Willow’s POV.

“They will take your brother by sunrise,”

The words hit me harder than the cold floor beneath my feet.

I looked at my father who said those words, his face tight as it lingered with worry, right there I knew he wasn't joking. My dad doesn't joke.

“How much?” I asked, though my voice already shook.

“Three hundred thousand dollars,” he said quietly, “it's a war debt,”.

I gulped hard as sweat formed on my face. Though the war ended weeks ago, it had a huge impact on our pack. Most of our warriors were dead and now children are about to be sold as slaves for the repayment of the debt.

My heart was heavy as I thought about Elena, my younger sister, who has a sharp tongue but a kind and a fearful heart and my brother Maxwell, who always hides a knife under his pillow for fear of the attackers.

I stood up, the chair scraping the floor loudly,

“Is there no other way, dad? I mean for us to save the people and specifically my siblings”

My dad cleared his throat,

“There is,”

“Really what's that?” A little surge of excitement formed in my tone.

“There is a contract,” he finally stated, “An offer,”

“From who?” My chest tightened

“Alpha Silas of the Black fang pack,”

The name alone sent chills to my spine. Everyone knew Alpha Silas, a cold, ruthless and powerful Alpha. Who knew war to be his natural language.

“I won't be his mate,” I said instantly.

“No, that's not the case. It's a different offer,”

That made my stomach drop even further.

“He needs an heir. The council asked for it. His bloodline must continue before he can go into a political marriage,”

I looked at him, “So?”

“So he needs a surrogate,” he carefully stated.

“No, dad… you can't be serious” I muttered.

“You're strong, healthy and unmated, so you're the best candidate,” he said.

His eyes softened, “Are you willing?”

I laughed, sharp and broken, “Willing to carry a child for a man who won't think twice before killing me?”

“He is offering the full payment for our debt,” he sharply said, “And the full protection for your siblings,”

My breath caught.

Protection for both my siblings. The storm inside me dissipated,

“So what are the terms?”

He cleared his throat, “No emotional attachment, no physical contact outside medical procedures… you will live in his estate until the child is born. After that, you will leave,”

I heaved out, digging my nails tightly into my palms, trying to figure out what to do. But I know nothing can change this offer. It felt like it was meant for me even though I felt terrified of Alpha Silas.

“When do I get to make the final decision?” I asked, my heart beat increasing slowly.

“Until sunset,”

I didn't come out of my room instantly, I needed time and space to think deeply. I know I can't make rash decisions just because of my feelings. My family and pack lives now depend on my decision.

Every step I took only led me back to the same image, Maxwell being dragged away by the attackers, screaming my name.

Since I am the eldest, I am meant to secure their protection.

By the time it was sunset my decision had been made already.

“I will do it,” I said to my dad when I went to his room

He heaved out in excitement.

____________

The Black fang estate looked nothing like my pack.

The tall iron gates opened slowly as the car drove in. The house was massive, I could see how every sculpture around the house represented each past Alphas of the Black fang pack.

My eyes caught Alpha Silas sculpture before standing before a woman who stood at the door.

“Hi, I'm Dr Hale. Follow me,” The woman muttered.

No greetings. No kindness, just bland words.

I didn't care since this was all a deal. She led me down the corridor of the mansion till we got to a room.

My focus was just on the beautiful grotesque designs of the mansion.

“This is where the procedures will take place,” she said, as we entered the room.

The room smelled like antiseptic. Machines hummed softly.

“Alpha Silas will arrive soon,” she muttered, going to a drawer to take something.

My heart beat was increasing fast. My hands trembled, but I clenched them together to stop it.

“But before that,” she continued, pulling out a file from the drawer, “you will have to sign this contract first,”

She handed the contract to me.

NO CONTACT.

NO CLAIMS.

NO EXPECTATIONS.

I gulped hard as I looked at the contract conditions and signed.

Moments later, the door opened.

Suddenly the air changed. I didn't need to look at who came in to know it was Alpha Silas.

Nevertheless I looked at him. My breath halted for a moment.

Alpha Silas was taller than I expected, his broad shoulders filling the doorway, his expression sharp, cold and unreadable. He reeked of power.

He gazed at me like one who looks at a tool, someone useful and replaceable.

“Is this her?” he asked

“Yes,” Dr Hale replied.

“Ok, does she understand the terms?”

“Yes,” I said, before she replied. My voice shocked me, “I’m not here for anything else,”

“Good,” he said coldly, “Let's begin,”

He gazed lingered at me longer than expected.

I gulped hard and lay back on the table, I could feel my hands shaking, I had to squeeze them to prevent them from being noticed. This is just a medical insemination, nothing more, it's just biology. I told myself again and again.

Silas moved closer, his presence was overwhelming even without touching me.

“Don't speak,” he said, “We will be done soon,”

I nodded and the procedure began.

I tried hard to stay calm and focus not on crying.

I heaved out as soon as Dr Hale was done with the procedure. I was relieved though I felt a mild discomfort during the procedure.

Suddenly, Silas’s hand brushed mine. Just softly and it felt like the world exploded.

Heat surged through my veins, hot and electric. My breath hitched, my wolf screamed awake in me.

