The Panther's Surrogate: A Paranormal Pregnancy Romance (19 page)

“I just figured since we were having a serious talk, maybe you wanted to pick somewhere you were comfortable with.”

“Sure. I know the perfect place.”

He nodded and they began to walk toward the front door, both more nervous than they were ever likely to admit. He led her down to his car and they climbed in to go to the restaurant. She gave him directions and they drove through the dark city mostly in silence, since both of them didn’t know how to bring up the topic they actually needed to talk about: the baby. Instead of talking, they remained silent, each trying to figure out how to broach the topic without offending anyone. But their nerves got in the way and they both chose to remain silent instead of taking that leap together.

Julia figured they would have time to talk at the restaurant and Charles had never been in this situation, so he figured the best thing to do would allow Julia to take the reins.  It still didn’t help with the nerves, though and both of them hoped by the time they were seated, the tension would’ve dissolved by then.

***

The restaurant Julia had picked wasn’t a romantic one, by any means. She had decided instead to go for a noisy Italian restaurant where they wouldn’t be overheard and they wouldn’t feel uncomfortable if there were stunted silences. She wanted a place that would distract them if things became too awkward, since a lot of the patrons that went to Mama Santos’ were of varying backgrounds, which created great people-watching time.

Plus, she was also craving some gnocchi and this was the best place to have it.

When they arrived at the restaurant, it was already bustling with families of all shapes and sizes. She looked around the restaurant, hoping to see a free table, and sighed when there weren’t any.

“Do you come here often?” Charles asked curiously, as they went up to the hostess stand.

Before Julia could respond, the hostess lit up. “Julia! Darling! Where have you been for the past few weeks? We’ve missed you! And who is this handsome man you are bringing here as…hopefully your date?” the woman asked, winking at Julia.

Julia blushed crimson and Charles laughed beside her.

“I take it you do come here a lot, he said, nudging her.

“The people are the best. And the food is just as good.” Julia said trying to tone down her blush so that she resembled a normal person instead of a tomato.

“Good to hear, darling!” the woman gushed, putting a hand on her arm and grabbing two menus.

“I’ll take you outside. It’s not as loud.” The woman said before Julia could even think to protest. She didn’t want quiet, she wanted loud. “Plus it’s more romantic,” the   woman added, winking at her and making Charles laugh some more.

Julia blushed again a bright red as the woman led them out onto the patio.

“I hope you enjoy.” The hostess winked them and then took off to go help at the hostess stand.

Julia frowned, seeing only a few other couples on the patio before turning to their own table. She blinked in surprise when she saw Charles had pulled out her seat for her.

“Oh! Thanks.” She sat down and put her purse under her chair.

“You’re welcome.” He slid into the seat across from her.

They both stared at each other before Charles decided to break the silence. “So you come here often?” he asked playing with the silverware on the table.

“Yeah, yeah. Um…a few times a month.”

“That’s neat. So you know what’s good here?” he asked picking up the menu.

“Honestly, everything is great. I’m partial to the gnocchi, but that’s just me.” She glanced at her menu. She figured she might as well get a salad too. Since she rarely got a salad, she knew she’d actually have to look at the menu.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, beginning to look through his menu.

She nodded and the table fell silent as they picked out what they would like to eat. Before either of them tried to make conversation, a waiter appeared next to their table with a nervous expression and a pad and pencil.

“I’m Wilber, I’ll be taking care of you this evening,” he said nervously.

Julia smiled and looked over at Charles who was looking at the selection of wines.

“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked, looking over at them and waiting for them to order something. He was poised with a pencil and his pad.

“Sure. I’ll have a water with lemon,” Julia said and then looked over at Charles.

“And I’ll just have a scotch on the rocks,” Charles said, putting down the wine list.

The waiter nodded, “Any appetizers or would you like a few minutes?”

“Fried ravioli.” Julia ordered quickly. She had a craving for that as well.

“Coming right up,” the waiter said, smiling at them and then making his way toward the doors that headed to the kitchen.

“I was going to order wine. I had forgotten about your…condition,” Charles said sheepishly.

