idental Surrogate For Alpha Novel Chapter 9


    E


    I blink my eyes open warily, knowing I’m not at home in my own bed solely by the luxurious mattress


    and beddings surrounding me. Thest thing I remember, I was in Cora’s office with none other than


    Dominic Sinir, who was single-handedly offering to save my future and break my heart in one fell


    swoop.


    I was about to sign away my rights to my baby… my baby, I think dazedly, pressing one hand to my


    belly. Am I really pregnant? After all this time?


    The idea that I have to give up my child because life dealt me yet another ruthless blow makes me feel


    sick to my stomach… in fact, I lurch from the bed and race for the bathroom, feeling my insides roil and


    clench. I make it to the toilet just in time, emptying my stomach into the porcin bowl and dropping to


    my knees with a groan of misery.


    I suppose that’s all the proof I need. I really am going to be a mother… but for how long? 30 seconds?


    Five minutes? Will Dominic Sinir give me the opportunity to even hold my baby before ripping it from


    my arms? Do I want that torture? Yes, I decide instantly. I have to hold my baby in my arms, even if it’s


    only for a fraction of a second…. Even if we aren’t technically the same species.


    That particr thought sends my head spinning so quickly I have to clench my eyes shut. Werewolves


    are real. Not only are they real, but I’m pregnant with one… Dominic Sinir, who I’ve mooned over a


    thousand times, is a creature I believed only existed in novels and films. And what was that grumbling


    noise when I passed out, why did it feel like I could hear his voice in my head?


    All of a sudden it’s just too much to handle. I slip back into the bedroom and climb back into the opulent


    bed, for the first time realizing I must be in the Sinir mansion. There’s no other exnation. I’ve


    never been in a room this beautiful, or with such expensive furnishings. It must all belong to him.


    But why would he bring me home with him? I have a home of my own. Peeking out of the plush covers,


    I scan the room, my eyesnding on a table by the door. There’s a vase of flowers and a folded note,


    which appears to have my name scrawled across the front. Gingerly regaining my feet, I collect the


    parchment and open it, my heart beating a mile a minute.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    E,


    Please make yourself at home. I’ll be at the office until this evening, but as soon as I return we can


    finish our talk. Ask the servants for anything you require.


    Yours,


    Dominic


    And if I want to go home? I think defiantly, What then Mr. Bossy?


    The suggestion that there’s a discussion to conclude between us grates on my nerves. He basically left


    me with no choice, leveraging safety, stability and my child’s wellbeing over my head so that I’d be


    forced to agree to his terms. It’s not as if I really stood a chance against him. He has all the power in


    the world while I have nothing, and he made it very clear that there was no wiggle room in our


    agreement.


    Maybe passing out was my brain’s subconscious way of protecting me, giving me more time to process


    and think before signing away my baby. Or if not my brain, whatever higher power created shifters and


    humans – this entire crazy. I never considered myself religious before, but if magic is real, who’s


    to say what else is possible?


    Tears well in my eyes, and unlike earlier, they have nothing to do with my joy over being pregnant, or


    my grief about everything I’m losing. These tears are nothing but pure, righteous anger over everything


    that’s happened to me over thest few days. Cora’s words ring in my head, “It isn’t fair.” It isn’t fair that


    I have to lose everything because of the actions and cruelty of other people. It isn’t fair that Dominic


    Sinir should hold my future ransom when he could fix it with the snap of his fingers. The amount of


    money it will take to repay my debts isn’t even a drop in the bucket to him, and I’m pregnant with his


    child. He could easily help me without also robbing me of my baby – as if he has no concept of the


    value of a mother’s love.


    Before I can change my mind, I gather myself and slip out the bedroom door, sneaking through the


    hallways until I finally find my way out of the maze of a house. Only once does a servant try to stop me.


    I’m almost to the front door when a guard steps in front of me, “Miss, you don’t have permission to


    leave.”


    I notch my chin up and re at the man. “Are you going to stop me?”


