Astrid's POV

I wish I could say that I left immediately, found my Dad and began to live the life that I was destined for.

My life simply couldn't be that easy.

Fighting the urge from the mate bond to return to Xavier, I made my way back to my room to pack my essentials.

I didn't know where exactly my father the Alpha King was but I knew that my search would have to start at the capital city. The Werewolf Capital City was the pack managed by the Alpha King that lay at the heart of our continent.

It was also where he resided. At least until he disappeared. My current pack was such a long distance away from the capital that I wondered what exactly my mother had been running from to run this far.

I would find out when I reached my father. I would find him. I wasn't sure how but I worried that if I thought too long about this plan then I would back out completely.

I needed to leave now. And I couldn't get caught.

I finished tossing whatever little property I had left into the bag and proceeded to leave the room.

I had not gone more than three steps when I heard loud footsteps heading in my direction making me duck into a small passage.

"She's not at the party and all the guests are already there."

That was Darryl's voice. The kind lady from the kitchens that had given me a cake.

I wanted to step out and talk to her but some hidden instinct made me stay in place.

A deeper masculine voice scoffed in response to her words. "What do you expect from an omega who has never had anything?!"

"Lower your voice, she could overhear us. The Alpha wants her to feel at home for now. Wait until he's gotten what he wants from her. Then we can treat her as she deserves to be treated."

I couldn't believe my ears as they walked past me to my empty room.

So even her kindness had been an act. How many times could one person be betrayed?

I wiped at my tears furiously. I couldn't break down now. I had to get out of here first. Once I heard their footsteps receed as they continued to search for me elsewhere, I was on the move.

I couldn't get to the Capital City on foot so I needed a car.

I didn't have one but the Alpha's car collection was in the garage adjoining the Pack house.

With a skill of picking locks that had risen from Lyra locking me up so many times, I was in.

Call me petty but I went straight for Xavier's car.

It was black, sleek, fast and most importantly it still had the key in the ignition. Xavier was that arrogant. As the heir apparent, who would dare mess with his car?

I smiled viciously. It was only right that the person that he couldn't see as more than a lowly omega was the person who would steal his car.

I slipped into his car ignoring his intoxicating scent that came from the seats. Damn mate bond.

I began to pull out of the garage only to see Lyra's car. It was a hot bubble pink and it was as expensive and gaudy as its owner.

She had always bullied me. Always tormented me. And now I was leaving my mate for her to keep.

Angry roiled within me and I couldn't stop myself from hitting on the gas and slamming Xavier's car against hers, breaking one of her headlights and denting the car.

Immediately the cars hit, I felt shocked and a little bit afraid of what Lyra would do to me if she found out.

No, Astrid, stop being so scared of everything.

I had to take back my life and stop being as submissive as this pack had made me to be.

I drove out of the garage and to my surprise no one stopped me.

I guess most of the pack members were at my celebratory party that I would not attend. That only meant that I had to move fast before they realized that I was gone.

When I reached the gates of the pack, I was suddenly nervous. I had somehow forgotten all about the guards that always checked the entering and exiting vehicles.

The windows were up and tinted. They wouldn't be able to see me in this darkness but all they had to do was ask for an identity check before letting me through and I would be done.

One whisper down the pack link and Xavier would catch me before I even made my escape.

A guard stood in front of the car, his head cocked curiously.

"Who's going out this late?"

Another guard came up to him and gave him a slap across his head.

"Can't you recognize Alpha Heir Xavier's car?"

Thank the Goddess. Who would have thought that being petty would turn out to be so rewarding?

The first guard bowed hurriedly to the car.

"My apologies, Alpha Heir."

He turned back and I the rest hurrying them along. "Open the gates and let him out."

Relief coursed through my veins as I finally left the Moonshadow pack behind for good.

It was very late to be traveling and everyone knew about the rogues that lurked about waiting to prey on wanderers at this time.

I couldn't shift so I didn't even have a way to defend myself. I couldn't travel far but at the same time, I couldn't stay too close in case the Moonshadow pack sent people after me.

I settled for an in-between. I would go to the r Renext town outside the Moonshadow pack territory and pass the night there.

I looked at Xavier's car that I was driving. They could use it to track me.

