Page 28 of The Alpha's Surrogate

But something inside her made sure she remembered. It kept her grounded, tainting every moment of happiness with painful nostalgia. She hated it with all her heart.

None of this was strong enough to disrupt what was building between them, though, and she knew Callahan felt it too. The question was, what was she going to do next? She didn’t doubt that Callahan was asking himself the same question.

The best part of everything was that he made her feel safe, safer than she’d ever felt in her entire life. Ever since that first night, when he’d crawled into her bed and helped her through a nasty nightmare.

She didn’t have the nightmares anymore. She was completely at ease with Callahan. Whenever she thought about Klaus, she didn’t feel as threatened as she used to.

She still sent him texts assuring him that she was working on getting his balance to him, but he never said anything back. When she dialed him, he never picked up the phone, and he didn’t try to call her back either.

It was almost as if he’d forgotten all about her, but she was wiser than that. His silence troubled her more than his intimidation. She couldn’t help but feel like wherever he was, he was planning something terrible for her.

A month ago, that thought would have given her sleepless nights. But now, living with Callahan all the way in Whispering Oaks, it was easy to dismiss the threat of danger. She didn’t think the were-bears would travel too far away from the mountains, so she had nothing to worry about for the time being.

Plus, after she’d witnessed them cower when they saw Callahan, she doubted they’d want to mess with an alpha unless they needed to. Without intending to, she found herself becoming less afraid of Klaus and Garry as the days passed.

She hated not being able to tell Callahan everything. To his credit, he left the topic alone and tried his best not to ask her any questions. She could only imagine how much effort it took for him to do that, knowing who he was.

Every time she tried to tell him, something held her back. Past trauma, fear of rejection, distrust, she had no idea what it was. But she was never able to bring herself to open up to him. And no matter how much it hurt him, he never pushed. Sometimes, she wished that he would push, even if just a little.

A sudden wave of nausea slammed into her and she grabbed one of the work tables for support. Her pregnancy sickness wasn’t as bad as she’d been anticipating, but she did have moments like this one where it came on strong, leaving her sick to her stomach.

For some weird reason, it was always followed up with a desperate food craving. She never did understand that part, because usually she ended up craving food she didn’t like. When the nausea passed and she was able to stand again, the craving followed in its wake. Spicy food.

Ugh, I don’t even like spicy food. But the craving was more intense than usual, and it came with a sudden hunger. She left the lab and made her way to the kitchen. A quick search of the refrigerator showed that there was nothing available to satisfy her desperate craving.

Just then, Callahan walked in. Despite her hunger, she noticed how gorgeous he looked. He was tan from being out in the sun, and his forehead shone with sweat. He took off his sunglasses and stared at her, his eyes more intense than she’d ever seen them.

She would have asked what the matter was if spicy food wasn’t a matter of life and death for her at the moment. “Callahan, thank God. Just now, spicy food is of the highest priority to me. Could you help me order some from town? Ribs! Spicy ribs and loootsss of fries.”

He knew all about her pregnancy cravings, and he was always eager to help her satisfy them. He did look like he had something serious he wanted to talk about with her, but he also knew that it was pointless to try and talk to her before her cravings were satisfied.

He smiled and said, “I’ll do you one better. Grab your jacket. I’ll take you into town to have some of the best ribs you ever tasted in your life. We could grab a bite before the pregnancy yoga class. We have time to burn.”

Pregnancy yoga class. She’d forgotten all about that, although Callahan had been pretty excited about it. She knew it was a class that expecting couples took together. Mates, not surrogates who were forbidden from having a personal relationship with each other.

It reinforced the lie in her mind, another piece of the puzzle of the imaginary picture she and Callahan were piecing together here. It felt too good, and too real, and she realized that she desperately wanted it to be real. But it wasn’t.

So, she had refused to go to the class. But Callahan would not take no for an answer. He claimed she needed it, both for her sake and the baby’s. She knew he was right, but that didn’t make her feel any better. It only made her feel worse.

She could imagine what the session would look like. Married couples doting on each other, sharing affectionate poses that not only stretched the muscles but connected their spirits as well.

She didn’t want to see all of that. Callahan had convinced her it would be fun, and she’d finally agreed. She considered backing away from it now, but she really needed those spicy ribs.

“Fine, let’s go,” she said, deciding not to think too much about it. She went upstairs to grab a jacket, and then followed Callahan out of the house. Behind his smile, she could see something grim underneath. She planned to talk to him and find out what was going on, but only after eating.

Callahan was uncharacteristically quiet the whole drive through the woods. Josie had come to learn this stretch of forest like the back of her hands, but she still enjoyed the view every time she left the house and came down the twisting path.

The silence in the car was disturbed when Callahan’s phone rang. “Yeah? That’s amazing. Thanks, Fannar. I owe you one. See you soon, brother.”

He was grinning from ear to ear when he set down the phone. He turned to Josie. “That was Fannar. He just got authorization to bring you some mana crystal flowers. Looks like you can finally continue your research. Congratulations.”

Josie’s breath caught in her throat and she gasped. She covered her mouth with her hands, her happiness immeasurable. Did Callahan understand what he had done? He’d found a way to give her what her people considered to be the most valuable thing.

She had been so certain that the flowers never left Silver Peaks. And yet, Callahan had managed it. She had no idea what strings he’d pulled with Alpha Fannar, but she couldn’t imagine him doing stuff like this again in a long time. For anyone.

Callahan was watching her expectantly, his eyes lit up like a toddler at the fair. She realized she’d been staring at him quietly. She didn’t intend to come off as rude or ungrateful, she just didn’t have the words to express her gratitude.

“I…I don’t know what to say, Callahan,” she stammered quietly. “I…how? I’m out of words.”

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