The Alpha King's Surrogate

Chapter 7: She's Still Ours

Davian's POV

I stepped back into the corridor and the door sealed behind me with a soft, final click.

Natalia stood about three feet away with her hands folded across her chest and her face completely blank, while Dr Alyssa and two senior doctors were waiting down the hall. The guards had already resumed their posts, their eyes forward, pretending they had not just been ordered of the room by their king with no official reaso.

"Is everything all right?" Natatila asked, watching my face.

"Everything's fine," the word came out flat.

"Fine?" Natalia's crossed my arms over her chest. "You cleared an entire room, Davian. That's not exactly what I'd call fine."

"I just wanted a private word with the surrogate," my voice was surprisingly calm."You know clarified a few points about the contract and her obligations.”

"Of course, Alpha King," Dr Alyssa spoke. "Was there a concern with the candidate?”

“No.” I said quickly. “She understands her place and that's all that mattered.”

Natalia fell into step beside me,close enough that her sleeve almost brushed mine. The jasmine scent that used to mean home now just sat on the air.

“You were in there longer than expected.” she said quietly.

“She needed to be reminded of her place.” I kept my voice flat.

Natatila looked at me for a second, before turning her face forward, qe reached the main observation area again. The remaining staff straightened. I stopped in the center of the room and forced my shoulders to relax.

"Well both mother and child are both healthy," Dr Alyssa tabbed on her tablet. "The early hormone levels are strong and there are no signs of rejection at this stage. We’ll continue daily monitoring for the next two weeks, then transition to every third day if the trajectory holds.”

I nodded once, though I barely heard what she said. My wolf was still pacing, claws scraping the inside of my ribs, furious that I had walked away. That I had left her alone in that room without claiming her.

I crushed the thought before it could fully form.

Natalia watched me sideways. “You’re distracted.”

“I’m tired.” I turned toward the nearest window and stared out at the training yards. “The northern meetings ran long and this was another stress on top."

"The Council will be satisfied once the formal acknowledgment is logged." Natalia said. "Dorian won’t have fresh material for at least a few weeks, maybe that would ease the stress.”

“That's good.” I said.

"Alpha King, regarding the surrogate’s current quarters," Dr. Alyssa cleared her throat. “she is still in the standard medical wing suite. It's okay, but the traffic and noise levels are higher than ideal for early pregnancy. We can relocate her if you prefer.”

The moment my wolf heard that it moved forward again. Keep her away from every other scent, it said, every other set of eyes.

"Move her to a more quiet suite in the royal residential wing," I said. "Add more guards on the corridor and limited access to medical staff and approved servants. She’s carrying the heir, so I want the lowest risk of stress.”

"I understand," Dr. Alyssa made a note on her tablet. “We’ll arrange it this afternoon.”

“I want it done today,” I corrected. “Before evening.”

“Yes, Alpha King.” she nodded.

Natalia’s expression didn’t change, she probably thought this was about the child. Everyone in the room thought the same thing.

Only I knew the real reason.

I needed her as farther from the general staff as possible, away from anyone who might notice if my control slipped for even a second and I needed the extra guards because the alternative was leaving her exposed while my wolf continued to lose its mind, was unacceptable.

We left the medical wing together. Natalia walked on my right, matching my pace without effort. The corridors of the royal wing felt longer than usual. Every few steps my wolf tested the leash again, pushing images of her red hair and green eyes and the exact way her scent had filled that cold room.

I locked it down harder and continued walking.

In the private sitting room adjoining our chambers, Natalia poured two glasses of water and set one near my hand. She didn’t try to touch me this time.

“You handled that well,” she said. “The private conversation and the relocation. It will show how invested you are without appearing to be overly involved.”

I picked up the glass but didn’t drink. “That was the point.”

She studied me for a moment longer. “If the distraction continues, you should rest before the Council briefing tomorrow.”

“I’m fine.” my voice came out strained.

“You’re not.” The words were soft, almost gentle. “You’ve been so tight since the northern trip. This morning only added to it. You should sleep or at least pretend to.”

"I have reports to review," I set the glass down. “I would like to start now."

"I'll leave you to it, then." She gave a small nod, and moved to the door. The door closed behind her and the silence that followed felt heavier than it should have.

I stood alone in the center of the room and let the mask drop for three full seconds.

My hands were still unsteady and her scent lingered at the back of my throat like it had burned itself there. No matter what I said about the situation, the contract, my Luna it felt thin against the single word my wolf refused to stop repeating.

I walked to the sideboard, poured the whiskey, and downed half of it in one go. The burn did nothing to quiet the animal pacing under my skin.

The only solution was distance. I had to have controlled access and a strict protocol. I would not be in the same room with her again unless the doctors forced the issue. I would not speak to her and I would not look for her. I would treat her like Candidate Twenty-Seven exactly like what the rest of the pack believed her to be, a temporary surrogate for the future of Crestwood.

It would work. The reaction in that medical room had been a fluke. Anything except the truth my wolf kept screaming.

I finished the drink and set the glass down harder than necessary.

Across the estate, somewhere in the quieter corridors of the royal wing, the staff would already be preparing a new suite, fesh linens and restricted entry. The guards who answered only to me. She would sleep under my roof, carry my child, and remain completely unreachable.

I turned toward the desk and the stack of unread reports waiting there. The only things that still made sense. My wolf growled low and dark, the sound vibrating through my chest like a promise I hadn’t agreed to.

Run if you want, but She is still ours.