Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 133: Bonus Story–Happy Birthday, Mila-Part 1

*Mila*

***14 Years Later***

“Wait a second!" Ciana's eyes grew wide open as she gasped, “So the real artifact of our pack is not the Feather of Justice?!"

“Correct," I confirmed.

Ciana jumped down from a low branch of a cherry tree, in her arms were some freshly picked, luscious, red fruit. She dropped the large heart-shaped cherries on the picnic blanket and sat down next to me.

“I need a moment to process this," she frowned, digesting the new knowledge as she popped a cherry in her mouth. “...Um…um, Mom, you have to pack those. They are so sweet! Especially since they're hand-picked by your lovely daughter. They will remind you to miss me on your trip!"

Tomorrow was the anniversary for Soren and I. Not our wedding anniversary, but the first time we met. We usually went on a trip just the two of us, but before we were on our way, we always made sure to spend some time with Ciana in our vacation home at the edge of our packland.

“Thanks, honey. I will," I smiled as Ciana shoved one cherry against my lips.

“Mom, but…why?"

“Huh?"

“The artifact," she reminded me. Oh, right. She pulled me back on our topic. “Does it mean that our Alvar pack has no artifact at all, and we've been lying to our people?!"

“While we will never intentionally hurt others, the reality is there are people who always want more strength, wealth, influence, you name it. Driven by greed, those people aren't afraid to harm others for their own benefit."

“So, you and Dad decided to lie to the entire pack?"

“Ciana, think about this. What use is the artifact other than being taken out and shown to the pack during routine ceremonies?"

She thought for a moment, “You're right. It really doesn't have much real use, but for a long time, I thought artifacts are there to protect the pack. The more powerful the artifact is, the more protection it would provide. At least that's what a lot of people believe."

“Quite the opposite," I sighed, “in my experience, the more powerful the artifact is, the more trouble it could bring to the pack. Therefore, it's best for others to know that Alvar pack only has a low-threatening artifact—a feather that could tell whether one is lying or not."

“If the person is telling the truth, nothing would happen," Ciana caught on. “If the person is lying, the Goddess would punish them. Liars wouldn't want to be punished by the Goddess, and therefore, of course, they would never try it out. As for honest people, if they try to use the feather, nothing would happen…Thus no one would really know the sacred artifact in the pack house is just an ordinary feather?!"

“Um, an ordinary turkey feather to be precise," I pointed out.

Ciana froze for a second then started coughing while bursting out into laughter. “Mom, that's…that's…so bizarre! But so funny. I bet it was Daddy's idea. Hahahaha!"

“It was your uncle Thomas' idea, actually," I couldn't hold back my own laugh as well. “Your father and Thomas decided to do that because they know what makes a pack really powerful is never its artifact, but its people."

“True…then do we have a real artifact for our pack?" Ciana asked curiously.

“Of course, we do," I smiled and lifted my hand. On my left ring finger were my wedding band and my engagement ring. The Moonlit Crystal sparkled in the sunlight.

“Your…your ring?" Ciana was confused.

“No, it's the gem on your mother's ring." A familiar voice rang behind me.

“Daddy!" Ciana jumped into my husband's arms and gave him a tight hug.

“Alright, monkey girl," he laughed and peeled Ciana off him.

Ciana didn't forget about our conversation and turned to ask, “Daddy, Mom told me about the Feather of Justice. You guys are tricky!"

“Nah," Soren laughed, “It's just called self-preservation."

“You?" Ciana tilted her head, “If there's anyone in the world who doesn't need self-preservation, that's you, Daddy! Who would want to pick a fight with the most powerful Alpha?"

“Don't try to butter me up!" Soren gently poked her nose.

Just then, something in the woods flashed, and Ciana's full attention was immediately drawn by it. “Wow, what a gorgeous fawn!" Ciana shouted, but by the time I lifted my head to look, all I saw was rustling foliage.

Ciana ran after the baby deer, “Hey, wait!"

Knowing her, she wouldn't return until she caught up with her wild furry friend.

For good or bad, Ciana didn't inherit my witch power, and I was glad she didn't. Greater power most times was a burden, and looking at her smiling face, I knew the Goddess had already given my daughter her blessing—a kind and positive heart.

Unlike Soren and me, Ciana was an open book, happiness or displeasure, people around her could easily tell. She didn't hide her emotions because there was no need for her to do so. Luckily, with her naturally upbeat personality, it was rare to see her get truly angry at others. She was our sunshine. She was everyone's sunshine. It was hard to not smile when she was around.

And it wasn't just people, it was animals too.

I looked again in the distance, Ciana had somehow “persuaded" the fawn to come to her, and it was eating the snacks she brought for it out of the palm of her hand. Not only that, a mixture of animals started to gather, bowing to her feet…

I gaped, amazed by my daughter's ability to get along with animals. I knew that as she grew up, she'd have to deal with people more than animals, and it wouldn't always be sunshine.

As the Alpha's daughter, she was groomed to lead a pack, and thus she needed to understand there are lies and conspiracies, and she needed to be able to see through them and protect herself and her people from them. For example, today's topic was all about the artifacts.

I sighed. If possible, I didn't want to have to teach Ciana about the dark side of people, but I was a bit worried that my precious child would get hurt someday. Especially since Soren and I traveled away for a couple of months every year.

Ciana gave us a big smile and waved at us before she went deeper into the woods.

“Why are you sighing?" Soren's arm wrapped around my shoulder.