The Royal Alpha King's Mystical Surrogate

Chapter One

RAYLEIGH

**

My hand was yanked as I stood outside a familiar door that signified something different to me after today. I gasped at the sudden contact that caused my skin to tingle and my heart to pound in my chest with all the excitement and jitters that coursed through me.

“Where are you running off to?” The voice melted my insides and I couldn’t believe it wasn’t power that was radiating off him but desires. I felt his body warmth encircle me as my back rubbed against his chest.

“Nowhere, Alpha,” I answered, gulping down the pressure building in my body and he tightened his hold on my neck, tugging me back in a sensual way. I bit my lip at his action and he knew what was going on inside me. His free hand glided over my body and cupped my breasts through the bra, squeezing them.

”Alpha, is it?” He questioned and I shook my head. I whirled my head to the right and darted my eyes up at him, batting on the way.

“Is it not?” I asked and he smirked. His brown eyes lit up with desire. He smirked at me and his face moved closer to my neck and then he placed a very soft feather-light kiss on my neck, making me squirm.

“It is. So, I’ll exhibit to you who you belong to.” He muttered in a low voice before he ripped off my t-shirt with his bare hands and my eyes widened. That was wild and surely put me on an edge being it was my first time being intimate with a man.

He twirled me over and pulled me to him, attacking my lips with his into a passionate kiss. I moaned in delight as I felt my mind clouding at his moving lips. He picked me up and carried me to the bed. He tossed me on the bed and my body twitched in anticipation.

“Who do you belong to?” He questioned me with his teeth gritted as he held himself back from exploding. The way he was behaving with me was completely different and made me mess my mind as I couldn’t see him straight in the eyes without feeling shy.

“You,” My answer made him break his resolve and get rid of his t-shirt. His teeth gripped my bra strap, pushing it aside and grazing his teeth on my skin, making me bite my lip in delight.

“That is the only answer I expect from you…forever.” He warned me as his hands skimmed over my soft skin. The contact was making me heated and I couldn’t utter a word.

“Where is the affirmation, Luna?” He asked, adding my soon-to-be title, and I sucked in a sharp breath. His hands held my chin and made me look up at him. His eyes were waiting to hear my words and that made me want to say them out loud.

“Yes, forever yours.” As soon as I answered the question, I felt a sharp pang in my neck as his canines sunk into me and I screamed in pain waiting for pleasure to come, but it never came. I turned around but he wasn’t next to me anymore and walked away.

“Wait!” I yelled, but he didn’t cease and wandered away to a blonde woman whom I despised - from forever and now… to forever.

I jolted up from my sleep as once again the same nightmare haunted me. I grazed the right side of my neck where a mark that had once resided no longer had its traces in that place. My hands turned into fists and I tried to regain control over myself and my wolf.

Rayleigh – “Could you not put me through that every other day?” I questioned Pearl; my other wolf-half. She snorted in response.

Pearl – “Oh, how I love having that disgusting day to relive over and over again, right? Only if I had control over dreams. I’d haunt him.” She responded with an equal amount of anger that I had. This was the only time I expressed the anger of my usually calm and polite self.

Rayleigh – “Let’s just forget it because maybe that was the worst day of our lives but we had the best outcome of it.” I reminded her, attempting to tranquil her down, and she flashed a small smile.

Pearl – “True that.” She agreed and I chuckled.

I shut my mind-link and glanced at the watch that flashed 5.30 a.m. It was my time to wake up every day. I could only complete all the tasks in my day on time if I woke up this early.

I tied up my hair in a messy bun. My chocolate brown wavy hair was quite thick so the bun was also huge. I checked my reflection in the small mirror on the wall.

My grey eyes were appearing a bit darker since I hadn’t had proper rest the past week due to the upcoming inspection. My fair milky skin appeared dull and haggard, and once again it was all the distress over the past week.

I smiled at myself, motivating and encouraging myself to finish up my tasks sooner so I could have a little quality time for myself. After all, the inspection was tomorrow and once I concluded today, I could rest tomorrow.

“Rayleigh!” I heard my name being hollered and not in a good way. I quickly rushed out of the maid-quarters and scoured for the source of the familiar voice.

“I’m here, Roxy,” I called over to Roxy, head of the maids. For a forty-plus-something, she was beautiful and still radiated a lot of authority. Also, she had various hobbies and loved her daughter a lot, who now resided in another pack after finding her mate.

She whirled at me with anger flaring in her calm blue eyes and appearing red, like her highlighted red hair which was done by her daughter when she visited two months ago. I didn’t know what had transpired, for her to appear that angry. She was usually that angry with me, but today it seemed to escalate to another level.

“Hadn’t I told you to clean the store room and find a few rare silverware for inspection?” She questioned and I nodded.

“Yes, you did,” I responded quickly to her question because she hated late responses. She folded her hands, dramatically, gaining a stance of her tall 5'8". She appeared to tower over me more than the usual two inches.

“Then, where are they? Why don’t I spot them in the kitchen?” She questioned me and I kept my head hung low. That had completely slipped my mind and I didn’t know how to clear that muddle now.

“I forgot to do that but I’ll begin with that first thing after breakfast, I swear,” I told her, attempting to sound very apologetic and guilty. She gave me an annoyed look and huffed.

“I want it done by evening with all your tasks.” She warned me and I nodded, frantically. “Kids these days are completely out of…” She left, muttering those words, and I let out a deep breath. I was afraid that she’d hand over more tasks for me to punish me.

