The Lycan King's Defiant Surrogate
Defiant Surrogate 83

Chapter 83

Entering the Hall for the Grand Ball, I'm once more amazed by the room's transformation. This time, golden chandeliers. dip down from the high ceiling. Shimmering chains of crystal and glass weave around them, connecting them to each other with delicate grace. When

the light passes through the crystals, it sends prism rainbows dancing around the room.

It's beautiful and feels a bit like walking through a dream. At least until I notice all the people looking at me. Then it feels like a nightmare.

They look at me, then turn to snicker with each other. Instinctively, I want to cover the red marks dotting my skin, but I force myself not to. Instead, I stretch out to my full height and walk as proudly as I can.

These marks were given to me by the King. These people are just jealous.

Even with the awkward location I left the mark on Caleb, I expect him to cover it somehow, with makeup or some type of extra-tall collar.

What I don't expect is, when I see him standing near his throne, his shirt collar is so low, it sits at the base of his throat. allowing the love bite to be seen far and wide by anyone who looks.

He'd been so annoyed by it before, but now he's wearing it like a badge of honor.

I truly do not understand him at all.

Though it does make me blush, heating up my cheeks in a rush.

Maybe I should go over there and tease him a little. He might enjoy that, if he kept the love mark exposed.

Yet, just as I'm about to walk over there, I stop dead in my tracks when a blonde woman with a high ponytail puts her hand on Caleb's chest. It's too familiar, too romantic, and Caleb isn't pushing her back. Not even when she leans in close, pressing/ her breasts against his arm as she whispers something into his car.

She's not a member of the harem, nor is she any Alpha's mate. I don't think I've seen her before.

"The Alpha of the Moonlake Pack brought his daughter, I hear a whisper to my right. Another couple I do recognize from some of the other events are looking at Caleb and this blonde woman. They are part of the King's court. "What was her name? Sandy? Saundra?" "Sonya," says the woman of the pair, correcting her husband.

"Regardless," the husband continues, "His interests seem clear, and by the way our King is responding. I think the effort is proving successful.

"The Moonlake Pack is one of the biggest, most powerful packs, the wife says. "It would do well for the King to actually marry this one. It could be a good match."

"He could add her to the harem," the husband says.

The wife doesn't seem convinced. "The Moonlake heir? She's not the kind you cast aside. She's worthy of wearing the crown."

"Perhaps we should introduce ourselves then, the husband says, "I'd prefer to be on the good side of our future Queen." That is where I stop listening

It hurts too much to even consider this, even though it shouldn'

It's none of my business really if the King wants to get married, and who to..

Fri, Nov 22

Chapter 83

But after last night and this morning...

Well, it would be a shame to be cast aside.

Thinking like this, I'm ashamed of the marks on my skin and will I really could hide them away. It makes me feel cheap, to know the King came to me for sex, but is seeking a life partner in someone else.

Ug. it's so frustrating. This shouldn't be bothering me either! What do I care if the King gets married? Or gets a thousand more harem members. He can do whatever the hell he wants!

I don't care. The only man I love is Samuel.

Unfortunately, Samuel himself is married.

Glancing through the crowd, I search for my beloved. When I spot him, he's staring straight back at me.

My heart starts to race, though, admittedly, not as quickly as it would race if I wasn't so damn distracted by Sonya Moonlake putting her hands all over Caleb. He must say something funny, because she throws her head back in a huge laugh, exposing her long neck. Caleb's looking at it which rubs my nerves the wrong way. "Harper, Samuel says, suddenly much closer to me. I don't see Leah around him. I wonder where she could be. Bathroom, maybe. Or getting another drink. She would have never let him come over here by himself.

This close, Samuel looks down at my neck and chest, likely seeing the marks there. As if he's counting them, he looks from one to the next, his expression growing more and more grim.

imagine the King gave you these," he says, anger and annoyance in his voice. "Seems he enjoys showing you off as his possession.

"I am in the harem," I remind Samuel

Samuel scoffs at me. "That doesn't mean you have to be such a whore, Harper."

That harsh words surprise me for a moment. I never would have thought Samuel would say them deliberately without Leah's presence. I thought his disdain for me was an act that he put on in front of his wife. Now I can't quite convince myself he doesn't mean the words, since he's telling me them in private.

Seeing my reaction, he shakes his head a little. "Forgive me," he says. "It's just.. I wanted to be the only man to touch you. Now... you've been tainted by his ugliness."

"I'm still me," I remind him. "I'm in the harem. I'm obligated to sleep with the King, but I'm still me."

"You don't have to sleep with him," Samuel says.

"Yes, I do, I tell him. "Or he'll kill me."

"Some things are worth dying for..."

He's acting like he has some type of ownership over my body and who I sleep with, which annoys me. He's supposed to be the one I actually love. Why is he trying to shame me?

And how much of a hypocrite does this actually make him?

"I'm sure I don't have to remind you that you are married."

"That has nothing to do with this," Samuel snaps.

"Doesn't it?" Since I heard about their marriage, my thoughts have been assaulted with thoughts of the two of them together.

Fri, Nov 22

Chapter 83

My whole life, I dreamed of being with him, and suddenly, all those fantasies turned to nightmares with Samuel and Leah together.

"Some of us have integrity, Harper. Some of us stick to our principles."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not now, nor have I ever been, sleeping with your sister, Samuel says.

"You... aren't?" I can't quite believe what I'm hearing. He married her, after all. Surely he would have had to lie with her. Don't they have mating bites? How could that be accomplished without the soothing pheromones of an Alpha in rur? I'd heard rumors of mates taking painkillers before the bite but that seems so unnatural. So... wrong.

A mating bond is supposed