Semua Bab Surrogate Bride To The Alpha Stand-in: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Today marked another Blood Moon Festival without Giselle being found. She knew the truth now. Either the witches had seen the power she carried in her womb, or the pack leaders had found out that she was the traitor king's daughter. Either way, she was doomed. No one was coming to save her.She had refused to tell her husband about the figure who appeared last night or about the dark message it brought.Giselle was the Luna of the Shadow Fang Pack, and she was a witch with power over ice. The Moon Goddess had said that her child would have the Threefold Gift. But such a gift was tied only to royal families. Her father came from an ancient line of werewolves, the wolf-men. Her mother was a witch. But the Lycan blood remained a mystery. She did not know where it had come from, and she did not know how one child could carry the three most powerful bloodlines and survive in a world this cruel.Centuries ago, the pack leaders worked with an Ancient One to invade the Lycan kingdom and kill

The guards held Lena firmly before the heavy oak door. The head slave emerged, and her face showed no emotion."The bath awaits," she said.Without warning, one of the guards spun Lena around, and he handled her without care. The sound of metal rang through the corridor as they knelt to unlock the chains that had bound her for nearly a decade.The weight left her ankle, and Lena stared at the ground in stunned silence.They had never removed the chains, not once in all the years of her bondage.The cuff had been more than just a restraint because it showed that she was owned and that she was a slave. The iron was made to slow her and to stop her from running so that a wolf could hunt her down.Yet now, the cuff lay on the ground.The absence should have brought her relief, but it did not.Before she could fully understand the change in her fate, rough hands shoved her forward into the chamber beyond.The smell of lavender and warm oils reached Lena as she was led into the room. Steam

Lena's legs buckled as the guards dragged her forward. The rough stone beneath her feet scraped her skin raw, and the soldiers' grips were cruel as their hands bruised her arms while they hauled her through the threshold of the great hall and into the bitter night.The air outside was sharp, and it cut against her torn skin while it carried the acrid scent of burning herbs and something far fouler than herbs. That scent was blood.Before her, the ritual ground stretched wide and empty. Tall black pillars stood in a circle around the clearing, and those pillars were carved with ancient symbols that glowed faintly beneath the red light of the blood moon. Fires burned in iron braziers, and their flames rose into the air.A hush fell over the gathered pack.Faces surrounded her, and those faces were hostile and eager. Some of them showed cruel amusement while others were solemn as though they stood witness to a sacred rite. They had not come to watch, but they had come to enjoy her pain.

The cell door opened for the second time that day.Lena lifted her head, and she expected another tormentor. Instead, a young girl stood in the doorway while she held a tray of food. A heavy iron cuff was around her ankle, and that meant she was a slave."Take it back. I refuse to eat," Lena said, and her voice was hoarse.The girl set the tray down and knelt before her, and she met Lena's gaze."Luna," the girl said."I am not your Luna," Lena said, and her voice was sharp.The girl sighed. "You do not understand, do you. The longer you refuse, the worse my punishment will be. I am responsible for you now. I am your personal maid, and my name is Milicent."Lena lifted her head fully and looked at the girl. The girl's eyes were pleading and desperate, and they held no cruelty. They only held quiet acceptance.Lena's expression changed.She knew this life because she remembered the fear of a head maid's anger and the cruel denial of food as punishment.Memories of her time as a servant

"I am telling you, Alpha. She purposely struck me," Scarlet said, and her hand was still pressed against her cheek.Darius barely looked up from the parchments on his desk. "What did you do to her, Scarlet.""I did not do anything," she said. "I just wanted to see her, but she refused and slapped me across the cheek."Then it hit him.A sharp pull went through his chest, and his hands clenched while his breath stopped.His vision blurred as his heart beat hard and fast.Something was wrong.Before Scarlet could react, Darius was gone. He moved with speed, and his body twisted as he went out the window. In the air, his bones broke and his muscles expanded, and in a moment his wolf emerged.He was a beast of dark fur and deadly speed.By the time Scarlet understood what had happened, he was already a blur in the woods.---Lena barely had time to scream before the rogues lunged at her.Then a large black wolf crashed into the clearing from out of nowhere.It moved with speed, and it hit