I had to dump it and I knew just where. I drove up to the lake just on the border of the Moonshadow pack then I pushed the car in.

The car would be discovered easily but my scent would not. I looked at the car in the water feeling my last tie to Xavier sever. My heart hurt as well as my mate bond to him but I still had a lot to do.

I took a quick dip in the lake water to obscure my scent then I was off.

Reaching the town on foot was harder and by the time I reached the first hotel that was open so late, I was winded.

As I walked into the hotel, some male wolves sat at the reception and I felt a distinct sense of maliciousness coming from them.

I wanted to leave but the probability of me finding another hotel that was open to guests was low so I approached the receptionist.

"How much for a night?"

The bubblegum-biting blond stared at my cheek before telling me the price and I touched my no longer bleeding but still hurting cheek self-consciously before paying her.

Thankfully I had gotten some cash from Xavier's car so I was able to afford the fee.

She slid me a key. "You've got room 89. Here is your room key, honey. Breakfast will be served at 8 a.m."

I bobbed my head grabbing the key. "Thank you."

I found my room easily and when I sat on the bed, I was finally able to decompress and realize how much I had gone through in the past few hours.

I had found out that my mate was my bully, got rejected by him, found out my whole life was a lie and that I was being manipulated at every point. I had also left my home to look for my father whom I didn't even know what he looked like.

My body shook violently and sobs escaped me as I hugged my knees tight to myself.

I thought after my eighteenth birthday that I would never feel alone again because my mate would have my back but I had never felt more alone in my life.

The doorbell went off and I wiped at my cheek hurriedly.

"Room service." The voice announced.

Room service? I didn't have the money to waste on food. I needed it for my journey.

"I didn't order anything."

"Complimentary meal from the hotel." The voice responded.

Complimentary meant free, right? I realized that I was pretty hungry after all the walking and pushing a car into a lake.

I opened the room door to see a woman holding a tray ladened with food at the door.

Eyeing the platter, I took it out of her hands.

"Thank you."

She nodded and left. The door was barely closed behind me when I dug in. The food was warm and so sweet but savory.

I was so full that I passed out immediately afterwards.

When I woke up, I was cold.

My head felt like it was full of cotton wool and I couldn't think straight. I opened my eyes and the unfamiliar ceiling blurred up ahead of me.

I blinked and my vision aligned. I was no longer in my room at the hotel.

I heard the scrap of wood across the floor and turned my head slightly to the side to see an unfamiliar man looking at me.

My panic spiked and I tried to sit up only for my head to spin.

My voice came out hoarse and croaky.

"Who are you? Where did you bring me to?"

Why was I feeling so weak? I recalled the food I had not ordered and the suspicious men in the lobby. Had I been drugged?

The man-sized me up with a gruff look before nodding. "You are awake. Good."

Good? What did he mean by that?

He stood up from the chair smoothly barely looking at me as he spoke.

"Clean up and get dressed. We need to leave."

I looked down at my clothes realizing why I was so cold. My clothes were torn up and dirty.

I clutched my clothes to myself feeling violated and confused as my muddled mind still struggled to stay in the present. "Go where?"

The man bared his teeth at me.

"Stop asking questions. You have been bought to be Alpha Jaxon's surrogate not to ask questions."

My world shifted again.

Surrogate?

Astrid's POV

At that point, the haze in my head cleared.

Alpha Jaxon was the Alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack. The name was nearly as deadly as the deadly infamous pack.

The Crimson Moon pack was one of the biggest packs on this continent. That was because the Alpha of the pack, Alpha Jaxon, kept conquering other packs and adding them to his.

He was rumored to be deadly, bloodthirsty and extremely merciless. Even my former pack shied away from any interaction that involved the Crimson Moon pack instead choosing to send gifts to Alpha Jaxon in hopes of appeasing him to prevent an attack.

This was the man that I had been 'sold' to become his breeder? Just how much drugs had they put in that food?

I just wanted to find my dad, why did it seem like I was going from one trouble to another?

I blinked up at this stranger who told me that he had bought me.

"A surrogate?"

What little I knew of that word was that they carried babies. Would that involve sex? Sex with a bloodthirsty monster?