She smiled sadly. “I know, wine is one of the finer things I miss.” She pouted slightly at the knowledge she still had a ways to go before she could drink anything alcoholic.

“So, I guess we should talk about that.” He waved to her stomach.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” She covered her stomach self-consciously.

“So how many months along are you?”

“I’m about fifteen weeks along.”

He nodded, taking in that information.

“I want to apologize again for that night. I mean, I really do like you, I just didn’t want to put you in a forced situation.” He said uncomfortable.

She shrugged and gave him a small smile. “Well, we’re in an uncomfortable situation now and I guess we need to deal with that. I like you a lot too, Charles, but I’m really not sure how any of this is going to work. I mean, do we have shared custody? Do we get to know each other and hope it works out for the best? And what about this Ball and Alpha stuff? What are we going to do about all of this?” she asked, twisting her napkin in her lap nervously. “It’s just all so new and…different. I don’t know…I mean, it’s scary.” She stuttered, trying to get a hold on her emotions.

She had been holding them back for so long. She was sure if they continued talking about this, she would break. She hadn’t dealt with anything about the pregnancy, it was all about wondering if Charles was going to be involved. Now that they were talking about his involvement she didn’t know how to handle anything else.

She was scared and she had no idea what to do. She knew that Charles was scared and he had no idea what to do, either. It was all a very tense situation and neither of them knew how to handle it, which made navigating the waters even more detrimental.

“I’m just really scared about all of this,” she said finally.

“I know what you mean. I never thought that this would happen. I mean, I’ve always been so careful but I think I was just distracted,” he said quietly, looking up to meet her eyes.

“Distracted? By what?” she asked, confused.

“By you. You were so nice and sweet that night. And then I think we just got carried away. I suppose the alcohol didn’t help either. I like spending time with you, I just…I didn’t want to make you come and help me maintain my Alpha status for my pack.” He was looking away and toward something over her shoulder.

“I think it’s a little too late for that, but how about we start over? Maybe we can work through everything now. We both like each other, obviously, and now it’s time that we figure everything out.”

“Right, I agree.” He nodded eagerly.

“So how does this Alpha thing work? I mean do I come live with you? Do I stay in my apartment? How does this work?” she asked curiously.

He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when the waiter brought them their appetizer and their drinks. They each ordered their main course and then they dug into the food before he began to answer her question.

“It’s not as complicated as people think. Basically, I took over as Alpha when my father died. It’s a generational thing, but after a year of being Alpha, someone has the authority to duel him for Alpha status, but only if they have not found a mate and produced a child. Since you're pregnant with my child, you're considered to be my mate and, well the child part is obvious,” he said, smiling slightly.

“Right. So the guy who answered the door when I came to visit is the guy who wants to duel you for Alpha status.”

“Right. That’s Bradley and we’ve always…well, it’s complicated between us. He was adopted into the pack when he was young and my father took him under his wing. My father and I didn’t have the best relationship and Bradley made it even worse between us, especially as my father’s death approached. I think Bradley thought he would be made Alpha because of their relationship, but since I’m the blood son, I was obviously the Alpha.”

“So Bradley wants to take this away from you?” she asked just to clarify.

“Right. See, no one really follows the rules of the mate and the child. Bradley just wants to bring up how I’m not a fit member to lead the pack. Everyone had honestly forgotten until he brought it up in one of our monthly meetings.” He rolled his eyes as his mind replayed the night of those events.

“Monthly meetings?” she asked surprised.

He nodded.  “Yeah, we have meetings with other pack leaders so that we can keep a good relationship with all of the surrounding packs.”

“Alright, so after a year as a leader – sorry, Alpha – this guy, Bradley is threatening to duel you for leadership because you haven’t settled down,” she said, summarizing everything she had just learned.

“Pretty much,” he said, taking the last piece of ravioli.

“That sucks.”

“Yeah, well life isn’t fair and all that jazz.”

“Still, there must be some rule that overrides that,” she said, frowning.

He shrugged again and leaned back in his chair. “It doesn’t matter now. The ball is supposed to be when I announce if I have a mate and a child on the way so that the pack knows I’m taking it seriously. This is when Bradley can back down, but he also has the option of continuing to threaten me. The thing is, if he wins, he gets to claim you and the child as well,” Charles explained, sipping at his scotch.

