Billionaire Alpha's Plus-Size Mate

Chapter 12 Survive

I began pacing around the apartment, my heart refusing to settle. What if he regretted choosing me? What if he wanted to explain the rules? Or worse… What if tonight was the reason he had bought me?

I stopped walking and pressed both hands against my face. There was no point frightening myself.

Alpha Hayes Denzel was a man powerful enough to buy another person's future with a single sentence. Whether I was ready or not changed nothing. He would do as he pleased. And there was nothing I could do to stop him.

With trembling hands, I finally sat down and forced myself to eat. The food was still warm. The bread was softer than anything I had ever tasted, and the soup carried a rich flavour that almost made my eyes sting.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten until I was full. Perhaps… Perhaps I never had.

The moment I finished, another knock sounded at the door. It was as though someone had been waiting outside, counting every minute.

Lola stepped inside with the same calm expression she always wore. "The Alpha is waiting for you."

I glanced at the dishes, intending to gather them before leaving, but two maids entered behind her and began clearing the table before I could even stand.

I followed Lola out in silence.

Several questions crowded my mind, yet one look at her composed expression told me she wasn't the sort of person who welcomed conversation.

The closer we walked toward the centre of the pack, the grander everything became.

The Pack House rose proudly above every other building, surrounded by carefully kept gardens and towering stone pillars. Inside, polished marble floors reflected the light pouring through enormous windows, while priceless paintings and carved sculptures lined the hallways.

Every corner spoke of power. Of wealth. Of a family that had ruled for generations.

I expected Lola to lead me upstairs. Toward the Alpha's private chambers.

Instead, she stopped before a pair of enormous wooden doors.

She knocked once. Then slowly pushed them open.

"The Alpha will see you now."

It wasn't his bedroom. It was his office.

Lola stopped in front of a pair of dark wooden doors and knocked once.

"Come in."

The deep voice from inside was calm, yet something about it made my heartbeat stumble.

Lola pushed the door open and stepped aside.

"The Alpha will see you now."

I swallowed hard before forcing my legs to move.

The office was far larger than my entire apartment. Shelves filled with books stretched from floor to ceiling, while tall windows overlooked the entire pack. Everything inside reflected power and wealth, yet none of it managed to hold my attention.

He did.

Alpha Hayes Denzel sat behind an enormous desk, reading through a stack of documents as though buying another human being earlier that day had been nothing more than another item on his schedule.

I couldn't bring myself to look at him properly.

My fingers trembled at my sides. Every rumour I had ever heard about him came rushing back all at once.

The Alpha who never smiled. The Alpha who had no mercy. The Alpha people feared even more than death itself.

Standing in the same room as him felt like standing before a snowstorm. He hadn't raised his voice or threatened me, yet the air around him carried a coldness that made it difficult to breathe.

"Sit." His voice was quiet and calm. Still, it startled me enough that I flinched.

I quickly lowered myself into the chair opposite him, praying he hadn't noticed the way my knees shook.

What was he going to do to me?

For several seconds, he continued reading the papers in front of him before finally placing them aside.

When he looked at me, I immediately lowered my eyes again.

"Your role in this pack," he said evenly, "is to give me an heir."

The words struck me so suddenly that I forgot to be afraid. My head lifted on its own. For the first time, I looked directly at him. His icy blue eyes met mine. They were beautiful. Beautiful in the most frightening way imaginable.

There wasn't a trace of warmth in them. I looked away almost immediately.

"I... I don't understand."

"You understood." His voice remained as unreadable as his expression. "I said your role here is to give me an heir."

My mind struggled to make sense of what I was hearing. "But... I thought..."

He raised one hand slightly. The simple gesture was enough to silence me.

"You will carry my child." He spoke the words as though he were discussing tomorrow's weather. "Once that duty is fulfilled, you will be free."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You mean..." My voice trembled. "All I have to do is have your child... and I can leave?"

"It isn't that simple."

Something in the way he answered made the hope inside me disappear before it had the chance to grow.

"Every woman who has conceived my child before you either lost her mind... or died."

The room seemed to spin. "What?" The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.

"If you survive," he continued calmly, "you will be free."

Survive. He said it so casually. As though surviving was merely another possibility instead of a miracle.

My hands tightened around my dress. "But... why me?" The question came out as little more than a whisper. "I'm wolfless." I forced myself to continue. "Mateless. I don't have powerful blood or a strong wolf to protect your child."

I looked at him desperately, hoping he would finally admit he'd made a mistake. "You could have chosen anyone. So why me?"

For the first time since I'd entered the room, silence settled between us. He simply looked at me.

Then he answered. "My reasons are mine."

I frowned. "It doesn't make any sense," I said, shaking my head. "I'm not the right woman for this. If every woman before me either died or went mad, then choosing someone like me only makes your chances worse."

My voice became quicker with every word.

"I'm weak. I can't protect your child. If I die, you'll only have to start all over again."

Only after the words left my mouth did I realize what I sounded like. As though I cared more about his success than my own life.

I didn't. I was trying to save myself. If I could convince him he had chosen the wrong woman….Maybe… Just maybe…. He would let me go.

His expression never changed. "You've been dismissed."

I blinked. That was it?

He turned his attention back to the documents on his desk. "Lola will prepare you."

I stared at him in confusion. "Prepare me... for what?"

He didn't even look up this time. "For the conception."

The words landed like a stone in my chest. Every woman before me had either died… or lost her mind.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying to steady my breathing. Why had he chosen me?

No matter how many times I asked, his answer never changed.

And as Lola quietly opened the office door for me, I realized something that made my heart sink even further.

I wasn't leaving this place. I was only walking one step

closer to whatever fate Alpha Hayes Denzel had already chosen for me.