The Alpha King's Surrogate

Chapter 12: Something's Wrong

Davian's POV

The council chamber was already half full by the time I took my seat, the usual arrangement of maps and ledgers spread across the long table, Natalia settling in beside me with the composed stillness she brought to every session. I nodded to the room, let the murmur of greetings roll past me, and told myself this was just another morning of trade disputes and border reports.

My wolf had other plans.

Go to her.

I ignored it and focused instead on the steward unrolling a map of the eastern border, on the low drone of a noble outlining grain tariffs with a diplomat from Ashgrove, on anything that wasn't the low, insistent pull dragging at my chest since the moment I'd sat down.

"The Moon Blessing preparations are on schedule," Kyle, my Beta said from his seat to my right. "Though the temple's requested additional funds for the ceremonial grounds. I've flagged it for your approval, my King."

"Approved," I said, without looking at the figure he'd written down.

Go to her.

"Border patrols along the northern ridge have doubled since the Ashgrove skirmish last month," another noble offered. "We'd recommend maintaining that presence through the winter, given the unrest."

"Fine." I said.

Something's wrong.

*Nothing is wrong, I told my wolf. She's under guard, under medical supervision, safer right now than she's been in years. This is nothing but instinct running ahead of sense.

Something's wrong.

"Davian." Natalia's voice cut through the argument I was having with the animal under my skin. "Is something troubling you?"

"No," I said, too quickly.

Across from me, Dorian sat with his usual posture of patient, unhurried attention, watching the proceedings with the sharp, quiet interest of a man looking for every crack in the room to use later. I caught him studying me a moment too long, and I forced my expression back into something composed, something that gave nothing away.

He notices everything. Don't give him this.

"My King." Kyle again, sliding a document toward me. "The grain allocation for the western villages,I need your signature to release the reserves before the frost sets in."

I signed it without properly reading it, my wolf pacing hard enough now that I could feel the tension in my own shoulders, in the tight set of my jaw.

"My King." Kyle's voice again, quieter this time, careful. "You've just approved doubling the reserve release. That's four times what the villages requested."

I looked down at the document. He was right. I'd signed off on an allocation that would have emptied half the winter stores for no reason beyond a moment's distraction, and I hadn't even noticed doing it.

"Correct it," I said, and Kyle did, sliding the amended figure back in front of me without comment, though I caught the brief, worried glance he shot toward Natalia.

They're noticing. Get yourself under control.

The rest of the session passed in a blur of voices and parchment. By the time the final matter,Moon Blessing security rotations, was settled, my shoulders ached from the effort of staying still. I rose and Natalia rose with me. The councilors stood and bowed. Dorian lingered a moment longer than the others, that same faint smile still in place, before he finally left.

We were halfway down the private corridor toward the royal wing when a steward approached, head lowered.

"You were distracted in there," Natalia said quietly, once we were clear of the council chamber and walking toward my study. "Kyle had to correct you twice."

"I just got distracted a little," I kept my voice flat.

"That's not like you, Davian." She said. "You've sat through worse sessions than that without missing a single figure."

"It was just one mistake, Natatila." I said sharply. "I'm fine."

She looked at me as we walked, and I could feel her searching for the source of it, the same way she'd searched two days ago outside the medical wing and come up with nothing but my lies. I didn't have a better explanation to offer her now than I had then.

We reached my study, and I was already reaching for the door when a servant fell into step beside us. "Your Majesty. Dr. Alyssa requests an audience. She says it's urgent."

Something in my chest went cold and tight all at once.

"Send her in," I said.

Alyssa entered a moment later, composed as ever, though I caught the careful set of her expression. She bowed. "Your Majesty."

"What is it?" The words came out sharper than I intended.

She hesitated, just long enough to make my pulse spike further. "I'd like permission to schedule an additional examination for Miss Sinclair tomorrow morning."

"Why?" My voice was low now.

"It's nothing alarming,yet," Alyssa said carefully. "But I'd rather not take unnecessary risks with the royal heir."

My jaw tightened until it ached. "What kind of risks, doctor?"

Alyssa didn't answer right away, and the silence stretched long enough that I felt my wolf surge hard against the cage I'd been holding it in all morning, every instinct in me screaming that this was the wrongness it had been pacing over since I'd sat down in that chamber.

"I'll know more after tomorrow's examination, Your Majesty," she said finally. "I don't want to speculate before I have proper cause to. But her morning sickness has escalated over the last two days, more than what I'd typically expect at this stage, and I'd rather confirm there's nothing more serious behind it than assume it's ordinary."

"Escalated how?"

"Daily, now. Sometimes twice a day. That's within a normal range for many pregnancies, but given the circumstances of this one...." She stopped herself. "I'd simply rather examine her properly than wait and hope it resolves on its own."

"Do it," I said, before she'd even finished."Whatever you need. First thing tomorrow."

"Of course." She bowed again. "If you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make."

She left, and I stood staring at the closed door long after her footsteps had faded down the corridor, my wolf still snarling under my ribs, that same wrongness from the council chamber sitting heavier now that I knew there was something wrong.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Natalia said quietly, beside me. "Morning sickness is common enough this early. Alyssa's simply being thorough."

"I know." I nodded.

But my wolf had already stopped pacing in circles. It stood stiff now, head raised, attention locked on the quiet suite several floors away where an omega was apparently too sick to keep food down.

The animal’s voice was low and certain inside my head.

Something is wrong.