Chapter 2: The Only Way Out

Kyra's POV 

I didn’t sleep.

By the time the first grey light slipped under the door of our tiny room, I had already gotten the names of three neighboring packs written on a scarp of paper I torn from the kitchen ledge. Everyone of them had received the same call for candidates. Liam planned to pick one of his own omegas, pocket the money and send the rest of us back to the same shitty life. I couldn't let him do that.

Lianna stirred on the tiny mattress. I sat on the edge of the mattress and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.

"Wake up Lia," I whispered.

"Kyra?" She blinked,her voice was rough from sleep. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," I kept my voice steady even though my hands were shaking. *I have to leave for Crestwood."

"Kyra, No." She sat up fast. "You heard what they say. Women die doing this."

"I have to do this, Lia." I grabbed her shoulder harder than I wanted. "It's going to be me either way, Lianna, don't you understand that? He will chooses me, and then he's going to keep every coin from it. If I volunteer first, before he can put my name forward himself, then the contract directly goes through Crestwood and the payment goes to me."

I grabbed her hands, forcing her to look at me instead of the ground.

"The money is enough to buy both of us free," I continued. "You have to stay here and keep your head down. You do not look at him or speak to him. Promise me."

"I don't want you to go." Tears filled her eyes. "What if you die? What if you don't come back?"

"I will," I pulled her into a hard hug, breathing in the cheap soap smell of her hair. "Be strong for me. It's only a few months, that's all, then we're gone. I swear it on Mon and Dad."

"I'm going to miss you," She hugged me tighter.

"I'll miss you more," I kissed the top of her head and stood up before I could change my mind. "I'll send word as soon as I can."

I left before the sun fully rose. The volunteer hall in the eastern wing smelled of wet wool and I slipped in with a group of omegas from South Ridge and signed the temporary transfer papers under the false claim that Liam had already approved of me to go. No one checked or confirmed.

The road to Crestwood took two days. By the time we moved over the last hill and the estate came into view, I finally understood why every pack in the region fought over the right to send candidates.

It wasn't a house. It was a fortress carved from pale stone, their towers went up into the sky, their banners were black and silver along the tops. Wolves were in their shinning battle gears lined up, and beyond them, the gates themselves that looked like they could survive a siege.

The carriage rolled to a stop in a courtyard already crowed with other omegas, dozens of us, all dressed in whatever finesrd clothes our packs could spare.

They led us into a massive stone hall with high windows and no furniture except for a long table at front. A woman in a white coat stepped on the raised platform, with two assistants beside her.

"I am Royal Physician Alyssa Jadewood and I oversee the surrogate program," her eyes swept over the room. "Before any of you sign, her will this and you will hear it clearly, because I do not want anyone claiming later that they weren't told."

The room went silent.

"The Alpha King's bloodline is old and powerful, and that power does not come without a cost." She continued, her voice was sharp. "The survival rates for surrogates are low for the royal bloodline. Of the last twelve women, four did not survive the delivery, the rest couldn't carry to term. This is not a death sentence, but it is not a safe bet either."

For a moment, nobody moved.

"The payment is released only after a confirmed viable pregnancy of fifteen weeks." Doctor Alyssa said. "If you die before that time, your pack receives nothing. If you survive and deliver a healthy child, the full sum is yours."

A girl with braided hair stood up. "What if we change our minds?"

"You can walk out those doors right now and no one will stop you." Alyssa pointed at the door. "But once the transfer is complete, you belong to this contract. The penalty for leaving is death."

“You walk out those doors right now. No one will stop you.” Rhea pointed. “But once the transfer is complete, you belong to this contract. Leaving is considered desertion of the Alpha King’s bloodline. The penalty is death.”

Half the room moved at once. The girls stood up, within ten minutes the hall was half empty. The ones who stayed sat very still, I counted ten of us left. Doctor Alyssa's gaze swept through the remaining faces and stopped on mine for few seconds before she spoke again.

"Those of you still here will undergo full medical screening this afternoon, then the embryo transfer." She said. "After that, you remain on estate grounds until results are confirmed. Questions?"

No one raised a hand. I walked to the signing table when my name was called. The contract was thicker than I expected with legal language, clauses about liability and a line that said "candidate accepts full risk of death or permanent injury." I signed anyways. Doctor Alyssa watched the pen move.

"Are you certain?” she asked quietly.

I met her eyes. “Yes.”

She nodded once, almost like she respected the answer, and gestured for the next girl.

The procedure room was cold and white. They had me lie back on a narrow table, then a thin sheet covered me from the waist down. Two nurses moved around the space, while Doctor Alyssa stood at the foot of the table, gloves in hand.

"You will feel pressure," her voice was calm. "Try to breathe through it."

I nodded, staring at the ceiling tiles and counted the cracks. The instrument entered. It was a sharp stretch, that made my hips want to twist away. I pressed my lips tight and stayed still. A nurse placed a cool hand on my shoulder, while the other monitored something on a screen I couldn't see. Minutes stretched and the pressure increased, then eased. I felt something warm and foreign settled low in my stomach.

"The transfer has been completed," Doctor Alyssa stepped back. "You will remain under observation for the next seventy two hours. No shifting and make sure to report any bleeding, fever or severe pain."

I gave a short nod, sitting up slowly. My body felt heavy, like something was placed inside me that didn't belong and now refused to leave. They led the reminding candidated to a separate wing of the estate with private rooms, and locked outer doors.

I sat on the edge of the bed in my assigned room and pressed both palms flat against my lower belly. Nothing moved or hurt yet. Just a strange, quiet feeling that everything had changed.

A soft knock came at the door and Doctor Alyssa entered with a tablet in hand. She looked at each of us in turn as the other girls gathered in the common area outside our rooms.

“In three days,” Her eyes found mine

across the space, “we will know which of you is carrying the Alpha King’s heir.”