Mate.

The word slammed through my head like a curse.

Silas froze.

Slowly, he looked down at our hands

His eyes widened.

“No,” he muttered, yanking his hand away as if burned. “That’s impossible.”

My heart raced. I felt it too. The pull. The bond forming. I shaked my head, thinking all this was impossible.

He stepped back, horror clear on his face.

“This changes nothing,” he said sharply. “Nothing.”

Willow’s POV.

“Get up. Now.”

The command sliced through the room before I could even sit up.

I flinched at the sound of his voice.

Alpha Silas stood near the door, his back to me, arms crossed tightly over his chest. He hadn’t looked at me once since the procedure ended, I knew it was because of the spark we felt due to the mate bond.

He didn't look at me, not when my wolf screamed inside my head. Not even when the bond flared, hot and sharp, like lightning under my skin.

My fingers shook as I pulled the sheet around myself.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He turned sharply. “Do not use that tone with me.”

I stiffened.

“What tone?” I asked.

“That one,” he said coldly. “The one that assumes closeness.”

Closeness. The word burned.

I swallowed and slid off the table, my legs weak. As soon as my feet touched the floor, pain shot up my spine. I gasped, grabbing the edge of the bed to steady myself.

Though the pain during the procedure was little, I had no idea the aftermath would be painful.

Silas noticed. His jaw tightened, but his eyes flicked away.

“Follow me,” he said.

No concern. No question. Just an order.

His office was dim and massive, carved from rock stones and steel. The windows stretched from floor to ceiling showing nothing but forest and the sky. Everything about the room screamed control. Power. Distance.

He walked behind the desk and didn’t invite me to sit. I stood there, arms wrapped around myself, heart pounding.

“This conversation will be short,” he said.

I nodded. He finally looked at me. And the bond reacted. Heat bloomed in my chest. My wolf surged forward, hopeful and aching.

Mate.

The word rose instinctively,

“Do not,” he snapped.

The pain hit instantly.

It was like something inside me cracked.

I cried out in silence, biting my lips hard enough for him not to notice my pain. I could taste blood oozing from my lips. It felt like fire tore through my chest. My wolf howled in agony, retreating deep inside me.

Silas stiffened.

“What did you feel?” I asked in a broken tone.

His eyes were dark. Guarded.

“Nothing that matters,” he said.

Liar.

I forced myself to breathe, slow and shallow, until the pain dulled to a heavy ache.

He exhaled sharply, as if irritated by my weakness.

“There was a reaction,” he said flatly. “I acknowledge that.”

My heart lifted in little hope to hear something better.

“But,” he continued, “I reject it.”

The words landed like a blade.

“I reject any bond the Moon Goddess is trying to force between us,” he said. “I did not choose you. I will not accept you.”

My vision blurred.

“You felt it too,” I whispered. “You can’t deny that.”

“I can,” he replied. “And I will deny it.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks, hot and silent.

“You’re my mate,” I said softly.

The pain came again. Stronger. I couldn't hold back, so I screamed this time, clutching my chest as my knees hit the cold floor. It felt like my heart was being crushed in a fist.

Silas moved, just one step forward, then stopped.

“Enough,” he said harshly. “Do you want to kill yourself?”

I shook my head, gasping. “Then why does it hurt?”

He looked away.

“The bond is incomplete,” he said. “Because of the child.”

My breath hitched.

“The pregnancy helps it to stay in place,” he continued.

“It cannot fully form. And it cannot fully break.”

I stared at him in horror. “So what does that mean?”

His voice was flat. Controlled.

“It means the bond will exist as resistance. As pain. Nothing more.”

My wolf whimpered inside me.

“So I just… suffer?” I asked.

“Yes.”

The word was sharp. Final.

I laughed weakly. “You’re cruel.”

He met my gaze, unflinching. “You knew that when you signed.”

I struggled to my feet, my body trembling.

“I didn’t sign up to be your mate.”

“Good,” he said. “Because you’re not.”

Silence fell between us.

Then he spoke again, colder than before.

“You are a vessel,” he said. “Nothing else. You will carry my heir, and when the child is born, you will leave.”

Each word stripped something from me.

“I have a future Luna,” he added. “A woman chosen by strategy, not superstition. Her name is Evelyn.”

The name echoed in my mind.

“And you,” he continued, “will never interfere with that.”

My chest hurt, not just from the bond, but from something deeper.

“What if I can’t control it?” I asked quietly. “What if the pain…”

“You will control it,” he said. “Or you will be removed.”

The word removed sounded like a threat, I shook my head not wanting to go back to debt and watch my family suffer.

He stepped closer now, towering over me.

“Listen carefully,” he said. “If you ever mention the word mate to me or to my future Luna..”

His eyes hardened.

“You will be sent back to your dying pack empty-handed.”

His phone made a chime sound, he checked it and smiled,

“Expect your new Luna soon,” he said with a smirk.

Silas walked past me without a soft heart to help me. Tears flowed out, I couldn't hold them back. I clutched my chest tightly as I could feel the heart wrenching pain like I'm being picked with needles.

