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

Chapter 23

ALPHA MARCELLUS STORM

What's wrong with her? His wolf demanded to know in a panicked tone. What did you do to her?

I didn't do anything! Marcellus roared back as he ran toward the pack house with his mate in his arms, still clutching her stomach with her face scrunched up in pain. With the way she was so absorbed into whatever she was feeling, it was almost as if she was completely unaware of what was going on around her or more specifically, completely unaware that she was in his arms and he was attempting to run as fast as he could without jostling her around too much to avoid the risk of worsening the already precarious situation.

If you didn't do anything to her, then why is she like this?

I have no idea. He growled but thankfully, was greeted with the sight of a very sleepy pack doctor waiting for him outside the pack hospital. But he better have some answers.

"Alpha?" The pack doctor, Hugh, asked, his lingering on Anastasia in his arms. "What's wrong with Anastasia?"

"I don't know. She was fine one second and then hunched over and screaming the next." Marcellus couldn't help but grumble as he walked through the doors of the building as soon as Hugh had unlocked them. "You need to examine her now and find out what's wrong."

As this was his profession and field of expertise, Hugh didn't need to be told twice as he geared up and began with the examination, asking Anastasia a series of questions all throughout.

Marcellus felt like he had disconnected from his body and was somehow watching this scene playout from the sidelines. He couldn't move and he couldn't speak, his body paralysed with fear as he drowned out whatever the doctor was saying. He was unable to do anything but stare down at the human he had spent weeks ignoring and denying her existence only for this to happen.

He could only imagine what could have happened if he had never been there. If she had been alone tonight sitting outside the pack house or even worse, by herself at her house with no one to help. If he had simply told her that they were mates the moment they met, he could have been there for her today without it being a coincidence.

It was a difficult pill to swallow, knowing that you had fucked up but Marcellus was determined to make things right with his little spitfire.

Does that mean you're finally going to tell her she's our mate?

Yes. His confirmation was barely above a whisper. But we need to wait for the right moment. We need to ease her into this.

As much as his wolf wanted to argue, another part of him also couldn't help but agree. With their mate so far into her pregnancy, only a week or two away from labour, he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardise her or the baby.

Neither Marcellus nor his wolf had any idea how she would react after learning the fact that they were mates and he had been hiding it from her this whole time, even more so since he had told her about looking for a choice mate however, he knew for a fact that it would be far from positive.

With her no-bullshit attitude, he didn't expect nothing short of being shunned by her so if that was going to happen, they couldn't help but come to the consensus that it was probably best to wait until after she had given birth. Just to stay on the safe side.

If anything happened to her or the baby just because he was too selfish to wait another few weeks, Marcellus would never be able to forgive himself and he didn't plan on carrying around that sort of guilt for the rest of his life. Not when it concerned the happiness and well-being of his mate.