All Chapters of The Alpha King's Surrogate : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Davian's POVThe Council chamber smelled the same as it always did this time of morning, old parchment, beeswax candles, the faint bitterness of whatever tea Lord Ashford insisted on brewing himself instead of letting the servants do it. I'd sat through a thousand mornings exactly like this one. Trade disputes. Grain allocations. Border patrol rotations that never actually changed no matter how many times we debated them.Today felt different, and it had nothing to do with the agenda."The eastern trade routes remain stable," Lord Ashford was saying, tapping a finger against a map spread across the table. "Though I'd recommend increasing the toll on Ashgrove caravans given the recent grain shortfall. They can afford it more than our own villages can.""Approved," I said, and Kyle made the note beside me without needing further discussion.Lord Philip cleared his throat, and I knew that the conversation was shifting into something I'd been dreading since I walked in this morning."The

Davian's POVI closed the door to my private chambers harder than necessary.The visit had been routine. That was the line I kept repeating while I shrugged out of the formal jacket and tossed it across the nearest chair. The diet, the garden access, both of those things affected the pregnancy. Alyssa had said being close helped the early markers. I had gone to confirm the nausea was still easing and to make sure the short walks were happening. Nothing else required explanation.Except I could still hear the small, laugh she had let out, like she hadn't expected herself to make that sound in front of me. I remembered the look on her face when I'd offered to extend her garden access, that flicker of disbelief, quickly buried. It's not, actually, she'd said, quiet, when I'd called it a small thing. I turned that sentence over more times than I wanted to admit, sitting down at my desk, reaching for the stack of Council reports waiting there.I got through maybe two pages before I realize

Kyra's POV I lay awake longer than I should have last night, turning yesterday's visit over in my head like a stone I couldn't stop rubbing smooth. He had asked what I ate, not in the clipped, clinical way Dr. Alyssa did it, actual follow-up, like the answer mattered beyond a chart. Then the garden access. The guards had already been told to expand the cleared paths. He was the same man who had stood in this room and told me I had no right to question him was suddenly asking about toast and rice and whether I was getting outside air.It didn't add up, I had learned the hard way from everything Liam had thought to not trust the soft sides of powerful men. They usually hid the sharper ones.A soft knock came at the door, then Jazmine came in with the tray. Chicken and rice again, plus the plain toast she knew I could keep down. She set it on the table and looked distracted, a little tighter around the eyes than usual."You alright?" I asked, reaching for the toast."I'm fine." She bus

Kyra's POV The knock came later than I'd expected, well past the hour Dr. Alyssa usually finished her rounds, and when I opened the door she looked genuinely apologetic, tucking a loose strand of gray hair back behind her ear. "Forgive the late hour, Miss Sinclair," she said, stepping inside and setting her bag down on the small table by the window. "Prince Dorian's household kept me longer than I planned. The infant's still struggling, and there was a great deal to sort through before I could get away." "Is the baby alright?" I asked. "Stable, for now. That's a conversation for another time, though." She pulled her instruments out one by one, laying them across the cloth she always spread beside my bed for examinations, and glanced toward the door as it opened again. Davian stepped in, still in the dark coat he wore for evening Council work, and Alyssa nodded at him without breaking stride. "Your Majesty," Allyssa said. "Thank you for coming." "You asked me to be here." He sai

Jazmine's POVRose was almost done when Jake walked into the kitchen.I sat in the low chair by the window, bodice open on one side, her small body tucked against the full, heavy curve of my breast. She nursed in slow, sleepy pulls, tiny mouth working, one hand resting on the soft warm skin, milk had already leaked a little onto the fabric. The morning light caught the fine red hair on her head. Jake stopped in the doorway, his eyes went straight to my bare breast, to the place where our daughter latched, then up to my face, jaw already tight, eyes dark. The air shifted the way it always did when he was angry and trying not to put his hands on me.“You’re really going back," he said."I told you I would." I kept my voice even, focused on Rose's small face, her eyes half-closed, one hand curled loosely against my collarbone the way she always fell asleep at the breast. "I already spoke to Alyssa about it last night.""Without talking to me first.""We talked about it two days ago, Ja