© Copyright 2020 by Pure Passion Reads – All rights reserved.
1. Edition
Title: Surrogate for the Wolves
ASIN: B088655Y1Y
Author: Jasmine Wylder
Publication Date: July 2, 2020
Publisher: Pure Passion Reads GmbH, Uferstr. 3a, 39307 Roßdorf
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Respective publisher owns all copyrights not held by the author.
Surrogate for the Wolves
Devil Mountain Wolf Shifters: Book Three
A Paranormal Menage Romance
by Jasmine Wylder
Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
Thank You!
Also by Jasmine Wylder
About the Author
Dedication
To my loved ones B & B, who encouraged me to fly toward my dream:
Let’s soar.
Chapter One
“I’ve heard the expression green around the gills, but you take it to a whole new level, don’t you?” Miriam Potter shook her dark curls as she handed Angela a cool cloth to wipe her face off with.
Angela flinched with embarrassment. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she had managed to get herself into this situation in the first place, but now she was being reduced to some helpless damsel in distress who needed her friends to take care of her. It might not be so bad if she was locked up in a tower with a ferocious dragon to deal with. But being held prisoner by her own body was something else entirely.
“I knew that it doesn’t just happen in the morning,” Angela sighed, climbing back to bed. So far today the only time she’d left it was to run to the bathroom to throw up. “But I thought that it was supposed to be the worst for the first trimester and then get better.”
“Well, I’ve never been pregnant but from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty much a free-for-all, with every woman being different.”
Angela sighed heavily as she adjusted her pillows. She was so sick of lying in bed all day, but every time she wasn’t lying in bed, she was puking her guts out constantly. It was so bad that her friends at the book club were taking rotating shifts to come help her cook and clean and making sure that she got at least some nutrients in her body. Her half-brother, Ian, stopped by often as well, but as the new sheriff in town, he had his plate full.
“Here.” Miriam put a mug of broth on the nightstand and handed Angela a piece of toasted bread cut in half. “Try to get this down, will you? And where is your water bottle?”
Angela flushed as she picked up one half of the toast. “I dropped it into the toilet. So I threw it out.”
Miriam sighed. “There is such a thing as washing, you know.”
“It made me sick to think about drinking from it.”
Miriam shook her head but pulled out her phone. “I’m texting Wanda to pick you up a new one, then.”
“I’m sorry,” Angela murmured miserably. Here she was, a grown woman, and she was being babied because she couldn’t take care of herself. “I know that I should be just pushing through it but—”
“As Wanda would say, pish posh.” Miriam patted her hand comfortingly. “This is what friends are for.”
“I’m still sorry.”
Miriam shrugged. “What did the doctor say at your last appointment? It’s not usual for you to have a sudden bout of sickness like this, is it?”
Angela sighed heavily. “He says that it’s most likely to do stress. I don’t have any other symptoms to worry about. Blood pressure is good, the babies are developing normally, all my tests are in good, healthy levels. And thinking about it, the stress makes sense.”
She nibbled at one corner of the toast, her eyes darkening. Her stress levels certainly had gone up recently, right when her sickness started to get worse. It was right at the time when she had decided that she was going to seek out the parents who wanted the surrogacy. Technically things were meant to be anonymous. But the contract she’d signed was very clear, that she had no legal rights to these children even though it was twins, which was unexpected, and that she was more than a surrogate—she had provided half the genetic material, too. She was biologically their mother, but the agreement she’d signed gave up all legal rights.
And it was something that she could not wrap her head around now. It had been a mistake to sign up at all. She should have known that. But when she saw the pamphlet, she had been drawn in by the figures promised for payment and so…
Angela had wanted to run her own business for as long as she could remember. She wanted a little farm, where she could make artsy stuff and have a small herd of sheep that she could harvest the wool from and make beautiful, handmade clothing. She had been saving for years but never seemed to get any closer. So when she saw the advertisement, she went straight to the Paranormal Surrogate Agency and signed up. Her brother was a shifter, although she was human, and besides, it would take months to actually get pregnant.
All she had to do was go through the failed attempts for a couple months, then pull out of further attempts and take the money she’d gotten for those months. Then she could buy her farm and start up her business.
Instead, she was pregnant. All it’d taken was one month. And Angela finally realized what a terrible mistake she had made.
Miriam put a glass of water on the nightstand beside the broth. “Well, try to get some rest. You’ll feel better once you have a decent sleep.”
“I’ll feel better when I can figure out how to fight this contract.” Angela’s eyes darkened.
She wasn’t meant to know who the couple on the other end was, but she had found out. She’d done some digging when she learned she was carrying twins—she had thought, maybe the parents would let her keep one of them since the agency was refusing. And now that she knew?
