The Lycan King's Secret Surrogate

Chapter 1 Ariana stood before the full-length mirror, her fingertips lightly brushing the delicate lace that hugged the bodice of her wedding gown. Pearls shimmered beneath the soft glow of the dressing room lights, and the long white skirt spilled around her like fresh snow. The reflection staring back at her looked every bit like a bride. Her dark hair had been swept into an elegant bun, with a few loose strands framing her face. A pair of silver earrings caught the light each time she moved, and the mark on her neck—the Moon Goddess' blessing that tied her to her fated mate—peeked out from beneath her hair. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. So why did the silence feel so wrong? She glanced at the clock for what felt like the hundredth time. The ceremony should have begun by now. No one had come for her. Not her mother. Not her father. Not even Selena, her younger sister, who had insisted only yesterday that she would be the first to walk Ariana into the ceremony hall. Ariana frowned. She reached for the doorknob and stepped into the corridor. The pack house, usually overflowing with laughter and excited chatter during celebrations, felt strangely quiet. The only sounds were the soft echoes of her heels against the polished floor. As she walked farther, voices drifted through the hallway. People. Relief washed over her. But it disappeared the moment they noticed her. Their conversations stopped. One by one, heads turned in her direction. Some stared with pity. Others covered their mouths to whisper. A few openly smirked. "...She actually doesn't know." "I almost feel sorry for her." "What a joke..." Their voices were low, but not low enough. Ariana's steps slowed. Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her dress. Something cold settled deep inside her stomach. She forced herself to keep walking. The large double doors leading to the ceremony hall stood only a few feet away. Everything would make sense once she saw Damon. Perhaps there had been some misunderstanding. Perhaps they had been waiting for her all along. She pushed the doors open. The sound echoed through the hall. Instantly, every conversation died. Hundreds of eyes turned toward her. The smile that had been forming on Ariana's lips slowly disappeared. On the raised platform stood Alpha Damon. Tall. Handsome. Powerful. The man chosen by the Moon Goddess to be her mate. Beside him stood the werewolf priest, holding the ceremonial book as he recited the sacred vows. But the woman standing at Damon's side... Wasn't Ariana. It was Selena. Dressed in a white wedding gown. Her younger sister's fingers were intertwined with Damon's as she gazed up at him with shining eyes. Damon smiled back. Ariana blinked. Once. Twice. The scene refused to change. Her breathing became uneven. No... This wasn't right. She searched the crowd. Her mother sat proudly in the front row, her face glowing with happiness as she watched Selena. Her father wore the same satisfied smile. Neither of them looked surprised to see Selena standing beside Damon. Neither of them looked for Ariana. The blood drained from Ariana's face. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. The hall suddenly felt too small. Too hot. Too difficult to breathe in. Gathering the layers of her gown in trembling hands, she hurried toward the platform. "Damon... Selena..." Her voice shook. "What's going on?" The priest lowered the ceremonial book. Silence swept through the hall. Damon looked down at her, his expression unreadable. Then one corner of his mouth lifted. "What does it look like we're doing?" His calm tone struck harder than a slap. Ariana searched his face desperately. She waited for him to laugh. To tell everyone the joke had gone far enough. Instead... Selena slipped her arm through Damon's. "It seems my dear elder sister can't understand what she's looking at." She smiled sweetly. "So let me explain." Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction. "Damon and I are getting married." The words shattered something inside Ariana. Her heartbeat stumbled. The world around her blurred. "No..." She shook her head. "No... this can't be happening." A weak laugh escaped her lips. "This is a prank... right?" She looked from Damon to her parents. Then back to Selena. "Tell me this is a joke." No one answered. Not her mother. Not her father. Not Damon. Only the muffled whispers of the guests filled the suffocating silence. Selena let out a quiet scoff. Damon's gaze swept over Ariana from head to toe before settling on her wedding gown. Disgust flickered across his face. "I'm marrying Selena." His voice was cold. "Not you." He looked at her as though she were an embarrassment standing in the middle of the ceremony. "So do yourself a favor." His lips curled into a faint sneer. "Go back, take off that dress..." "...and stop making a fool of yourself." The hall seemed to shrink around Ariana. The laughter, the whispers, the sea of unfamiliar faces—they all blurred together as she searched desperately for someone, anyone, to smile and admit this had all been a terrible joke. A