Chosen To Be The Alpha's Surrogate

**I Malachi I**

My gaze flickers to Jackson's collection of antique weapons, painted in gold from the light casting through the widows of his office. I sit across from him, the leather chair creaking under my weight as I lean forward. My wolf paces restlessly beneath my skin, hating what I'm about to do.

"So," Jackson says, studying me over steepled fingers. "You're willing to arrange a marriage between your unborn son and my daughter?" His voice is carefully neutral, but I can smell the eagerness beneath his composed exterior. I clench my jaw, forcing the words out. "Yes. Once we find Penelope, once my son and your daughter are born, they will be betrothed."

The words taste like ash in my mouth. I'm selling my son's future before he's even taken his first breath. But what choice do I have? Jackson's resources, his connections-they could mean the difference between finding Penelope and losing her forever.

Jackson leans back in his chair, the motion deliberate. His dark eyes search my face, and I force myself to meet his gaze steadily. "Are you sure about this, Malachi?" he asks, surprising me with the genuine concern in his tone. "I want this alliance you know I do. But making this decision under duress..."

"I'm sure," I cut him off, the lie burning my tongue. But I keep my heartbeat steady, my scent controlled. Years of Alpha politics have taught me how to mask my tells.

He's quiet for a long moment, the ticking of an ancient grandfather clock marking the seconds. "You understand this is binding," he says finally. "Once we shake on this, there's no going back. Your son will marry my daughter when they come of age."

My wolf snarls inside me, raging against the cage I'm building around our pup. But I push it down, focus on the image of Penelope that haunts my every waking moment. Her smile, her scent, the way she fits perfectly in my arms. "I understand," I say firmly. "Do we have a deal?"

Jackson stands, moving to a cabinet near his desk. He pulls out an aged bottle of whiskey and two crystal glasses. The liquid gleams amber as he pours, the rich scent of oak and peat filling the air. "To our grandchildren," he says, offering me a glass.

I take it, though the thought of drinking to this feels wrong. But this is how deals are sealed in our world-with expensive whiskey and carefully chosen words. I raise the glass, meet his eyes. "To family." The whiskey burns going down, but not as much as the knowledge of what I've just done.

*"I promise you, I won't make any decisions about our son's future without talking it through with you first."*

Another promise broken. Another betrayal of her trust.

I can picture her face when she finds out-the hurt, the disappointment. I know how she feels about arranged marriages, she talked about how our son deserved the freedom to choose his own path. And now I've taken that choice away from him.

*I'm sorry, little rabbit. I don't have a choice.*

But even as I think it, I know it's a lie. There's always a choice. I'm just too desperate, too afraid of losing her forever, to look for another way.

Jackson sets his glass down with a soft clink, then extends his hand across the desk. "I'll have my best people on this by morning," he says as we shake. "We'll find her, Malachi."

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. The weight of what I've just done-what I've sacrificed-sits heavy in my chest as I stride out of his office. Seth is waiting by the car, his posture straightening as I approach. He pulls the door open for me, sliding in beside me.

"Any news?" I ask as the driver pulls away from Jackson's estate.

Seth's scent carries hope for the first time in days. "With Jackson's resources now backing us? We'll find her, Alpha. It's only a matter of time."

*Good. Because I didn't just sign my son's future away for nothing.*

The silence that falls between us doesn't last. I can feel Seth's uncertainty rolling off him in waves before he speaks. But eventually, with hesitation, he says, "There is something else you should know."

The tone of his voice makes my wolf stir uneasily. "What is it?"

"Tarlac made it official this morning. He's taken Julia as his mate."

My heart suddenly skips, my breath catching for a moment. But it's not because I care about Julia-that wound healed long ago. It's because of what it represents. While I'm here selling my son's future just for a chance to find my mate, Tarlac is already moving on, replacing his murdered Luna like she meant nothing.

*Is this what being king means? This ability to discard connections, to treat mates like chess pieces?*

Rage builds in my chest. My claws dig into my palms, drawing blood that I barely notice. Tarlac's moving forward, securing his position, while I'm trapped in this nightmare of searching and waiting.

"When?" I demand, my voice rough.

"This morning. Small ceremony, but very public. The photos are already circulating." Seth's voice carries a careful neutrality that tells me he's worried about my reaction. "He's making a statement about stability. About moving forward." *Moving forward.*

The words taste bitter.

How many times had Julia begged me to do the same? To forget about building something real and focus on power instead? And now she's exactly where she wanted to be beside a potential king.

"Alpha..." Seth starts, but I cut him off with a growl.

"Don't." The word comes out more animal than human. I stare out the window, watching the shadows lengthen across the landscape. "Just... don't."

The car speeds through the gathering darkness, but I barely see it. All I can think about is Penelope, about how different she is-was-from the political maneuvering of our world. How she'd looked at me with such trust when I promised to let our son choose his own path.

*"He should have a chance to pick his own path, his own love."*

And I'd promised. Like a fool, I'd promised her everything.

"The pack will understand," Seth says quietly, as if reading my thoughts. "They know you're doing what needs to be done."

*Will he?*

I want to say.

*Will my son understand when he's old enough to realize what I've done? When he has to marry a girl he's never met because his father was too weak to find another way?*

I had gone on to Penelope about how common this is amongst powerful packs. It was easy to say then because it wasn't happening. Now? Now it feels like I'm choking on my own words.

I press my forehead against the cool glass of the window, closing my eyes. My wolf whines, torn between the need to protect our mate and the guilt of sacrificing our pup's future. The competing instincts tear at me, making it hard to breathe. "We're almost home, Alpha," Seth says softly.

*Home.* 

The word feels hollow now. Without Penelope, the mansion is just a building-empty rooms and echoing corridors that mock me with their silence. No sound of her laughter, no scent of honey and lavender in our bed. Just the weight of absence and the knowledge that I've compromised everything she believed in to bring her back.

*I'll make it right. Somehow, I'll find a way to make this right.*

But as the car turns down the long drive to the mansion, I know it's another promise I might not be able to keep.

I've made my choice. Now I have to live with it.

The question is: when I finally find her, will Penelope be able to live with it too?