The Alpha's Surrogate: A Paranormal Pregnancy Romance (12 page)

Richard sat patiently outside her room; both Skye and Doctor Messing were in the room with her, and she was perfectly safe, at least physically. He was in a corner, and he was exactly where the Alphas and Heidi wanted him; they knew he would agree to anything to get them to stop. Why couldn’t they just leave well enough alone?

Damn European elitists.

They were the reason he left Europe all those years ago. Their rules and structure, and their using the packs as a means of becoming more powerful. They had their reasons; the wolves were the natural enemies of the vampires, who banded together both their own kind and human thralls. The wolves’ strength was also their weakness. A lone wolf was stronger than any two vampires, a pack stronger than any coven. The bloodsuckers did not fight fair; they banded together dozens of vampires, and hundreds of thralls and picked off the wolves one pack at a time.

It was why there was even an association of Alphas. Their pack magic bonded together and the eighteen or so alphas became as powerful as gods, or so they thought. Richard had met a god or two, and he knew better. He wanted none of it; after their last war with the undead, it was over. There would never again be a war like that, both sides had too much to lose. Both sides had already lost too much. The wolves were determined to not forget the lessons, hence the Alphas were staying together.

Richard left Europe and them behind. In the New World, the Alphas had less power, less influence. Apparently, he was wrong. For this to be working, they had to be close; Portland or Seattle, maybe Vancouver, but no further.

“What’s the plan, Boss?” Indigo, as always, was at his side.

“I suppose killing them all would be out of the question.” He meant it as a joke, but Indigo did not smile.

“Wouldn’t be the first time we faced impossible odds. We are behind you, you’re our Alpha,
ours.
You lead, we follow.”

Richard’s heart swelled with pride and love; in that moment he could feel every one of the pack, and each of them felt exactly the same way. Something wonderful had happened with Cara’s kidnapping, a kind of bond had formed between them all, even the newcomers could feel it, and it overwhelmed them all. Love, respect, family, they were more deeply bonded than any mortal had a right to be.

“If I thought we could win, I would thank you, thank you all,” he projected.

The link faded but they were still there, ready to fight, to die, for him and Reign.

“We can’t let her die, Boss. Those fools are short sighted, they still think we’ll heal from the blight, but I’m thinking if we were going to heal, we would have by now.”

Richard nodded. “It’s possible, and I mean remotely possible, the new moon will heal us. But I doubt it.”

The two sat in silence for a few more moments. Richard needed his friend there, needed his council and support. He honestly had no idea what to do next.

“You know, there’s an option you’re not considering,” Indigo said quietly.

“Loptr,” Richard said with barely a sound.

“He does owe you.”

An icy dread clawed its way to Richard’s heart; it could work, but the price could be higher than Reign’s life.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Reign awoke a few hours later. She felt no better for her rest, but now she knew what was going on. She accepted that Richard believed that it was magic, after all, he was a werewolf, but she could not. There had to be a way to stop it.

They could go underground or far away. Was there a range limit? Could they do this thing, whatever it was, from across the world, and how were they doing it?  Reign was sure Skye knew a way to induce labor; certainly, the baby didn’t get to decide when it was born.

She opened her eyes after many minutes. The sun dipped on the horizon, her time was ticking away. She took a deep breath, calmed her nerves and cleared her mind.

Freaking out about dying isn’t going to stop the dying. Focus.

She sat up carefully. Her stomach felt like she was wearing a sack of flour and every time she moved, her bladder compressed to nothing. The baby had to be huge, so that in itself worried her. Reign was not a large woman, how would she birth a baby that was so late?

“Reign, honey, what are you doing?” asked Skye, sitting in the corner with a book in her lap.

“I need to go for a walk, maybe I can induce with enough exercise.”

Skye smiled, the look in her eyes told Reign that she believed it was futile. But she humored the girl, grabbed both their coats, helped Reign into hers, and led her out the door to the front of the lodge. They had moved her to a downstairs bedroom to keep her from having to go up and down stairs. Richard wasn’t there, for which she was thankful. She needed some time to think, to figure out what to do. She couldn’t wait for someone else to solve her problems.

“Skye, what would happen if I was bitten?”

“By a wolf?”

“Yeah, would it kill the baby, or would we both survive?”

