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?"

Astrid's POV

I had lost my mind.

How did I know that I had lost my mind?

Because with Alpha Jaxon looking down at me, his eyes a stormy gray that hinted at annoyance and his dark hair falling slightly over his forehead, all I could think about at this point was how handsome he looked.

His scent was undoubtedly the best thing I had smelt. He smelt like cedar, sweet wine and so undeniably male. I could get lost in his eyes and his hair, I was just dying to touch to feel if it was as soft as it looked.

I felt a tingle work itself up my body.

A growl escaped Alpha Jaxon and his gaze darkened, his arms around me tightening making me gasp out in pain.

"When I am talking to you, I expect a response."

My lips parted. "I."

But what did I have to say? What would I tell him and where would I start from and where would I end?

I couldn't tell him about the fact that I left the pack house without telling him why and the last thing I wanted was for him to also find out that I was royalty and try to use me like Xavier had planned to with his father.

No, I had to tell him something entirely different but what bothered me about that was the fact l felt like he would know if I was lying.

I found my voice looking into those gray depths. "I am Xavier's mate."

I saw something spark into life in Alpha Jaxon's gaze.

"Was his mate." I clarified. "He rejected me the moment he found out because he believes I am an omega and not good enough for him."

Talking about it refreshed the entire situation in my mind. How he had rejected me so easily.

He said that I was worthless when actually it was the reverse that was the case depending on how one looked at it.

Considering the fact that I was the daughter of the Alpha king and he wasn't even the Alpha of his pack yet, I outranked him.

I felt tears build in my eyes as I looked at Alpha Jaxon who just watched me intently.

"Even before we discovered we were mates, he abused me and humiliated me at every chance he got so I got angry and left the pack."

I still didn't regret my decision despite my current rather precarious situation and the fact that I had gotten kidnapped. If there was anything that I would do over again, it would be to choose a better hotel to pass the night or to have continued my journey into the night.

Alpha Jaxon raised a questioning eyebrow as though to ask me if a ransom had been put on my head for that reason alone.

I shrugged slightly, a smile coming to my lips at the thought of what I had done.

"I might have also pushed Xavier's favorite car into a lake and bashed his girlfriend's car."

Alpha Jaxon's eyes widened momentarily as though I had shocked him and I was glad to note that I rather liked the thought of surprising him.

Alpha Jaxon's shocked look faded to that of disbelief and doubt.

"Is he the one who put the bounty out on you? What rank does he have in the pack to do something like that?"

Now it was my turn to be shocked that he didn't know who Xavier was although I made sure not to let it on.

How was this possible? I thought all Alphas knew themselves. I suddenly recalled how Alpha Finn always put in so much effort to remain unnoticed by Alpha Jaxon.

Was it possible that he had also hidden the identity of Xavier so that he could spring him up when it was time to take the throne of my father the Alpha King?

I thought quickly. If he found out that I was the mate of the heir to the Moonshadow pack then he could let me go because I was too much trouble.

"He has close ties with the Alpha and the heir of the Moonshadow pack."

Alpha Jaxon narrowed his eyes at me. His grip on me tightened almost threateningly.

I was surprised to feel the entwining of fear and arousal within me.

Alpha Jaxon snarled at me baring his teeth.

"You had better not be lying to me or there will be consequences."

I swallowed hard, making eye contact with him so as not to further rouse his suspicions.

"I'm not lying. Please believe me. Anyone at the Moonshadow pack can attest to my story."

And I was right. It wasn't really a lie. Xavier was close to the Alpha of the Moonshadiw pack being his son and he was close to the heir of the Moonshadow pack seeing as he was the heir himself.

I must have sounded like I was telling the truth because Alpha Jaxon frowned slightly, his brows furrowed.

"If all of that was true then your exmate is a fool."

I blinked at him, surprised by his words. He never struck me as the sentimental type that would curse out someone simply for how they related to me.

He inhaled sharply making goosebumps break out across my skin from how class se he was to me.

"You don't smell like an omega but an Alpha." He said the words with a faintly confused and intrigued air.

I was struggling to think at this point because was it just me or had the car gotten like ten degrees hotter?

"I don't?"

His hands slipped from my shoulders where he'd held me down, one hand drifting to my waist, the other hovering dangerously close to my breasts.

Alpha Jaxon dipped his head in the juncture between my neck and my shoulder.

"You smell like dominance,"

His voice was deeper and it went straight to my core, I barely stopped myself from moaning. What the hell was wrong with me?

He dipped his head again, his hot breath moving over my skin making a small gasp escape me.

A growl left Alpha Jaxon's lips and he moved us faster than I could exclaim in shock pulling me partly under him on the seat.

In that movement, I felt him settle between my legs. Felt his hardness against me.

Another moan escaped me and I couldn't find the strength within myself to hold it in.

He slid his hand into my hair, fisting it in a way that was just shy of painful but extremely hot.

Then Alpha Jaxon dropped a kiss on my neck making me shiver before whispering against my skin.

"You smell like berries and wildflowers."

No one has ever spoken to me like that. With that dangerously sensual voice and something even rarer, honesty. It melted my heart and very nearly disintegrated my panties.

I opened my eyes that I had not realized had fallen shut to see his hooded eyes staring at me with undiminished desire.

"Alpha Jaxon." I meant to call his name to bring him back to himself but it came out as a low drawn-out moan.

I saw a look of dark amusement and intense pride come over his face.

"You are so aroused by my touch, Astrid. If I touch you, will I find you wet?"

I think I had a mini orgasm at the sound of my name on his lips. It was official. I was going to lose my virginity in the backseat of a car with a heartless Alpha who wanted me to have his child in exchange for 50,000 USD.

And the scariest part was that I was going to enjoy it. Hell, I might even be an active participant.

There was. just something about Alpha Jaxon that made me unsure of who I was outside his touch.

My silence seemed to be insufficient to satisfy his curiosity and his hand began to drift lower.

Over my belly, lower abdomen. he began to lift the shirt up to slip his hands beneath the leggings I wore underneath.

This was where my hand of its own accord caught his stopping his descent.

"We." I panted through my words, my inner thighs trembling at the thought of his fingers inside me. I needed him now. "I. We are just getting to know each other-"

He didn't let me finish before pulling my hands off his, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"No one says no to me, pet."

Then he slid his hand directly over me on top of the leggings making me gasp sharply, the wet sound from the movement slightly louder than my gasp.

I was so wet that I had soaked through the leggings. Alpha Jaxon smirked at me and the car came to a stop.

He started hovering above me for a few seconds, his eyes in contact with mine, the scent of my arousal thick in the air.

He removed his hands from me straightening and as if on cue, the car door opened and he shoved me out such that Beta Caleb broke my fall.

He didn't even look at me.

"Take her to the pack doctor to check her ovulation and put her on the list."

What list was he talking about?