Fighting my rising nausea, I sat up and reached for the edges of the stranger's jacket.

"Please I never volunteered for this. Please let me go."

The stranger frowned at me.

"What do you mean?"

Maybe if I was able to explain the situation to him. Explain how little I knew of it and how I had been drugged, maybe he would let me go. I held on to him tighter.

"I think I was kidnapped-"

The man brushed off my hold on him, his frown even more pronounced now.

"That doesn't matter to me. You have been purchased. You must perform your duties."

Purchased like I was a commodity or something. I could tell from the easy dominance that he carried that he was a strong wolf.

Even if he wasn't, I wasn't strong. I might have been descended from royalty but my strength had still not shown itself. I couldn't fight him. Even if I did, I had no idea where we were.

I only had one option. One that I was too familiar with after all the years that I had spent in the Moonshadow pack. The submissive life that I thought I had left behind in my former pack.

I folded my hands together feeling tears fall down my cheeks.

"Please, I can't. I can't be a surrogate. Please have mercy on me."

The man didn't seem moved so I scrambled for what to say. "I. I'll pay you back. I'll pay you back whatever you paid the traders."

The man looked intrigued, his brows pulling together slightly. "And what would you possibly have of value?"

I clutched at my chest and neatly wept in relief as I realized that the men had left my necklace on me. It was the gift I had found with my cake at that fake celebration Alpha Finn had thrown me.

And it might just be what saved me.

I unmatched it from my beck and held it out for the man to look at. "Here, take this."

The man held the necklace between his fingers with a sardonic smirk.

"This? Is this a joke?"

My heart sank. Was it not enough to pay for my freedom? Just how much had those men sold me for? How long had I slept for?

"What do you mean?"

The man flung the necklace on the bed. "This is fake gold."

A gasp escaped my lips. "No. It can't be."

I was so stupid. So damn stupid. Stupid for thinking that the Blackwoods would ever be legitimate about anything.

They wanted me for my connection to the Alpha King but they couldn't even be bothered to give me a real necklace. They probably didn't see me as worthy of something that expensive.

The man crossed his arms, seeming amused.

"If it were real, do you think the slavers would have left it on you?"

My cheeks burned, my high completely gone. Of course. People that thought to sell me would definitely not balk at taking my jewelry or any other valuables I had on me.

Valuables. I checked myself and as I suspected, the wallet that I had taken from Xavier's car was gone.

Then my mind caught up with what he just said. "The slavers sold me to you?"

Slavers. Goosebumps covered my skin. They were one of the reasons apart from the rogues that I had stopped for the night.

Technically they were rogue wolves.

Only instead of losing their mind like rogue wolves did, they banded together almost immediately after their banishment, keeping themselves sane and doing anything to keep food on their table without the support of a pack.

They sold wolves, humans, and any supernatural that you could think of. They also sold information, took on bounties and did any dirty jobs asked of them.

So those men had been slavers. I had been so careless. But if he knew they were slavers then he knew that I wasn't here willing.

I latched onto his shirt with renewed vengeance.

"You know they are slavers. You know I didn't volunteer for this so why are you doing this?"

The man began to speak but the air in the room suddenly charged up. And my entire body went still.

"You should be thankful, pet." His voice was cold and clipped. Somehow I just knew that this was the Alpha Jaxon. The Alpha who had bought me to be his surrogate.

He didn't look like the monster I had always envisioned him to be. He was stacked, his muscles pulling his clothes tight against his body.

Alpha Jaxon's face was like a dream with his defined jawline, high cheekbones and his cool grey eyes.

Relax Astrid. Monsters can also be good-looking.

But my breath still caught at the sight of him and my nipples pebbled beneath my dress.

The man in the room bowed to him, his body language switching up from dominant to subservient before I could blink. "Alpha Jaxon."

Alpha Jaxon barely looked at him before dismissing him with a wave.

"Leave us, Caleb."

Caleb. That meant he was Alpha Jaxon's Beta. No wonder I had felt so much dominance from him.

Caleb bowed once more then left the room. Leaving Alpha Jaxon and I alone. The air in the room thickened and my breath came fast.

Until he threw a poster in my face. A poster of me tagged wanted.

