The Plus-Size Surrogate's Royal Triplets

CHAPTER 3

The words had barely left the guard's mouth when Dr. Valerius dropped his diagnostic device back into his bag. His elderly eyes snapped toward Alpha Julian with sudden urgency. "Come, let us check Eva first now!" the doctor exclaimed, completely forgetting about my pregnancy test.

Without a second word, Alpha Julian turned on his heel. He didn't offer me a backward glance. He didn't check the bruises on my knees, ask if I was alright, or even acknowledge that I was sitting on his bed. The protective Alpha who had carried me into this room just minutes ago vanished, replaced by a man completely possessed by the ghost of his past.

They left the room in a frantic rush, their heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor until the sound faded completely. This time, the hurt cut deeper than any physical blow from Laura or Megan. He hadn't even looked at me. I ended up completely alone in the massive royal suite, sitting on the edge of the silk sheets that still carried his scent of cedarwood and dark chocolate. My eyes grew teary, the hot moisture spilling over my cheeks as my inner wolf whimpered in deep, suffocating grief. I was just an Omega placeholder, a transactional womb meant to keep his bed warm until the true queen returned.

Later that day, the quiet of the empty room became too heavy to bear. Needing to know my fate, I crept out into the hallways and made my way toward the royal wing. My feet practically dragged against the floor as I approached the heavy, frosted-glass doors of the healing room.

I paused, holding my breath, and peeked through the small gap in the doorway.

Eva was sitting up on the medical cot. She was breathtakingly beautiful, lean, elegant, and radiating the undeniable grace of a high-ranking she-wolf, despite her pale skin. Julian was sitting right at her bedside, his massive hands trembling as he reached out toward her.

"I never stopped looking for you, Eva," Julian whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, worshipful devotion I had never heard in it before. "Every single day for a year, my wolf screamed for you. I thought I lost you forever."

Eva leaned into his touch, her eyes glistening with tears. "I knew you would find me, Julian. My Alpha. I survived because I knew I had to come back to you. I'm ready to take my place by your side. I'm ready to give you the royal heir our pack needs."

Hearing those words, seeing the absolute love in Alpha Julian's eyes as he looked at her, broke me completely. A sharp, physical pain pierced my chest, shattering my heart into a million pieces. Before she could say another word, Alpha Julian leaned down and kissed her. It was a deep, desperate kiss filled with a year's worth of agonizing longing. Eva wrapped her slender arms around his neck, pulling him closer, holding onto him as if she would never let him go.

I couldn't breathe. I pulled back from the door, turning around so quickly my vision blurred with a fresh wave of tears. I just needed to get away from the suffocating reality of his true love.

As I walked blindly down the grand corridor, trying to wipe the tears from my face, a sharp snicker cut through the air.

Three palace maids stood near the grand staircase, laundry baskets resting at their hips. They had been watching me. The moment I passed, they didn't even try to hide their cruel amusement.

"Look at her, still walking around like she belongs here," one of the maids laughed, her voice dripping with malice. "The true Luna is back. Did you see how the Alpha King ran to her? He didn't even think twice about leaving the fat Omega behind."

"Of course he did," another sneered, tossing her hair. "Eva is his childhood sweetheart, his true love. She's a high-ranking she-wolf who can actually carry a strong Alpha heir. This fat charity case couldn't even get pregnant after three months. She’s going to be dumped by the Alpha King by tonight."

They laughed louder, their whispers echoing off the high stone ceilings. Every word felt like a drop of acid on my soul. Normally, I would keep my head down, but the sheer grief and exhaustion of the day pushed me to my limit.

I stopped walking, turned to face them, and forced my voice to stay level. "I don't care," I said out loud, trying to project a strength I didn't possess.

But deep inside, it made me feel like I was dying. The lie tasted bitter in my mouth.

The first maid stepped forward, mocking me openly. "Oh, you don't care? Please. Everyone knows you're just a gold-digger who sold her body because your family is broke. You're nothing but a..."

"Silence!"

The thunderous roar cut the maid off instantly. The walls seemed to vibrate as heavy, furious footsteps approached from behind me. The maids' faces turned completely white, their laughter dying in their throats as they dropped into deep, trembling bows.

Alpha Julian stepped up, his massive frame radiating pure danger as he stood right beside me. His icy blue eyes were narrowed into deadly slits as he glared at the staff.

"How dare you speak to her in that manner in my palace?"Alpha Julian hissed, his voice dangerously low. "Your jobs are to serve, not to gossip about court matters. Get out of my sight!"

Terrified of the Alpha King's wrath, the maids practically tripped over themselves as they grabbed their baskets and fled down the stairs, desperate to escape his fury.

Once they were gone, the silence between us stretched out. My chest was heaving, my emotions completely frayed from the slap in the hallway, the negative pregnancy test, the sight and words I had just witnessed in the healing room, and the cruel mockery of the staff. I couldn't hold it back anymore. Carried entirely by a wave of raw, desperate emotion, I turned and threw my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest. I hugged him tightly, weeping silently against his shirt.

Alpha Julian went entirely rigid. My sudden embrace obviously shocked him. For a long, agonizing moment, he didn't move. Then, slowly and deliberately, his large hands came up to grasp my shoulders. He pushed me away gently, creating a firm distance between our bodies.

He looked down at me, his expression completely guarded, stripped of the fierce warmth he had shown me in his bedroom earlier.

"Mira, stop," Alpha Julian said, his voice level and professional. "I want to tell you a very important thing."

I looked up at him through my tears, my heart pounding frantically against my ribs. I knew what was coming, but my wolf was screaming at me to speak, to fight for the piece of him I had foolishly allowed myself to want.

"Me too, Alpha," I interrupted, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could lose my courage. "I want you to know... I want you to know that I've already fallen in love with you. I love you, Alpha Julian. Please accept me as your mate. I can try harder. We can make this work."

The confession hung heavily in the air. I searched his face, begging for a glimmer of hope, for the man who had held me so gently in the dark.

Instead, Julian’s eyes turned to cold stone. He let go of my shoulders entirely, stepping back to break all physical contact.

"I cannot accept you, Mira," Julian said, his voice flat and unyielding. "The contract is officially terminated as of this moment. Eva is back, and she is my true mate. She is the only one who will carry my heir."

"No, please," I sobbed, reaching out for him, my hands trembling as I begged for the tiny spark of warmth we had shared. "Alpha, please don't do this."

He stared at me, his face a mask of absolute authority, "I, Alpha King Julian Collins, reject you, Mira Bell."