Alpha’s Surrogate by POOJA

39. His first chance mate.

The horrifying sound that the enormous and mysterious doors that housed the store room elicited as they were opened was like something out of an old-fashioned horror movie. They had been kept closed for the last two years, producing that bone chilling noise. Kiara peered around the store room in amazement when she entered this space for the first time.

“Wow! What a spacious and clean room you've been given, Meow! You are quite fortunate. My old room at the Ardara Moon Pack was about a fourth the size of this large and lovely one,” Kiara remarked enthusiastically, allowing her cat to explore her new surroundings, while Meow’s mistress began to look around. No doubt her little white cat loved it as she immediately settled into her cat house to sleep again. Kiara found that the cathouse, litter box, and all the other essentials that the cat would require were already in this room. She wondered if this had been a storeroom at all. Someone must have cleaned it for Meow before everything was brought in.

There was no dust, garbage, or old furniture that had been left in the room, there was still a large cupboard, sancient paintings, and antiques that were no longer used. But none of them appeared to be broken. It was difficult to understand what went on in the minds of the rich and powerful! They squandered money like it was water. The young woman was now one of them, although she never spent money unnecessarily, even though she had been given Xavier's card to use whenever she wanted.

“How could such a lovely mirror be discarded?” Kiara wondered, exploring every item in the room until a fascinating portrait caught her eye. All of the antiques had been left uncovered, but this one piece of artwork was visible behind the large wooden cupboard. Kiara’s anticipation at seeing the artwork was at an all-thigh after viewing all of the wonderful objects found in the room. She attempted to pull it out, but it was stuck and her arms were too short.

The cupboard was also rather large and an antique. It was as solid and unyielding as a large stone! However, the young lady had been taught to never give up. She gave it one more shot. She picked up a wooden chair, stood on it, then proceeded to push the painting out from behind the cupboard, after all previous attempts had failed.

Why was it so severely stuck, as if someone had hidden it on purpose? When she finally achieved her goal, a broad smile spread across the young she-wolf’s face that was as bright as the sun. The picture was thrown to the ground! But why had it been wrapped in a red cloth? She was taken by surprise when she saw a curtain draped over the painting. If it had been left in this store room, that implied that the painting had no longer been of any use. So what was the point of covering it with cloth? The inquisitive Luna sprung off of her chair to explore it further. She initially turned it to face towards her before removing the cloth.

The sound of several wooden items falling hit the Beta female's ears as she passed through the third floor hallway on her way to her bedroom.

“Hmm, what is that noise?” Jennifer was perplexed when she noticed the store room’s door was slightly ajar. She gasped, since no one was permitted to enter that store room unless the Alpha himself granted them permission.

There had been rumors this morning circulating among the pack that an Omega had been assigned to clean the store room, but could she still be cleaning it? Impossible! Six hours was far too long for her to clean a room! Who was in there? The pregnant Beta female moved quickly towards the room. When a familiar aroma filled her nose, the ground shifted beneath her feet. What was the Luna doing there? “Kiara!” Jennifer raced into the room, intending to get the young Luna out of there before things went wrong. She was still new to the Sirius Bright Pack, therefore she had no idea that she was in a forbidden area and may face a penalty for breaking one of the fundamental rules that the Alpha had set in place. But Jennifer was not worried about the punishment that Kiara could receive. She was concerned that Kiara would find something that she wasn't supposed to see.

“What are you doing in here, Kiara?” Kiara’s wide chocolatey eyes had been set on the object that had been hidden for the previous two years, bringing the Beta female to a halt, her eyes widened in fear. What Jennifer had been frightened of had ctrue, she was already too late. She hadn't been able to keep her Luna from learning the darkest secret of Xavier's life. The young woman forgot to blink when she found out it was not a painting but a photo.

“Who is she?” Kiara asked with a expressionless face, pointing to the woman in the photograph. Jennifer's throat had becbone dry when she heard her inquiry.

“I... I don’t know,” she lied, casting her eyes to the floor. She observed Kiara clenching her hands at her sides in an attempt to contain the emotions that had been triggered by the photo. Her enraged aura had a negative impact on the Beta female. How could she have lied to her Luna? She was not her friend at the moment, but just a Luna who wished to simply learn the truth.

