The Alpha's Surrogate [The Alpha's #1]

Chapter 12

ANASTASIA MULBERRY

Anastasia frowned and dropped her eyes, unable to look at him any longer. With his dark brown hair that appeared darker under the low dimmed lights of the den, his deep hazel eyes and strong jaw, she had a hard time paying attention to what he had to say as his looks were far too distracting.

Too bad he was a total asshole.

Despite her informing him of the fact that she was rightfully on pack lands with prior permission from the Beta, it appeared that Alpha Storm wasn't in a very agreeable mood, choosing to bark at her rather than speak to her. As if she was some sort of animal that didn't understand basic instructions.

She couldn't help but snort at the thought as he was far more animal than her.

"What's so funny?" Alpha Storm asked in a deep, throat voice, the sound of it quiet yet forceful as he questioned her, watching her every move and expression.

"Nothing." Anastasia lied quickly, not wanting to anger him anymore than he already was.

If she continued at this rate, she wouldn't be able to live long enough to meet the child she was bringing into the world, especially since she was aware of the short-tempers and anger issues that most Alpha's seemed to suffer from. Not that she would know as this was the first Alpha wolf that she had ever met but rather, this was something her father had mentioned to her a few times.

"What's your name?"

"Human." She rolled her eyes and when he growled at her, she gulped and regretted the attitude immediately.

Now was not the time to crack jokes, not when her life was being threatened by a very angry Alpha who looked like he would be able to squeeze the life out of her with just one arm.

"Don't act smart with me." He warned her with a growl, taking a threatening step closer which caused her take a step back yet lift her chin higher, confusing even herself with her conflictive actions.

"I'm not acting." She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, but immediately uncrossed them as she feared she would resemble a petulant child. "Anastasia."

A moment of silence passed, lasting so long that she had to glance up to make sure that the Alpha had heard her. Much to her surprise, he was staring intently at her, his eyes not even wavering when she stared back at him and held his gaze; not the least bit ashamed for being caught staring so blatantly.

She spied Raphael and Justas watching the exchange with wide eyes, but she was quick to turn her gaze back to the Alpha; still watching her with a neutral, slightly strained expression on his face. Almost as if he was battling his inner self or in this case his wolf.

"Anastasia what?" He mumbled quietly.

"Anastasia Mulberry." She replied in a slight daze, a pleasurable shiver running down her spine and her body tingling at the sound of her name rolling off his tongue, wrapping around each syllable perfectly.

"Anastasia Mulberry." Alpha Storm murmured quietly, reaching a hand up to rub against the underside of his jaw and over his mouth, almost as if he was trying to hide something.

She frowned at that but before she could question him about it, Justas chose that exact moment to inject Raphael and himself into the conversation.

"Alpha." Justas dared to take a step forward as he addressed the Alpha, pausing to clear his throat before he continued. "I asked permission from Beta Dalton before about Anastasia being on pack lands."

"But you didn't ask me." Alpha Storm snapped back almost immediately, glancing back at the two from over his shoulder, his hard, defined body still facing her.