Chapter 3 - Mira

“Alpha Nikolaos,” I call out and he stops just as he reaches the door. He doesn’t turn to face me, instead, he turns his head to the side. “If I had to say yes, how would this work? Would we have to-”

“No.” He says with finality. “We would artificially inseminate you during your heat cycle; I won’t touch you.”

He then walks out and I find myself letting out a breath I wasn’t aware I’d been holding. But would it make this easier knowing he won’t touch me? I never wanted children, I just wanted peace and now I might have to make the decision I am not comfortable with at all.

I wonder why he wants a child. He could probably choose a beautiful mafia princess as a concubine and have children with her, so why choose me? Come to think of it, he probably has hordes of women at his beck and call. 

Then again, he mentioned that it would be easier to choose a nobody like me, so I don’t have a claim on the pup.

Not that I would want to after escaping afterward; well, not that I would be able to, anyway. 

So, I need to decide if I want to go back to running or give my body to him for nine to ten months and then be free and happy. Argh, why is this so difficult for me? The answer should be obvious and yet my heart wavers

I vowed never to bring a child into this sick, cruel world but now a child could mean my freedom. Besides, that child would grow up with Alpha Nikolaos as a father and no place is safer than at a powerful Alpha’s side, right?

“Think with your head, not your heart, Mirabella,” I chastise myself. “You know you can do this. You know you have to!”

Swallowing deep, I close my eyes with my mind made up and pray to the Moon Goddess for forgiveness…wherever she might be.

***

He walks in with the same air as yesterday, dressed in black again and looking at me with a gaze that gives nothing away. In his hands, he’s holding a large black envelope, and before I answer, I take a deep breath.

“I’ll do it,” 

Alpha Nikolaos was standing at the foot of the bed with one hand in his pocket, the other cradling that envelope. He takes two steps towards me and places the envelope in my lap.

“Read through the terms and conditions before signing your body over to me,” he simply says with no happiness in his voice. Didn’t he want this? Shouldn’t he sound happier?

Biting back a comment, I open up the envelope and start reading the three-page contract. It basically states that I will be the surrogate and after giving birth, I have to stay in a separate apartment to recover for a month while expressing enough breast milk for the pup to thrive without a mother. 

Then, and only after this, will he pay to have my appearance changed if I need it, a bank account opened with 3 million in funds, and a ticket to anywhere in the world.

In the agreement, there is also a part that stipulates I am to have a full checkup before my heat, the insemination is to start during my heat, and to have monthly checkups up until one month after birth. I’m not allowed to look the child up or take the child away again. No contact will be allowed at all. 

“I accept,” I say with a heavy heart, and he hands me a pen. I simply sign my name since I am supposed to have amnesia. Then I give him the envelope back. 

He nods his head when he takes the envelope from me. “Good. I’ll allow you to rest up and heal completely before we start. There will be a bodyguard with you twenty-four-seven since you’ll be carrying my precious cargo for the next few months.”

His precious cargo; is this just a simple transaction to him? Gods, I think I’m going to be sick. I might have just signed my first-born over to a monster. Then again, Mikhail is terrified of this Alpha, so that may just be the case.

“Will a bodyguard be necessary? It’s not like I’ll ever leave this place,” I say, frowning at the mention of a bodyguard.

“True, you’re not allowed to leave my property, but you still need to be guarded, nonetheless. You never know who will decide to be stupid enough to break into my pack house,” he says with that ever-present hand in the pocket of his slacks.

Something occurs to me then, and I get to my feet when he’s about to walk out. “How do I know you won’t kill me after this?” I squeak out with a tightness around my throat. 

Chuckling, he turns around and saunters over to me with a predatory grin on his face. “Unlike the men you were running from, I value honesty, kouneláki. And if I am to get what I want from you, then I will uphold my end of the deal, just as I expect you to uphold yours.”

His spice and leather autumn scent makes my head swim and I take a step back. “You… won’t kill me after I give you what you want?”

He shakes his head. “I have no reason to kill the woman who will birth my firstborn. They may know me as a fucking beast, but I’d never do something so despicable.” After this, he turns on his heel and storms out, leaving me gasping for air. 

The man is like a whirlwind; storming into the room and shaking me to my very core. I’m always left in a mess when he leaves. His entire presence is overwhelming!

The upside is that after this, I’ll be a new person with a fresh start even if… I’ll be leaving a child behind. I sit down on the bed and feel a heaviness bearing down on my chest, leaving me breathless.

I have to think about myself for a change; I need to put myself first and do this for me. The guilt, sadness, and anger can come later.