“From the moment | walked into this Sirius Bright Pack, | knew there was something amiss. The pack members’ questioning stares and gossip were enough to convincethat the position that | held was not mine. Margaret despised me. She was astonished that Xavier had pickedat the time. Had it just been due to the fact that | was the enemy’s daughter? | opted to ignore her remarks, thinking of her as a devastated mother who had just lost her blind daughter. However, a few individuals have referred toas the substitute Luna. | couldn't get the word ‘substitute’ out of my head. | wondered whether | could be someone else’s substitute, | decided to find out, but then Laila abruptly altered her attitude and lied, claiming that she had only said it out of jealousy since | had taken her place. | knew | had been dumb for believing her lie, but | didn’t have another choice at the moment. But then Adira informedabout the rumors concerning Xavier that had been circulating around the werewolf community. Noah had previously said that he had a woman in his past. Nobody knew who she was or how she had been connected to the Alpha. My sister remarked that the rumors might be false because our brother is rather wicked, so | opted to disregard them once more, but now what?” Kiara murmured, shifting her focus to her Beta, who was crying as she listened to her words. Jennifer watched her Luna moving closer to her.

“Now Jennifer, you need to stop lying to me. Can you tellwho she is?” Kiara asked casually, although everything inside her heart had been shattered. The pregnant she-wolf felt oppressed and guilty, but she couldn't do anything since her hands were tied. She was well aware that she had committed a crby lying to Luna, but she had been bound by her Alpha’s orders.

“Kiara, | have told you... There are a few topics that we are not permitted to talk about. Please, don’t...” When Kiara cut her off, the Beta female's voice stuck in her throat, she couldn't continue.

“You are not allowed to speak?” “My mate, my husband, is dressed in a wedding suit, and he is with a woman dressed in a wedding gown. They appear to be madly in love with each other, kissing each other, they appear to be a married couple! Why am | not permitted to ask questions after finding something like this? Why aren’t you permitted to talk now that I've uncovered everything?!” Kiara screamed at the top of her lungs, as Venus had gone insane at the sight of her mate with another woman. Sother woman had caused her mate's lips to smile, that she always missed and longed for. When he looked at the woman in the photo, Kiara could see the love she would never be able to receive in his eyes. The unknown she-wolf had everything she could never have. In actuality, the young she-wolf was not even permitted to fantasize about her mate or his affection. Nonetheless, knowing all of this made her heart ache in the end. The truth was a bitter pill to swallow.

“I am sorry...” Jennifer's eyes welled up with tears as she dared to raise her gaze.

“I should have told you everything,” she said, seeing how much Kiara was in pain. Kiara had thought everyone was her friend, but they had kept a major secret from her. The young woman stood staring at her, expressionless, until Jennifer decided to reveal everything.

“The woman in the picture is Alpha Xavier's first mate,” Kiara’s body grew cold while her eyes widened in surprise. Mate, he had another mate? Her gaze returned to the wedding photograph, where he looked madly in love with his partner. That's when she remembered his statements from their wedding night. He'd told her about a woman in his life before Kiara. But she never knew it would turn out to be his first mate. The young she-wolf felt as if her soul had left her body, leaving her dead.

“If she was his mate, then who am I? A substitute, as shave called me?” Kiara’s eyes welled up. Jennifer was terrified to listen to her as the young she-wolf had wondered loudly, “No! You are not a substitute, Kiara. You are his wife, his chosen mate. You are his choice. The truth is far different from what you see in that photo,” Jennifer grabbed her broken Luna's hands forcing her to look her in the eyes.

“I won't lie, the Alpha adored Petra, but it was a one-sided affection,” she stated.

“What do you mean?” Kiara inquired, perplexed. When they were fated mates and in love, how could love be only one sided? The photograph was diametrically opposed to what the Beta female had said.

“Petra, Alpha Xavier's former Luna, betrayed their three-year-old mate bond. She had a disgusting affair with Alpha Xavier's Beta, Orion. She never loved her husband, just Beta Orion, whom she referred to as her brother” in front of the entire world. | considered their relationship one-sided, since only Alpha truly loved her, but she merely abused his trust. She did everything nasty possible behind his back with that Beta. She never considered the Alpha’s feelings. She had lied about being infertile for years while continually betraying her mate until he caught her in his bed with Beta Orion.” “What?” Kiara’s mouth gaped widely. Jennifer nodded as she went on.

was so “After that day, no one in our pack was permitted to mention that witch's name. The Alpha was so enraged and insane that he set fire to his entire room. There was nothing left that had anything to do with Petra. Perhaps you've observed that there aren't any photographs in the pack house. Petra was in practically every photo, they were all burned by the Alpha along with his bed, where he had caught them having s*x. However, this photograph was tossed in here.The man in the photo, according to Kaiden, is Alpha Xavier's father. He was still alive when Alpha Xavier married. This pack’s previous Alpha, due to an accident, only has one of his photos left, so the Alpha saved this one. But because it has Petra’s face in it, he couldn't stand it elsewhere, so it was stored in this room,” The Beta female's hand was cold. She was shivering in dread while explaining everything to Kiara.

