Page 46 of The Alpha's Surrogate

“Josie,” Klaus said officially, interlacing his fingers, “I apologize for our methods in bringing you down here, but we didn’t have much of a choice. I do remember telling you that you were in breach of our agreement, and that a bill was coming. That bill is now due.”

Josie shifted nervously in her seat. “Klaus, we spoke about this. I need some time to get you your money. I could send you an installment as soon as you let me go. Heck, I’m willing to pay the whole fee if you want. Just let me go. I’m of no use to you…here.”

Klaus grinned, revealing perfect, white teeth. “I’m curious…how do you plan to make this full payment if all you’ve managed in two months is a ten percent installment, hmm?”

I plan to swallow my pride and ask Callahan for the money, she thought. I will grovel at his feet if I have to, but I’d gladly exchange your shackles for his in an instant. She didn’t say any of that. Instead, she cleared her throat and said, “I have my ways. You will be paid.”

An amused smile played on Klaus’ lips. He watched her for a tense moment, as if considering what she offered. “Let’s assume I believe you…” he said, and Josie felt hope rise in her chest. That hope disappeared when his countenance changed and his eyes grew dark.

“You never did get it, Josie. Did you?” Klaus asked, pushing out of his seat. He leaned on the table and brought his face close to hers. “Look around. I don’t need your money. I never did.” He raised three fingers in front of his face. “This is how long it would take me to make what you owed me. Less than a handful of days.”

Josie swallowed hard, her face growing white as a sheet of paper. “Then what uses do you have for me?” She had one card left to play. “I told you before, and I’ll tell you again. I’m pregnant, Klaus.

“I’m pregnant with the child of Callahan Finn, alpha of the Summer Rain pack. Do you really want to cross him like this? What’s more, I’m not a warrior like my mother was. I can’t kill people for you or do some of those other things you want done. I don’t have that particular set of skills.”

“Josie, Josie,” Klaus said in exasperation. “I need you to listen. You assume this is random, but it isn’t.” He counted off on his fingers and continued. “We know you’re pregnant. We know Callahan and his band of misfit friends, perhaps better than you do.

“We know you’re a scientist, and we know what you work on. And contrary to what you think, your set of skills is the exact reason we wanted you in the first place. The debt wasn’t really important to us, your mother was just a bad investment.

“And then we found out what you do, and we needed you. Well, someone as skilled as you at what you do. Can you now start to grasp what I’m talking about? It was never about the money, Josie.” Klaus’ smile widened and his voice fell to a whisper. “It was always about you.”

Josie’s mouth went dry as he confirmed the suspicion she’d had for weeks. Only, they spoke about knowing what she did. That was highly confidential, right? And yet, she knew Klaus was not one to brag without substance.

She stared at him in shocked silence and her consternation amused Klaus. He rounded the desk and gestured for her to stand. “Come, walk with me.”

Garry stepped forward, but she was on her feet of her own accord. Whatever Klaus wanted to show her, she was curious to see. He led her toward the work table on the far side of the room.

Her breath caught when she saw something familiar, lying casually in a corner of the table. Mana crystal flowers, the petals starting to wilt around the edges from being out of the ground too long. Her eyes swung up to Klaus’ face sharply, and she saw him watching her, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“No,” she whispered. “That’s impossible…you shouldn’t have this.”

“What’s wrong, Josie?” he asked smugly. “You look surprised. You shouldn’t be so stunned. There’s much more where that came from. A small plantation of it.” He hissed. “You foolish wolves. Did you really think you could own absolute monopoly over something so valuable?”

“But…but…” she stammered, struggling to put together a coherent thought as her mind raced.

Klaus opened a drawer under the table and it made a hissing sound. He lifted something carefully and held it up for Josie to see. It was a syringe the size of a candle, and the liquid swirling inside the glass tube was blue with a violet tint. Josie felt instantly uncomfortable.

“This is a mix of your indigenous mana crystal plant and our mental poison plant,” Klaus said. He studied the syringe reverently. “We’ve been researching these two for years now and we are so close.” He frowned. “And still, we have never felt further away.

“We’re trying to create a poison that seals off mana…permanently. So far, we’ve been largely unsuccessful, and the drug we have is imperfect at best. This vial you’re looking at should kill the average werewolf in less than an hour. They are that deadly.

“Fortunately, we’ve found a few…positives from our experiments. Happy accidents. That rope binding you is one. It’s mana repellent. It creates the desired outcome we are looking for, but only temporarily. This is why I think we’re close, and that’s where you come in.”

Josie was already shaking her head. “You don’t expect me to help you kill and suppress my own kind, do you?” She laughed. “You’re insane. I won’t help you.”

“You think too small,” Klaus said lightly. “You haven’t heard the full plan yet. Actually, what we seek is a mind-control drug, and with the mana crystal’s versatile capabilities, we are a short step from creating targeted mental slavery. Your skill is critical to this process, Josie.”

She exhaled and set her shoulders. “I won’t do it.”

Klaus chuckled dryly, but there was no humor in the sound, his eyes harder than flint. “Oh, but you most certainly will…unless you want your baby to die, of course.”

She met his gaze and her blood ran cold. In his eyes, she saw nothing but conviction. Klaus had not just threatened her, he had made her a promise, and she believed him completely.

Chapter 20 - Callahan

Fannar wasn’t messing around when he said he was going bear hunting. There was an assortment of weapons in his armory, the likes of which Callahan had never seen before.

He watched from the door as Fannar tried each weapon, testing its weight before replacing it. He picked up a heavy crossbow with iron-tipped quarrels stacked in a pouch hanging beside it on the wall.

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