Alpha’s Surrogate by POOJA

42. Poisonous! As Xavier and Kiara arrived from the north of the territory, Beta Kaiden and the other wolves arrived from the east. The sound of dried leaves and broken branches being crushed under their boots were the only discernible sound in the forest. The forest had cto an end, everyone had gathered in the pack house's large garden.

“Alpha, we brought back both of the corpses,” Kaiden confirmed while his gaze flickered between Xavier and Kiara, who were still holding hands. Had Luna Kiara remained beside the Alpha the entire tthey were in the treacherous woods? Why? For the Beta and Gamma, today had already been full of surprises. First, there had been the unexpected arrival of Luna Maya, now the Alpha and Luna had found two dead bodies. Why had the Luna been in the woods? Was something wrong here? The Alpha’s possessiveness had been noted by everyone in the garden who was waiting behind Beta Kaiden. It appeared that the young Luna had been crying, but the Alpha’s grip on her hand was adorable and she was returning his show of affection like a little girl who had been lost at a fair.

“Okay, where is Zander?” Xavier inquired, as Kaiden motioned to their men to place the dead bodies on the ground.

“I am here,” the younger Alpha’s voice boomed across the yard as he stepped forward with his gorgeous Luna, who hurried to embrace her younger sister. Adira had heard all of Jennifer's and Leena’s stories about Luna Maya, as well as the argument that the young she-wolf had been in with her Alpha. Maya's appearance had been a disaster for the Alpha couples! “Are you okay?” Adira inquired, concerned. Her sister had wept, she had just needed to look at her to realize it.

“Yeah, | am okay now,” Kiara gave a small smile, which gave her older sister a sense of relief.

“Great, let's talk later this evening,” the blue-eyed Luna suggested. Both of the sisters’ gazes returned to their mates, who had been watching and listening to their exchange the entire time. Their beautiful women looked at them with puzzled expressions.

“So where are the Doctors?” Looking away from his woman's chocolaty gaze, Xavier cleared his throat. Kiara glanced away, since there was still a bit of awkwardness between them following the event in the woods. She was sorry for slapping him and he was sorry for all the horrible things he had said. On top of that, the Alpha had never apologized to anybody before. They had just held each other’s hands the entire time, but Kiara had avoided talking to him.

“They are on their way,” Zander averted his gaze from his blue-eyed Luna before both women thought the Alphas were being creeps! “This tit’s two dead bodies, Xavier. It's another vampire attack. We need to take action. We can’t allow the Vampire King to slaughter our people. That fucker needs to learn that he can not play with us and that the treaty is not a joke. Grandpa has called to letknow that he and the other elders had received the news. This story will spread to the other packs,” the younger Alpha grumbled. If the news got out, they'd be left in shambles who couldn't defend their people.

“Yeah, we're not going to remain quiet now. It's tfor action,” Xavier revealed, taking a deep breath. He had already declared that he would take action on what had happened that day while the whole pack was being searched.

“Who are they?” The Alpha had begun the investigation by verifying the identity of the deceased man and woman.

“They are our pack’s greatest pair of warriors,” Tyler said as he joined the ranked couples with his redheaded mate who had been examining the identity of the deceased bodies with her mate.

“They had both been born in our pack, mated, married, and were two of our most loyal warriors,” Lena emphasized the loss of the honest individuals.

“I'm still perplexed as to why they would travel to that portion of the forest for no reason,” Zander wondered, while he observed his Luna moving closer to the dead bodies. As Kiara stepped alongside her, she rolled up her sleeves and glanced at the bite mark. Both the twins exchanged puzzled glances. Females typically did not approach dead bodies, but these two she-wolves were rather curious.

“The reason for their being in the forest at that tis still unclear, but when | questioned their acquaintances, it cto light that both had disappeared from their homes together. No one saw them leaving to go anywhere,” Tyler continued, looking around as if that was the last bit of information he had been able to glean from the those he had talked to. These two people's deaths, like the preceding ones, seemed to end in a mystery.

