All Chapters of THE ALPHA'S SURROGATE MATE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

CHAPTER 12 My mother's handwriting on the envelope made my chest tighten before I'd even opened it."Bad news?" Tessa asked when she spotted it in my hands."I haven't opened it.""Then how do you know it's bad?"I turned the envelope over between my fingers."Because it's from my mother."Tessa raised an eyebrow."Good and bad look the same in her handwriting."She nudged my shoulder."Open it."I broke the seal.Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded twice.MiraI don't know how to write this without sounding like I'm asking for more than you've already given us.I sat down on the bench in the hallway.Tessa settled beside me without a word.I kept reading.The collectors stopped calling.My throat tightened.The roof is fixed. Toby has new boots. The heating was repaired before the first frost.I swallowed.It's the first winter in years that I haven't been afraid of the phone ringing.I stared at the words."That's good," Tessa said softly."It is."My voice cracked."I just

CHAPTER 14 "So you're the surrogate.""Roman's surrogate," someone else corrected, quiet enough to sound like a warning.I hadn't even reached the center of the hall before the whispers started.Roman's hand settled at the small of my back, steady and guiding, before I could answer either of them."Lord Halden," Roman said, nodding to the first speaker. "Mira."Halden's eyes swept over me from head to toe."Ah. The famous compatibility case.""Famous?" I repeated."News travels between territories."His smile didn't reach his eyes."Especially unusual news."Roman's hand tightened slightly against my back."If you'll excuse us."He guided me deeper into the hall before Halden could say anything else.I waited until we'd put several people between us."Unusual news?""Ignore him.""That's not an answer.""It's the only one I have time for tonight."I glanced around the crowded hall.Alphas and their representatives stood in small groups beneath the enormous chandeliers. Conversations

CHAPTER 16 "Be careful with him."Tessa said it quietly as she folded linens, but there was something in her voice that made me stop what I was doing.I looked at her."Why?"She smoothed the edge of a towel with far more attention than necessary."It's not that he'd hurt you." She hesitated. "It's that he doesn't know how to want something without it becoming dangerous to him first."My fingers tightened around the linen in my hands."I don't understand."Tessa finally looked at me."I think you do."I set the linen down."What are you talking about?""You and Roman."My stomach gave a small, uncomfortable twist."There's nothing to talk about.""Mira."One look from her told me she wasn't buying that for a second.I exhaled."Something happened at the gathering.""I noticed.""Roman was jealous."Tessa's eyebrows lifted slightly."He admitted it?""Not exactly.""Then how do you know?""Because he looked at Kase like he wanted him gone."A faint smile touched her mouth."That sound

CHAPTER 18 The candles had burned low by the time we finally set the photograph aside.For several minutes, neither of us spoke.The study had become quieter somehow, as though everything we'd discussed had settled into the walls around us."You should sleep," Roman said.He made no move to leave.I glanced at the clock."You're one to talk."Something almost like a smile touched his mouth.It looked strange on him.Not unpleasant.Just unfamiliar.Like a muscle he'd forgotten how to use."What were you like," I asked, "before all of this?"His eyebrow lifted."All of what?""Before you were Alpha. Before the council. Before you had an entire territory depending on you."He leaned back slightly."That's an odd question for two in the morning.""You just showed me the most painful secret you've been carrying for two years."I gave him a small smile."I think I've earned an easy question."He considered that."Fair."His gaze drifted toward the dark window."I used to hunt.""Actually

CHAPTER 20 Two men I didn't recognize stood outside my door."Who assigned you?" I asked."Alpha Roman's orders.""Why?"Neither answered.One shifted his weight. The other kept his eyes fixed somewhere over my shoulder.I stared at them for another second before turning away.If Roman wanted to surround me with guards, he could at least have the courage to explain why.I found him in his study twenty minutes later, still surrounded by the reports from the night before."Why are there two guards outside my door?""Because you're not safe.""That isn't an answer."He set down the paper in his hand."After what happened in Lyra's study, I'm not taking chances.""You told me to be careful. You never told me what I was supposed to be careful of. Now I have strangers standing outside my room, and I still don't know why.""It's necessary.""That's not a reason. That's an order."I crossed my arms."I'm not a prisoner.""I know.""Then stop treating me like one."He didn't answer immediatel