do in terms of cleaning up, this was the first true celebration since Malphas’ demise. It was fitting that it happened to line up with Emberly’s first birthday.

Briella and I truly felt as if we were starting over fresh, and our little girl was very much the hope for our bright future ahead.

After speaking with multiple guests, we went in search of our daughter. We were blessed with attentive family members who made sure she was having a good time despite her shyness. She was with Alyna when we found her. Emberly was playing peekaboo with my sister by hiding beneath one of the tables and lifting the edge of the tablecloth to poke her head out from under it.

Emberly squealed when she saw us and ran to us, immediately demanding that I pick her up. Everyone chuckled around us as I relented, scooping her up in my arms. I kissed her chubby cheek and smiled at her. “Ready to thank everyone for coming?” I asked, bouncing her slightly.

As if she understood what I was saying, Emberly nodded, her dark curls swaying as she did so. I put my free arm around Briella and led them both to where our thrones sat on a raised platform on one side of the room.

All the attention was already on us even before we ascended the couple of steps onto the platform. The room grew quiet with anticipation as we surveyed the crowd of our closest friends and family members. I squeezed Briella’s hand, and she beamed up at me.

“Before saying anything else, I would like to thank you all for coming today,” I began. After the polite applause died down, I continued. “I can think of no better way to celebrate our daughter’s first birthday than with our closest friends and family members. You’ve already made this a special night for our little girl.”

Briella stepped forward. “We would also like to thank you all for your continued support. Many of you have come from entirely different realms, and it warms our hearts to know we continue to have friends and allies in those realms. The support has meant so much during our darkest times.”

Emberly started to fidget in my arms a bit, wiggling impatiently. “What is it?” I asked her. “Is there something you would like to add, Emberly?” I tickled her side lightly, causing her to squeal and giggle and wave her hands around, which made our guests chuckle.

I kissed her forehead before clearing my throat, switching to a slightly more serious tone. “My family thanks you, and our kingdom thanks you. We will continue to do our best to ensure that Embervale is protected and thrives under our reign.”

Our guests roared, their cheers an unshakable testament to their support for us. I straightened with pride as I held Briella with one arm and our daughter in the other. I was determined to keep them and our kingdom safe for as long as I lived.