by Jade White
She finished her shoes, grabbed all her things, and headed for the door when the brown haired girl let out a low, long scream of pleasure, so thick that Reign’s ears burned red and her stomach knotted.
She paused at the door. She was desperate to leave, to run, but the good girl in her couldn't. I can’t not say thank you, she though.
She noticed the hotel scratch pad, with its name and address listed at the top. She scribbled a quick thank you, she didn't leave her name; there was no need.
Once out the door, it was just a minute to the packed lobby. She got a few strange looks from the vacationers, and the upscale business people who frequented the Weston. It certainly was one of Seattle's nicer hotels, and Reign fit in there as well as a wild dog. It took every ounce of self-control not to run for the door as soon as it was in sight.
Once outside she got her bearings. She pulled up the appointment on her phone, she had ten minutes to get there, and her phone told her it was a twenty minute walk.
She ran.
Four blocks and one rain storm later, she arrived at the Law Office of Campbell, Watts, and Willis, on the fifteenth floor of the Mercer building. Its decor, leather furniture, and certified copies of Rembrandts all made it a world class business lobby.
Currently, the waiting room was full of girls, all who were willing to be surrogates for couples who could not conceive, at least for the right price.
Each of them were dressed in their best, though if they could afford nice clothes, they wouldn’t be in need of the lucrative money surrogacy offered.
Reign burst through the door, clothes soaked and disheveled, her hair a complete mess. Under the wetness of the rain, she was sweating, and of course it'd been more than twenty four hours since she put on deodorant. One of the girls chuckled as she walked to the receptionist desk.
"Anna Reign, to see Naomi Willis?"
The receptionist smiled, handed Reign a form to fill out.
"The interviews are done in order of arrival dear, I'm afraid you'll be last, here's the key to the bathroom if you'd like to freshen up."
She said it with no sarcasm or judgment, perhaps a little pity.
One by one, the other girls were called in, each interview lasted about fifteen minutes, and the girls left smiling, each so sure they were going to get the job.
This would be Reign's fourth interview since she turned eighteen. It wasn't that she was eager to have a child, she just really needed the money. What surprised her the most was how competitive it was.
Most girls worked the husband, flirting with him, giving him the doe eyes, trying to sway him into wanting her to carry his child. Even though there was no sex involved, men still liked the idea of a woman carrying his baby.
Reign couldn't do that, she wasn't trying to sell herself, and using sex to sell the surrogacy felt more like being a hooker than a surrogate. What she did need was the money, and she needed it fast.
If she were to get pregnant soon, she could deliver this year, and apply and pay for music school starting the following winter. That was the dream.
It was almost noon when the receptionist called Reign over.
"Miss Reign, they'll see you now."
"Thank you."
The receptionist had been genuinely nice to her, and she appreciated it. She took a deep breath, steadied her nerves, and plunged into the room. They are going to take one look at me and yell “Next,” she thought.
The double doors opened to a wide conference room with a large oaken desk. Reign’s breath caught in her throat. She didn't know his name, but the man from last night was there. He was even bigger than she'd guessed. He made the oak desk look like a play set. Dressed in a suit that fit him like a glove and did nothing to hide his impressive physique. Something about him made her knees weak and her lips tremble. Oh, god, he is just so perfect.
She swayed a little. Cara, the woman who was with him, half stood as if to catch her. In the light of day she was even prettier. Her long brown hair formed an elaborate braid that curled around her front and ended just below her waist. Her tan skin and bright blue eyes contrasted a white dress that molded to her figure like it was painted on. The neckline plunged low enough to show off the inside curves of her creamy bosom.
Cara genuinely smiled, "Are you okay? You left in a hurry this morning."
"Um..."
Reign wasn't sure what to say. She could mutter a thank you and leave right now, or she could run away as fast as possible. Her heart pounded in her chest and she couldn't speak.
Naomi glanced between the three of them and cleared her throat. "You three know each other?"
"Yeah," Richard responded, "well sort of, we bumped into her last night," Richard said in a deep voice that reminded Reign of a rock slide.
Reign still couldn't make her mouth work.
"You three may know each other, but Miss Reign is here for the surrogacy."
Cara's smile got even bigger, Richards eyes lit up, "Then you’re hired."
"What?" Naomi and Reign spoke at the same time.
"What are the odds of us, in a city of one million, bumping into you last night when you needed us too? It's not a coincidence, it’s destiny. What do you need to take the job?"
Reign was flabbergasted, so stunned she swayed. Cara was there, her soft hands guiding her into a chair.
Part of her mind wandered, but did not acknowledge the extraordinary something about these two.
"Thank you, Cara, and thank you both for last night, I'm sorry I ran out on you, but I was already late, and well, uh, I didn't want to interrupt you."