“There's got to be something wrong! They can’t have just vanished unless they've been lured into the forest by skind of lie or deception. We all know that if those vampires had gone to their residences, we would have all felt the vampires’ presence right away,” Kaiden presented the dilemma in a way that seemed true.

“Do you mean to say that they weren't murdered by a vampire?” Tyler's inquiry “I'm not sure, but if it wasn’t done by them, explain towhy we’ve never seen or captured them? Would it make sense to call them ghosts that openly use magic and spells on our land and kill our people merely to disguise their nasty scent and identities? Vampires aren’t that much of a p***y,” Kaiden claimed, which both Alphas heard clearly.

“The point isn’t whether or not the culprits were a vampire. The point is that the dead bodies have no blood,” Adira interrupted their conversation, drawing everyone's attention.

“No blood?” Xavier and Zander observe the blue-eyed Luna who was asking for a knife from her younger sister, who promptly hands it over as if she knew what was going to happen. The twins exchanged confused gazes with each other, as well as their Beta and Gamma, were unsure what was going on. Adira sliced a little part of the woman then did the sto the lifeless body of the man. Both Alphas knelt close to their mates to observe what the Lunas were up to.

“As you can see, the blood in both of these bodies has been drained, as if they were never alive. At the stime, it is worth noting that they have not been harmed by the sunlight, which is quite rare. If they were attacked by a vampire, their bodies would have begun to rot in the sunlight, but instead they are laid out in front of us like dried leaves,” Adira explained, pointing out all of the facts that she wanted to discuss.

“So the Luna wants to say that it wasn’t a vampire attack, but that it was done by someone else?” Jennifer inquired.

“Whether you believe it was vampires or not, | can assure you that this is not a natural way to die. The blood has been completely drained, something only vampires can achieve. However, we can plainly see that their bodies have not been affected by sunlight which results in a mystery. So it might be a vampire assault or it might not.

But one thing is certain, this case is an anomaly that stands out from the crowd. Someone enter the pack, covered their scent, used magic as well, then killed only honest and loyal pack members. Don’t you find that strange?” Adira explained in one long breath, returning her gaze to her sister, who was also deep in thought.

“Yes, it appears that the vampire’s objective is to challenge rather than to kill. For sreason, he is challenging our power,” Kiara muttered. The older sister agreed with a nod leaving both twins puzzled.

“Wait a minute. What exactly is going on here? How is it that the two of you know so much about these things?” Xavier inquired as both the brothers rose from the ground.

“Adira is studying to be a doctor,” Kiara got up from the ground as she answered Xavier.

“A doctor?” Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. They had never imagined that they were going to get a Doctor Luna in their pack.

“Yes and Kiara is studying to beca Lawyer,” Adira replied as both Luna’s enjoyed everyone's expressions.

“You never toldyou were going to be a Doctor,” Zander pulled the knife from his mate’s grasp while giving her a narrowed eyed look. He would never let such a dangerous weapon remain in her hands for too long “There are many things you don’t know about me,” she smirked as she took back the knife.

“A lawyer?” Xavier raised his brows, getting closer to the young she-wolf.

“Such this is why these chocolatey eyes constantly show rebellion and this small mouth speak so many big ideas,” the Alpha discovered. His thumb rubbed her lower lip as his emerald eyes squinted at them. Kiara watched as he got closer to her lips but the Alpha was stopped by her finger that she placed on his lips.

“Not here,” she murmured as she looked around, seeing everyone's eyes on them. They all averted their gazes immediately. What terrible actors they were! Of course why would they miss the show when the Alpha was more than will to demonstrate his s****| desire in the middle of crowd for the pack.

Adira was the only one who had turned away from her sister and brother-in-mate’s show because Zander was still trying to take the knife from of her hand. Why was he so obsessed with her knife? On top of that, why was one of his hands suddenly slipping down to her ass? “Don’t act like a pervert. Everyone is watching us,” Adira gave him a tight lipped smile, while pushing his hand away.

“Does that mean | can do it in private?” The Alpha made an innocent face, earning another tight lipped smile.

