Page 8 of The Alpha's Surrogate

She slammed her brakes when suddenly the pieces finally made sense. She let out a pent-up breath, relieved to finally remember something that had been plaguing her all day.

Not something—someone. Callahan.

She hadn’t thought about him in so long that their time together was a blur in her mind. His father was the alpha of the Summer Rain pack in Whispering Oaks. She hadn’t been to his town since they’d ended things, and she hadn’t seen him in years.

She pressed on the accelerator again and continued on her way. Had it really been that long since she’d seen him? She couldn’t be sure. It was a long time ago, she had been young, and she hadn’t been as committed to the relationship as Callahan had been.

She’d hurt him. She knew that much. At the time, it had been all the same to her. She couldn’t remember the specifics of why they’d broken up, but neither could she remember why they had even been together in the first place.

That was why Susan irked her so much, she realized, another puzzle piece sliding into place in her mind. She was so friendly, and nice, and warm, and chatty. Just like Callahan. Josie could never understand why someone would be like that. Sometimes she was curious, other times she was just plain irritated.

Memories of her time with Callahan floated back to her now that she had opened the doorway to that part of her life. They hadn’t been together too long, but it had seemed like an eternity to her at the time.

Ten years. That was how long they had been away from each other. So long that it had taken her half a day to remember his name and his face. She consoled herself with the thought that he’d probably forgotten about her too. They hadn’t exactly left things on the brightest notes.

Josie shook her head. Callahan was not the reason she was making this trip to Whispering Oaks. Whatever they shared had died a decade ago. She turned her mind to the surrogacy meeting instead.

If things went smoothly for her today, they could progress to insemination quickly. She had hopes that she could get inseminated at once, but she doubted it. The sooner she got pregnant, the less likely it was that the were-bears would press her into service.

She had read stories about the difficulties of surrogacy. The relationship that a mother developed with a child growing inside her. The attachment to the baby.

The worst part was giving the baby away. According to her research, quite a number of mothers had flat out refused to have the baby taken from them, despite the papers they’d signed. They cried, and fought, and held on to the child.

Josie could not imagine any such thing happening to her. While she was not eager to have a baby, she was in a hurry to get the process over and done with. She wasn’t in any condition to be a mother. What would she do with a newborn baby?

No. She was going to get through this, deliver the baby, pay the were-bears, and end that chapter of her life completely. Her old life wasn’t glamorous by any means, but it was a far cry from what she was going through at the moment.

Finally, she saw a sign that welcomed her to Whispering Oaks. She took a turn away from the highway, driving down an unfamiliar road to an old wooded town, nestled into a lush, deep valley. The town spread out for miles, buildings arranged in a symmetrical order.

With the sun behind her shining on the town below, it looked like something out of a painting. It was breathtakingly beautiful. She’d almost forgotten how beautiful Whispering Oaks was.

The massive oak trees from which the town had gotten her name were scattered all over, with an occasional pine bough nestled in between. The weather was warm and sunny, and she felt like she had traveled to the other side of the world.

It didn’t take long for Josie to find the surrogacy center, and she parked beside a flashy sports car. It seemed so out of place in such a small town, but she knew more than anyone how much quiet wealth wolf towns amassed over the years.

She got out of her car and wiped crumbs of chips off her clothes, drank the last of her soda, and took a deep breath. She couldn’t be any more ready for this if she tried. Josie pushed through the front door and stepped into a quiet air-conditioned room. The lady at the front desk smiled at her and started speaking.

Josie heard nothing the woman said, sniffing the air curiously. She turned around in surprise, and froze. Behind her, Callahan Finn got shakily to his feet, his face sheet-white, looking like he had just seen a murderous ghost.

Chapter 4 - Callahan

Callahan sensed her the moment she entered the building. He was thumbing idly through a magazine in the sparsely furnished reception, waiting for his meeting with Dr. Stephanie, when he felt the atmosphere in the small room change.

It was the woman who had just walked in. Callahan cocked his head to the side, watching her curiously as she spoke to the receptionist. There was something alarmingly familiar and strange about the tall, blonde woman.

The air seemed warped around her, giving her an almost ethereal feel. Callahan felt the urge to rush toward her and flee far away from her at the same time. It was maddening.

And then the woman turned around, and his heart stopped. It was Josie. Of course it was Josie. Not only was she the last person he had expected to see today, this was the last place he had expected to find her.

His breath caught in his chest, and for a long moment, they stood and watched each other. He had a million words he wanted to say to her, and yet he couldn’t think of a single word he could say to break the ice.

The world fell away around them, and they stood alone in a vacuum. Why was she here in Whispering Oaks? Why was she at the surrogacy center? He was supposed to meet the surrogate today.

A thought crossed his mind, and he felt the pressing urge to burst into uncontrollable laughter. It couldn’t be, could it? Why else was she here? What could have brought her so far from Silver Peaks?

Callahan knew that the program didn’t have that many candidates yet. There was only one reason Josie would be here, and he couldn’t help feeling like some divine entity was playing a cruel joke on him.

The moment passed, and time started to move again. The small reception returned, sunlight pouring in through the wide windows. The receptionist was watching the two of them curiously, looking from Josie to Callahan,

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