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?

Astrid's POV

When I got to the Crimson Moon pack hospital with Beta Nathan, I was more than confused.

What exactly had Alpha Jaxon meant by the list and why did he want a doctor to see me?

The injury on my cheek was already healed. I might not have a wolf but I could heal even though it was way slower than a regular wolf's.

The doctor seemed pleasant at least.

"I am Rachel and in your time here as your time here as a surrogate, I will be your guide and confidante."

I looked at the smiling doctor with cropped blond hair and almost angelic blue eyes. My supposed confidante. She was from the Crimson Moon Pack and ultimately one of Alpha Jaxon's people. I couldn't trust anyone but myself here.

She turned to face Beta Nathan who seemed to stand straighter under her gaze.

"Wait outside the clinic and give this to the Alpha."

Rachel handed him an envelope. Beta Nathan accepted it and gave me what I assumed was a don't misbehave look before walking away.

I turned back to you the doctor. Had she sent him away so that I could feel more comfortable?

"When you said confidante, did you really mean it?"

Rachel smiled wider, her face a picture of serenity as she hooked my arm with hers.

"Of course, I intend to help you along with everything I possibly can."

She escorted me into a room still speaking. "To carry a child, your mind must be at peace, your body fully rested and primed on your goal."

Right. Just in case I had forgotten my primary objective here. Being Alpha Jaxon's surrogate and giving him an heir as quickly as possible.

The room had a bed and numerous sterile equipment that instantly made me feel nervous.

Rachel at least allowed me to change behind a dressing screen even though she stood right in front of it and spoke to me while I dressed.

I didn't know if it was because she was trying to get me familiarized with her or because she didn't want me to escape.

I stepped away from the dressing screen wearing the extremely thin hospital gown feeling exposed in more than one way.

"Do-Rachel. I've not done anything like this before."

Hospital check ups that weren't critical weren't in the cards for omegas at least not in the Moonshadow pack so I didn't even know what to expect from a female examination.

Rachel seemed to misunderstand me though as she laughed and waved away my concerns.

"Don't worry, getting pregnant isn't as scary as it seems. It also helps when the sex itself is good."

My cheeks burned and I was almost sure that even my neck was on fire. Was she always so blunt?

But then again from the little moment we had in the car, I knew that sex wouldn't be a problem for us. That quickly, I was back in the car with Alpha Jaxon touching me so expertly, I thought of his lips on my skin-

I shook my head as though that would get rid of all the nonsense in my head.

I noticed Rachel staring at me as though waiting for a response to her earlier words.

"I. I don't know what to say to that."

She smiled at me as though I had said just the right thing.

"You don't have to say anything. Just relax and let me work."

Rachel ushered me to the bed and a nurse, Matilda, came in. Then she began to work.

And when I say work, I mean lots of it.

To say that at the end of it, all I felt disvirgined wouldn't be a stretch.

They took my blood, took several vaginal swabs, poked me with something that felt cold and slightly uncomfortable and Rachel also gave me a breast examination.

Throughout, she told me everything they were about to do before they did it and asked me questions like if I was okay and if I needed to take a break. I didn't take any breaks because I wanted it to be done with as quickly as quickly as possible.

Then finally she was done and proceeded to ask me weird questions like when I had my last period, confirming my virginity.

After I returned from changing, Rachel told me my verdict.

"You are fertile and your ovulation days fall in a week's time after Freya and before Kiara."

A tension that I didn't realize was within me relaxed. In our examination, I had gotten a brief and effective sex education lecture that I had soaked up like a sponge. Ovulation days were my most fertile days so those were the only days that Alpha Jaxon would touch me.

"So I will not have sex with Alpha Jaxon till next week."

It was good. I would have some time to prepare myself for opening myself to a man who was practically a stranger to me. It was going to be purely transactional. I would get money and protection and he would get his child.

Then something hit me. I looked at Rachel questioningly.

"Who are Freya and Kiara?"

She seemed surprised by my question.

"You don't know? Like you, they are Alpha Jaxon's surrogate."

The list.

Finally, I understood it. What an arrogant prick. Just because he was so powerful didn't mean he should keep an entire surrogate harem.

Another thought came up in my mind.

"If he already has so many surrogates, why does he need me?"

"He might have surrogates but he has no children."

I blinked at Rachel confused. Was this the catch? I thought that an Alpha having surrogates to have his children instead of his mate was weird enough, paying them 50,000 USD was weirder. Was it because he was unable to have children?

Would I never leave this place?

Rachel seemed to read the fear on my face and she patted my hand assuredly.

"I assure you that he is physically fit in every way possible and can father a child but the Goddess has not seen fit to give him one just yet."

But I was not assured. If the Goddess hadn't seen fit to bless him yet what made me different from the other surrogates? When would I be able to leave this place?

"******

Alpha Jaxon's POV

I flung the report away and swept all the things on my table to the ground as I trembled with anger.

None of my surrogates were pregnant even with IVF and I was almost out of time.

It all began with the curse of a witch on my great-grandfather after he apparently impregnated her and denied the child. On her deathbed, she cursed him and all of his lineage to die after the age of thirty if they did not have children.

It was as though as the tears passed, the curse became more rooted. My Father died just before my birth on his 30th birthday.

My mother raised me herself and taught me to be as ruthless as possible so that the council put in place to rule the pack in case of our lineage dying out would not usurp my power.

Even though I grew up as ruthless as possible I thought she was exaggerating the matter.

After all, how could an Alpha in his prime just drop dead because of what a witch said centuries ago?

That was before my twenty-eight birthday when I had begun to lose my vision without warning. When I suddenly became weak and dizzy even though I had eaten and rested fully.

The episodes came and went quickly but now that I was almost 29, I was running out of time!

It was a well-kept secret so that my enemies would not know and use it against me. My surrogates were treated well and monitored yet there was no child coming.

That was when I began to track down the descendant of the original witch. And last week, I found her after months of searching.

I held my claws to her throat.

"Cure me witch or lose your head."

She had been stubborn initially.

"Even if you torture me, I have nothing to give you. I am not as strong as my ancestors. The line has gotten weaker."

I raised my eyebrows unimpressed by her lies.

"It is one curse. Surely you can lift that."

The witch protested. "That is not where my gift lies but in prophecy."

Then she was useless to me.

I threw her at Caleb's feet. "Kill her."

She could curse me if she wanted to, I was already going to die anyway.

I turned to leave only to be stopped by her desperate cry.

"Wait!"

I paused and she continued speaking quickly. "If there is a chance for you to meet the woman destined to have your child, I will find it."

I smirked. So she wasn't ready to die after all. I turned back to look at her.

"You have five minutes."

The witch closed her eyes and looked like she was having a fit or something and the hairs on my hand rose. as something shifted in the room.

When the witch spoke again, her voice sounded deeper than before and her eyes were almost completely white.

"You will find her exactly one week from now with the slave traders around the Moonshadow pack lands."

I wasn't cowed by her display. She would have to do more than that to impress me.

"That is too broad, be specific."

"She will have the scent of an Alpha."

And Caleb had found Astrid. I had come to see her personally to verify the scent. She was my last hope.

I looked at Caleb, my body still trembling in rage.

"When is Astrid ovulating?"

"Next week, Alpha."

A week. I could wait a week for my chance to be cured of this curse once and for all.

Caleb hesitated. "Should I call in Freya?"

I had completely forgotten. This week was her ovulation week and her turn with me.

"Call her in." I told Caleb roughly but deep down I was so fucking tired.