“Just try me,” she pointed the knife at him to intimidate him, but Zander quickly took it away since that had been his true intention. It was flung away into the woods in an instant, leaving the young she-wolf helpless.

“Hey, that was for my safety,” she complained, glaring at him.

“As long as | am alongside you, | will protect you,” Zander promised as he drew her closer to his chest, his gaze enticing. Her body was so soft that he'd jerked off countless times just envisioning her underneath him. Spending everyday and night with this sexy woman was a living hell for the Alpha since he couldn't have her. His emerald eyes gave her breasts a ravenous stare as he bit his own lower lip.

“But who will protectfrom you?” Adira lifted her brows, forcing his gaze to hers as the pack members were now in a tight spot. They couldn’t leave without permission, and they couldn't ignore what was going on in front of them.

“Xavier... not here,” Kiara was the most panicked at witnessing Xavier's actions. His hand had already slipped under her top.

“Why not here?” he asked, trying to get closer to her lips as he had already removed her finger from his lips.

Kiara was a little stunned. What had happened to him? His green eyes showed a intense hunger for s*x. He did not care about the people around them, he just wanted to have his woman right there.

“Wait, Xavier. I...” “Why?” The Alpha took a deep breath as he struggled to keep his wolf under control. He'd decided to pick her up in his arms so that they could go to the room for salone time. His she-wolf needed a good f**k for hiding few important things from him. Kiara glanced everywhere except Xavier as she tried to cup with an excuse, but her eyes widened as she noticed something unexpected.

“Cole!” The young she-wolf exclaimed, pushing the Alpha away from her.

“Cole?!” Hearing the unexpected name, Xavier frowned as she followed her gaze to the young obnoxious wolf who had been captured by two pack members. Once again, the wolf had beca nuisance while he was planning something with his woman.

“What exactly are you doing with him?” Kiara demanded, sprinting over to her closest friend, who was being treated mercilessly as if he were a dangerous criminal. Xavier's gaze was drawn to her frantic eyes. Adira, Lena, and Jennifer all raced to Cole, who had been made to kneel down in front of the Alphas.

“Alpha, he is the prsuspect that we discover during our investigation in the woods,” one of the golden-haired men stated solemnly, dropping his head.

“A prsuspect? For what?” The young woman inquired, observing both of the twins’ furious expressions, particularly Alpha Xavier, who would have killed the young wolf with his lethal red glare.

“Alpha Luna, | didn’t do anything wrong. I'm not sure why they arrested me,” Cole began to explain, but he was kicked by the golden haired man. Kiara’s frightened gaze returned to Xavier, who did not stop his man from hitting the Omega. Cole lay on the ground in pain. Why hadn't Xavier stopped him? “Telleverything,” the Alpha completely ignored his woman's questioning eyes.

“We spotted him wandering in the sdirection and location of the forest where we discovered the dead bodies. He was also unable to explain himself while we were questioning him.” The man spoke calmly to Xavier and Kiara since she was the one who was enraged by their actions.

“What?” All of the ranked females gave a startled look together, which had been instantly noted by their mates.

“What's the big deal? Because he was in the woods, he is a potential suspect?” Tyler added as he saw Lena's frown.

“Just because he was in the forest doesn’t imply that he had a hand in both of their deaths,” Lena immediately snapped. If Kiaden hadn't brought Jennifer away for rest, the Beta female would have agreed with her.

“I agree with you,” Adira said quickly to the Gamma female, catching Zander’s astonished gaze.

“How can you testify to the innocence of a stranger?” He asked, frowning. She was now a Luna, which meant that her every word would be heard and analyzed by the werewolf community. How and why would she side with a criminal? “Because | am quite familiar with Cole. He is a nice guy who is honest and adorable. He's not just Kiara’s friend; he’s also mine. We've known each other for quite stime. | can tell that he’s not guilty,” Adira stated, confidently staring into his green eyes. The Alpha didn’t like the fact that she had labeled Cole a nice guy.

