All Chapters of Surrogate for the CEO Alpha: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

BrianThe hall room slowly emptied as the last of the sub-leaders gathered their files and exchanged quiet conversations before leaving. The security meeting was supposed to be this weekend but it was brought forward due to unusual activities at the border. I remained where I was, staring at the digital map projected across the wall.The Eastern boundary remained highlighted in red.For the past week, reports had continued arriving from our patrol units. None of them were serious enough to justify declaring an emergency, but taken together, they painted a picture I didn't like.The Moon Fang Pack wasn't attacking, not yet. They were watching and testing. Pushing just enough to see how quickly we responded before pulling back again.It was the kind of strategy that usually came before something much bigger. The security meeting had stretched longer than I'd intended, but there had been too much to discuss. Additional patrol rotations, surveillance drones along the northern border, sup

BrianI didn't remember half the drive between the pack headquarters and downtown Manhattan.Traffic lights blurred into meaningless streaks of red, amber and green as I forced the SUV through traffic, the security convoy struggling to keep pace behind me. Horns blared from every direction, but they barely registered because all I could hear was the sound that had come through Ethan's phone moments earlier.Knox hadn't spoken since the call disconnected, yet I could feel him pacing inside me, his anxiety feeding my own until it became impossible to tell where his fear ended and mine began.Please let them be alright.My hands tightened around the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.For once, I wasn't thinking like an Alpha.I wasn't thinking about the Council, the Moon Fang Pack, or the growing unrest along our northern border.I was simply a man praying he hadn't lost the woman carrying his children.Flashing blue and red lights appeared several blocks ahead.Police cruise

MayaI hadn't realized how much time had passed.Emily and I had been talking about everything and nothing, laughing over old office stories and catching up on the little things we'd both missed. For the first time since the accident, my mind wasn't replaying the sound of twisting metal or the fear that had gripped me afterward.A gentle knock at the door interrupted us.One of the hospital attendants walked in, balancing a tray with two cups of tea, a plate of sliced fruit, and a small bowl of crackers."I thought you ladies might like something," she said with a smile before quietly leaving the room again.Emily reached for a cup. "Perfect timing, I was just about to admit I was starving."I laughed, picking up the other cup."You've only been here an hour." "Exactly." She took a dramatic sip of her tea."That's practically a lifetime when there's free food involved."I shook my head, smiling. Somehow, spending time with Emily made everything feel... normal again.For a little while

BrianThe first image appeared on the main screen, showing the convoy leaving the underground parking garage beneath the shopping district, with three escort vehicles moving around Ethan's SUV as it entered the afternoon traffic. Maya and Laura were seated in the rear, unaware that someone had already begun following them.Sam stepped closer to the monitor and enlarged the footage."This is the first confirmed sighting of the vehicle," he said.A black SUV entered the frame twenty-three seconds after the convoy, and at first glance, there was nothing unusual about it because the driver didn't rush forward or make any obvious attempt to remain directly behind Ethan. Instead, the vehicle blended into traffic, maintaining enough distance that it could easily have been dismissed as another car heading in the same direction.The footage continued through several intersections, and the black SUV remained behind the convoy with a patience that immediately put me on edge. Whenever another veh

BrianBy the time the sun began sinking behind the pack house, the medical wing had finally grown quieter.The frantic movement from earlier had settled into something closer to normal, although the tension hadn't disappeared completely. Guards remained stationed at every entrance, security teams continued checking vehicles and personnel, and Sam had already begun restructuring the patrol schedules around the estate.I should have been in the command room.There were still unanswered questions about the attack, the dead driver, the erased surveillance footage and whoever had enough resources to make an entire investigation disappear before it could properly begin.But there was one person I hadn't spoken to yet.Laura.I found her in one of the recovery rooms with her shoulder supported in a sling and a small bandage near her temple. Most of the visible damage had already healed, leaving only a few red marks along her skin where the impact had bruised her.She looked almost annoyingly