Chapter 4 Can I Meet The King?

(Anna)

I was given a white sundress to put on and quickly did as was told.

She then took me to a large room, where I found many other she-wolves sitting around. Some excited, others quiet.

I took one of the unoccupied single beds beside an over-excited blonde.

"Get yourselves comfortable, we will talk soon," Linda ordered, no emotions were reflected in her voice and left without giving any more information. The door locked behind her.

Despair fell on me as I wondered how I was to escape this fortress. The future seemed bleak. What if they turned me into a breeder and I could never get away?

But then the image of my father and his closest comrades, lying there dead flashed in my brain, giving me new courage.

I knew I would have to find a way to escape and win my pack back. The name Shadow came to mind, father had once mentioned that it was a secret organisation that trained werewolves and sent them all over on covert missions. If only I could find my way to them.

Feeling overly exhausted and worrying thoughts clouding my brain I slipped into slumber.

I was woken up by Linda's stern voice. I rubbed my eyes, my hand throbbed with pain as she began to address us.

"Listen here, girls. All of you are here for one goal only and that is to produce an heir for our King, to act as his surrogate. So if you have dreams you wish to be fulfilled, get pregnant with his heir and all your wishes might come true. Now we will be taking you for your medical checkups. Freshen up."

Listening to her words freaked me out. I didn't wish to become a surrogate, I was supposed to be having the time of my life with my mate back in my pack. But it seemed like a long-lost dream now. This was my reality.

Without Sable, I was merely a human and stood no chance against the werewolves.

We filed in a single line, everyone was wearing the same white dress I had on. We were made to enter an enormous snow-shaded room with a white door. The pristinely made beds in two rows had been laid out for us.

It screamed clean and bland, even bedsheets were white.

I observed there were eight of us and all of them were chirping amongst themselves.

"From now on you girls will be staying here and following every order. Failing to do so will result in death. So don't even try," Linda's menacing words sent a chill running through my system.

Quickly peeking at the walls I saw security cameras directed at every bed. They were going to be monitoring our every move. The thought horrified me but I kept my mouth shut.

We stayed in that room for a week without going out. My hand throbbed less now and a doctor had been cleaning it to avoid infections.

Our meals were served there three times a day. There was a treadmill in the corner to be used if our legs become stiff from sitting. A single window with silver-coated bars ensured we could stare outside but not escape. It felt like a prison.

After a week, Linda came to fetch me one day and took me straight to a laboratory for my physical examination. A few girls had gone before me and returned a few hours after.

The female doctor asked me a few questions.

"What is your name?"

"Sara Wikins." I gave her a fake name, everyone knew by now my luggage and IDs were lost in the fake boat wreck and I was sticking to the story.

"Are you mated?

Are you a virgin?"

The questions stung but I boldly informed her, "No and yes."

She noted down the answers on the writing pad in her hand.

After the physical examination, she made me lie down on a bed. Before I could ask what was going to happen, she injected me with a clear liquid, instantly turning my vision blurry. I passed out soon.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the monitoring room with the girls. Feeling slightly disoriented and totally clueless about what they did to my body, I asked the blonde who occupied the next bed. Her name was Malory.

"Who brought me here? Did they say anything?"

"Nah! They just carried you inside and left you here under Linda's instructions. No one knows what goes on in that laboratory after they make us unconscious," she answered, sending my mind swirling with all kinds of negative thoughts. But I was strong, I knew I could survive this.

The next two weeks went slowly. We all followed the same monotonous routine of eating well-balanced meals, taking one cup of green tea in the evening. I had read somewhere that it helped with fertility so that's what they had been aiming for.

The routine never changed, they seemed to follow it to the dot. We weren't allowed to step foot outside these four walls and I was getting pretty sick of staring at these bleached walls and doing nothing.

Where was the colour? At least add some paintings or fresh flowers.

Duh!

Half a month later, which passed at sloth's pace, they collected my urine sample. The next day, Linda called me to the laboratory and showed me the results with what seemed like an effort to smile. Her lips weren't flatlining like usual.

My eyes roamed the white sheet of paper which said, 'Pregnant.'

I felt dizzy at the news, carrying someone's child without even meeting or knowing the man.

What if he was also an asshole like Noah? That's not how I had envisioned my life or getting the news of my first pregnancy. I felt nothing but a lab rat in that instant.

"Congratulations! Sara, you are carrying our King's child. You have to be very careful now…" She kept on speaking but all I could hear was a ringing sound as I blankly stared from the piece of paper in my hand to her and then at the man standing behind her.

From the mere choice of his clothes, he seemed like some kind of fancy butler.

"Hi! I am Eden. Our king will be delighted to hear this wonderful news. He has been trying to have an heir for quite a while. You have rekindled hope in all of us," he told me with a genuine smile.

A flicker of hope birthed inside my rapidly beating heart. The joy on their faces told me this was huge news. It made me wonder if I could meet this mysterious king and ask for his help in locating the legendary 'Shadow' in exchange for this baby. I knew they would never let me keep him or her, that was the whole point of surrogacy.

I asked, "Can I meet the king?"

"No one can meet the king," Linda flatly refused but Eden held up his hand and offered me a kind smile.

"It's certainly against the rules but what you have achieved hasn't been done in the last eight years. I will fight tooth and nail to arrange a meeting with the king."

A small hope was rekindled in my heart at his words. If I would be able to find Shadow, it certainly would pave the way to secure my revenge plan. A genuine smile covered my face and I nodded at Eden.