“Wait, what?” she asked, staring at him as if she had never seen him before. “What did you just say?” she asked again, leaning forward, wanting to make sure what he had said was correct.

“He can claim you if he wins. But he’s not going to win and he’s not going to claim you,” Charles said as if that settled the matter.

“But what if he does? I didn’t like that guy at all! How am I supposed to be with him?” she asked appalled.

“First of all, he’s not going to win. Second of all, you aren’t going to be with him and third of all, this is why I didn’t want to get you involved in the first place. I didn’t want to force this type of thing on you. I’m sorry.” He ducked his head in guilt and avoided her gaze.

“This is so sexist.” She mumbled in annoyance.

He shrugged and offered her a small smile. “It’s the way of my world. Listen, I'm sorry about all of this. The only person who knows anything is my right hand man, Stuart, so if you still want to back out of this, you can. I’ll be able to take on Bradley, I just don’t want to force you into anything.”

“What happens if I don’t want to be involved?”

“Then I won’t be allowed to see the child or have a relationship with it.” The words hung in the air around them and neither of them could shake the weight of their meaning. If that was the case, then Julia knew she wasn’t going to allow this man to give up seeing his child just because she was frightened. If he was so determined that he was going to beat this Bradley guy, then she would stand by his side.

“Alright. I’ll do it. I’ll go to this ball and you’ll win and Bradley won’t ever bother us again.” She said with a solid nod.

He grinned and reached over the table to take her hand. “That’s the spirit.” He surprised both of them by picking her hand up and giving it a light kiss.

They smiled at each other, both feeling lighter than they had since they had both sat down to talk. It seemed like everything was beginning to come together and they couldn’t be more grateful. Julia was happy that she was getting to know Charles, and Charles was happy that Julia was going along with his way of life.

The dinner was a nice affair with both Julia and Charles able to open up to one another. Julia felt herself falling more in love with Charles and Charles felt himself growing more in love with Julia. By the end of the night, they were both happy with the direction their relationship was going in, and Charles promised that everything would be perfect for the Ball that weekend.

The Final Chapter

Julia felt nervous as she got ready for the Ball on Saturday night. She had picked out some things to wear at her favorite boutique, and although she had to get a bigger size than she would normally wear, she still thought she looked pretty damn good in the dress she chose.  She’d decided on a midnight blue chiffon dress that flowed down to the floor. She had picked out a pair of trendy sandals, gold jewelry that she hadn’t worn in a very long time and last, but not least, she had decided to put her hair up in a loose bun with an array of curls hanging down from it.

She spent most of the day getting ready for the night by painting her nails, doing makeup, and shaving in places she hadn’t shaved for quite some time. She was nervous about showing up at the Ball, especially because everyone would want to meet her. And she was nervous – although she tried not to think about it too much – about whether or not Charles would win the duel. She had no idea what to expect for that night, but she did know that it was going to be a life-changing night.

She was scared she’d end up in the clutches of Bradley, but what she was most afraid of was that she would end up getting exactly what she wanted, a life with Charles. She was fearful of all the changes that were going on and the small possibility that maybe he was only interested in her because she held his destiny in her womb. Maybe he only wanted her to come to the Ball because it showed everyone he was settling down, albeit with a woman who he barely knew.

She had no idea what to expect and that scared her most of all. What if something terrible happened at the Ball, like Charles actually died, and Bradley took over. She couldn’t even fathom Bradley and her together. He had struck her as being dangerous and someone she would not want to spend a large time around, let alone married to.

She tried to get rid of all of these thoughts going around in her head as she finished getting ready, but it was close to impossible. All of the “what-ifs” and “coulds” were swirling around her brain until she felt dizzy with all of the possibilities that the night could bring.

She tried to calm herself down by reminding herself that everything would be okay. She knew everything was going to be okay, but her overly creative imagination was making her wonder what was going to happen if it wasn’t okay.

