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1384 Words
Ayla's POV
At the table, no one said a word.
I wondered for the umpteenth time if it was because of me, or if it was usually like it.
A while ago, Alpha Lukas stepped in.
In all his glory, usual pride, he walked to the table and was seated opposite me. His gaze, on several occasions, ran over me, leaving me confused.
Was that how he looked at people?
Or was it because it's me?
Someone coughed. A man seated with us.
He looked around the table and met my gaze, then he looked at the other men whose countenance I couldn't read. “My Lord.”
Lukas bowed. “My Fathers.”
“A strange woman is in our midst—” the man managed a smile. He looked at me again before facing Lukas who moped at me now. “Don't you think this is the time where you tell us what a total stranger is doing in this Pack, at the table with us?”
Cutlery clanked. Lukas looked up.
“I am sorry about that. I thought we would address that after our meal.” He looked at me again. I was uncomfortable at this point, willing to walk out on them but there would be no such grace.
“This is Ayla. Ayla Fredrick.”
Another round of silence existed. The Alpha went on, his hand massaged the part of his face that had a scar on it. “She shall live with us in The Pack Varondale for a year—” he looked at me again.
Now it didn't make sense.
Last I checked, it was supposed to be nine months. The contract I signed lasted about nine months. How come was it one year? My mouth opened, I wanted to speak but I shut it on second thought.
Lukas continued.
“Her name is Ayla, like I said. She's staying with us for some time, as the mother of my child. The future prince or princess of The Pack Varondale. It's what you all have wanted, after all.”
Everyone looked at me - young men, old men. There was shock on their countenance, it caused me absolute embarrassment.
“Pregnant?” One man asked.
He looked at Lukas who didn't care but concentrated on his meal now. “You didn't tell the pack you were planning to have a woman.”
“I don't see how that piece of information should concern the pack or council.”
He glanced up at the man.
“You, especially, asked me to get a woman so that she can be pregnant and with my child. That is the exact thing I have done, how come you have an issue? Is it the woman? Do you have a problem with the woman I have brought? Pray tell.”
“I—” he stuttered. “I don't have a problem with the woman. I just—” he looked at the Alpha, then at me. It was much more than embarrassment at this point, I wished the ground would open.
And take me.
With it.
“When is the wedding?”
The mean man almost choked on his meal. A soft chuckle ran out of his mouth and for a second, our gazes locked. “What sort of marriage? Wedding? Where did I state there would be a marriage?”
“I don't understand what's happening here.”
“It's that simple—” Lukas cut him short.
“Ayla here is a surrogate mother who would be responsible for my child before his or her coming. She will be paid like every other surrogate mother and by the time the child comes and everything has been fixed, she will leave like we never met.”
Everyone was stunned.
One man had something to say.
He opened his mouth but before he could speak, the door opened. Everyone's gaze diverted to the entrance of the dining hall. A woman walked in. She was fierce-looking, beautiful, but armed.
Like a man would be.
“Look who we have here—”
Lukas, for the first time since we met, smiled genuinely. He watched her walk in, she was also smiling and didn't notice me.
At least, not yet.
“Good to see you again, Sierra.”
“My Lord.” She stopped at a point and bowed. “It is nice to see you and the elders again.”
Did she go on a trip?
Who was she? And why would the Alpha smile at her like that? It was obvious they shared a bond.
Or not.
He seemed like a loner to me.
Or was she his lover?
Why didn't she have the baby then?
A tinge of jealousy hit me. I looked away from her, my meal was getting cold so I dug in.
While the woman and the other men talked and exchanged pleasantries, my thoughts wavered at the fact that Caleb was with another woman.
Another woman who wasn't me.
“Ayla?”
“Yes, my lord.” I looked up at him, bowed, then moped at the other men—with one woman whose gaze locked into mine. “Did you—call me?”
“Would you answer if I didn't?”
Many more embarrassment, but I was covered with a smile. “I don't know, my lord. I'm lost in my thoughts and it's as though I heard my name.”
“Of course, I called you.”
Why was he doing this? I heaved a sigh and looked at my plate. “Yes, my lord. I have answered.”
“Now that we are complete, meet the council.”
His tone was better, as though the presence of the woman healed something in him. “These are the men of the Pack, after myself, they come in.” He looked at the strange woman who smiled at him. “The woman seated next to me is Sierra. She's the strongest woman in The Pack Varondale.”
I froze.
Strongest woman.
In the whole Pack.
“It's nice to meet all of you—” my mouth opened. “Thank you for having me. I am happy to be here.” That was a lie, but I had to say it.
Sierra looked in my direction.
Obviously, she didn't know what was happening. “Is there something I should know, My lord?” She looked at the Alpha who sipped water. “Why do we have a stranger in our pack, eating with us?”
“She'll spend some time with us, Sierra.”
“Oh—” Sierra poured some soup onto her plate. “Would you like to tell me why you're here?”
“I—” I wasn't expecting her to ask me that.
“She's here with me—” Lukas said. Sierra looked at him, with a questioning glance. “She's a member of this Pack for now, at least. Do you understand me?”
“I'm afraid I don't.”
Why was he even beating about the bush?
I looked at the men.
They had become less interested. They knew what was happening, after all. But the woman—she hadn't been fully informed.
She probably loved him.
Or, I didn't know. I didn't care to know.
“Ayla Fredrick is her full name. She's a member of The Crescent Howl Pack. In the meantime, she'll be with us in The Pack Varondale. She is pregnant with my child, a surrogate mother.”
“A surrogate what?!”
“Mother, Sierra. Aren't you one of those pressuring me to have a child so I don't lose my throne?”
Why was she shocked?
It was a different type of shock. One that expressed anger within. “I—” She now mouthed. “I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon, my lord.” She said with a smile that seemed fake to me.
“That's the congratulatory message I get?”
“Congratulations, my lord.”
“Thank you, Sierra. Can we eat now?”
She looked at her plate, her hand shaking. The next time she looked up at me, there seemed to be tears in her eyes. One that talked about danger.
- Writer
