Chapter 3

Revan

“Ah, Mr. Blank, how are you?”

I stood up from the painfully uncomfortable waiting room chair and shook Doctor Smesh’s hand. The waiting room at Masters and Brett looked like it belonged in a luxury magazine—chrome tables, black leather couches, polished wood everywhere. Expensive, tasteful… and absolutely terrible to sit on.

Underneath the polished look, the faint smell of disinfectant hung in the air, reminding me that this was still a medical facility no matter how fancy they tried to make it.

“I’m well, Doctor Smesh,” I said. “And you?”

“I’m fine, thank you. Come, let us discuss the progress of your case.”

He led me down a hallway and into a large office that looked more like a museum than a clinic room. Antique furniture, a brown leather couch against the wall, a massive desk with an expensive computer sitting on top of it.

I took the chair across from him and adjusted my tie.

I hadn’t worn a tie since Senior’s funeral. That alone was enough to make me uncomfortable. The entire situation wasn’t helping either. I wasn’t used to feeling uncertain.

“As I explained before,” the doctor said, peering at me over his half-moon glasses, his Eastern European accent thick but precise, “your… situation requires more rigorous screening than our usual cases. However, we believe we have found someone who fits your requirements perfectly.”

“Good,” I said. “So what’s the problem?”

He cleared his throat.

“Well, it concerns your requirement regarding the duration of the pregnancy. According to your file, you require the surrogate to live with you at your compound until after the child is delivered.”

I sat up straighter.

The agency Pete had found for me called itself a bio-consultancy firm. Their brochures promised discretion and the ability to handle unusual medical arrangements. They charged an obscene amount of money for their services.

But finding the woman who would carry my heir was worth any price.

After weeks of filling out forms, answering endless questions in sterile interview rooms, giving blood, saliva, and more samples than I cared to think about, they had finally called me.

They’d found the perfect surrogate.

Apparently there was a complication.

“Well?” I said.

“The surrogate is… reluctant to agree to those terms.”

My eyes narrowed.

The doctor swallowed hard enough to make his tie twitch.

“What do you mean reluctant?”

“She would prefer to remain in her own home during the pregnancy,” he said. “Living with you is not something she is comfortable with.”

I didn’t see the problem.

“Then find someone else.”

He shifted in his chair.

“She is the best candidate we have for carrying a healthy lupine pregnancy to term,” he said carefully. “Perhaps if you spoke with her directly, you might be able to negotiate an arrangement. Financially, perhaps.”

I leaned back and considered it.

The pack had been restless lately. The Volkovs were circling. Some of our younger wolves had even been approached by Ivan Volkun.

No one had defected yet.

Yet.

And the Elders kept whispering about a young wolf named Damon Atwood who’d been going around claiming I wasn’t a strong Alpha.

Normally I wouldn’t care what anyone thought.

But if the pack fractured… if enough wolves left for the Volkuns…

Ivan would sweep in and take everything.

An heir was no longer optional.

It was necessary.

“I’ll talk to her,” I said finally. “But if she refuses, I want someone else.”

The doctor looked nervous.

“Of course, Mr. Blank.”

He stood quickly.

“She should be arriving shortly. You may use my office to speak with her.”

Then he practically fled the room.

Humans who knew what I was always ended up like that eventually—nervous, overly obedient. It was almost amusing.

After all, wasn’t I above them?

Nature had made it that way.

I turned toward the window, watching traffic crawl down Ninth Avenue while I waited.

What would she be like?

She had to be strong to carry an Alpha’s child. Healthy. Resilient.

Strong-willed would be good for the child.

Not so good for living in my house.

The office door opened behind me.

“Mr. Blank,” the doctor said. “I would like you to meet the surrogate selected for your case. Ms. Paris Helton.”

I turned around.

A woman stood beside him.

Average height. Red hair pulled back in a braid. Ice-blue eyes that seemed far too sharp for such a delicate face.

I wondered if the red hair was natural.

She wasn’t staring exactly, but I could feel her studying me carefully.

My stomach tightened unexpectedly.

“Ms. Helton,” the doctor said, “this is Mr. Blank.”

She stepped forward and held out her hand.

“Hi. Nice to meet you.”

Her grip was firm. Her skin was clear except for a few freckles across her nose.

Not bad at all.

But that strange tight feeling in my stomach didn’t go away.