Her cheeks burned at the memory of the moaning from the bathroom.
"Polite, sweet, honest, and attractive, you're the whole package, don't you think, Richard?"
Richard smiled at her, it sent her heart pounding a new and made her stomach flip.
* * *
Richard’s vision clouded over and the voices in the room were indistinct at best. What he could see, clearly see, was the girl before him. He hadn't really seen her last night, Cara had carried her up to the hotel, and out of respect he hadn't been in the room when she tucked her in.
Now standing before him, she took his breath away. Long black hair, crystal green eyes, and a smile that lit up the whole room. He wanted to say something, to be clever, or funny, to hear her laugh. Nothing came to his mind.
Destiny was an important factor in the pack’s survival, and to find this girl, well, it had to be destiny. He took the file from Naomi and perused it while Cara spoke with her. The two seemed to get along, and Cara had a knack for getting people to open up and trust her. A knack she now put to good use. Another sign that he'd done the right thing in sparring her, and bringing her with him.
Reign’s file was perfect, she'd turned eighteen three months before, she was in perfect health, she had good genes, no defects or diseases. She loved music and was going to use the money to go to music school.
Destiny for the pack or for me? It had been a long time since Richard felt this way, if ever. Adult love was vastly different then the burning passion of youth, yet that was exactly what he felt. He had to get away from her, it was that or stalk her, and that probably wouldn't be healthy. The thought made him chuckle.
Cara turned to smile at him, she gave him a small nod which he returned.
"We want you, Ms. Reign. What do you think?" Richard said.
Reign smiled, she tried to hide her enthusiasm but failed, "Thank you, and you can just call me Reign; everyone does."
"I'm not done with my offer yet," Naomi glanced up from her tablet, eyes narrowing.
Richard smiled at her, "It's okay, Naomi, I know what I'm doing. Reign, we will put you up in a loft here in the city, pay for all your medical bills, related and otherwise, a car service to drive you around, and also pay for all your supplies, food, clothes, utilities, rent, everything. And when the child is born, you can stay in the loft while you go to school, which we'll pay for as well. Is this acceptable?"
Richard en
joyed the play of emotions across the girl’s face. His eyes always seemed to rest on her lips, he couldn't pull himself away from her, he knew it was wrong, but still stared at her like a love struck pup.
"I don't know what to say.”
"I do," Naomi interrupted, "Richard, could I have a moment of your time?"
"No. My mind is made up, this is what we want. Say yes, Reign, and let us get started."
"Yes, then! Oh my god, yes! Thank you!"
Cara spontaneously hugged the girl. Reign burst out crying, trying to thank everyone at once. Her eyes found his, and her lips formed the words, "Thank you." He held her gaze longer than what was polite, neither of them willing to break it.
It was destiny, and he was not going to stand in its way.
* * *
The axe cleaved through the last piece, and slammed into the stump underneath. Richard sighed, he'd hoped the exertion would take his mind off Reign, but nothing he did would.
The cold of April had yet to be replaced with rain, now was the perfect time to store up wood for the next winter. He ran his hand over his sweat-covered brow, and took a pull from the canteen strapped to his belt.
He just couldn't shake her. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her smile, felt her arms around him as they hugged. He'd felt embarrassed at the way he acted around her, like a teenager with a crush.
"You know," Indigo said, "you keep cutting wood like this and we won’t have a forest left."
Richard nodded to the Spaniard coming up the hill from the lodge, "It keeps me occupied."
Indigo gave him a long look. The two's friendship spanned decades and the younger wolf knew his Alpha as well as any man could know another.
"Oh shit," Indigo said.
"What?"
Richard tried to turn his back, his ears suddenly red from the blood that flooded his face. Dammit, I’m not a kid, what the hell is wrong with me?
"You can try and hide it, and I think you should, but you're in love. It's not like I haven't seen it before. You're a lot of things, Rich, but you wear your heart on your sleeve."
Of course Indigo was right and Richard had to accept it. Ever since he and Cara had met with Reign, two months before, she dominated his thoughts. She was attractive to be sure, but there were other women who were more so, even some in the pack.
Being turned into a werewolf had its upsides. It made people more of what they already were. For girls like Cara and Skye, it made them toned, with clear skin and radiant eyes. Not to mention that special something it added to their personality. The wolf made them confident, aggressive, and adventurous.
The wolf had that effect on all of them.
"Is that why you left Cara in Seattle to look after the surrogate? You can't be serious, the rest of the pack respects you but if you let Cara be your mate, you're gonna have trouble."