Especially when she had never used any excellent or cute words to describe him, as other she-wolves do for their lovers. She had just accidentally called him gorgeous and hot one day, but he hadn't heard anything similar again.

“Don’t hit him again!” Kiara growled at both the wolves holding, frightening them to death. They immediately nodded, looking at the Alpha for assistance, but Xavier let her speak first.

“Alpha, | agree with Lena and Adira. Cole’s presence in the vicinity does not imply that he is behind the murders or that he is associated with vampires. | was also in the vicinity at the time, | was the first to see the man’s lifeless corpse. But none of you suspected me, so what's the deal with Cole being a suspect? Don’t accuse someone unless you have evidence,” Kiara defended the young wolf, who had a puppy dog expression on his face. She offered him a confident expression and glance. Cole nodded as well. He had never expected to be in this kind of situation or to be publicly supported by Kiara.

When Xavier caught their eyes interacting again, he let out an irritated growl.

“Don’t you have a tongue?! You must speak for yourself!” Xavier glared at the young wolf, his patience dwindling. As Kiara sensed his sudden rage, both of the warriors and Cole shuddered in dread.

“I... am innocent Alpha. I did not kill anyone,” Cole’s voice stuttered, he saw himself as a small pitiful dog about to be beaten.

“So, what the f**k were you doing in the woods?” The Alpha threw him another question, indicating that he did not believe him at all.

“Don’t waste our time, tell us everything now. I'm really running out of patience,” Zander muttered, giving the young wolf his coldest stare. Cole was smirked at by the two wolves standing on either side of him, and one of them stated.

“He is unquestionably the culprit, Alpha. He couldn't prove his innocence when we found him, and he wouldn't let us search his bag either. He is now taking advantage of the Luna’s trust.” His bag? Everyone's eyes went to the bag that Cole had been holding.

“No, | am not!” Cole yelled, his gaze fixed on the two traitors to his pack, who were only interested in the Alpha’s attention. Kiara turned to face her husband, who was about to declare Cole a criminal and behead him if he could not prove his innocence.

“Cole, look at me. Please tell us why you were there. It is for the best if you allow them to check your bag. It's the only way you'll be able to prove your innocence,” Kiara continued, looking him in the eyes. The young wolf held his bag to his chest as he stared at the Alpha’s emerald suspicious murderous gaze. He no longer had an escape, so he nodded and unzipped his bag. Everyone blinked as they saw what he had been hiding that was more important to him than his life. T he young Omega took a bouquet of red roses out from his backpack and handed them to Kiara.

“I went to fetch you these roses. | recall you saying you wanted them. | had been looking for them for a few days around the pack lands and had finally discovered them for you,” Cole tried to conceal his blush as Kiara accepted them from his hand with a big smile. As the Omega knelt down in front of her, it appeared to be a love confession.

“AWWWW! So cute!!” Adira and Lena said together as they joined Kiara.

“Thank you, Cole. | love them!” Luna exclaimed as she hugged the flowers to her chest. He had found a rare rose that she wanted to keep in her bedroom as well as grow in the garden. When the Alpha saw the flowers in his woman's hand, Xavier's eyes darkened. She was bouncing with the bouquet that had been given to her by another male! “Give that to me! They could be poisonous!” The flowers were snatched from her in an instant by the Alpha, who pulled the young wolf up by his collar and hauled towards the office building. Zander grinned at his mate’s blue annoyed gaze as he followed his brother, crushing one of the fallen flowers on the ground under his heel.

“Hey, return my roses to me!” Kiara shrieked angrily, but Xavier didn’t even glance at her. How could roses possibly be poisonous? She was afraid, just like she had been about her teddy, that she would not be able to get the flowers back. She needed them no matter the cost! “A... Alpha,” Cole shuddered as Xavier tightened his grip on his neck. Did the Alpha intend to attack him? The young wolf's body was forced against the closest wall as he stared terrified between the two Alphas.

“| certainly didn’t murder anyone, Alpha,” he said as he dropped his eyes. He had already proven his innocence, so why was he being treated as if he were a criminal? “Do you have feelings for her?” Xavier inquired, his hand resting on the wall next to where Cole had plastered his entire body. He had no intention of beating around the bush.

