All Chapters of SURROGATE FOR THE ALPHA: Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

Ashley's POV "Just breathe, Ashley. This will only take a few minutes." Dr. Voss snaps on a fresh pair of gloves without looking at me, already reaching for the tray of instruments beside the exam table.I nod, staring at the fluorescent lights and trying not to think about the three months of overdue rent I couldn’t have covered without this contract. Nia squeezes my hand from her spot beside the table, her nurse's badge catching the light every time she shifts her weight."You're doing something incredible," she whispers. "That baby is going to grow up wanted more than almost any child in this city. Some couple out there has been waiting years for this call."I need to believe her, because in about ninety seconds a stranger's future child is going to be implanted inside me, and there's no version of my life right now where I can afford to feel anything but grateful for the check that comes after. I've read every page of the contract twice. I know the clauses about confidentiality,

Ashley's POV I couldn’t sleep.I spend the night pacing my apartment, phone in hand, trying to find a version of this that doesn't end with me losing everything I've spent years building. Nia calls at midnight, crying, telling me she's already been suspended pending investigation, that if I don't cooperate with Ashworth she could lose her license entirely and everything she worked for besides.I think about calling my mother, but decide against it. She's still recovering, still fragile, and the last thing she needs is to hear that her daughter has been swept up into pack politics she never wanted any part of. I think about calling a lawyer instead, scrolling through numbers I can't afford to dial, before finally setting the phone down on the counter and staring at it like it might offer up an answer on its own.By morning I have my answer, even though every part of me is screaming against it.His car is waiting outside my building before I've even finished packing, a driver in a blac

Ashley's POV I'm on my feet before I've fully decided to move, yanking the door open and running toward the stairs barefoot, heart slamming against my ribs. Smoke curls up from the ground floor, sharp and acrid, and somewhere below Liam is shouting orders in a voice I've never heard him use, raw with something that sounds almost like fear."Ashley, stay back!" He ordered me. A guard caught me at the top of the stairs, arm barring my way before I could reach the first step, his other hand already reaching for the radio clipped to his shoulder."What's happening? Someone screamed, "I heard it from my room.""Perimeter breach. Someone got past the east gate." His eyes are wide, scanning the smoke below us like he's expecting something to come charging up the stairs any second. "Mr. Ashworth is handling it, you need to get to the safe room, now."I don't move fast enough. Down the hall, another guard is dragging a limp figure away from the smoke, and somewhere out of sight I can hear Mar