03:

I had to be shoved forward as every instinct in my body was telling me to run in the opposite direction of this room. After a small stumble forward, I dragged my feet in the direction the voice had come from. The room I had entered was a long hall with dark pillars and various oil paintings scattered on the walls. There were wall sconces on each pillar that had a candle burning, illuminating the enter hall in soft, flickering light. At the end of the hall, it opened up into a large room. Overhead was a crystal chandelier. The coolness of the stone floor was seeping through my worn out shoes. Every inch of this place was as magnificent as the train— more so, even. Directly beneath the chandelier was an empty throne. It was made of carved black wood and had red velvet lining the seat cushion. The back of it must have gone up at least eight feet from the ground, and even thought werewolves are large, I could tell the throne would be too big for any of the wolves I knew.

The echo of steps sounded behind me and I jolted. A man stepped up beside me. I looked over at him and swallowed. He had to be over 6’5” tall and was the most sturdy individual I’d seen. His arms and shoulders were bulky, covered in a nice black suit jacket. A ring was present on his left ring finger. Hair eyebrows were thick and dark, his jawline was square and his lips were thin. His hair was black, like a void. On top of his head was a gold and ruby crown.

I swallowed and bowed my head, remaining silent. After a few moments with no response, I looked back up. He was still staring at the throne, eyes cold and unfeeling. His voice was rough and low, “Quite a throne, isn’t it?”

My eyes narrowed, a drop of sweat starting to trail down my forehead, “Yes, my King.”

He smirked darkly, “Your name?”

“A—a—Ada,” I stammered, palms sweaty.

“Have a seat Ada,” the King’s hand swept forward, indicating a small chair to the left of the throne that I hadn’t noticed, “The first portion of this evening will be an interview with me,” he continued as I stepped over to the chair and sat down carefully, smoothing my rags down, “The only expectation is that you answer honestly, even at the expense of myself or your family. Do you think you can do this?” when I managed a curt nod, he took his place on the throne and called out, “Viktor!” another wolf appeared, dressed in butler’s finery, and bowed, “Bring Ada some refreshments, please.”

I opened my mouth to decline, but found myself coming up short when my stomach grumbled loudly. The King leveled his gaze on me and I could see the challenge in his eyes. It was as if he was daring me to deny his courtesy. I swallowed and looked down at my lap. Pig manure and dirt mixed interchangeably on the ragged cloth material. As I stared at the patterns the dirt was creating, the King and I sat in silence.

Viktor, the butler, returned after a few moments. He was carrying a tray piled high with fruits and cheeses and crackers. A small table was placed in front of me with the tray on top. I studied the glistening fruit for only a few seconds before snatching a few grapes and a piece of cheese up. The moment the food hit my hollow stomach, I moaned and began shoveling things into my mouth. I hadn’t known how deep my hunger went until after that first bite.

It wasn’t until the King cleared his throat that I remembered myself. I swallowed the bite I had in my mouth and looked at the half empty tray before sheepishly looking up at the King, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he smiled softly, an expression that felt out of place on his hard face, “You looked hungry,” the King’s eyes narrowed, “Tell me— are you older or younger than Georgina?”

“Older,” I picked up another bunch of grapes, “I’m the daughter of Alpha Bryant’s first wife.”

“Cecilia,” the King said warmly, “She was quite the she-wolf,” he waited a beat, but when I stayed silent, he continued on, “Why do you look like this if you’re the daughter of a prized Alpha?”

“I didn’t get along with my stepmother,” I kept my words blunt, pointed.

The great Alpha King snorted and leaned forward on his elbows, “Hardly seems like a reason to present you in this manner.”

Blush crept up my cheeks. For a moment, I allowed myself to wonder what I must look like to him. I was probably nothing more than trash in his eyes. I rolled my shoulders back, cringing at the popping sound they made, “I don’t think they intended for me to be presented this way. I fell asleep and—“

The King held up a hand, “It’s alright. Your presentation and the reason behind it aren’t important in this situation,” my mouth went dry as he asked firmly, “Do you have a mate?”

