Reborn To Ruin The Alpha

The Devil’s Contract

CHAPTER 2: The Devil's Contract**

The consultation room was smaller than I remembered. White walls, a single desk, two chairs facing each other. A vase of fake lilies sat on the corner of the desk. The petals were dusty.

Sylvia walked in exactly two minutes after I sat down. She wore a charcoal suit and her silver-streaked hair was pulled back tight. Her eyes were dark brown, almost black, and they swept over me with clinical precision.

In the first timeline, I sat in this chair shaking. I could barely make eye contact. I thanked her three times for the opportunity before she even spoke.

Not today.

"Evelyn." Sylvia said my name like she was tasting it. She extended her hand and I shook it. Her grip was firm and cold. "Thank you for coming in. I understand you're interested in our surrogacy program."

"I am." I leaned back in my chair, keeping my body language open but unhurried. "I'd like to know more about the terms before I commit."

A flicker crossed her face. Surprise, maybe. The desperate ones never asked about terms. They just signed.

"Of course." She pulled a folder from her desk and slid it across. "The compensation is five hundred thousand dollars, paid upon delivery and completion of all contractual obligations. Medical care is fully covered. You'll attend weekly check-ups here at the clinic."

I opened the folder and let my eyes scan the pages. I already knew every word, but I took my time. Let her watch me read.

"The intended parents." I looked up. "Will I meet them?"

"The Alpha and his Luna prefer a degree of privacy during the early stages." Sylvia folded her hands on the desk. "You will meet them once medical clearance is confirmed."

"And the embryo? It's their genetic material?"

Another flicker. Faster this time. "That is correct. The embryo is created from the intended parents' contributions."

Liar.

I kept my face neutral and nodded. "Fine. What's next?"

The screening process took the rest of the morning. Blood draws, physical examinations, psychological evaluations. I answered every question the same way I had the first time. Stable mental health. No family history of genetic disorders. Strong physical constitution.

The lie about family history was easy. I had no family to speak of. Raised in foster care, no records of biological parents. At least, that was what I believed then.

Tina appeared during the blood draw. She was younger than me by a year or two, with dark skin and warm brown eyes that held too much sympathy for someone working at a place like this. Her hands were gentle as she tied the rubber band around my upper arm.

"You'll feel a small pinch," she said softly.

I counted the vials. One, two, three, four, five. Standard screening required three. In the first timeline I never noticed the extra two. Now I watched Tina slip them into a separate rack, her eyes darting to the door.

"Five vials seems like a lot," I said calmly.

Tina's hands stilled for half a second. Then she smiled that practiced, professional smile. "Just being thorough. We want to make sure everything is perfect for you."

"I'm sure you do."

Something passed between us. A look that lasted one beat too long. Tina finished labeling the vials and left without another word, but I filed that moment away carefully.

The screening results came back within a week. I was approved. The contract signing was scheduled for the following Monday.

I arrived at the clinic fifteen minutes early this time. The contract was thirty-two pages of legal language designed to strip every right from the surrogate while protecting the intended parents completely. I knew because I had studied surrogacy law for three straight days.

I signed anyway. Every page, every initial, every date.

My wolf growled in protest. She wanted to tear the papers apart, to flip the desk, to shift right there in that sterile white room. But I held her back.

"Trust me," I told her silently. "This is how we get close enough to hurt him."

She settled, but barely.

Sylvia collected the signed contract with what might have been a smile. "Wonderful. We'll schedule the embryo transfer for next week. In the meantime, you'll begin hormone treatments."

"And when do I meet the Alpha and his Luna?" I asked, standing from my chair.

"Soon." Sylvia's dark eyes held mine. "Very soon."

I left the consultation room and walked back through the lobby. It was busier now. A few other women sat in the waiting chairs, all with the same look I must have worn in my first life. Hopeful. Desperate. Willing to give anything for the money that would change their circumstances.

One woman caught my eye. She sat closest to the door, her leg bouncing with nervous energy. She had curly red hair and freckles scattered across pale skin. Her belly was already showing, maybe four or five months along. She looked up at me with wide blue eyes and gave a small wave.

"Hi," she said. "Are you new?"

"Yeah." I paused by her chair. "Just signed today."

"I'm Sandra." She extended her hand and I took it. Her palm was warm and slightly sweaty from nerves. "I'm five months in. It's not so bad once you get used to the appointments."

"Evelyn." I gave her a small smile. In the first timeline, Sandra and I became close. She was funny and loud and full of life. And then one day she was gone, transferred to another facility they said, and I never heard from her again.

"You look way too calm for someone who just signed," Sandra laughed nervously.

"I've been told I'm hard to read."

"Lucky you. I cried for an hour after I signed mine." She shook her head, her curls bouncing. "But the money, right? It's life-changing."

"It is." I squeezed her hand once and let go. "I'll see you around, Sandra."

I pushed through the glass doors into the sunlight and pulled in a deep breath of clean air. My wolf unclenched slightly, relieved to be out of that building.

I was halfway to my car when I caught it. The faintest shift in the air, a scent that did not belong to the parking lot, that did not belong to any of the staff inside.

Cedar and something darker. Something that smelled like danger wrapped in expensive cologne.

I turned slowly, as if I were simply checking my surroundings.

Across the parking lot, leaning against a black SUV, was a man I had never seen before. Tall, broad shoulders, dark hair pushed back from a sharp jaw. He was looking directly at me. Not even pretending otherwise. His arms were crossed over his chest and his expression held nothing but cold focus.

He was not Richard. He was not anyone from the clinic.

My wolf surged forward, not in fear but in recognition of something. Another predator. Another wolf whose power rolled off him like heat from asphalt.

He held my gaze for three full seconds. Then he pushed off the SUV, climbed inside, and drove away without a word.

I stood in the parking lot with my heart pounding, watching his taillights disappear down the road.