Chapter 47

ANASTASIA MULBERRY

If she hadn’t personally experienced the moment herself or the very real pressure of his lips against hers, Anastasia would have found it impossible to believe it.

An hour had passed since she was locked lips with the big bad Alpha and even now, while she stood in the bathroom, staring back at her reflection in the mirror, she still savoured the taste of him on the tip of her tongue.

“How could you kiss him back?” She groaned aloud as she reached out to turn on the taps and splash some water on her face in hopes of forcing some sense into her.

When the first splash didn’t work, she tried a second and then third time. And then, when she could still feel his kiss on her lips, she reached for her toothbrush and began brushing her teeth, making sure to use her extra minty toothpaste. However, it appeared that his minty taste trumped it all.

Knowing that he was only two doors away from her made everything all that much worse.

It was only when a knock sounded on the door was Anastasia pulled out of her thoughts, reaching for a towel to press against her face as she waddled out of the ensuite bathroom and toward her bedroom door, completely in the dark as to who was behind it.

Whoever it was, she just hoped it wasn’t Alpha Marcellus back for more. Anastasia sincerely doubted that if he tried to make another move on her, she would be able to resist. As if she had been able to resist him the first time.

When her eyes landed on an energetic Raphael and a mellow Justas, both with hopeful and expectant looks on their faces, a sigh of relief escaped her.

As she entertained her friends, thoughts of the Alpha quickly slipped from her mind.

Anastasia didn’t know what to do regarding the awkward situation that she had put herself in, so it warranted giving the big bad Alpha a taste of his own medicine. If he could avoid her, then she could certainly do the same to him.

“Where did you go after breakfast?” A curious voice sounded from the passenger seat of the car, turning slightly to look at her as he spoke.

“To my room.” Anastasia stated simply, her eyes briefly washing over him as she turned her head to stare out the window, watching the forest pass by as they continued to drive off pack territory and toward the nearest baby furniture store.

“But I saw you come out of the Alpha’s office.”

She stilled in her seat and her head slowly turned to face Raphael, surprised by his comment.

“If you knew I was in the Alpha’s office, then why did you bother asking me where I was?” Anastasia snorted, her lips tugging higher at the corners as she stared back at him.

Justas merely remained in silence, more than happy to allow the two friends to continue taking jabs at each other; their actions playful despite how it may appear to an outsider.

“I wanted to hear what excuse you would come up with.” Raphael shrugged and grinned, staring intently at her friend. “So, what were you doing in his office?” He asked like the nosy git that he was.

Since Anastasia knew that her best friend would be able to tell if she lied, she decided to just go with the truth. Or rather, as close as she could get to the truth without incriminating herself.

“I went to confront the Alpha as to why he had been avoiding me these past couple of days.” She chuckled, rolling her eyes slightly as she turned her head to glance out the window.

Raphael tutted playfully and shook his head. “What did I tell you about getting on the Alpha’s bad side?”

“Not to.”

“And what did you do?”

“I had a polite conversation with him?” Anastasia stated even though it came out as more of a question, unable to hold back the chuckle that escaped at the end.

Raphael groaned while Justas laughed, both completely opposite reactions which just made it all that much funnier.

Anastasia wasn’t really in the mood for shopping, especially since she had hoped to slip in a nap before lunch but when Justas and Raphael dropped by her room with the offer, wanting to grab a few last things for the baby and the new cottage that they had just finished getting built a few minutes away from the pack house, she just couldn’t refuse.

Thinking about the baby growing inside her made her smile and frown at the same time, such conflicting emotions that she was certain that her face had settled on an uncomfortable grimace.

She was just glad that neither Justas or Raphael was paying her particular attention and so didn’t realise that she was struggling with her innermost thoughts.

Perhaps it was because she was so far into the pregnancy and near the end, or perhaps it was because Raphael and Justas were officially moving out of the pack house today in preparation for the baby, but Anastasia couldn’t help but feel a certain way.

While she had agreed to be a surrogate for her friends – and still felt great about helping them out in this life changing way – a part of her couldn’t help but feel sad whenever she thought about the fact that the baby wouldn’t be going home with her after birth but rather, would be going home with Justas and Raphael to their perfect little home to be part of the perfect little family that they were starting together.

She kept telling herself that this was a natural feeling, that any other surrogate woman must go through such emotions and feelings however, she couldn’t quite be certain as she had never met another surrogate before. However, from the few YouTube videos that she had been watching lately about a surrogates’ views of their own personal pregnancy journey, everyone else said it was completely normal and expected.

Anastasia wasn’t sure if she had grown too attached to the baby growing inside of her or if she was just lonely, but one thing she was completely sure of was the fact that she was glad she was carrying the baby for her friends and would be able to see them and the baby whenever she wanted.

Either way, she sincerely hoped these feelings would pass soon.

It was when that they were heading into the third store, having already to place their bags in the car, that Anastasia stilled and squinted off into the distance, her eyes lingering on a familiar mop of mousey blonde hair that was now heading in her direction with a wide grin on his face.

“Anastasia?” Raphael called out to her in question, glancing back at her from over his shoulder, momentarily pausing as she stopped following the couple. “Are you not coming in with us?”

“Just give me a moment.” She murmured quietly before turning her back on Justas and Raphael, and going back the way she had just come.

“Fancy running into you here.” Harvey whistled lowly, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, his eyes lingering on her heavy belly, looking big enough to pop now.

“I could say the same thing about you.” Anastasia laughed softly as she came to a stand in front of him, her hands braced on her back which had started to ache slightly from having been walking around for the better half of an hour now.

“It must not be long now.” Harvey murmured absentmindedly, his eyes lingering on her stomach for another few seconds before travelling up to her face. His face transformed into a sheepish look when he met her mirth filled eyes and realised that he had been caught staring. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologise.” Anastasia chuckled and waved a dismissive hand in the air. “This far along, people stop and stare all the time.”

“Just how far along are you?”

“Eight and a half months.” She sighed, though her lips twisted up into a small smile and one of her hands travelled over to press against the side of her belly where the baby was currently kicking.