“Feelings? For whom?” He stammered, sweating profusely. It was a heinous crto have feelings for the Luna or the Alpha’s mate. Even thinking about it was a sin, he could be executed immediately.

“Don’t attempt to be clever,” Xavier snarled, his long claws scratching the wall.

“No... no.. | don’t have feelings for her...” Accepting defeat, the young wolf dropped his gaze further. He was a terrible liar, he had no clue if Xavier would believe him or not. Still staring at him, the Alpha took a deep breath.

The Omega was a terrible liar.

“You don’t have to bring any ugly teddy or flowers to my Luna. If | see you performing activities that are not in your job description, you will be banished. Do you get what I'm saying?” Xavier roared, the eyes of his wolf were flashing.

“Yes... yes, Alpha. | understand,” Cole immediately went to his knees to apologize, completely surrendering to the Alpha’s wolf.

“Ah... fk. Now write down the location where you discovered those flowers,” the older Alpha threw a notepad at Cole's feet. Zander handed him a pen so that he could jot down notes quickly. The young wolf immediately wiped away his tears then handed it to Xavier before grabbing his bag and fleeing at breakneck speed.

“What a kid, there is no way that he killed anyone,” Zander chuckled and shook his head, as he watched his brother put the notepad back in his pocket.

“Yeah, he’s not the murderer, but we need to locate the one who is, and now is the time,” Xavier said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“What are you planning?” Zander asked.

“One of us needs to meet with the Vampire King. We can no longer let this problem go unchecked. He has to know who he’s messing with,” the older brother argued.

“I agree. Why don’t you go to him? While | stay in the pack with Adira. Grandpa will approve of sending you since you can handle him better than | can,” the younger brother offered as they began to move back towards the pack house. It had already been a late night.

“All right, I'll go to see him. Please helpby sending them a letter or calling about our impending arrival and setting up an urgent meeting with them. If all goes well, I'll go tomorrow...” “Xavier,” Zander cut his brother off by placing his hand on his shoulder. “What?” the Alpha looked back at brother in confusion.

“Will you... Will you be alright?” Zander hesitated a little about bringing up this matter.

“Yeah, what could possibly happen to me? Don’t | go to meetings and things on my own all the time?” The older brother attempted to brush the matter aside, but the younger brother stepped in his path to confront him.

“Xavier, stop evading the situation. I'm sure you remember everything. It's the sthing as if you were to leave for a business meeting for several days and would cback in pain because of Petra. If you want, | can go instead of you,” Zander offered, but Xavier shrugged.

“There's no need. You are no longer single. You've found a mate, stick close to Adira. I'll go alone, like usually do,” Xavier replied as he entered the pack house.

“You're not alone, Xavier. Kiara is your mate, | know you despise being alone. You've always disliked traveling alone. Why don’t you bring Kiara along with you?” Xavier's feet stopped as he listened to his brother as his heart becheavy once more. Petra had never acknowledged him anywhere outside of the pack since she preferred to be alone with Orion. He constantly yearned for her to return his affection, but she never did.

“Good night,” Xavier responded as he turned to walk back to his room. Zander shook his head, exhausted. His sibling was so obstinate! When Xavier entered their room he slowly opened the door finding the lights were already turned off. Without making a sound, the Alpha crawled beneath the covers with his young she-wolf. She had done all sorts of crazy things out of annoyance of losing her favorite flowers.

“Kiara,” Xavier drew her closer to his chest, but she had already fallen asleep while waiting for him. She hadn't been able to wait for him any longer. Perhaps it was due to a very awful and exhausting day. She had a cried a lot. As her gorgeous petite face drew closer to his, he turned her body to face him.

“I wanted to ask you something, but you're asleep,” he said as he drew her closer to his chest, his fingers brushing her brown hair from her face.

“Would you like to accompanyto a meeting?” Xavier closed his eyes as he whispered, caressing her lower lip. It seemed that He would have to travel alone again.