The Monster’s Surrogate

Zara

“Here comes the bride,” my father announced with a wide smile, clapping his hands together as though he were welcoming an honored guest.

The moment I stepped into the living room, I froze.

Several unfamiliar faces were seated around the room, all of them staring at me as if they had been waiting for my arrival. Their eyes moved over me from head to toe, studying me so openly that it made my skin crawl.

Bride? I frowned in confusion, my heart beginning to race. What did he mean by the bride?

“She is fat,” one of the men said without hesitation, his face twisting with disgust as though my weight was something shameful. He shook his head before turning to my parents. “Don't you have another daughter? A slimmer one who is more suitable to be his wife?”

His words landed like a slap. They hurt, but not as much as they once would have. I had heard the same thing countless times throughout my life. At this point, it sounded less like an insult and more like the cruel reminder I woke up to every day.

My mother hurried to answer. “Our other daughter is already married,” she said. “She found her mate last year.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. I almost questioned her immediately, but the sharp warning look she sent my way stopped the words from leaving my mouth. Since when had Ethel found her mate?

The last time I checked, she had been at home only a few days ago before packing her bags and telling us she was going on a trip.

“This won't work,” another guest said, sounding deeply troubled. “If we take her to his mansion as his bride, he will kill both her and us.”

My breath caught in my throat. Bride? Mansion? Slowly, the horrifying truth began to sink in. My parents were planning to marry me off to the Lycan King. The very man whose name alone filled people with fear.

Stories of his cruelty had spread across every werewolf territory. Even the strongest Alphas avoided provoking him. Some called him the Werewolf God, believing he was the first werewolf ever created.

No one spoke of him without fear, he had been married five times. Every one of his wives had died under mysterious circumstances. No woman would willingly agree to become his wife unless she had no other choice.

I slowly turned to my father, my heart pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears. “Dad, are you trying to marry me off to the Lycan King?” I asked.

No wonder, my father, who had always hidden me whenever visitors came to the house, had walked into my room earlier that morning with the dress I was wearing now. He had handed it to me and simply said we were having guests.

My older sister was the pride of my parents' lives. They treasured her and never took chances with anything that concerned her. I was the complete opposite.

They did everything they could to keep me out of sight, always saying that the daughter of an Alpha shouldn't look the way I did.

The pack members weren't any better, I was never allowed to take part in pack gatherings, celebrations, or training sessions. They acted as though my existence embarrassed the entire pack. To them, I was nothing but a waste of space.

And now, that same unwanted daughter was being offered as a sacrifice. They were sending me to marry a man who was nothing more than a death sentence disguised as a husband.

"Shut up," my father snapped.

His voice echoed through the room. "Was I supposed to disobey the king's order when he demanded a bride from my family? Your sister is already married. Who else was I supposed to give him? Your mother?"

"It would have been better if you had simply told us you had no daughter," the man who had insulted me earlier said without the slightest bit of sympathy. "We already promised the king that we would return with his bride."

His words cut deeper than I expected, I didn't even know which hurt more. The fact that my father had lied to protect my sister while handing me over without hesitation or listening to these strangers speak about me as though I had no value at all.

Just then, one of their phones rang. He glanced at the screen, then looked at the others. "The king," he whispered.

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly, everyone straightened in their seats as though the Lycan King could somehow see them through the phone. The man answered immediately.

"We've arrived, Sire, but there's a problem. The bride..." He stopped speaking, interrupted by whatever the king was saying on the other end.

After listening for a few seconds, he nodded. "I think I should take a picture so you can see what I'm talking about," he said, speaking about me as if I were an object being inspected. "Yes, Sire."

The call ended,he let out a slow breath before looking at the others. "He wants us to bring her to the pack immediately," he said.

My father's face lit up with a smile, to him, this meant money. It meant access to the Lycan King's wealth, resources, and favor. One of the king's men reached into his leather bag and pulled out a stack of documents. He handed them to my father.

"These are the marriage papers," he said. "You will sign your section, she will sign hers, and the marriage will be official."

I stared at the papers in disbelief, this had to be some kind of joke.My eyes quickly shifted to my father as he accepted the documents without the slightest hesitation.

"Father, are you really going to marry me off just like that?" I asked, my voice trembling with hurt. I had always known my existence disappointed him, but I never imagined he would hand me over to a complete stranger without giving it a second thought.

"I am doing you a favor," he snapped. "Who is ever going to marry you? Tell me, has any man ever asked you out before?" he continued. "I am giving you to the most powerful man in history. You should be thanking me instead of complaining."

"I won't marry him," I said, refusing to back down.

My protest only made him angrier, he  beat me until I could no longer fight back. With tears streaming down my face and my body aching, he forced the pen into my hand and made me sign the marriage papers.

The moment it was done, I was dragged out of the house, I  struggled, but no one came to help me. The king's men shoved me into the back of one of their vehicles, and within minutes, we were gone.

The drive lasted for hours. As the journey continued, the roads became emptier, and the towns disappeared behind us. By the time we finally arrived, I understood why no one ever spoke about visiting the Lycan King's palace.

It stood completely isolated, surrounded by miles of wilderness. You could drive for more than five hours before seeing another house.

The massive gates slowly opened, allowing the convoy inside. I looked out the window in amazement.

Calling it a palace didn't do it justice. It was an enormous estate, larger than anything I had ever imagined. Perfectly maintained gardens surrounded the buildings, and everything looked luxurious enough to belong in a dream.

Yet, despite its beauty, the place felt unsettling. A strange heaviness lingered in the air, as though darkness itself had settled over the estate. My gaze drifted toward the long line of luxury cars parked outside. There had to be more than twenty of them.

I shook my head, the man was unimaginably rich. Then again, I wasn't surprised. He was said to be the first werewolf ever created, an immortal king.

We finally stopped in front of the main mansion.As soon as I stepped out of the vehicle, fear wrapped itself around my heart. This could very well be my last day alive if the Lycan King discovered that I didn't have a wolf.  He would probably kill me on the spot.

"Stop right there." The deep, commanding voice echoed across the courtyard, so powerful that everyone froze instantly.

My heart skipped a beat, I slowly lifted my head. Standing at the entrance of the mansion was the Lycan King.

He looked nothing like the man I had imagined during the journey. I had expected someone old, perhaps in his fifties, with scars covering his face and years of brutality carved into his features.

Instead, the man before me was strikingly handsome. His face was flawless, his features sharp and perfectly sculpted. He looked no older than his mid-thirties. But there was nothing warm about him. His expression was cold enough to send a chill through my entire body.

I had always thought my father's eyes were heartless. Compared to this man, my father's gaze looked gentle. There wasn't the slightest trace of emotion in the Lycan King's eyes. He looked at me as though I were beneath him.

"What is this?" he asked, his voice filled with disgust. His icy gaze swept over me before returning to the men who had brought me. "Out of all the women in the world..." His voice rose with fury. "This is who you brought me?"