Max Bender and Tyler Vaughn were well-known in the little town of Deville, shadowed by the mighty Devil Mountain. Not only did they own the only funeral parlor for several hours around, but they were also notorious playboys. Ever since they moved to Deville seven years ago with the rest of the Wolf Shifters of Devil Mountain, they’d been throwing wild parties up at their cabin. Constantly. Being invited had become a reason to brag in false offense but actually attending? A reason for deep shame.
And they were the fathers of her babies. She didn’t know if it was one or both who had donated sperm for this pregnancy, but they were the ones she was going to have to give them up to. And the idea chilled her to the bone. Sure, they were sexy, and Angela had often wished they’d invite her to their cabin, but there was no way they would be good, responsible parents! They weren’t even a couple!
A phone alarm went off, jerking Angela from her dark thoughts.
“I have to go pick up my nephews from school.” Miriam tucked the phone back into her pocket and let out a heavy sigh.
Angela winced again, once more the guilt welling up in her. She wasn’t the only one w
ith things going on in her life and yet she was the only one sitting here whining about it. “Have you heard anything from your brother?”
Miriam shook her head. “I got a postcard last week from him, saying that he and his girlfriend are in Venice. No mention of when they might return, no ‘wish you were here’, no return address, nothing to ask how the boys are. I didn’t tell them about it. Better for them not to think about their deadbeat dad than to have so little to go on.”
“I’m sorry,” Angela said miserably. “You have so much you’re dealing with already and you’re taking time to come worry over me—"
“Hey.” Miriam patted her knee. “That’s enough apologizing. I’m here because I want to be, not because I have to be.”
“Thank you.” Angela worked not to choke on her emotions. While she was bedridden, she ought to be doing something more to help Miriam… looking up laws about child abandonment or something.
Even as she thought this, though, the little bit of toast rebelled from her stomach. Angela lurched from bed, rushing to the bathroom. Only a little stomach acid came up, but she definitely felt green around the gills now. Groaning, she lay down on the cool bathroom floor and closed her eyes. Why didn’t people ever talk about how utterly wretched pregnancy was?
Miriam crouched next to her, wincing with sympathy. “Do you need me to help you into the bath or something?”
Angela shook her head. “I’m just gonna lie here for a bit and then get back to bed. Go. You have to take care of your nephews. I’ll be fine.”
“Alright.” Miriam sighed. “Wanda will be stopping by later to check on you. You gonna be good until then?”
“Yes.” Even though Angela was half convinced she was going to die right here from sheer nausea, she didn’t say that. Miriam had already been more than helpful.
After her friend was gone, Angela managed to pull herself back to bed. A little nap helped, and she drank some of the cold broth and nibbled at the cold toast. This time it settled in her stomach better and after she finished the food, she felt good enough to once more pull out the contract she had signed four months ago. She had gone over it a million times, trying to figure out some legal loophole that she could use to keep the babies out of the hands of those two man-whores.
The thing about Tyler and Max was she knew them too well. They were part of the pack that her brother belonged to, and she would never forget how he’d reacted when she casually mentioned that Max had given her a large tip at the diner one time—Ian had gone red in the face and walked out the door. He came back several hours later nursing bruised knuckles and told her to keep away from Max and Tyler, that they were no good for her.
Angela hadn’t told him that she just happened to be carrying their babies now. He knew she went through the Paranormal Surrogate Agency to sign up as a surrogate and he knew she was pregnant, but she hadn’t dared tell him she figured out whose sperm she’d been inseminated with.
With a sigh, she pushed the contract away. Maybe things would go differently if she told Ian about what was going on… But then, he had just settled into a relationship with another of Angela’s friends, Sandra. Not to mention that Sandra was not only his mate but also the mate to the man who had been his sworn enemy up until a few months ago…
“Ian has enough on his plate,” she decided. “And I need to not go running off to my big brother every time I find myself in a bind.”
Then, of course, there was the fact that Ian, Sandra, and Theron were taking a vacation. It had been hard enough for Sandra to convince Ian to go, with him having just taken on the job of being the sheriff; if Angela came crying to him over this, he would never leave. And now, more than ever, he deserved to be free of her clinginess.
Angela frowned as she lay back in bed. Once Wanda showed up, Angela was going to tell her everything was fine. She’d send her off and take care of this like an adult.
After all, she couldn’t exactly fight against Tyler and Max getting custody of these babies if she was acting like a helpless child herself.
Her shoulders fell and she turned her face to stare out the bright window. Who am I kidding? I would be a terrible mother for these babies. I can’t fight them. I have barely any income, nothing to my name, and I’m relying on my friends to take care of me when millions of pregnant women are out there every day taking care of themselves. Tyler and Max might be man-whores, but that doesn’t mean they’d be bad parents.