I shook my head, “I just turned eighteen three days ago.”

“Are you hoping to find your mate?”

“The mate bond is sacred,” tears pricked my eyes as I remembered the purpose behind this interview, “Of course I hope to find my mate.”

“Do you like it, back at your home?” his voice was surprisingly gentle. I shook my head quickly. There was a light chuckle, “Do you like it better here already?”

I leveled my gaze with his, only hesitating momentarily when I took in the King’s cerulean eyes, “You have already shown me greater kindness in five minutes than my own father has in years. How could I not like it better here?”

“I suppose that’s fair,” the King leaned back in his throne, “And how do you feel about surrogacy?”

Bile rose in my throat. I scrunched up my face, my blood seeming to boil with equal parts rage and disgust, “I would rather die than carry someone else’s child.”

Thick eyebrows shot up, wrinkling the king’s forehead. He nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes, “You are aware that you are here as a potential surrogate to my three sons, the future Alpha Kings of this Dominion?” I gave a curt nod and he sighed, “How long before you were placed on that train did you know you would be coming?”

“Mere minutes,” I whispered, hanging my head as I fought back tears.

“This is not your choice to be here to represent your father, then?” the King reached forward and gently tipped my head up so that I was looking at him, “You don’t need to answer that.”

I sucked in a deep breath, tightening my jaw, “I understand that this should be an honor. To me, it is not,” my voice was cool, “I don’t mean to insult you.”

“You don’t insult me,” the King chuckled, dropping his hand from my chin, “I would encourage to remain opinionated,” he looked me up and down, “Though something tells me that isn’t a trait you’ll ever lose if you can keep it through everything you’ve already gone through.”

A twinge of guilt ran through me. Whether or not I agreed with the idea of being a surrogate for his three sons, the Alpha King was much nicer than I thought he would be. Still, I should probably be careful with what I said. Exile could become execution very quickly.

I jolted when a door behind me opened. The King glanced up at who walked into the room and gave a quick nod. He climbed to his feet and offered his hand to assist me. I started to take it, but caught sight of the manure and dirt still caked onto my skin and under my fingernails. What an impression I must have made for him to still act so kind to me while I looked like such a mess and had been mostly rude. Surely it was out of pity. He had to be praying to the Moon Goddess that I wouldn’t be chosen as the surrogate.

He dropped his hand when I stood up on shaky legs, “I don’t have much information about what’s happening here. I just know that a choice—“

“There is no choice,” the King interrupted, “This Selection is predestined. There is only one possible surrogate for my sons,” he explained, leading me slowly toward the open door, “This interview didn’t do anything to tell me whether or not you are the surrogate. It is simply a way for me to ensure that there is enough time for examinations to be completed.”

“Examinations?” I tried to stop as a guard stepped in front of me.

The Alpha King gave a curt nod to the guard and turned on his heel as my elbow was grasped firmly, “You’ll be escorted to the next room. It was lovely meeting you, Ada.”

A second guard came up on my other side, gripping my other arm tightly. As the pair dragged me down the hall, I continued to try to dig my heels into the ground to stop them. The further we got from the entry hall, the harder I tried to fight. Before I knew it, I was screaming, thrashing around and tossing my body weight from side to side to try and wrench free. I wasn’t sure what examinations were supposed to be happening but I knew I didn’t want to participate.

They wrestled me into a room. This room was cold, sterile. A large exam table with metal stirrups was in the center with a bright white light and various machines laid out beside it. My eyes widened as someone poked their head around a computer screen and said a quick ‘hello.’ The guards loosened their grip, giving me the perfect opportunity. I slid my arms out of their hands and turned around quickly. Before they could process, I was running out the door. I glanced over my shoulder to verify they weren’t following me. Once I had verified no one was coming yet, I started to take off full speed— which wasn’t very fast since the first food I’d had in months had been a mere fifteen minutes earlier.

Just as I was about to reach the midway point of the hallway, I turned to glance over my shoulder again. The guards were no there and gaining on me. My heart was racing as I started to turn to face forward—

And ran right into a wall of hot muscle.