All Chapters of Surrogate for My Sister's Mate: Chapter 61 - Chapter 69

ROSENTINEI wanted to go outside, but the thought of running into Alpha Bastian rooted me where I was. It had been a week since that night, the best night of my life, and the silence that followed pressed down on me, hollowing out my chest until all I could feel was this dull, aching want.My heart and my body were both missing him more than I could stand to admit.“Is he doing okay?” I muttered into the empty room, the words barely more than a sigh as I sank into the couch and let my eyes fall closed, focusing on the steady throb behind my temples. If I stayed here any longer, I was going to go crazy. “I need to get some air.”When I finally opened my eyes, it was like I’d surfaced from a long, heavy sleep. I stepped into the hallway, half out of habit, intending to let Owen know I’d be going outside, but a maid crossed my path before I could make it to the study. She said Owen was at the main house.With him gone, the urge to leave the packhouse instead, to just run, to breathe, to

ROSENTINEIt was uncomfortable. Unbearably so. Sitting at the dining table, surrounded by my family, the previous Alpha and Luna, and my ex-mate, the one who’d mistreated and abandoned me, I felt every old wound throbbing open again.Their presence was like a bruise I kept bumping into, stirring up a mess of resentment and sadness in my chest. Still, I forced myself to sit there. I had to. For my pregnancy, for the life inside me.“Do you really intend to take that woman back?” Ryan asked, his brows furrowed as he glared at me, as if my very existence was a nuisance.I gritted my teeth, feeling that tightness in my lungs, but I kept my breathing even. My hands drifted to my stomach, holding it as if that alone could ground me, remind me why I needed to keep calm.“I told you Rosalia’s alive, there’s no reason to hate Rosentine anymore,” Ezekiel said, his voice unwavering. My parents turned to each other, uncertain, and so did the previous Alpha and Luna. Even the maids, standing at th

ROSENTINEI couldn’t bring myself to meet Alpha Bastian’s eyes, not after Ezekiel so bluntly told him we planned on getting married. If I looked up, I might see something in his expression that would make me hesitate, and if I hesitated, I might not be able to go through with this at all.It was safer to keep my gaze fixed on the table, my dinner growing colder by the second, pretending I didn’t notice the tension radiating off him. The last thing I wanted was to see disappointment, or worse, betrayal, flicker across his face. If I saw that, I might shatter completely.And as if things weren’t already complicated, he’d brought Rosalia. I should have been happy for her, and maybe on some level, I was, seeing her finally reunited with my family. Yet, somehow, I couldn’t help but feel the bitterness that lingered in my heart.Jealousy, of all things. I’d never wanted to be the kind of person who let envy take over, but here I was, feeling it anyway. I repeated to myself, over and over, th

ROSENTINE“Do you really have to go back to the north? We’re already complete again, why do you need—”“Stop,” Rosalia sighed as she looked at our mother, who was desperately trying to stop us from leaving.Everything was still a shock to me: the loss of the baby, the truth about Rosalia's actions, and the fact that Ezekiel gave up just like that. I was expecting him to protest, but surprisingly, he didn't.Was it because he was shocked by what happened the other night? Or perhaps, Bastian said something to him? Either way, I was glad that he stopped his sudden obsession with me.Still, I couldn't help but feel sad that I had to lose the child growing inside of me just to make everything go back to normal. Even though it wasn't mine, the pain still lingered deep inside me, heavy enough that sometimes I caught myself placing a hand over my stomach without thinking.“Rosentine,” my mother called me, her voice trembling slightly. “Can’t you forgive us? I know we’ve wronged you, but it’s

ROSENTINE“Can’t we seek the Royal Physician’s help?” I asked, even though I knew Bastian wouldn’t like it. After all, he never hid his hatred for the Alpha King.He slowed his steps as we entered the main house, his hand resting on my waist wavering as if he was weighing the idea. Then he turned to me, his face hard to read but clearly reluctant to reject the thought completely.“We could,” he said at last, slow and careful, “but I doubt His Majesty would help.”“Don’t worry. I’m still searching for physicians all over the kingdom who might know what to do about Rosalia’s condition.” His hand slipped from my waist and intertwined with our hands instead as we continued to walk. As soon as we were upstairs, I expected him to walk me to my room, but to my surprise, we went to his.“Why are we here?” I asked, after all, this was my first time coming in here.The room was spacious, with dark wooden walls lined with shelves of books. A faint scent of cedar and smoke lingered in the air, st