Besides, her eyes flooded with tears, they would be far better parents than I could ever hope to be. At least with them, these babies won’t end up being raised in poverty like I was… no, it’d be selfish of me to keep them. She sucked in a deep breath, trying in vain to calm herself. But at least with them in Deville, I can see them grow up.
Chapter Two
An incessant knocking drove a spike into Tyler’s head, making his wolf snarl and snap. Slowly, he pried his eyes open. Light streamed in from the windows, which was a surprise considering they were all supposed to have curtains hanging over them. But when he rolled his head to one side, blinking at the light, he saw why—Max had yanked down one of the curtains to wrap around himself.
The naked bodies of two women pressed against Tyler’s sides. As he slowly slipped out from between them, they blinked and then rolled over to get back to sleep.
Clothing was strewn everywhere. Tyler tiptoed past the couch, where someone lay stretched out and snoring, and picked up what appeared to be his pants. Fighting back a groan as his head pounded, he stuffed himself into them. The air mattresses they’d put out last night were all occupied. Tyler frowned as he swept his gaze across the room. He didn’t recognize half of these women.
Kristoff, Lucas, and Roman were all present, though. They were scattered among the women, arms slung across the curvy bodies. Kristoff seemed to be waking up, but Tyler didn’t bother to greet him. It must have been some party—he couldn’t remember a damn thing that happened.
The knocking trailed off and Tyler huffed. If it was important, they’d come back, right?
Tyler sank into a chair, straining to remember what had happened the previous night. His hips were pretty sore and there was rugburn on his knees. Must have been a full-out orgy, considering how many naked people were around. He just wished he could remember…
Hmm. Something was pushing through the fog. Blue and red lights flashing outside. Fucking Ian Lloyd walking in, checking IDs. As though they would ever bring underage kids to one of their parties. He was just being a fucking tool. Ever since Ian had become sheriff, he’d stopped being fun. Not that he had been much fun to begin with.
The real question was what had sparked this? The other wolves being around meant that it wasn’t just him and Max being bored. Something else had happened. What, though?
He shook his head. It would come back to him. There was something… His wolf snapped, clearly irritated with him, and he shoved at it. Leave me the fuck alone. It never liked him being part of these parties. Then again, the fucking thing hadn’t been happy with him ever since he’d left the military and there was no figuring out why.
His wolf snapped and Tyler’s hands balled into fists. He glanced around, looking for any of the women who were looking like they were waking up. One of them, a gorgeous brunette that was all curves head to toe, had sat up, holding a thin sheet up to her chest. Tyler grinned even as his wolf snarled. He strode—well, staggered was probably a better word for it—to the woman. As she smiled up at him, he wound one hand into her hair while undoing his jeans with the other.
And the knocking started again. The woman ran her hands up his thighs, a seductive look in her eye. He sighed as he released her. “I’ll be back,” he promised.
The woman pouted as she rolled off her air mattress. “Coffee in the same place?”
“Sure,” Tyler muttered, headed for the door. He didn’t recognize her, but she must have been here before… Shaking his head, he shoved that from his mind as his wolf continued to sulk. Soon enough, he was opening the
door, leaning against the doorjamb. On the other side of the door was a woman who looked vaguely familiar. She wore a diamond ring on her left hand, though, so he snorted. “Sorry, honey, we don’t take attached women here.”
The woman’s eyes widened then narrowed. There was something familiar about that look, too. “That’s not what I am here for. I need to talk with Tyler Vaughn and Max Bender. It’s of great importance.”
Tyler stepped onto the porch and closed the door. Was she one of their clients? There weren’t a lot of deaths here in Deville since the population was so small and he didn’t recall seeing this woman at the funeral parlor any time recently. Was she from the accrediting board? Was there a problem with the funeral parlor? Or was she from somewhere else?
“My partner isn’t up, yet. If you’d called, we could have set up an appointment.”
The woman flinched. “I’m afraid that this was just too important. There seems to be a… problem.”
“Problem?” Tyler rose his brows. “Of what kind? What are you here for?”
The woman wrung her hands. She chewed her lip, not looking at all professional despite her business suit. “Okay, here’s the thing. About five months ago, you invited my boyfriend and me up here for a party.”
Five months. Tyler frowned. “So? If you’re looking for a new invite—"
“We’re not. It’s just that… certain things happened while we were here…”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “Please just spit it out. I have a wicked hangover and I can smell fresh coffee. If you were here before, you know the night before party isn’t as important as the morning after one. If you catch my drift.”
“You have a baby on the way,” she blurted.
Tyler’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Honey, if you’re trying to say that we got you pregnant, I can say with certainty that we did not.”
“No, not me. It’s… someone else…” The woman sighed heavily. “I’m from the Paranormal Surrogate Agency. You should have been informed of this two months ago, but your surrogate has conceived with your child. You and your partner will be fathers in six months.”
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