Page 48 of The Wolf's Surrogate

“I’d like that so much. I want to meet your sister too.”

He choked and then covered it up with a cough, holding his fist in front of his mouth while trying to recover. As soon as he was done, he cleared his throat loudly and pointed to a nearby playground. “How about we go over there?”

Laughter and shouts echoed from the playground where small animals darted around the colorful equipment. A fewchildren in their human forms climbed a ladder and went down a slide, turning into various animals at the bottom. Most everyone was naked.

I tried to keep my eyes on the ground as I felt far too awkward to look at anyone.

Liam nudged me. “It’s okay. You’ll get used to the nudity.”

“I just don’t want to be rude.”

“Don’t look at anybody’s crotch and you’re good.”

I chuckled nervously. “What great advice. I think I’ll remember that for life outside the pack too.”

“I feel like that’s a good one to respect for anybody, yeah.”

I looked up at him then, feeling a wave of affection cast directly at me from his eyes alone. He smiled with his eyes closed, huffed happily like he had in his wolf state, and then swung my hand lightly.

“So,” I whispered while turning to the shifter kids, “this will be what it’s like for the baby I’m having, right?”

“Yep. They’ll be able to shift between human and wolf form by the time they’re three.”

My hand mindlessly moved to my stomach. I was going to be a shifter mother. I was going to be part of this world.

A hurtful pang stung my gut. I pressed my fingers into my coat, trying to reach my stomach and the life that was quickly developing within.

No, I wasn’t going to be a shifter mother. I wasn’t going to be any kind of mother once I handed the child over to Liam. When the time came, would he ask me to stick around?

Or would he send me away the moment I fulfilled my purpose?

Chapter 15 - Liam

Anxiety gnawed at the back of my mind on the way back home. Anita held my hand loosely—she didn’t use the same pressure inspired by enthusiasm as she had when we initially left the house. Her expression had drooped slightly, the dimples in her cheeks that typically lit up her face hiding behind a slight pout.

While the pout accentuated the plumpness of her lips, I sensed she wasn’t entirely herself.

I kicked up a rock that was hidden in the dirt road, listening to it clatter ahead. “What’s on your mind, Ani?”

She glanced up at me with round eyes and parted lips. A second passed before she whispered, “What?”

“You seem to be lost in thought.”

“Oh, I guess this is a lot for me to handle.”

My house came into view, nestled in the trees well away from the main neighborhood, about fifty yards of space to be precise. It helped to have a sense of separation from the neighborhood. I would do just about anything to protect these people as long as I had my privacy at the end of the day.

I ran my thumb over the back of Anita’s hand. “Tell me about it.”

“Doesn’t it bother you to hide?”

I turned my attention to the sky, a purple hue streaking the blue where the blanket of night was beginning to take over. “Sometimes. But I’ve learned to live with it.”

“Do you ever hang out with humans?”

“I don’t make a habit of it.”

She bit her lower lip while retracting her hand, using it to rub her neck. “Do you ever…hook up with humans?”

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