Wanted. I was wanted? There was only one sect of people I could see doing this.

Alpha Jaxon's next words confirmed my suspicions.

"The Moonshadow Pack has listed you as a wanted person. I assume you are a fugitive from there."

So soon? How long had I been out? I had planned to be far away from my pack before they found out that I was missing but being abducted and sold, I had missed my deadline.

If they got me back. I thought of Lyra's car, Xavier's car, and their plans for a fake mating. I was done for.

Alpha Jaxon didn't even look annoyed or amused as his Beta Caleb had been.

No. He spoke to me distantly, keeping a lot of space between us, sounding so unfriendly that I had no problems believing all I had heard about him and imagining that handsome face torturing some unsuspecting soul.

"They are offering as much as half a million dollars for your return."

Shock raced through me. Would they really pay that much money for my return just so that Xavier could get the ring and the Alpha King title?

Alpha Jaxon tilted his head to the side, his gaze unreadable and his face expressionless.

"If I let you go, the slavers will sell you back to them."

Back to that pack. Back to that life as a worthless omega. Back to that life where Lyra and her minions did as they wanted with me.

Now that I had tried escaping, their security would be amplified. I would never leave. They would never let me leave.

Alpha Jaxon leaned in and took my chin making me shiver in fear, want and repulsion.

"I intend to keep you, pet. I don't care about your past or what you want. Only what you can give me. A child."

He let go of me, turning away like the only thing that mattered was what he had to say. Like his opinion was the only thing that mattered.

"Get ready." He said gruffly. "We leave in an hour."

I finally found my voice, as shaky and trembling as it was.

"If i. if I complete the surrogacy, will you let me go?"

Alpha Jaxon's POV

I looked back at the woman who would be my surrogate very soon.

How dare she question me? She needed to know her place.

Leaning in, I grabbed her chin roughly making her gasp out in surprise. So far I had been nice and considerate but I was an Alpha and I didn't accept challenges from anybody.

"No one questions me, pet." I whispered in her ear, feeling her stiffness against me.

My hand shifted to her neck placing just enough pressure to not hurt her but enough to show her that if I wanted to I could.

"Most especially not you."

Astrid's pale green eyes widened with fear and I was surprised that a part of me wanted to take that fear away but I ignored it.

It was better for both of us if she was afraid of me. We didn't need this arrangement to be anything other than what it was. A much-needed arrangement.

I pulled away from her feeling angry at her, myself and this whole blasted situation.

"Alpha, the car is ready." My Beta, Caleb said bowing as I exited the apartment building and approached the car.

"Could you have gotten a more submissive one?"

My voice was a guttural sound and barely audible beneath the trial of my wolf that had been agitated since I saw Astrid.

Caleb stood straighter, his tone full of apology

"She was the best they had to offer and you know what she said-"

Caleb's words were cut off by my hands wrapping around his throat as my wolf began to wrest control from me at the mention of the woman who had sent us here to start with.

"I know what she said," I growled at him.

How could I forget when my entire life was dependent on this?

I released him and Caleb bowed even lower waiting for my judgment.

It wasn't a stretch to say that I never forgave a misstep so he was right to be afraid. But today, he was not the one at fault but me.

I didn't want to take my anger out on one of my most trusted people.

"I will spare your life because you are my Beta. You know I have a lot riding in this. You will prepare her for this journey. If she will not be cut out for it then dispose of her and get me a new surrogate."

Caleb raised his head sharply at my words, he knew what that meant. If she was going to be problematic, the decision would need to be made quickly.

Or the witch would have to find someone else.

Caleb lowered his head once more.

"Yes, Alpha."

One might say that I was ruthless but I would never deny it. As long as I got what I wanted in the end.

As I sat in the car waiting, the phone call came in.

****"

Astrid's POV

I touched my neck still feeling the pain of Alpha Jaxon choking me.

He has confirmed that all the rumors about him had been true. Earlier when he had laid out his cards for me, I had the hope that maybe he was reasonable and maybe I could even do this.

Just until I gave him a child but now I was no longer sure. He refused to clarify whether or not he would let me go.

What if I became his surrogate but he still kept me? What would I do then?