Jennifer wanted to die since her Luna's reaction after learning everything had been terrifying for her. Kiara appeared to have been betrayed, which was correct. She'd been living in the Sirius Bright pack for a couple of weeks, yet she had no idea she was her husband's second wife and mate. Jennifer was prepared to face the consequences if the young she-wolf ended her friendship with her. But what would happen if this truth broke her Alpha and Luna’s relationship? She couldn't bear the thought of them being apart.

“Please don’t abandon Alpha Xavier, Luna. | beg you.” Jennifer clutched her hands firmly in terror as the tears collected in her eyes once more.

“What happened next?” Kiara inquired, astonishing the Beta female.

“What?” Jennifer was confused. She had mistaken her silence for rejection of Xavier, but the young lady was curious about what had occurred when he discovered his first mate had been betraying him.

“Please tell me, Jennifer. What happened after she betrayed the Alpha?” Kiara shook her cold hands to shake her out of her reverie. The pregnant woman suppressed her emotions for a few seconds before continuing.

“Alpha Xavier immediately rejected Petra. She was locked up for the night. Kaiden toldthat Orion had been severely beaten then beheaded by the Alpha, Petra was forced to accept the rejection and sign the divorce papers in front of the entire pack the next morning. Her father took her back to his pack, everything cto an end that day. Everything happened two years ago,” she quickly finished, watching Kiara’s eyes go back to Xavier and Petra’s wedding photo.

“So this is the reason that he hates mates?” The young lady mumbled. All of the memories from when Xavier discovered that Kiara was his soulmate that had caused him to respond in that manner. He hadn't been able to kiss her, puked, and abandoned her at the marking ceremony. Now everything made sense.

“Yes,” Jennifer nodded, still embarrassed about keeping the truth from her Luna. “And the attack he had after seeing the Omega in the kitchen?” “I was unaware of that. | had no idea that something like that might trigger the Alpha. He is extremely dangerous and powerful, yet he was completely different that day. It appears that Alpha Zander kept many secrets as well that were just between the twins,” Jennifer explained.

Kiara was finally able to understand why Xavier had that unexpected attack that day. He had not responded in that manner out of the blue, as she had predicted. The Omega had been in excruciating anguish since Zander had proven that her mate had been betraying her. The older Alpha’s mind had also triggered during the encounter. His wolf and him both recalled a twhen they were in that Omega’s position. People always said that the pain of a mate bond betrayal was worse than death. Kiara’s heart nearly dropped in her stomach when she considered how much grief Xavier had been through over his disastrous three-year relationship. If it had been another wolf, he would have killed himself in order to set himself free from the pain, but Xavier bore it all until he had beca monster with no heart or emotions. But did it not imply that he despised his second chance mate as well? Her? The Moon Goddess had blessed him with a woman he had never sought. Had she becan unwanted person once more, like she had been for her father? Kiara’s legs began to weaken, everything had begun to blur in front of her eyes. She had to support herself by holding the table.

“Are you okay, Kiara?” When Jennifer noticed the young Luna was dizzy, she grabbed her hand.

“Sit here,” Jennifer drew out a chair for her, but Kiara refused to sit. She remained motionless as she pondered all of this. She was Xavier's unwanted mate. She was curious as to how he was dealing with the unwelcmate bond. Due to her heat, he had to mate her even though he hated it and had tried his luck with her terrible one.

“Wait, I'll fetch you a glass of water,” the Beta female told her, but the Luna refused.

“But...” Jennifer couldn’t complete her sentence before she noticed Kiara vomiting and ran to open the window.

“What's wrong?” Jennifer asked worriedly, as her hand roamed across her back. Obviously, the secret was important and difficult for her to manage. Meow gazed at her mistress, who was vomiting. Kiara leaned against the wall to catch her breath. Her heart, mind, and soul, everything was a huge mess.

“You look pale and unwell, | need to inform the Alpha,” Jennifer worriedly exclaimed. She was about to mind-link Xavier when she received a mind-link from the other Alpha who was furious.

“What?!” Jennifer nearly yelled when she heard the message and covered her mouth with her hand.

“What's the matter?” Kiara inquired, observing her Beta’s terrified expression.

“Tell me, Jennifer! What happened?” She panicked, clutching her arms as she realized that something significant had occurred in the pack that she was completely oblivious to.

“In truth, Petra is not the only reason that the Alpha hates women. Someone else sparked his rage. Someone else showed him how cruel and merciless a woman can be and she is now her, in the Sirius Bright pack,” Jennifer said, licking her lips.

“Who? Who is here?” Kiara stared anxiously into her eyes.

“Alpha Xavier's mother. Luna Maya Lincoln!”