She finished getting ready and then made her way down to her car to set off for the Ball. It was a pretty long drive to the mansion, so she turned up the music so she wouldn’t have to think about the night’s events. When she arrived at the mansion she was in awe about what she was seeing. She had yet to be in the mansion.

She sat in the car gaping up at the huge mansion and taking in the many cars that were in the driveway. She sat in a long line for valet parking and she wondered exactly how rich Charles was. Was he the one who owned the house or was that someone else? Was he really as rich as the mansion led her to believe, or was there something she was missing?  She couldn’t get over how monstrous the mansion was and how beautifully decorated the gardens around the house were decorated. Eventually it was her turn for valet parking and she handed the man her keys before going up the stone steps and into the mansion.

When she walked in, her breath left her at how stunning everything was. The place was very crowded. There had to be more than a hundred people in the rooms around her alone and she couldn’t imagine how many other people must be milling around as well. She began to walk through the crowd, wondering if she’d be able to find Charles but she finally spotted him standing with a few other men, deep in conversation.

She decided to take a step in that direction, but hesitated when she saw Charles begin to speak very heatedly. She could tell because he was using his hands for a lot of gesturing. She gulped and decided instead to head over to the bar where there was a long enough line that would allow her to be busy for a few minutes.

She was nervous about being at the mansion and she was nervous about being at the Ball. What had she been thinking? She knew absolutely no one here except for Charles and she was too afraid to even approach him. Maybe she could just leave and go home. But she had promised that she would come for his sake and she knew that if she left it would be a bigger repercussion than she wanted to deal with since her child wouldn’t have a father if she left.

Still she gnawed on her bottom lip as she decided what scenario would be best.

“Well if it isn’t the woman of the hour,” a voice said from behind her.

Julia whipped around and came face to face with Bradley, the one person she really could’ve done without seeing ever again in her life. She realized, looking upon Bradley’s face, that he was creepy and she had no intention of spending any more time with him than was necessary. She hoped to God Charles would win this stupid duel because she was definitely not staying with this man for the rest of her life.

“Charles told me you were coming,” he said, leaning in to her.

She took a step back and gave him a stiff smile. “I’m here,” she said shortly.

“Did he tell you about the duel?” he asked, leering at her.

“He did.” She was trying to keep her responses short and to the point.

“So what do you say you and me go upstairs and get a little head start on our life together.” He was smirking down at her.

She blinked, appalled by his suggestion and opened her mouth to respond, but was swiftly cut off by an arm wrapping around her waist. She stiffened at the sudden contact and looked up to tell the person to go away when she found Charles standing beside her, scowling down at Bradley.

“Bradley, I do believe you're hovering over my mate. I suggest you go somewhere else.” He said it casually, but there was an underlining note of threat in his tone.

Bradley frowned, “Are you telling me what to do, Charles? Because I seem to recall we have a duel to fight and I will love to see how well you stand against me. I cannot wait until I can taste your beautiful mate for myself, as well. She does look simply delectable in that dress.” The look on his face was lecherous as he took in her revealing dress.

Julia felt suddenly uncomfortable standing there in a room full of people as the two panthers stared at each other. She wished she had gone with a less revealing dress too, but there was nothing she could do about it now, but stand there and try not to let her emotions show on her face.

“How about we duel right now, Bradley. Forget about the end of the night. You seem to want to threaten my Alpha status enough that you will do and say anything that it takes for you to be in my shoes. So let’s do this. Now.” Charles announced making the previously loud room go silent.

Julia froze beside him, not knowing what to do or say. Should she even say anything except stand there and look pretty? She hadn’t been briefed on this part yet and a portion of her wished she had just gone to find Charles when she first arrived instead of avoiding the situation.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a slight change in tonight’s events. Bradley is going to duel me now. He seems to have a problem with my leadership and wants to take my mate, who is carrying our child. We'll meet in the basement in ten minutes to duel it out. Life or death.” He said and everyone seemed to run for the basement at once.

“See you downstairs, brother,” Bradley said, smirking at Charles and then turning to Julia. “And you, fair maiden, go warm our bed for me.” He winked at her. Julia glared at him, appalled, and then turned to look at Charles in disbelief. “Life or death?” Julia breathed, staring at him in awe.

