All Chapters of Surrogate for My Sister's Mate: Chapter 41 - Chapter 48

ROSENTINE“Are you nervous?” I asked, voice low, eyes darting sideways to Hana, whose hand pressed against mine as we made our way into the banquet hall. The place was already alive with pack members, and I noticed that some faces were new to my eyes, while others were familiar from around the packhouse.“A little.” Hana’s grip on me only tightened, like she was entering a new world. I was about to whisper something reassuring when Owen’s voice suddenly called me.“Rosentine!” he raised his hand, and I turned on instinct, feeling Hana shrink behind me, her hand almost clinging now. Owen’s gaze then flicked to her, narrowing his eyes. “Who’s that behind you? A friend?”“Huh? No, it’s Hana,” I said, forcing a smile since I could practically feel her discomfort from behind me, where she was hiding. “I dressed her for tonight’s occasion, you see.”Owen leaned in, peering over my shoulder with a quizzical tilt of his head.“Oh, but why are you hiding?” His eyes found Hana, and the sudden a

ROSALIA“Why did you do that?” Bastian’s voice caught up with me the moment we slipped into my room after the banquet.Though there were some interruptions, everything still ended well, and I couldn’t help feeling a bitter sort of satisfaction. Especially knowing how much Rosentine must have reeled after my sudden announcement.The look on her face, even as she tried to hide it, gave me a sense of accomplishment. I hadn’t really planned to go that far, but seeing her struggle to keep herself together… I’d guess it was worth the risk.“What do you mean?” I played dumb, easing myself down onto the bed. Then, I faked a coughing fit, and Bastian immediately poured me a glass of water like an automatic response.After that, he sat right beside me, pressing the glass into my hands before his eyes searched for something I wouldn’t give him. I knew he wanted to talk about this since earlier, but he didn’t want to ruin the banquet or even embarrass me by showing the pack members that he wasn’t

ROSENTINEMy legs suddenly turned to jelly, so weak I could barely stand, and I found myself slowly sinking down, clutching at my chest as if that would steady my heart. It thudded wildly, loud and desperate, while Alpha Bastian’s words kept echoing in my mind, again and again, like a song stuck on repeat.“What I feel for you isn’t lust—it’s love.”“There’s no way,” I muttered, my voice shaking, the words barely making it past my lips.I just couldn’t believe it.Suddenly, memories flashed in my mind: last night, the moment I hugged Rosalia, the way Alpha Bastian’s expression had tightened when I congratulated them, the way he kept looking at me as if he was holding back a thousand words, the way his gaze lingered, intense and searching.All those moments rushed back, piling up, practically screaming at me to notice, to take a fucking hint.And then, just earlier, the pain in his eyes when I put words into his mouth, the way he looked genuinely wounded by my rejection when he tried t

ROSENTINEI let out a quiet sigh, the kind that slipped out before I could even catch it, right after finishing my prenatal check-up with Mrs. Jane.The past two days had been a whirlwind, honestly; so much had happened in what felt like a blink, everything falling into chaos, one event after another.When Melissa confessed, Owen hadn’t hesitated with his punishment. He said she was no longer fit to serve the pack and that she’d be kicked out. Simple as that.But then, out of nowhere, Rosalia got wind of the whole investigation. Of course she did. And just as naturally, she stepped in to defend her maids, insisting that since Melissa worked directly under her, she’d handle the punishment herself.I wasn’t actually present for any of that since I’d already retreated to my room, but Owen made sure to tell me everything. After all, I got dizzy from everything that had happened since the night before, all the emotions I felt were swirling so hard I could barely keep my feet under me.It w