My pulse tightened as my eyes felt drowsy, the fear to know what will be of me when Evelyn arrives makes me wonder,

“What will Evelyn do when she sees me?” my thoughts still lingered. “Will she accept the bond between I and Silas if she finds out?”

Willow's POV.

I held my banging head as I sat up. I scrutinized my surroundings then I found out I was on the bed. It looked like I had fainted in Silas's office.

Maids strode into my room and placed some refreshments before turning to leave. I took a glass of water and smiled at them.

“She arrived early,”

The maids said to each other before walking away.

I froze, still seated on my bed. My fingers are tightening around the glass of water I was holding. An unsettling cold feeling rumbled in my stomach.

She. I didn't need to ask who, I knew it was Evelyn. Alpha Silas’s chosen Luna, the woman whom he has concluded to marry and the woman who I am not allowed to be near.

I took a deep breath, reminding myself of the temporary contract. I'm just a body carrying a child, nothing more.

Still my heart ached, I needed to see her. Greet her before Alpha Silas corrects me.

I moved out of my room and my breath hitched as I turned towards the staircase. I saw her before she saw me.

Evelyn stood in the center of the sitting room like it was made for her. Dressed in blue silk that matched the estate’s beauty perfectly. Her hair cascading down her back and when she smiled at Silas it was practiced and calm.

“This place still looks the same,” she said softly, “Still dark. Still intimidating,”

“That's intentional,” he replied.

She chuckled lightly and touched his arm.

The bond inside me stirred, pain struck my chest.

I sucked in a breath and stepped back, pressing myself against the wall. My wolf whimpered; hurt and confused.

Evelyn’s smile faded,

Slowly she turned her head. Her eyes locked with mine.

“Who is that?” She asked.

Silas didn't answer instantly.

“This is Willow,” he said finally, “The surrogate.”

Evelyn looked at me from head to toe, not rudely. Just accessing, like I was someone not important, someone she had decided didn't matter.

“An omega?” she asked once again.

“Yes,” Silas replied.

Her brows lifted slightly with a smirk, “what an interesting choice,”

I lowered my gaze, my throat itchy.

“I thought you would pick someone…. Stronger,” she continued, “Higher rank, someone with a better bloodline not this…”

Silas's jaw tightened, “She was sufficient and that's enough,”

Evelyn hummed lightly, moving closer to me, she was too close and then the air changed.

Her eyebrows lifted, I felt it, her attention sharpened, not on my appearance but on something else. My scent.

Her gaze went to Silas and back to me, she did that again and inhaled slowly, not once but twice.

I gulped hard,

“You smell strange,” she said calmly.

“I… I’m sorry,” my voice cracked.

She smiled, but it wasn't from her heart,

“You don't smell like an omega,” she said softly, “You smell like Silas,”

She turned to look at Silas, requesting an answer. The pain in my chest flared, everywhere went still.

Silas cleared his throat, “That's enough, Evelyn,”

But she ignored him.

“A scent tracker never lies. Your scent is different,” she said, circling me slowly, “ Your scent is deeply entwined… I think with him,”

It felt like I was exposed. Naked.

“That seems impossible,” she continued. “Unless…”

“Evelyn,” Silas warned.

She stood in front of me.

Her eyes were sharp now. Focused.

“Unless there’s something you’re hiding from us,” she said.

I shook my head. “There isn’t.”

She stared at me intensely like she was studying my face. She smiled again, sweet, controlled, dangerous.

“Of course,” she said. “You’re just the surrogate.”

Later that night, I went to the kitchen, searching for stuff to calm myself. I never knew Evelyn was a scent tracker.

I thought it would be easy to hide the mate bond from her but now it looks difficult.

The smell of herbs and warm soup filled the space. I focused on slow movements. Quiet breathing.

I didn't hear anyone entering.

“You’re hiding something.”

I startled and turned, recognizing the voice.

Evelyn stood in the doorway, arms crossed, her expression polite but cold.

“I’m not,” I said.

She smirks, staring at my belly. My heart beat quickened, terrified of what was going through her mind.

“Don’t think carrying Silas’s baby makes you special. Her arms still folded as she continued, “I wouldn't have been suspicious of a lowly omega but your scent says otherwise,”

I gulped hard, the place which was supposed to be my calming medicine became my terror. As cold as the kitchen was, sweats formed on my face.

She stepped closer, touching my hair with her hands and inhaling it. I could feel her anger the more she inhaled it.

I shifted away to avoid any bad circumstances from happening.

“Willow right?,”

I nodded, she looked at my belly once again and back at me.

“Consider yourself lucky for now,”

My eyebrows lifted, confused at her words, but deep down my body was on fire, my heart beat pounding as fast as it could.

Forcing myself to spout these words,

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don't worry,”

Evelyn smirked,

“The contract says you leave the moment the baby is born.”

I nodded. “I know.”

Her smile cunning

“But I think,” she said softly, “I’ll have you leave the moment I find out what you’re hiding.”

My wolf recoiled in fear. I hid my fidgeting hands, hoping she wouldn't find out my biggest secret. And for the first time since coming to this estate, I understood something clearly.

Evelyn wasn’t just watching me. She was hunting.