Todos los capítulos de Surrogate to the Beastly Alpha : Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

Chapter TwelveAriaThe grandfather clock in the distant hallway struck midnight. Every chime echoed through the walls like a hammer against an anvil.I sat frozen on the edge of the canopy bed, my knees pulled tightly to my chest. The oversized white cotton nightgown swallowed me, pooling around my bare feet. The room was illuminated only by a single amber lantern on the far wall, casting long, trembling shadows across the stone floor.Angry footsteps sounded outside my door.My breath caught in my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, my nails digging into my own palms. It is just business, I chanted silently in my head. It is just a transaction. Close your eyes and survive it.The iron lock clicked. The oak door swung open.Cassius stepped into the room. He was fully dressed in black, his frame filling the doorway. He closed the door behind him, the thud sealing us inside.He did not look at me. He walked straight to the far wall and blew out the only lantern.The room was plunged into

AriaThe maids did not give Selena the opportunity to intervene this time.At eight o'clock sharp, they marched into my room and took control. There was no shapeless white cotton nightgown. Instead, I was forced into the very thing I had dreaded: a sheer, deep crimson silk corset and matching lace bottoms. It clung to every curve of my body, pushing my chest up and leaving my legs bare.When they finally left me alone, I stared at my reflection in the full-length mirror. My face was flushed with burning humiliation. I looked exactly like what they thought I was, a breeder bought and paid for.Tonight was going to be worse than the first time. Cassius would be angry that the first attempt failed, his wolf would be more agitated, and this time there was no thick cotton to hide behind.The wall clock in the hall ticked past ten.I took a shaky breath and sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping my arms around my exposed chest. I waited for the singular, heavy footfall of the Alpha.Instead,

AriaThe morning sun cut through the heavy curtains, shattering the quiet of the bedroom.I woke up still wrapped in Cassius's jacket, curled into the center of the bed. I blinked against the light, sitting up slowly. Cassius was already awake. He stood by the window, fully dressed, his shoulders tense as he stared out at the Thornwood grounds. He hadn't slept a single wink."Get dressed," Cassius ordered, his voice low and tight. He did not turn to look at me. "Make it convincing. The pack needs to believe you served your purpose last night."I swallowed the dry lump in my throat, sliding out of the bed. I left his jacket on the mattress and quickly changed into a simple, high-necked grey dress from my wardrobe, hiding the crimson lingerie away.When Beta Drew finally unlocked the door from the outside, Cassius stepped out first, projecting the image of a satisfied, dominant Alpha. I followed a step behind him, keeping my eyes on the floor, playing the role of the submissive, exhaust

AriaThe car juddered over the frozen, rutted dirt of the forest road, plunging deeper into the black woods.I sat huddled in the corner of the back seat, my knees pulled tightly to my chest. The thin grey wool of my dress offered zero protection against the draft leaking in through the door seal, but the cold didn't bother me. I was numb.At my feet sat the leather satchel. It was packed with enough banded cash to pay off my father's debts, move my mother into a premier medical facility, and send Leo to the best academy in the territory. It was everything I had bargained for. I had won. I was free.So why did my chest feel like it was caving in?I rested my forehead against the frosty glass of the window, watching the jagged silhouettes of the pine trees blur past in the dark. I hated myself for the tears burning the backs of my eyes. I was crying from the adrenaline, I told myself. I was crying because of the cell, and the elder, and the terror of Selena's blood on the floor.I was

CassiusI tore through the frozen woods, the scent of her terror pulling me forward like a chain dragging me by the ribs.My paws tore up the frozen dirt. I pushed my wolf to a lethal speed, dodging pine trunks, vaulting fallen logs. The metallic scent of rogue wolves hit my nose, mixed with the sharp, sour tang of Aria's panic.I burst into the clearing just as her scream tore through the trees.The car sat nose-down in the ditch, one wheel still turning. The driver was dead in the mud. Two rogues were backing Aria against the crumpled fender. But it was the third, a towering brute with a scarred face, that made my blood freeze.He lunged forward, grabbed Aria by the hair, and sank his teeth into the side of her neck.The scream that tore from her throat fractured something in my chest.Blinding red overtook my vision. I didn't howl. I didn't warn them. I hit the brute like a freight train, jaws clamping around his throat, and ripped his windpipe out before he even hit the ground. Th