Chapter 63

Anastasia wasn’t sure how she had been granted her mate while her dad had been skipped, and while she had always hoped that she would be lucky enough to have a mate of her own – though believed it to be nothing short of wishful thinking as she wasn’t a wolf – she had never thought it would actually happen to her.

But now that it had and he was stood right behind it, it was unfortunate that she had to find out this way.

Him having kept it a secret was so much worse than him rejecting her that first day they had meant as all this time, he had been toying around with her, almost as if trying to decide what to do with her; whether to keep her or reject her. As masochistic as it sounded, Anastasia much preferred ripping off the band-aid than struggling as from past experience, she had learnt that the former hurt more in the moment but less in the long run, and she was all about the bigger picture.

While she had somehow been granted a mate, Anastasia didn’t feel much love right now, especially because he had chosen to keep their mate status a secret for this long. It was almost as if he was unsure or was ashamed of her and while Anastasia knew that she probably wasn’t the easiest person to get along with or even the most beautiful woman out there – especially when compared to she-wolves that were superior to an average human in almost every way – but she never imagined being treated this way.

While she far from deserved such treatment – or rather, mistreatment – she could pin it down to only two things. One, she was a mere human while he was an Alpha wolf and two, she had already been pregnant when they had met.

If she could go back in time and have a re-do, she wouldn’t change a thing about offering to be a surrogate for her friends, but it was sad that her mate didn’t see it the same way.

Anastasia had no doubt in her mind that when he had first set eyes on her in the den over a month ago, he had taken one look at her baby bump and deemed her undeserving of being his mate. Yet for some reason, he had decided to toy with her during that time and now that she had discovered the truth, the fire in the bottom of her stomach started ablaze, and not just because of her contractions which had become more regular now, about six minutes apart.

“I don’t think we should wait anymore.” Marcellus announced from behind her as he approached, choosing now to play the role of the doting mate that couldn’t stand to see their mate in pain. “I’d feel much better knowing that we’re with the pack doctor. Even if your contractions aren’t close enough yet.”

Before she could swirl around and give him a piece of her mind, another contraction hit. Unlike in the movies where the woman started screaming and swearing at her partner, Anastasia felt like the wind had been knocked out of her as she gasped quietly and reached over to brace herself on the desk, needing something to hold.

Some shuffling sounded behind her and before she knew it, she felt tingled all over her sides, travelling down.

With the sharp pain spiking through her body, she was unable to chastise him or push him away and just when the pain started to reduce, she was lifted into the air.

“What are you doing?” She was barely able to ask as he rushed out of the room, down the hallway and out of the pack house, careful not to jostle her too much.

“We can argue all you want later but right now; you need to get to the hospital.”

Very aware of the fact that now was not the time or place to demand the truth from her so-called mate, Anastasia bit her tongue and allowed him to carry her out of the room.

Or well, she tried to. When she felt her anger continue to bubble under the surface, Anastasia huffed and rolled her eyes. Before she could protest and demand that he put her down as she didn’t need his help, not after the way he had betrayed her by purposely omitting the truth, and especially for this long, another contraction hit.

From all the previous ones, this one lasted longer and was for more intense. She squeezed her eyes shut as a strangled moan escaped her, hunching over slightly as she became overwhelmed by the pain. As the wave passed and her breathing calmed, she opened her eyes only to find that they were already in the hospital in a private room, he had placed her down on the bed and both the doctor and Marcellus were currently staring at her while two nurses busied themselves with checking her vitals.

“You need to leave.” She demanded with a sharp look in her eyes, needing him to know that she was serious and that there was no room for negotiation.

“What?” Marcellus sounded in surprise, having been caught off guard by her sudden demand. “You want me to leave?”

“You heard me.” Anastasia huffed as she turned her head away so she wouldn’t have to look at him any longer, not after knowing what she now knew.

“Why do you want me to leave?”

She groaned into her hands and shook her head frantically, needing to leave and get out of her face before she lost her cool.

“I need you to call Raphael and Justas for me.”

When his eyes zoned out, she knew that he was using his mind link to call her friends and future parents, which also meant that he had no plans of leaving.

“I said call them! Not mind link them!” She snapped at him, having reached the end of the tether.

Marcellus frowned slightly as he stared at her, confused with her change of tone however, it was expected as she had started going into labour.

“What’s the difference?”

“The difference is that if you go and call them, that means you leave!”

Marcellus stilled and when he looked like he was going to protest yet again, she screamed at him once again but thankfully this time, he took heed to her words and decided to leave.

Once the door closed behind him, Anastasia released a sigh of relief and only wished that he actually called Raphael and Justas.

There was no way that she was going to have this baby without them here.

Anastasia was pulled out of her thoughts as the doctor approached the side of her bed, a worried grimace on his face.

“I suspect the Alpha went easy on you because you’re in labour, but if you want to keep your head, I would suggest you don’t scream at him again.” He informed her in a serious tone.

Anastasia gulped and barely shook her head before another contraction hit and once that had passed, they all left the room to give her some privacy while she got changed into the standard hospital gown.

By the time she had finished and called out to indicate that she was finished, Justas and Raphael had arrived. As she got settled on the bed again, the two mates flanked her by both sides as the doctor dipped between her legs only to announce that she was eight centimetres dilated and that it wouldn’t be long now until she was ready.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Justas murmured quietly, unable to look away from her and her protruding stomach where their son would live only for a little while longer as he was getting ready to join them in this world. “I can’t believe we’re going to be dads.”

Raphael blubbered, unable to form any words as he stared between his best friend and his mate. As she was a sympathetic crier, Anastasia felt tears spark her eyes as she turned her head to glance between both of the men.