Richard heard his words, and wished it was Cara. That he could explain. Cara was amazing, smart, clever, and a knockout. But how does he explain his instant attraction to this girl who's barely an adult, and a human at that.
"It's not Cara. Someone else," he grumbled.
Indigo nodded, leaned over and grabbed a few pieces of chopped wood.
"Someone you met on your trip then..." He let the implication hang. The only people Richard met were humans.
"Yeah, something like that."
"Sorry, amigo, that's a hard road to go down. Does she know?"
"What I feel about her? No, and she's not going to. What am I to do? Turn her and watch her die from the blight? No, it's better if I just bury my feelings and move on. Not like I haven't broken my own heart before."
"Never seems like the scar tissue helps with the next."
Indigo's words made sense. Could he just ignore the way he felt?
If I never, ever see her again, Richard thought, in ten years she would be a memory, and the pack would go on.
"Any intel on the other packs? Anything that might make it seem like they're on the move,” asked Richard.
The two of them put the last couple of pieces of wood on the pile, more than enough for the next week.
"The only real threat is the Eastern Cascade, and they've been holed up in Spokane for the winter. I guess that's their idea of 'winter lodging'."
Richard scratched his grizzled chin. "Well, whatever, as long as they think we can beat them, they won’t attack, their alpha's a coward. How he ever survived being turned is beyond me. Is that Skye?"
The two friend turned to admire the red head as she made the climb up the hill.
The mountains agreed with the Highlander, her muscles rippled under her tank top as she made the leap from one rock to another. With an effortless grace she kicked off of a tree to clear the fifteen foot cliff that marked the top of the hill.
She landed with a thump, a worried expression clouding her blue eyes.
"You better get back to the lodge, boss, Naomi's on the phone and I think she's dying."
All thoughts of Reign disappeared as Richard leaped off the hill. Few could master their form, fewer more could change when they weren't in danger, and none could change as fast as Richard. Before he hit the base of the small cliff, the silver furred, yellow eyed wolf was in his place. He charged down the hill in leaps and bounds and disappeared into the woods in seconds.
"Oh my god," Skye muttered, "I didn't know he could do that."
Indigo let out a little laugh. “Remember that the next time you hear anyone wanting to challenge him. Richard holds a lot back."
Skye turned to her lover and smiled, "I don't," she said, as she stripped off her tank top.
CHAPTER THREE
"Cara, Cara, over here!"
Reign waved to her shopping companion from across the crowded street. Cara's six feet with heels let her easily see Reign. She smiled and returned the wave.
Reign marveled at how the crowd parted in front of Cara as she made her way to the corner, she didn't even need to ask anyone to move, they stepped aside almost as if they didn't know they were there.
At first, Reign was surprised Richard's wife stayed behind.
After all, Reign didn’t hide her feelings that well. She was sure she gushed all over him when they signed the contract, and again when the tests came back positive. She carried his baby, and now his wife looked after her, but she couldn't help the way she turned to water around him.
It would be easier if Cara was a shrew, or ugly, but she was neither. It also didn't hurt that she seemed to genuinely like Reign. I’m going to hell.
"This place is huge, I can't believe I've never been here before."
Reign handed her a cup of Seattle's Best, and sipped on her own hot chocolate, because being pregnant meant no caffeine. To a Seattle native that was almost a fate worse than death.
She gave her tall companion a sideways glance. “How do you live in Seattle and never visit Pike Place? I practically live down here."
It was true, between the thrift stores, the farmers markets, the fresh fish, and the French Delicatessen, she did all her shopping at the market.
In the two months she'd been pregnant the two of them had been too busy to see the sights. I still can’t think of it as pregnant, I’ve never had sex.
When Cara told her they could take the weekend off, Pike Place was the first place Reign wanted to go.
"Oh that, we don't live here. We live out in the Cascades.
Oh man, this coffee is good, I'm going to have to buy a few hundred bags before we go home."
"Cara, when was the last time you were here?"
Cara paused to sip from her cup, a mischievous smile on her face, "Oh, it’s been a few years."
The soft sounds of strings drifted over the market. There were many street musicians playing in the cool April air -- usually guitarists, singers, the occasional horn player, but this sound was the violin. Reign urged Cara to follow her as they made their way past the historic Public Market sign to Stewart Street. On the opposite corner, a young woman had just launched in
to Mazurka No. 2, a challenging but popular solo piece for the violin.
Reign didn't notice Cara's distracted look, all she could hear was the violin.
"I want to be that good someday. It's why I wanted this job, if I could just get my shot I could do it, I know,” said Reign.
Cara turned around in a full circle, her nose in the air like she just smelled something bad, eyes narrowed and the pleasant look that her face usually carried was replaced by something hard... something dangerous.
"Cara, what's wrong?"
