The Surrogate Luna

“Rebecca Asher?” my heart pounded so loudly in my ears I couldn’t keep up with what the nurse was telling me. I was meeting the couple I would carry a baby for today, right now actually. They reviewed hundreds of applications but chose me. I didn’t know why, I was pretty vanilla as they come. College graduate with a bachelor's in nutritional science. I was petite, healthy, and employed.

I had been briefed a few weeks ago when I had donated a sample of my blood for analysis that I was enrolling in the surrogate program. Local packs had been gassed and left unharmed except for all becoming sterile who were of age at the time. Now, the demand for surrogates had skyrocketed. They paid well and even offered to provide housing while you carried their pup to term.

Our contract was simple but strict. Until it was confirmed you were pregnant you were to have no sexual relations (unless agreed upon by the adopting couple such as a husband or mate species depending.), no harmful substances like alcohol or drugs and you had to keep your doctor appointments with the couple’s schedule so they can be involved every step of the way.

I figured this was a good way to eliminate my largest expense, my housing, and make a nice chunk of money at the end of it all. Therefore, bulking up my savings and paying off all my school debt.

The large wooden door creaked as it slowly opened, my hands shook so I rang them together. My eyes locked with the couple on the couch who looked just as scared as I felt.

“Alpha and Luna Tobias, this is Rebecca Asher.” the nurse introduced us and sat in a chair by the desk. They both rose and the woman’s eyes filled with tears as her smile grew.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Rebecca! Please call me Alice and this is Daniel. We read about you in your file and you're even more than we could have expected.” I blushed as she took my hand and pulled me in for a hug instead of a handshake. The Alpha stood and slid his hands into his pockets. Once his wife had stopped suffocating me, he held out his hand for a gentle handshake.

“Right, let’s get down to the contract, this is where we can discuss the details if necessary and make any changes needed.” the old half-bald man behind the desk. We all took a chair surrounding his desk and reviewed a copy of our own contract agreement. It was pretty straight forward so no one really had many questions. This practice had grown quite common over the last few years and I was the third in my group of college friends to agree to be the surrogate for a wolf couple.

The nurse took the lawyer’s seat once all the forms were signed and copied.

“Now, Rebecca The Tobias’ have requested that we do the embryo transfer process as soon as possible. The provided egg and sperm arrived this morning in perfect condition from The High Council's donation bank. This is really up to you as long as the couple agrees.” I sunk back into my chair, I really didn’t want to be the one who had to call the shots. This wasn’t even my baby. I’m just the oven, it’s their bun.

“I guess as soon as I can, that’s the point of this agreement, right?” Alice beamed and asked to see the schedule for the doctor this week. My palms grew damp and the Alpha must have noticed, he took my hand and gave it a squeeze. His face was stoic but I could tell this was not his usual interactions with humans. I placed my hand on top of his and mouthed a thank you as the nurse listed the available dates.

“There’s an opening tomorrow at seven in the morning.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and agreed by signing the release to treatment and appointment form.

The whole meeting ended rather quickly actually. I wished the couple a good day and promised to meet them tomorrow. Alice especially needed the reassurance I'd actually show.

I left the clinic alone. My boots echoed through the long hallway. The wind outside cut through my coat like a knife. I wrapped my arms around me and started to walk back to the parking lot. I chewed my bottom lip aggressively while fidgeting for my keys in my pocket.

An old-school muscle car rolled past my little Mazda. His engine roared startling me, my keys ending up under my car after taking a leap of faith out of my hands. I rolled my eyes and glared at the guy hanging out the window. He winked as I stood back up, obviously having checked out my backside. His beard was short but thick and dark brown, his hair was undercut with the rest styled straight back. Tattoos adorned his skin from his neck to his fingertips.

I wished he had been shirtless so I could enjoy them in their entirety, but that black button-up shirt did look damn good. The whole look made me shiver inside. I hated myself a little for selfishly checking him out too. Once my door was open and I got in, he startled me again by zooming off into traffic, the whole parking garage rattling from his exhaust.