    He looks as though he wants to do just that. He frowns deeply, eyeing me closely. I can almost see the


    thoughts scrolling through his head. Yes he has orders not to let me leave, but he also knows I’m


    pregnant with his boss’s precious heir. He can’t risk roughing me up if I fight back.


    After a moment I decide to test the strength of his resolve, storming past him without another word.


    When I arrive home a little whileter, I head straight for myputer, pulling up the inte browser


    and typing in Dominic Sinir’s name. He might have fancy investigators to look into my past, but I’m


    no simpleton, I can do research as well as anyone.


    At first I find only fawning business articles about his genius intellect and cunning as a negotiator and


    investor. It seems like everyone who’s ever decided to look into the man has fallen in love with him.


    Nevermind the fact that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, they make it sound as though


    he’s apletely self made man. The articlesment his difficult childhood growing up without a


    mother, and a number of interviews actually detail how deeply this affected him. The way they tell it,


    being raised by a single parent is the worst upbringing a child could have.


    After I’ve read through all the financial analyses and rave reviews, I dig deeper, looking into his


    phnthropic record and secret identity. I’m mildly dismayed to find all his charitable efforts are


    completely legitimate and he actually does donate half his revenues to those in need (of course, half a


    colossal fortune still leaves a fortune behind). The inte is chock-full of reports and speeches he’s


    made, good will efforts to better mankind.


    Things are less clear when I try digging into his true status as a werewolf. At first my searches result in


    little more than illuminati conspiracy theories and nonsense, and I realize keeping an entire species


    secret must require more discretion. It urs to me that there might be a dark or parallel web for


    werewolves, just like there are for illicit activities.


    It takes most of the afternoon, but eventually I figure out that I can d******d a special browser to ess


    the dark web, and before long I’ve dived deep into the annals of werewolf society. Here I find a very


    different image of the perfect businessman touted in the human media (Don’t even get me started on


    how bizarre it is to discover that there really is a sprawling werewolf society thriving in the shadows of


    my own).


    Apparently Dominic Sinir isn’t just any werewolf, but the Alpha of the Moon Valley pack and


    prospective King of the entire bloody continent. No wonder he’d been so vague and guarded when I


    asked about ruling monarchs! He’s poised to be the next King himself, if he can pull off his


    uing campaign.


    There aren’t many contenders in the race, but Sinir’s been undermined by his family situation. The


    last king died without an heir and left werewolf society with a dangerous power vacuum – it’s the


    reason they have to select a new king in the first ce. No one wants to repeat this cycle with another


    childless King, and the fact that Sinir has been unable to produce an heir is only half the problem.


    He also doesn’t have a mate, or Luna – not anymore at least.


    I read until my eyes grow sore, learning that Sinir was once married to a she-wolf who left him when


    he couldn’t give her a child – despite the fact that they were fated mates (another concept I can’t wrap


    my mind around). It’s no wonder he was so intense about finally having an heir – I thought he was just


    a domineering jerk who believed he needed to pass down his business legacy or something, not that


    the entire future of his society might depend on it. The articles made it very clear that werewolves


    would be in serious trouble if he doesn’t take the throne. A few of hispetitors can only be described


    as power mad and unhinged, and they’re doing their best to discredit Sinir.


    When I finally finish, sitting back in my chair and dragging my hand over my face, I try to wrap my brain


    around all this. Sinir needs an heir, he needs a Luna, and he knows how difficult it can be for a child


    to grow up without a mother. For all his cunning, I now know all his weak spots. If I y my cards right,


    I just might be able to talk the terrifying Alpha into letting me stick around after the baby is born. Then I


    can prove how critical it is for a child to be with its mother – I can give us all a chance.


    Even as I think these optimistic words, a knock sounds on the door, and somehow I know it’s Dominic


    Sinir before I can even get up off the couch. Taking a deep breath I stride across the room and pull


    the heavy door open, revealing one veryrge, very angry werewolf bearing down on me.