moment. Just one moment. Selena would laugh, step away from Damon, and tell her she'd fallen for the prank. Damon would walk over, take her hand, and apologize for taking it too far. Her mother would scold them both. Everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be. But the seconds stretched into eternity. No one moved. Instead, a ripple of laughter spread through the hall. Some guests covered their mouths. Others made no effort to hide their amusement. Ariana's fingers curled into the fabric of her wedding gown until the delicate lace crumpled beneath her grip. "But... Damon..." Her voice cracked. "You're my mate." Damon's expression remained unmoved. "And where is it written in werewolf law that mates are required to marry each other?" His words were calm. Almost bored. Each syllable struck her harder than the last. She stared at him, unable to recognize the man before her. "But..." A lump rose in her throat. "I thought..." She swallowed painfully. "I thought we loved each other." The corners of Damon's lips lifted—not into a smile, but something colder. "No." He looked her straight in the eyes. "You're the one who's been living in that fantasy." His voice echoed through the silent hall. "I've never loved you." He slipped his hand around Selena's waist without taking his eyes off Ariana. "The one I've always loved..." He pulled Selena closer. "...is Selena." Ariana's breath caught. The world around her seemed to tilt. "And I, Damon..." His Alpha aura rolled through the hall, heavy and commanding. "Alpha of the Gray Moon Pack..." Every instinct inside Ariana screamed. "...reject you." The words crashed into her like thunder. Something deep inside her stretched... Then snapped. A sharp, invisible c***k echoed through her soul. Agony exploded inside her chest. It felt as though molten iron had been forced through her heart, burning everything in its path. "Ah!" The scream tore from her throat before she could stop it. Her knees slammed against the marble floor. Her hands flew to her chest as though she could somehow hold the broken bond together. But it was gone. Tears spilled down her cheeks in endless streams. Every breath hurt. Every heartbeat felt like another blade twisting deeper into the wound. Another cry escaped her lips. Her wolf whimpered inside her mind. The familiar comforting presence that had always been there now curled into itself, trembling in pain. The bond wasn't breaking only for Ariana. It was breaking for her wolf too. The mark on her neck flickered once... so faintly and it disappeared. The hall remained silent. No one came to help. No one even looked disturbed. Selena watched with a satisfied smile, her eyes gleaming as though Ariana's suffering were the greatest performance she had ever witnessed. Beside her, Damon stood perfectly still. His face showed nothing. No regret. No guilt. No hesitation. Only indifference. Ariana forced herself to lift her head. Her vision swam behind a curtain of tears. She looked at Damon. Then at Selena. Finally, her eyes found her parents. Not one of them looked away. Not one of them appeared ashamed. Her voice was barely audible. "...Why?" The single word trembled as it left her lips. She deserved that much. If nothing else... She deserved to know why. Damon let out a quiet scoff. "Why?" He repeated the word as though it amused him. "Because you're weak." His gaze swept over her kneeling figure. "Too emotional." He paused deliberately. "And completely unfit to become the Luna of the Gray Moon Pack." Each sentence drove her farther into despair. He tightened his arm around Selena's waist. "The Gray Moon Pack deserves a Luna worthy of standing beside its Alpha." His fingers brushed affectionately against Selena's waist. "Not a woman who got pregnant before marriage..." Ariana's breathing stopped. "...and sold her own child." Silence. For one heartbeat... The entire hall froze. Then— Gasps erupted from every direction. "What?" "She had a child?" "She sold her own baby?" "She's disgusting." "A woman like that wants to become Luna?" "Alpha Damon was right to reject her." The whispers spread like wildfire. People who had once bowed respectfully before her now looked at her with naked disgust. Some shook their heads. Others openly pointed at her. The weight of hundreds of judgmental stares crashed down on her shoulders. Ariana didn't hear them. She couldn't. Her ears rang so loudly that every other sound became distant. She looked at Damon. Her lips parted. "How..." The word barely escaped. How did he know? Only four people in the world knew that secret. Her. Her parents. Selena. Slowly... Very slowly... She turned toward her family. Selena's lips curved into a smug smile. Her mother's eyes shifted away. Her father remained silent. No denial. No surprise. No attempt to defend her. The answer was written plainly across their faces. They told him. The realization hollowed her out. The floor beneath her suddenly felt unsteady. The voices around her faded into a dull roar as the world tilted violently. Everything she had believed... Her mate. Her sister. Her parents. Her family... Had been nothing more than an illusion.