The door to the room opened and Beta Caleb walked in. He looked flustered or maybe it was just because his face was red now.

He glared at me.

"Why aren't you dressed yet?"

Beta Caleb didn't wait for me to respond before reaching for some arranged clothes that were on top of the dresser that I was just noticing. He threw them at me.

"Put them on."

If I agreed to do this now, the goddess knew what they would force me to do next. I couldn't cave to their wishes.

My hands were free and so were my legs. Even if I couldn't win a fight against a full-grown wolf, I would try my best to defend myself.

"No."

Beta Caleb paused at the intensity of my voice and I found the courage to keep speaking.

I wrapped the bedding around my torn clothes and stood facing him.

"You already know I was kidnapped. How can you expect me to just accept whatever you say without a guarantee-"

He didn't let me finish before grabbing my arm roughly.

"Look silly girl, you don't have anything. No clothes, no money, nothing." I swallowed thickly at the rage in his eyes. "Even if we were to leave you here, you have nowhere to go so stop being so fucking difficult! If you keep fighting like this, you will die."

I froze at his words. What did he mean I would die if I kept fighting?

He seemed to notice that I was listening to him now and the pressure of his grasp on my arm eased slightly, something akin to mercy but not quite mercy in his eyes.

He spoke finally. "Alpha Jaxon has a short fuse,"

I recalled earlier when he had been cool one minute and violent the next.

"If you want to keep your neck, you will follow me quietly." Beta Caleb said finally as though it wasn't a threat but an eventuality.

I sagged, all my strength leaving me.

"I.I just want to know if after I am done being his surrogate, he'll let me go. I have a life to live."

That was the entire reason that I had left the Moonshadow pack. So that for the first time in my life, I would be able to breathe.

So that I would find my father. But even that was denied to me, knowing my fate was the least I deserved.

Beta Caleb let go of me.

"You don't have to worry about that, he will. He will even pay you 50,000 USD as compensation for your troubles."

I blinked at him, certain that I had misheard.

"Really?"

Beta Caleb didn't look like he was. joking as he regarded me seriously.

"I would not lie about something like this. You just have to keep a smile on your face instead of talking so much and spread your legs for him."

My cheeks burned at his words and I felt instantly mortified. It would be like selling my body but the difference was that I had already been sold to them already.

They could just force this on me anyway without giving me anything but they hadn't done that. That amount of money would be more than enough money for me to travel to the Capital City to find my father.

Enough to keep me afloat for a long time during the search.

Beta Caleb gave me an impersonal once-over as though confirming what he already knew.

"You are beautiful as well so that should help you as long as you don't ruin it."

I felt like a piece of meat or possession being objectified like that. If he was telling the truth then I would at least get something out of this.

I looked away from him disheartened by my impossible situation.

"Alright. Please excuse me so I can change."

He turned to go but he paused at the door turning back to look at me.

"I know this is not the life you want and conceiving might be harder than you think but I think you are the best fit for this."

I was surprised by his somewhat warm words. Beta Caleb had been cold since, what had changed?

"Why do you say that?"

He shrugged. "You are a fugitive and the Crimson Pack is deadly. Stay with Alpha Jaxon and no one will dare touch you."

I had not really thought about that even if Alpha Jaxon had mentioned something along the lines of that as well.

"Thank you."

Beta Caleb's face hardened again. "Get dressed. You have two minutes."

Then he left me alone and I washed my face in the bathroom, rinsed my mouth and began to dress up. As I dressed, my mind whirled.

If I let the bounty hunters catch me and end up in the hands of the Moonshadow pack, I would return to my life of being a helpless omega.

I didn't want that. Alpha Jaxon might have shifty moods, be volatile and want to use me but I would also be using him in return.

Pulling on the oversized shirt, I headed to the car.

I had to sit next to Alpha Jaxon in the back seat. The moment I entered, the car was off. I thought that I would at least be able to get my bearings on where we were but the windows were tinted and there was a divider between the front and back seats so that we couldn't see into the front and they couldn't see us in the back.

Before I could blink, Alpha Jaxon had my back pushed up against the locked car door, his arms caging me in on all sides and his eyes dark.

"Why is the Moonshadow pack after you? What is your relationship with Xavier?"