People didn’t make me nervous.

The doctor excused himself and slipped out of the room, leaving us alone.

For a moment we just looked at each other.

“So,” she said with a small smile, “I’m Paris. The surrogate.”

I nodded.

“I’m Revan Blank.”

For some reason I even gave a small wave.

I had never waved at anyone outside my family in my entire life.

Something about this woman was… strange.

There was an energy about her. A scent I couldn’t quite place.

And I wasn’t sure I liked it.

“The doctor said we should get to know each other before we decide anything,” she said awkwardly.

I gestured to the chairs across from the desk and we both sat.

I adjusted my tie. She fiddled with her nails.

“What do you do for a living?” I asked.

“I’m a waitress,” she said quickly. “In Brooklyn.”

I nodded.

How exactly was I supposed to conduct this conversation?

Hello. Do you think you have the biological environment to carry my dangerous werewolf child? By the way, I’m a werewolf.

She spoke before I could think of anything else.

“So why do you need a surrogate?” she asked. “No offense, but you don’t look like someone who’d have trouble finding a wife.”

I blinked.

“That’s not really your business.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, her cheeks turning pink.

Maybe the red hair was natural.

Still… something didn’t add up.

Women like her didn’t usually volunteer to rent out their wombs.

“Why did you become a surrogate?” I asked.

She shrugged.

“I needed money. If I can help someone have a baby while earning it, even better.”

We sat there awkwardly until she asked another question.

“So if you’re not married… who’s raising the baby?”

I bristled.

“Men can raise children too,” I said. “It’s the twenty-first century.”

“I know,” she said. “You just don’t seem like the type.”

I ignored that.

“The doctor said you had concerns about some of the conditions.”

She hesitated.

“Yeah… the living-with-you thing.”

“It’s a requirement.”

Even to my own ears my voice sounded harsher than intended.

She frowned.

“I know you’re paying me, but you don’t get to control my entire life.”

I took a slow breath.

“You’re right,” I said evenly. “But if you want the job, you agree to the terms.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Maybe you could explain why you want me living with you.”

“It’s about security,” I said. “I can monitor your health and the baby’s better if you’re living on my property.”

“Monitor me?” she said suspiciously. “Are you in some kind of cult?”

I almost laughed.

“No. Think of it as protecting my investment.”

“I can protect myself,” she said.

Then she leaned forward.

“For the record, the doctor told me you probably won’t find another surrogate for your case. So maybe we should find a compromise.”

She was right.

I didn’t like that she was right.

But losing this candidate wasn’t an option.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “What if I add a ten-thousand-dollar bonus? Paid once the baby is born.”

She went very quiet.

I noticed her eyeliner was slightly smudged.

Her file said she earned barely more than minimum wage.

But something about her posture felt… refined.

Almost aristocratic.

“And when the baby’s born I can just leave?” she asked.

“No happy family nonsense?”

I smiled.

“I assure you, I have no desire to play happy families. I simply want an heir.”

“An heir?” she said. “Are you royalty or something?”

I ignored that too.

“So,” I asked, “do we have a deal?”

I sweetened the offer.

Private housing. A car. Total privacy.

She smiled.

“Fine. Add it to the contract.”

Then she asked, “Where are you from anyway?”

“Upstate,” I said. “A place called Fell Village.”

“Never heard of it.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

At that moment the doctor returned.

“Excellent,” he said. “Shall we discuss the treatment schedule?”

He pulled up an ovulation chart on his tablet.

Felicity leaned forward immediately, studying it.

I had absolutely no interest in fertility charts, so I let them talk while I stared out the window.

This was really happening.

I was about to have a child.

Alan had pushed me into this, but he was right. The pack needed an heir.

Still… something about the whole situation filled me with unease.

Eventually the doctor finished scheduling everything.

We shook hands.

Paris put on her coat.

“I’ll see you at the next appointment,” she said. “Then we can discuss when I move to your place.”

I handed her my business card.

“Call me if you need anything.”

She ran her fingers over the expensive card.

“I will.”

Then she left.

I watched her walk away.

Too late to back out now.

Then a realization hit me.

She didn’t know.

She had no idea what I was.

The doctors had insisted it was better to keep that secret for now. They said stress could harm the pregnancy.

But telling her later might be even worse.

I loosened my tie and muttered under my breath.

“I have time.”

At least… I hoped I did.