Skye sighed and was silent for a long time. They walked out the door into the cold December air; the last rays of the sun faded over the forest leaving behind pink fire in the sky.

“I nae think you understand what it tis yer asken,” Skye's sudden return of her thick brogue caught Reign by surprise. She’d known Skye for months and she only ever spoke like that when she was stressed.

“I know if I was one of you, none of this would be happening; none of you would be in danger, and my baby wouldn’t be in danger.”

350

“Yer baern isn’t...” She took a deep breath. “Sorry, it takes effort to slip my accent. Your baby isn’t, just us and you; no matter what, your baby lives.”

“That’s something, Skye, but I want all of us to live, myself included. I know that is selfish, but I don’t want to die.”

Skye smiled, took Reign around the shoulders and walked with her. The cold didn’t seem to bother Skye, and they walked in silence for a long while. The pink sky turned inky black, the crescent moon rose, crickets came to life, and the howl of a wolf could be heard in the distance.

“It’s not just a bite, girl, it's death, in a way,” Skye said, breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?”

“The Wolf exacts a heavy price; you have to pay it, you have to be
strong
enough to pay it. I’m not sure what you know about it, but it's not a disease, like some tales say it, it's not a curse either. The Wolf, he’s alive, and real and in all of us.

“He doesn’t like weaklings, and sometimes people make it through who shouldn’t, maybe he sees something in them, I don’t know, but he won’t take you unless you are near death and fight to survive. To be turned, Reign, you have to be mauled half to death. Something you wouldn’t survive in your current condition.”

Reign hadn’t known; she assumed it was just a bite, like in the stories, like Cara had told her had happened to her. She could certainly understand why someone would leave out the part about being mauled by a raging wolf.

“So that’s it then, there’s no other way? I can’t drink your blood or something?”

“Well, no, we're not vampires, which are real by the way, I’m not sure if he told you...”

She nodded. “I assumed, it seems the two go hand in hand.”

“Well, yes, we’re not them, they are a disease, one for which there is no cure. We, however, are a gift. But its a gift only the worthy can get.”

They walked the rest of the way home in silence. Reign’s feelings subsided. A sort of calm came over her mind.

There has to be a way.

She was sure Richard would find a way, and if worse came to worse, and she was going to die anyway, he could always turn her after the... birth, if you could call it that.

Richard was waiting for the two women when they returned. He was dressed in city clothes with a half length leather coat on, keys in hand, Cara at his side. Cara had a bag packed that Reign recognized as hers.

“There you are, we have to go. Skye, Indigo’s in charge while I’m gone, make sure he has no trouble,” Richard told her. Skye gave Reign a quick hug before making her way into the lodge.

Richard took the bag from Cara, kissed her on the cheek, which made Reign supremely uncomfortable, and then he took her by the hand and led her to the car.

It’s not real, these feelings, they are being forced on me, remember that.

“Where are we going?”

Richard ignored her for the moment, got her seated in the middle of the back seat, and adjusted the seat belt.  The SUV felt huge with just her in it. He hopped in the driver’s seat and started up the engine. He let it run for a moment, hands on the wheel, clearly lost in thought.

“It’s okay, Richard, Skye told me the baby will live no matter what, and I think I’m okay with that.”

“Well, I’m not. Listen, there’s a way, it could be more dangerous than just letting nature take its course, but there is a way.”

“Skye said that to become a wolf you had to survive a mauling, is that what you're saying?”

“No.” He shook his head. “That isn’t an option, he won’t accept you as is, trust me, pregnant women never survive. That’s not what I’m saying.” Richard heaved big sigh.

He set the vehicle in motion. The black SUV made its way down the winding drive to the main road. The two of them sat in silence while he focused on the road. Once there, he turned east, toward Spokane. Reign said nothing, he would speak when he was ready, and she had her own things to think about.

“There’s a... person, who owes me a favor. He
may
have the power to stop this, or he may not, he’s kind of unpredictable like that. Last I heard, he was in South Dakota, and since we’re running out of time, and you can’t fly, we're going there now.”

“What can he do?”

“I know you’re having a hard time with this Reign, but he’s powerful; he’s not anything I can explain, you have to see it for yourself.”

Reign leaned back, trying to get comfortable in the seat. The vehicle had all the options so she was able to recline her chair, turn on the heated seats, and relax, as much as she could, anyway. Richard flicked a button on the steering wheel and the sounds of the violin filled the cab.

