Page 53 of The Alpha's Surrogate

It was Josie’s first time hosting a family dinner, and the experience was something beautiful for her. That was what life with Callahan was for her—it was a lot of firsts, and he found a way to make each one count, no matter how mundane it seemed.

After dinner, the group retired into the living room, and conversation rang pleasantly around Josie. She was enjoying the steady hum of pleasant conversation with her eyes closed when something roused her from her reverie.

She blinked and glanced around, racing to piece together the last thing she had heard. Juniper was smiling at her, a warm, kind smile. “Josie, I asked how pregnancy was treating you.”

Josie smiled. “It’s…new. And weird.” She was surprised when the group laughed. She had never considered herself a comic, but it felt good to say something that amused a crowd.

Articus chuckled. “Come on, Josie…the bones. I’m not ashamed to admit that we are a gossipy group, and we already know some pieces of it. It would be nice to hear from you, though.”

Josie glanced up at Callahan and he smiled down at her, nodding encouragingly. She looked at the expectant faces and told them everything about surrogacy and the long road she and Callahan had taken.

“In the end, we didn’t face any major repercussions from the surrogacy agency,” Josie said, winding down. “To be honest, I don’t think it would have mattered how they took it.”

Callahan laughed, rubbing Josie’s shoulder tenderly. “It wasn’t so straightforward. We told them that we were true mates and that we intended to start a family together. They jumped on it greedily. They saw our story had great marketing potential—‘we don’t just make people parents, we bring people together,’ or something similar.”

“And,” Josie interjected, “a large donation from the alpha of the pack did nothing to hurt our cause.”

The laughter rippled through the massive room, and Josie even noticed Asher stealing a giggle or two. It was perfect. She watched as conversation shifted from one corner of the room to the other. She lost track of the conversation, but she didn’t mind. She was part of them now, a pack that existed outside the boundaries of blood ties.

She’d found the one thing she’d spent her whole life dreaming about, the one thing that she had accepted could never be hers.

She had found a family.

Epilogue - Josie

Nothing could have prepared Josie for life as a mother. It was the most challenging thing she’d ever tried to do, and it was also the best. Her son was such a Callahan replica she could already tell he would be her mate’s doppelganger.

She had enough help from Juniper—who came by often with her twins—and Eleanor. There was so much she didn’t know about being a mother, and the two women were gracious enough to not make her look like a complete idiot, even though she regularly felt like one.

Callahan had nearly gone nuts with laughter when he’d found her watching how to change a diaper on the internet. She’d felt so hot and ashamed, Callahan had spent the next week apologizing and changing their son’s diapers. It was difficult to stay angry at the man.

Difficult as it was for her, she loved every moment of it. Callahan made the process easier than she could have imagined, and he was remarkably good with the baby.

Josie’s work suffered the most. Fortunately, she’d made a breakthrough in her research a few weeks before her water broke. Her research was on hold while she poured all of her attention into caring for her child, but she was plenty excited for the discoveries she was on the edge of making when she returned to work.

Callahan spent more time at home, and his friends became something of regulars in their home. The constant activity was new for Josie, but she found she preferred it to an empty house.

“Josie?” Callahan called from behind her.

She blinked and smiled. He’d been putting the baby to sleep, and she hadn’t heard him enter the room. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she kissed it. She looked up at him in the mirror and saw his eyes. He had dark rings under them, and looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“You look horrible,” she teased.

“I feel even worse,” he admitted. He bent forward and kissed the top of her head. He was still as beautiful as the first time she’d seen him, and it created lovely sensations in her belly.

“You should get some sleep,” she said, her eyes twinkling suggestively.

Callahan let out a soft chuckle and slipped a hand down her chest, resting it lightly on one of her breasts. “Actually, I have other…activities in mind.”

“Oh?” Josie smiled. “Do these activities end with you getting some quality sleep?”

He barked a laugh. “There will be some sleeping involved…eventually.” He squeezed her boob gently and twisted her nipple. It was rock-hard and it filled her with longing. “You have been neglecting me.”

“I don’t know if you noticed,” she replied slyly, “but we have a baby now.”

Callahan gave her a mournful look. “Fine. Say the word and I’ll leave you alone. I will climb into bed and fall right asleep.”

“Resorting to threats? That’s beneath you, Callahan.”

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