He gave her an apologetic look and kissed her on her forehead. “I’m sorry, Julia, but I need to do this. He has said his peace for the final time and I will not stand to be disrespected anymore.” Charles said.

Julia gulped and then nodded slowly. “Good luck,” she said and then pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Thank you.” He kissed her back, hard on the mouth. They got lost in each other’s presence before Charles violently ripped himself away from her. He gave her a sad smile and then placed a hand on her baby bump. “I’ll see you on the other side.” He then kissed her again hard before heading downstairs with the rest of the people going to the basement.

Julia took deep steady breaths and tried to tell herself that everything would be fine. Charles would win and she wouldn’t have to ever see Bradley again. But a traitorous voice in the back of her head kept asking what would happen if Bradley did win. Could she get away before they caught up to her? Would she be able to live a life with Bradley and not cringe when he looked at her?

She seriously doubted it and she had already made up her mind to run if Bradley did win. She refused to ever be touched by that man. Yes, she’d run if she had to, to escape Bradley. But hopefully that wouldn’t be the case, especially since she wasn’t sure if she could get away. Would the crowd force her to be with Bradley? From what she could tell most of the people in the pack and crowd were avid supporters of Charles, if the yells were anything to go by.

The crowd grew louder as words were exchanged, but Julia couldn’t hear what they said from her placement near the door. She stood on tiptoe, trying to see what was going on and then she watched in awe as both men began to strip off their clothes. She looked around to see if this was a common occurrence and then her eyes widened when she saw the two men get on all fours and transform themselves into panthers.

She knew they were panthers, but to see them shift before her eyes was anything short of amazing. She couldn’t believe her eyes as two men became animals before her. She held her breath as they began to circle each other. She couldn’t tell who was who, since they both looked so similar, but for some reason, she had a suspicion that the crowd could. As the panthers circled each other, the crowd became louder and louder until Julia wondered if they would disturb the neighbors.

She watched as one panther lunged for the other and tackled him to the ground. She brought a hand up to her mouth and watched them as they wrestled together, angry grows and roars being heard over the din of the room. One panther clawed the other panther’s face and she gasped when she saw blood begin to pour from the panther’s eye. The panther that wasn’t bleeding lunged again at the bleeding panther and took his neck in his mouth.

The bleeding panther roared and head butted him away. She watched as they began to circle each other again and then the bleeding panther lunged for the other one and they were tackled to the ground once again. The bleeding panther got the other panther’s neck it its mouth, but the other panther flipped them so that the bleeding panther was on the bottom.

Julia watched as the fight progressed and each lunged at each other or clawed one another. As the fight went on, both panthers were scratched and bitten. She could tell they were getting tired and she continued to gnaw her lip in anxiety as she wondered who was going to win.

It didn’t help that she couldn’t tell them apart either. Finally, the panther who had drawn first blood lunged for the last time at the other’s neck and snapped it before the panther could do anything else. There was a gasp of silence and then the crowd watched as the panther shifted into human form.

Julia held her breath as she waited to see who won and then she let out a cheer with the rest of the basement when Charles stood up in all of his naked glory on shaky legs. He raised his hands in victory, even though he was a bleeding mess, and he said a thank you to the crowd. His right hand man, Stuart, came over with a blanket and draped it over him as he hobbled through the crowd. The crowd seemed to part before him and then as if he had been drawn to her, he came to Julia with a tired smile and blood staining his skin.

“My mate.” He greeted, taking her hand in his and kissing the soft skin.

She smiled shyly at him and tried to ignore all of the other people staring at them in interest. “You won.” She wanted to hug him, but didn’t want to hurt him anymore.

“Did you doubt me?” he asked smirking at her.

She blushed and looked down. “Only a little.”

He laughed and wrapped an arm around her to bring her close. He bent down and placed a soft kiss to her lips. A chaste kiss that tasted like promises, hopes, and dreams.

Despite the difficult journey they had taken to get to that point, Julia was glad she had stayed and had faith in Charles. She knew the journey before them would be difficult, as well with the baby, but as long as they had each other she knew they could do it.