Chosen To Be The Alpha's Surrogate

**I Penelope I**

The morning air is heavy with the scent of flowers as I wander the castle grounds, one hand resting on my swollen belly. After the conversation with Kira at breakfast, I needed to escape from the walls that seem to close in, from the looming secrets everyone seems to hold but me, from thoughts of Jax that I can't seem to shake.

A stone path winds through carefully manicured lawns, leading me to what appears to be a private garden. Wrought iron gates stand open, revealing a sanctuary of flowers I've never seen before. The fragrance draws me in-subtle, exotic, intoxicating.

Delicate blooms in shades of midnight blue and deep purple catch the morning light. Some appear to be sleeping, their petals closed tight against the sun. Others reach toward the sky, their colors so vivid they almost hurt to look at. I'm so entranced by a particularly striking blue flower that I don't hear someone approaching.

"Curious little thing, aren't you, princess?"

My heart lurches at Jax's voice. I spin around to find him leaning against a stone archway, watching me with that infuriating mix of amusement and intensity that makes my senses tingle with awareness.

"I'm sorry," I say, already backing away. "I didn't know this was someone's private garden."

"My private garden," he corrects, pushing off from the arch with predatory grace. "But you can stay. If you'd like."

*I should leave.*

Every instinct screams at me to get out of here, away from him and the pull that grows stronger with each encounter. But something holds me in place curiosity, maybe, or something deeper I don't want to name. "You garden?" The question slips out before I can stop it.

A smile tugs at his lips as he moves closer. "Is that so hard to believe? That I might appreciate beauty?"

His eyes lock onto mine at the last word, making my pulse skip. I turn away quickly, focusing on the flowers. "What is this one?" I ask, gesturing to the blue bloom that first caught my attention.

"Ah," he steps closer, close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his body. "That's a Night's Promise. It only blooms in darkness." His fingers brush the closed petals with surprising gentleness. "Like you, it fights against its nature." "I'm not fighting anything," I protest, but the words sound weak even to my own ears.

His chuckle sends shivers down my spine. "Aren't you? Every breath you take in my presence says otherwise."

I step back, needing distance from the overwhelming feelings that seem to be attached to his presence. "You don't know anything about my nature."

"Don't I?" He moves with me, matching my retreat step for step until my back meets the cool stone of a pillar. "I can hear your heart racing. Smell the way your body responds to mine." His hand comes up, bracing against the stone beside my head. "Feel the pull between us, just like you do."

The baby kicks sharply, responding to my spike in adrenaline. Jax's eyes drop to my belly, something softening in his gaze. His free hand hovers near my swollen middle, not quite touching.

"May I?" he asks, his voice gentler than I've ever heard it.

I should say no. Should push him away and run.

But instead, I find myself nodding.

His warm palm settles carefully against my belly. The baby kicks again, harder this time, and something like wonder crosses Jax's face. "Strong," he murmurs. "Like his mother."

"How do you do that?" I whisper, my voice trembling slightly.

His eyes meet mine, storm-blue and intense. "Do what?"

"Switch so easily. One moment you're all dominance and aggression, the next..."

"The next I'm showing you who I really am?" He doesn't move his hand from my belly, though my son has settled. "This is who I am, princess. Both sides of me. The warrior and the man who tends flowers. The dominant wolf and the mate who would cherish you, protect you, worship you if you'd let me."

"Stop," I plead, trying to slip past him. "I can't-"

"The exit's that way," he says, nodding toward the garden gate.

"I know. So let me leave."

His eyes darken. "But we're not done talking."

"There's nothing to talk about." The words catch in my throat as he leans closer, his scent-earth and pine and pure male-wrapping around me like a physical touch.

"There's *everything* to talk about," Jax says, his voice dropping lower. I try to resist, but inevitably fall into step as he guides me to a stone bench beside a cluster of those night-blooming flowers, his touch gentle but brooking no argument. "Tell me you don't feel it. Tell me you don't lie awake at night thinking about what it could be like between us."

The morning sun plays across his features, softening the usual hardness of his jaw. This close, I can see flecks of silver in his storm-blue eyes, like starlight caught in ocean depths.

"What I feel doesn't matter," I say, one hand protective over my belly. "I made my choice. I chose Malachi."

"Did you?" His fingers brush a fallen petal from my knee, the touch whisper-soft. "You were alone, pregnant, thrust into a world you didn't understand. He offered safety, security. But that's not the same as choice." Anger flares hot in my chest. "You don't know anything about what Malachi and I have."

"I know he's not your true mate." His words cut like glass. "I know every instinct in your body recognizes me, calls to me, just as mine do to you. I know you're fighting it so hard it's exhausting you."

"Stop it," I try to stand, but he's there, caging me with his body, his hands braced on either side of me on the bench.

"Look at me," he demands softly. When I don't, his fingers catch my chin, tilting my face up to his. "Look at me and tell me you feel nothing."

I force myself to meet his gaze, ready to deny everything. But the words die in my throat. This close, the pull between us is almost visible, like electricity crackling in the air. His scent surrounds me, familiar in a way it shouldn't be, right in a way I don't want to acknowledge.

"I can't," I whisper, and I'm not sure if I mean I can't look at him or I can't deny it anymore.

His thumb brushes my lower lip, the touch sending sparks through my entire body. "I would never cage you," he says, his voice rough with emotion. "Never try to make you something you're not. You're wild and beautiful and strong, like these flowers that only show their true nature in darkness."

Tears burn in my eyes. "Please," I'm not sure what I'm asking for-for him to stop, to let me go, to pull me closer.

He leans in, his breath warm against my ear. "I'll wait," he promises, the words both threat and comfort. "I'll wait until you're ready to stop fighting. Until you're ready to admit what we both know." His lips brush my temple, barely a touch. "But don't make me wait too long, princess. Even my control has limits."

He straightens then, stepping back, leaving me cold in the morning sun. "The garden's yours to visit whenever you like," he says, his voice returning to that casual authority that makes me want to scream. "The night bloomers are particularly beautiful under the full moon."

I watch him walk away, my heart pounding so hard I feel light-headed. His last words float back to me on the flower-scented breeze: "Sweet dreams, princess. I'll see you in them."

It's not until he's gone that I realize I'm shaking. The baby moves restlessly, picking up on my turmoil. I press both hands to my belly, trying to calm us both.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, though I'm not sure who I'm apologizing to-my son, Malachi, or myself. The flowers around me seem to mock my confusion.

Like these night-blooming flowers, there are parts of me that only come alive in darkness. Parts that recognize Jax in ways I can't explain or deny. The thought terrifies me almost as much as the growing certainty that sooner or later, I'll have to face them.

Rising on shaky legs, I make my way back toward the castle. But I can still feel the ghost of his touch on my skin, still hear his words echoing in my mind. And somewhere deep inside, in places I try desperately to ignore, something wild and hungry has begun to wake.