Page 6 of The Alpha's Surrogate

She’d thought it would be enough to buy her some time. It probably was. For all she knew, Klaus was only calling to confirm receipt and give her instructions for subsequent payments.

But she doubted it. She didn’t know the men very well, and she wanted to keep interactions with them as limited as possible. It didn’t help that they knew where she lived and had the resources to track her down if she made a run for it.

Josie was screwed from several angles, and the noose kept getting tighter around her neck. She blinked rapidly and realized she had slipped off into her thoughts again. It was a good thing she didn’t have to work today or she would have made a mess of everything she touched.

The phone rang again and her heart jumped into her throat. She took a calming breath and picked up the phone. She didn’t recognize the number. It could be Klaus or Garry calling from a different number for all she knew, but there was no way for her to be sure.

One thing was certain, though. She couldn’t keep running from her life, avoiding calls from every new number she didn’t recognize. She wasn’t a fugitive, and she had to stop living as if she was one.

She took a deep breath and picked up the phone. “Yes?”

“Hi, good morning. Is this Josie Ray?” The voice was a woman’s and it sounded full of life.

The tension drained out of Josie in a rush, leaving her deflated and light. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath the whole time. “Yes, yes. This is Josie Ray. Good morning. Who’s this please?”

“I’m Dr. Stephanie Proctor, and I work with NeoLife Surrogacy Center. You signed up yesterday to become a surrogate?”

“I did,” Josie said, climbing off of her stool and walking outside the kitchen. The day was freezing cold and windy, even though the sun blazed brightly in the sky. She sat under the shade of an umbrella, on her grandfather’s reclining seat.

“Excellent,” Dr. Stephanie said. “I’m calling because it shows here that you opted for immediate insemination? We were hoping you could come in today. We would like to take some tests and get to know you better. Think you can be here by three pm?”

“Of course, just send the address and I will be there,” Josie said. She felt nervous, but there was no backing away from this now. She had signed the terms and conditions, and taken their money. Money she had in turn sent to the were-bears. There was no backing out of this one.

“Great. According to the form you filled out, you live somewhere up in the mountains?” Dr. Stephanie asked.

“Yeah, I live in Silver Peaks,” Josie said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Not at all,” Stephanie assured her quickly. “It’s just that we’re set up in Whispering Oaks. That’s about a two-hour drive for you? I’m just concerned about the logistics for you. We will have to meet frequently, just to make sure you and the baby are doing okay.”

Josie thought about the consequences of losing the deal. She’d still be indebted to the bears, with no plan of paying them off. There was also the matter of the money she’d already collected from the agency. She’d have to find a way to refund them, and she was fairly certain Klaus had no intentions of giving back the money she had sent to him.

“It’s not a problem,” Josie said, laughing nervously. “I don’t mind making the drive. Besides, I have business in those parts from time to time.”

There was something about Whispering Oaks that sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t place a finger on what it was. So, she pushed it to the back of her mind. It nagged at her, irritating her, just hanging on the fringes of her memory. Teasing her with remembrance.

“I guess it’s settled then.” The doctor sounded excited. “One more thing. We may have found you a perfect match and if things go well, we would like for the two of you to meet today. He’s as eager to start the process as you are.”

“That was fast,” Josie said drily. “I’ll be there.”

“Awesome. Have a wonderful morning. Bye.”

Josie frowned at the phone. What was she trying to remember? What was so important about Whispering Oaks? After a few minutes of furious concentration, she gave up. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t that important, or maybe there really was nothing.

She had enough problems keeping her up at night. She hadn’t been planning on a four-hour drive today, and if she wasn’t in such a dire situation, she’d have walked out of the whole arrangement there and then. Unfortunately, that was a luxury she couldn’t afford.

She looked up at the icy peaks, lost inside the clouds in the distance. Somewhere beyond, Klaus and his men were waiting. Waiting to collect a blood debt. They were going about whatever grim business they were into. A business that she would be forced to join if she didn’t find a way to give them what they wanted, and fast.

That was enough motivation for her. She got up from her seat and stretched, the motion easy and fluid like a cat stretching in the sun. She looked at the mountains once more, and then went into the house to prepare for the long drive to Whispering Oaks.

***

A light snow had started to fall when Josie left the house. She dressed warmly and wrapped herself in a warm coat. Further down the mountain, the weather was always completely different from up here, despite the fact that they were only several miles apart.

She tugged off her gloves with her teeth when she got into her car, and turned on the heater. She wasn’t necessarily cold, but she preferred the warmth if she could have it.

She glanced down at her watch as she drove away from the house. Just a few minutes past noon. More than enough time for her to grab a bite before heading off toward Whispering Oaks.

The snow got heavier as she drove into town, and the streets were deserted. As she drove past familiar buildings, she wondered which of her pack members she could go to for help. How much could she really reveal to them?

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