“Thank you,” she said with a sleepy smile.

“Let’s get through this. Then you can thank me.”

It was a long drive to South Dakota, and Richard would get no sleep until they were done.

*

Reign dozed off and on as they drove. The seats were comfortable, and once she took her seat belt off, she was able to stretch out and relax. While her body felt better, her mind wandered to the issue at hand. Were her dreams an indication of what was to come? She felt a twinge in her mind, something outside of her own self. As she slipped into sleep, a chill ran down her spine, as if she were being watched.

It was cold where she was standing in the snow, her body wrapped in furs and leather. She wasn’t pregnant. She knew she was supposed to be, but in the dream, everything was as it should be.

She looked around; it was a village of some kind, of huts covered in snow, with chimneys on top, and stacks of wood out front. She made her way to her home, she didn’t know how she knew it was hers, just that it was. Inside was a fire pit with a large pot of stew cooking. Bending over it was a man she didn’t recognize, but in the dream, she knew he was her husband.

He was dark haired, with a grizzly beard, he couldn’t be much older than herself. When he spoke, he had a deep voice with an accent she didn’t know. How could she not know? It was her dream after all.

“Ahhh, my lovely, you’re home,” he said with a smile. “How was your journey?”

“Fruitful,” she heard herself say. “I sold all the crops at the market, and Rurik even made a commitment to buy our next harvest.”

In her dream, this all made sense. Her husband’s farm was barely hanging on, raiding that summer had not paid out much, and the farm was all they had. A big grin spread across his face, he rushed to her, swept her up in an embrace, and kissed her. Tender at first, soon his kiss turned to passion. She felt his warm lips spread her own, and their tongues touched, her spine shivered and her heartbeat could be heard in her ears.

“This is wonderful,” he said, breaking their embrace. His hands, however, were still around her; one had made its way inside her tunic and was resting on the small of her back. The warmth of his touch sent little tingles down her back and legs.

“It’s only wonderful if we celebrate. Now, stop stalling,” she said. Had she said it, though?

Something felt wrong.

It’s just a dream, a pleasant one, considering the circumstances.

Distantly, she reminded herself that it had been over a month since any physical touch had turned her on. The last stages of pregnancy were almost unbearable.

As he stripped her tunic off, Reign saw herself in the room’s mirror; it wasn’t her. She was tall, blond, and with large hips and full breasts. Her cool blue eyes reminded her of the sky in winter. This was a dream. Convinced of that, Reign let go. Her husband led her to the bed, kissing his way to her stomach as she lay down. He pulled down her breeches, covering each leg with more kisses that sent goosebumps all over her skin.

She reached down and grabbed his hair, luxuriating in the feel of it between her fingers. She led his wandering mouth to her inner thigh. He ran his hands over her legs, the friction creating heat in the cool room. His fingers glided over her stomach, then down to her soft pubic hair that acted as a gateway.

He gently slipped his finger between her moist lips. The moan came to her unbidden, it felt like electricity racing up her body; her stomach knotted and her breath came in shallow pulls.

Unconsciously, she pulled his head to her pussy, encouraging him to explore. He did, his tongue slipped from his mouth, lightly touching her, gently massaging her folds, before slipping into her. Her scream echoed in her ears as the heat of his tongue mixed with her insides, she rocked her hips forward while pulling his head into hers.

Her breath was lost as her heart pounded; every nerve of her body was alive.  His mouth found her most sensitive area, while his fingers worked her insides, until she couldn’t take it any more. It started slowly, then it hit her like a hammer; her orgasm built from her very core, before it released out into her body.

She froze, her back arched, her muscles unable to move, her breath wouldn't come, and when she couldn’t take any more, she screamed, moaned, and sighed, as her whole body shivered from the pleasure.

“Oh gods, you do that well,” she said breathlessly.

Wordlessly, he climbed on top of her, his thickly muscled body sliding up hers, creating heat with every inch. She moaned as she ran her hands over his arms and shoulders. She felt his hardness pushing against her. A sly grin spread on her face. “Oh, yes please,” she sighed. He rubbed himself against her, sliding up and down but not entering. She writhed with pleasure, she needed more. “Please,” she whispered.