I quickly rushed back to my room and took a very quick shower. Once freshened up, I wore a pair of black pants and a grey t-shirt. The pair were loose and comfy and they would help me clean the storeroom later, rather efficiently.

I sprinted to the kitchen and two other maids; Rosa and Noel were already preparing breakfast.

“Good morning,” I called over and, as usual, I didn’t receive a response from them. Even though they both never replied, I greeted them hoping one day they would greet me back. They deemed that I was provided with tremendous comforts and excessive favours, and so they treated me poorly.

If only they knew.

I grabbed the apron and, while wearing it, sauntered to the counter where the bread was kept. I was supposed to make toast for breakfast, so I quickly took the butter and sorted my things out to butter the bread and put them on the toast.

As I was indulging in my task, a hand was wrapped around my shoulder, making me tsk in reaction.

“I’m not afraid of your antics, Crystal,” I responded and heard a groan in response.

Crystal Demure; a petite brunette with crystal blue eyes and a very cheerful and bubbly personality. She was two inches smaller than my 5’6”. She was the only one who has conversed with me here since the time I entered this pack. Others had all labelled me everything they could.

“Why would you do that? I was very quiet this time.” She answered and went ahead to grab an apron. She wore an apron and flared a huge angry pout towards me and I chuckled.

“And also, very late.” I mocked and she huffed, making her bangs fly and then resting back on her forehead, a bit dishevelled after her action.

“We can keep that aside if I finish my tasks on time.” She insisted and I nodded.

“You were quiet and the only one who treated me like a pack member rather than a rogue. How can I even be surprised?” I retorted to her previous question and flashed her a sad smile for which she glared at me. She went ahead and hugged me again.

“That is because people don’t know your worth. If they will, they’ll regret it.” She flashed me a warm comforting smile and I nodded.

“Very well, I should start with the coffee and tea because hungry wolves are already lurking by the table.” She muttered and quickly rushed to get her task done. I only chuckled at her and she kept running around making haste to complete her task.

**

Once breakfast was concluded, I scampered to the dining hall. I arranged everything on the table and placed plates for them, so they could have their fill. The wolves kept rushing in and then they began to eat. The speed with which the pack members finished the food wasn’t even half the time it took to prepare it.

That was just plain wolf speed.

Lastly, the maids arrived and they served food for themselves. There was only one portion left and Crystal hadn’t had her fill yet, so I quickly put it onto a plate and stowed it aside. Crystal came rushing towards me, anticipating her food, and I flashed her a big smile.

“Look at the right side,” I pointed towards the plate that had her portion. “I’ve saved you a plate. I believe that should suffice.” I narrated to her and her face lit up.

“You had your fill?” She asked me and I nodded.

“I was waiting for you but you took too long in the washroom.” I lied to her with a big smile. “And I am loaded with tasks, too.” I continued and she pouted. No one could detect my lie because I was so used to it, the fact that I was living one, too.

“Okay, I’ll eat it and then come to assist you.” She told me, rushing towards her plate. “Thanks, Ray!” She yelled as she took the plate and sat on the table to have her breakfast. I kept the used bowls back in the kitchen and the one on cleaning duty had already started the cleaning.

“This is the last slot,” I informed Daisy, the cleaning maid, about it so she could begin working accordingly. She just glanced at me and I took my exit from the kitchen and proceeded to locate Roxy.

“Roxy!” I shouted to gain her attention as I caught her in the hall. She whirled at me with a questioning face. “Is there anything needed from me or should I proceed to clean the store room?” I asked her and she looked left and right, an action she usually did when she was thinking, and then she shook her head.

“Currently there isn’t anything. I’ll assign your task to someone else, in any case. You can commence with the cleaning.” She stated and I nodded in agreement. I took my exit and quickly rushed to the store room, wanting to get that done real soon before lunch so I could at least have lunch on time.

**

I didn’t know how long I had been in the storeroom when I felt my stomach growl. I glanced at my surroundings and realised that all I accomplished was to vacate the items from their places. I was still left to scrub and relocate all the things to their rightful places.

I felt exhausted since I hadn’t had my breakfast and was doing heavy chores, but I couldn’t stop. I was not meant to halt at anything or any obstacle. Every day for me there was a task and a test and I was made to complete all the tasks and clear all the tests.

Pearl – ”Why would you torment yourself in this way, Rayleigh?” Pearl abruptly pinged in my mind, yanking me out of my self-pity-filled motivational thoughts.

Rayleigh – “Because, this is the only way I can keep my mind off the shambles that my life is.” I told her and she just sighed.

She knew we both were hurting in ways not many would understand because they were all living happily with their mates. I was feeling agitated for some reason and also a lot more depressed than usual. It felt like all my positive energy was drained and I needed a day off to replenish it.

Pearl – “Just hold on for a little while, I’m sure everything will be fine.” Pearl tried to motivate me like she usually did even through her fierce nature.

Rayleigh – “I know, Pearl. We’ll make things alright. We can do so and do what is required of us to do.” I told her and she didn’t respond.

Pearl – “It’s what you think is required. I can’t still fight it other than hide like this.” She said and I felt guilty that because of my cowardness, she had to go through so much, against her wishes.

Rayleigh – “I want to be stronger like you, Pearl.” I muttered and she just kept quiet. Leaving me alone with my thoughts and I sighed. I didn’t have it in me to say anything because instead of comforting her, it just hurt her more.

Crystal – ”Rayleigh, where the hell are you? You are nowhere to be found!” Crystal pinged on the mind link, sounding quite pissed, but she didn’t know, her statement was exactly how I wanted to live my life.

Nowhere to be found.