Chapter 5

Astrid's POV At that point, the haze in my head cleared. Alpha Jaxon was the Alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack. The name was nearly as deadly as the deadly infamous pack. The Crimson Moon pack was one of the biggest packs on this continent. That was because the Alpha of the pack, Alpha Jaxon, kept conquering other packs and adding them to his. He was rumored to be deadly, bloodthirsty and extremely merciless. Even my former pack shied away from any interaction that involved the Crimson Moon pack instead choosing to send gifts to Alpha Jaxon in hopes of appeasing him to prevent an attack. This was the man that I had been 'sold' to become his breeder? Just how much drugs had they put in that food? I just wanted to find my dad, why did it seem like I was going from one trouble to another? I blinked up at this stranger who told me that he had bought me. "A surrogate?" What little I knew of that word was that they carried babies. Would that involve sex? Sex with a bloodthirsty monster? Fighting my rising nausea, I sat up and reached for the edges of the stranger's jacket. "Please I never volunteered for this. Please let me go." The stranger frowned at me. "What do you mean?" Maybe if I was able to explain the situation to him. Explain how little I knew of it and how I had been drugged, maybe he would let me go. I held on to him tighter. "I think I was kidnapped—" The man brushed off my hold on him, his frown even more pronounced now. "That doesn't matter to me. You have been purchased. You must perform your duties." Purchased like I was a commodity or something. I could tell from the easy dominance that he carried that he was a strong wolf. Even if he wasn't, I wasn't strong. I might have been descended from royalty but my strength had still not shown itself. I couldn't fight him. Even if I did, I had no idea where we were. I only had one option. One that I was too familiar with after all the years that I had spent in the Moonshadow pack. The submissive life that I thought I had left behind in my former pack. I folded my hands together feeling tears fall down my cheeks. "Please, I can't. I can't be a surrogate. Please have mercy on me." The man didn't seem moved so I scrambled for what to say. "I… I'll pay you back. I'll pay you back whatever you paid the traders." The man looked intrigued, his brows pulling together slightly. "And what would you possibly have of value?" I clutched at my chest and neatly wept in relief as I realized that the men had left my necklace on me. It was the gift I had found with my cake at that fake celebration Alpha Finn had thrown me. And it might just be what saved me. I unmatched it from my beck and held it out for the man to look at. "Here, take this." The man held the necklace between his fingers with a sardonic smirk. "This? Is this a joke?" My heart sank. Was it not enough to pay for my freedom? Just how much had those men sold me for? How long had I slept for? "What do you mean?" The man flung the necklace on the bed. "This is fake gold." A gasp escaped my lips. "No. It can't be." I was so stupid. So damn stupid. Stupid for thinking that the Blackwoods would ever be legitimate about anything. They wanted me for my connection to the Alpha King but they couldn't even be bothered to give me a real necklace. They probably didn't see me as worthy of something that expensive. The man crossed his arms, seeming amused. "If it were real, do you think the slavers would have left it on you?" My cheeks burned, my high completely gone. Of course. People that thought to sell me would definitely not balk at taking my jewelry or any other valuables I had on me. Valuables. I checked myself and as I suspected, the wallet that I had taken from Xavier's car was gone. Then my mind caught up with what he just said. "The slavers sold me to you?" Slavers. Goosebumps covered my skin. They were one of the reasons apart from the rogues that I had stopped for the night. Technically they were rogue wolves. Only instead of losing their mind like rogue wolves did, they banded together almost immediately after their banishment, keeping themselves sane and doing anything to keep food on their table without the support of a pack. They sold wolves, humans, and any supernatural that you could think of. They also sold information, took on bounties and did any dirty jobs asked of them. So those men had been slavers. I had been so careless. But if he knew they were slavers then he knew that I wasn't here willing. I latched onto his shirt with renewed vengeance. "You know they are slavers. You know I didn't volunteer for this so why are you doing this?" The man began to speak but the air in the room suddenly charged up. And my entire body went still. "You should be thankful, pet." His voice was cold and clipped. Somehow I just knew that this was the Alpha Jaxon. The Alpha who had bought me to be his surrogate. He didn't look like the monster I had always envisioned him to be. He was stacked, his muscles pulling his clothes tight against his body. Alpha Jaxon's face was like a dream with his defined jawline, high cheekbones and his cool grey eyes. Relax Astrid. Monsters can also be good-looking. But my breath still caught at the sight of him and my nipples pebbled beneath my dress. The man in the room bowed to him, his body language switching up from dominant to subservient before I could blink. "Alpha Jaxon." Alpha Jaxon barely looked at him before dismissing him with a wave. "Leave us, Caleb." Caleb. That meant he was Alpha Jaxon's Beta. No wonder I had felt so much dominance from him. Caleb bowed once more then left the room. Leaving Alpha Jaxon and I alone. The air in the room thickened and my breath came fast. Until he threw a poster in my face. A poster of me tagged wanted. Wanted. I was wanted? There was only one sect of people I could see doing this. Alpha Jaxon's next words confirmed my suspicions. "The Moonshadow Pack has listed you as a wanted person. I assume you are a fugitive from there." So soon? How long had I been out? I had planned to be far away from my pack before they found out that I was missing but being abducted and sold, I had missed my deadline. If they got me back… I thought of Lyra's car, Xavier's car, and their plans for a fake mating. I was done for. Alpha Jaxon didn't even look annoyed or amused as his Beta Caleb had been. No. He spoke to me distantly, keeping a lot of space between us, sounding so unfriendly that I had no problems believing all I had heard about him and imagining that handsome face torturing some unsuspecting soul. "They are offering as much as half a million dollars for your return." Shock raced through me. Would they really pay that much money for my return just so that Xavier could get the ring and the Alpha King title? Alpha Jaxon tilted his head to the side, his gaze unreadable and his face expressionless. "If I let you go, the slavers will sell you back to them." Back to that pack. Back to that life as a worthless omega. Back to that life where Lyra and her minions did as they wanted with me. Now that I had tried escaping, their security would be amplified. I would never leave. They would never let me leave. Alpha Jaxon leaned in and took my chin making me shiver in fear, want and repulsion. "I intend to keep you, pet. I don't care about your past or what you want. Only what you can give me. A child." He let go of me, turning away like the only thing that mattered was what he had to say. Like his opinion was the only thing that mattered. "Get ready." He said gruffly. "We leave in an hour." I finally found my voice, as shaky and trembling as it was. "If i… if I complete the surrogacy, will you let me go?"