Surrogate for the Lycan King

Kelsey’s POV

The annual Breeding Lottery was the one day every unmated female in our village dreads. Being chosen meant giving up your entire future to the Lycan King, all just to help save a dying race of monsters.

The main town square was completely packed with anxious families, loud priests, soldiers, and royal officials. Every single girl around me was silently praying under her breath that her name wouldn't come out of the metal bowl.

I stood right beside my younger sister, Maya, holding her cold hand tightly in mine.

"If they call me, you can have my red boots," Maya whispered, trying to joke, but her voice was shaking so bad it ruined the punchline.

"Nobody is taking your boots, dummy," I said, bumping my shoulder against hers. "And nobody is calling your name today. You still have to finish that ugly sweater you promised to knit me."

"It is not ugly, it is artistic," she pouted, a small, tiny smile finally breaking through her terrified face.

"Sure it is," I teased, pulling her into a quick one-armed hug. "Just stay close to me. We are going to walk right out of here in an hour and go eat those sweet rolls mom made."

"Promise?" she asked, looking up at me with her big brown eyes.

"I promise," I said softly, smoothing down a stray piece of her hair.

Before we could say anything else, a tall royal official stepped up onto the wooden platform, pulling out a giant parchment scroll.

"By decree of his Majesty, King Zeus East," the official shouted, his voice echoing off the stone buildings. "Refusing the lottery or interfering with the selection is an act of treason, punishable by immediate public execution."

The whole square went dead silent. The clear reminder made it obvious that there was no way out for any of us.

The main priest reached his hand into the deep metal bowl, pulling out the small paper slips one by one. He started reading the names aloud, his voice cold and loud.

Girl after girl stepped forward, crying and shaking as the guards escorted them to the black iron carriages waiting at the edge of the square.

Then the priest reached into the bowl again, unfolding another tiny piece of paper.

"Maya Smith," he called out.

The name echoed across the square, and it felt like all the air was suddenly sucked out of my lungs.

My mother let out an awful shriek behind us, completely breaking down and collapsing onto the dirty cobblestones. Maya went totally pale, her knees buckling as she started shaking uncontrollably.

Everyone in our town knew the truth. The women selected for the Lycan King never truly returned to normal lives, if they ever returned at all.

Two armor-clad guards immediately started walking toward us to grab her.

"No, wait!" I shouted, quickly stepping right between Maya and the approaching soldiers. "There has to be a mistake. She is only seventeen, she isn't even fully on the registry yet!"

"Step aside, girl," the head guard growled, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "The lottery cannot be challenged by commoners."

Right then, my mother's crying got louder as two neighbors tried to haul her off the ground. Everyone turned their heads for a split second to look at the commotion.

I moved fast.

I grabbed Maya’s wrist, pulling off her wooden identification bracelet and slipping my own onto her arm instead. I stuffed her document into my pocket and grabbed hers, switching them before anyone could notice what my hands were doing.

"I am the chosen daughter," I said, stepping forward with my head held high before Maya could even process what had happened. "I am Maya Smith. Take me."

Maya’s eyes went huge, and she grabbed the back of my shirt, her voice rising in panic.

"Kelsey, no! What are you doing?" she begged, tears spilling over her cheeks as she tried to pull me back. "Stop it! Tell them the truth!"

I turned around for just a second, leaning close to her ear while the guards reached for my arms.

"Shut up, Maya," I whispered, keeping my voice super quiet. "Remember those dreams you always talked about? Going to the capital, opening your shop? You have to stay behind and live the life we both wanted."

"I can't lose you!" she sobbed, reaching for my hands.

"Somebody has to stay," I said softly. "I love you."

Before we could say a proper goodbye, the soldiers violently shoved her away and grabbed my arms, wrapping cold iron chains around my wrists.

Maya tried to rush forward again, but the villagers held her back, terrified to help us because opposing the Crown meant instant death for their whole families. They just watched in horrified silence as I was dragged away.

They tossed me into the back of a large, dark carriage alongside five other selected women.

The ride was awful. Most of the girls were curled up in the corners, crying hysterically or whispering desperate prayers to whatever gods would listen.

A few of them were trying to convince themselves that becoming King Zeus's breeder might actually be a huge honor, talking about living in a giant castle instead of our poor village.

I didn't say a single word. I stayed unusually calm, sitting by the tiny barred window and staring out at the passing trees.

Inside my head, I was already trying to figure out escape routes. If I could jump out when the carriage slowed down near the river, maybe I could hide in the brush.

But as the carriage kept rolling forward, we crossed the boundary lines into forbidden Lycan territory.

The bright green trees slowly gave way to dark, twisting woods, and the air got noticeably colder. Massive wolf soldiers on horseback flanked our carriage on both sides, their yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

My chances of escaping were rapidly dropping to zero, and I knew it.

"Have you heard the stories about King Zeus?" one terrified girl in the corner whispered, her voice trembling so bad I could barely hear her over the wooden wheels.

"What stories?" another girl asked, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

"My uncle worked near the border," the girl whispered back, looking around like the trees had ears. "He said none of the women selected in the previous lotteries were ever seen again. Not a single one."

A terrified silence fell over the carriage after that. Nobody wanted to talk anymore.

After what felt like hours, the carriage finally ground to a sudden stop.

The iron doors unlocked, and the guards dragged us out onto the cold stone ground.

I looked up, and my breath got caught in my throat. We were standing in front of an enormous, dark stone fortress that reached high into the grey sky. It was brutal and scary, completely unlike anything I had ever imagined in my life.

A tall man wearing a fancy velvet coat stepped forward holding a long official registry scroll. He was clearly the Head Steward.

"Line up," he commanded, his voice and dry.

He started checking our names one by one, matching our faces to the documents provided by the guards.

Girl after girl walked past him. Finally, it was my turn.

I stepped up, handing over the stolen paper while holding up my chained wrists.

The Head Steward unrolled the parchment, scanning the name written at the top. Then he looked up at my face.

He paused.

He looked down at the paper again, his eyebrows pulling together in deep confusion. Then he looked back up at my eyes, staring at me like I had two heads.

He looked down at the parchment one more time, his fingers tightening on the edges until the paper crinkled.

"...Impossible," he quietly muttered to himself.

Another royal official standing next to him leaned in, looking confused. "What is wrong, Steward? Is there a problem with the record?"

The Head Steward didn't answer right away. He just kept staring at me with wide, panicked eyes before turning to the other official and whispering in total shock.

"She wasn't supposed to be selected.”