The Bear's Surrogate: A Paranormal Pregnancy Romance (2 page)

Suddenly, Rachel’s foot snagged on an exposed root and she fell to the ground.  A sharp pain shot up from her ankle and she knew it was broken.  “That’s it, I’m done for,” she thought.  She sat on the ground, with her eyes closed, hoping that the dire wolf would grant her a swift death.

Suddenly a roar filled her ears.  Her eyes flew open and she saw a huge white grizzly bear charge from behind a tree at the large wolf.  The huge bear cuffed the large canine with a massive paw, sending it flying into one of the massive tree trunks.  The wolf let out a yelp of pain as it struck the tree and slid down to the ground.  It got up, shook its head and let out a low growl at the bear as it slunk back off into the woods. 

Rachel tried to scramble backwards as the large ursine approached her.  The bear was also one of the largest animals she had ever seen.  It was twice the size of a Kodiak bear, towering at twenty feet tall while on its hind legs, and almost seven feet tall when on all fours.  The coat was white as a polar bear’s, and its eyes were a striking blue.  This was the oddest bear she had ever seen.

The massive creature shambled towards her, trying not to be threatening.  It lay down in front of her and rolled onto its back in an unusual display of trust.  Rachel giggled at the huge creature’s antics, reached out, and touched its soft fur.

The bear rolled back over onto its stomach and looked at her with its bright blue eyes.  It sniffed at her injured ankle and looked back at her.

“Yes, I’m hurt, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said to the bear, not caring how crazy she sounded for talking to an animal, not like anyone was around to witness it.  “I think I broke my ankle when I was running away from that thing.  My ride won’t be here until the day after tomorrow, so I’m stuck.”

The bear looked at her ankle and sniffed it, then rose up and ambled away in the direction she ran from. She sighed and attempted to get up.  She should at least try to make her way back to camp so she wouldn’t miss her boat back to Trondheim.  She put all her weight on her good leg and limped off through the path she made as she fled the large dire wolf. She knew she was at risk, being injured and alone, knowing that the predator was still out there, but she had to take the chance.  Her huge furry friend was leading the way, sort of, so she felt somewhat at ease.  

She followed the ghostly form of the bear as she limped along.  She cried out in pain as her injured foot struck a stone.  The large bear turned and looked back at her with inquisitive eyes.  It then shambled back to where Rachel was attempting to catch her breath after the sudden jolt of agony ripped through her.  Its massive shoulder leaned closer to her.

“You want me to lean on you?”  she asked, as the shaggy shoulder presented itself to her. 

The bear snorted as it leaned closer.  She decided to take it as an affirmative response and grabbed on to the soft white fur to support herself. 

“I dropped my camera somewhere around here; do you think we can go get it?” she asked the bear.  She felt silly, because she highly doubted the creature could understand her, but it was worth a shot. The bear shuffled towards where Rachel had last seen her camera.  She saw it on the ground nearby and hobbled over to retrieve it.  She looped the strap around her neck and grabbed the patient bear’s fur once again. “My camp isn’t too far from here.  Thanks for the help.”

The bear snorted once again as it escorted the human female out of his woods to the beach.    The bear stopped at the forest’s edge and Rachel had to make it to her camp on her own.  “Can’t go any further than the trees huh?” she asked.  She knew she wouldn’t get a response from the massive ursine, but it was a way to break the silence.  “Lucky my camp is pretty close to the tree line.  Thanks for the help.  I’ll just sit here until my ride comes to get me.”

The bear looked at the camera and looked back at her, inquisitively.  She felt that it didn’t want her taking its picture.  “Don’t want me picturing you?  Don’t worry I won’t, I really don’t want to make you mad.” She grinned.

The bear turned around and walked back into the forest, content with her answer.  Rachel watched the massive creature disappear into the darkness of the forest.  She wondered what else lived among those mysterious trees.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t find out until her ankle healed.

Rachel hobbled to her camp and checked the fire.  She noticed it had gone out while she was away, and she was famished.  She re-lit it, and searched for some rations to heat up for a meal.  She needed a warm food after the stress she had been through.  Her clothes were damp from her tumble in the forest, and she was beginning to catch a chill.  Her ankle throbbed mercilessly, taking the edge off her appetite. 

She grabbed her first aid bag from her rucksack and pulled out some painkillers.  She washed them down with a swig of water from her canteen, and set to work immobilizing her broken joint.  She had hurt herself in the field before, just not this badly.  She had multiple scars all over her body from where she had to give herself stitches from encounters with animals, or from falls onto jagged rocks, sticks, what have you. Being a freelance photographer was full of risks, which she gladly took.

She settled down and elevated her injured ankle as best as she could and waited for the fisherman to return.

*

Rachel grabbed her crutches and limped around her flat located in downtown Trondheim, Norway.  The ancient Norse city bustled with activity as people went about their daily business.  She had been back for two weeks now, and her broken ankle was on the mend. 

She sat down at her computer and noticed an email notification pop up.  Rachel opened up the program and saw an email from the submissions department of National Geographic Magazine sitting in her inbox.

Wired with anticipation, she clicked it.  There was an offer of a substantial amount of money for her photographs of the hidden island in the fjord, as well as an offer for a team to escort her back to the island when she had recovered from her injury.  She typed in a hasty acceptance email along with the deposit information for the money.  When she was finished, she rose from her chair and hobbled out to go for a stroll down the streets of the old city. 

She hopped along down the street on her wooden crutches.  Her ankle had a clean break, so luckily she didn’t need surgery, just a boot to keep her foot immobile while it healed.   She went into her favorite cafe and ordered her usual, a mocha cappuccino.  She picked up the English language newspaper that had been left on her table and began to read through it.  As much as she enjoyed her career, this latest incident put a dark pall on her desire to continue.  She didn’t really want to go out there with National Geographic, but the nest egg she had accumulated wouldn’t last long here in Norway, even the hefty sum that she had just gotten paid wouldn’t really keep her afloat for very long. 

Her citizenship application was nearly complete as well, and it would be a shame if she had to move back to Maine.  She was so tired of that place.  Everyone was so small-town provincial.  She had always wanted to see the world, ever since she was a young child.  She had seen her fair share of it in her ten-year career as a freelance photojournalist.  At thirty, she was starting to feel the urge to settle down. 

She spotted an ad in the paper.  “WANTED:  healthy young woman for surrogate.  Contact Valemon Bjornson, will pay handsomely.”  In the ad there was a mobile number to text if interested.    Rachel thought it probably wouldn’t hurt, and a pregnancy would give her a convenient out to give to National Geographic without making her look the villain, thereby keeping a good reference intact.

She pulled her phone from her purse and sent a text to the number in the paper.  It wasn’t as if she was going to raise the child herself, surrogacy means she just carries it and births it.  Who knows, she would probably be doing a favor for some poor woman who couldn’t carry to term.

Her phone buzzed on the table as a text came in.  Valemon wanted to meet up as soon as possible to discuss the arrangement.  I guess he wanted to get her before she could back out of the impulsive decision, or something.  He probably had more than a few replies from desperate women needing a somewhat easy buck, so he likely had a pretty rigorous screening process.  She set a time for later that afternoon to meet the guy and kept sipping her coffee.  She googled the laws for surrogacy in Norway to get up to speed on how difficult it would be to sign over the child.   She didn’t know if it would be a donor egg, or her own.  She didn’t care at this point, the pay from this surrogacy and the pay from National Geographic would make her life comfortable until her citizenship became finalized.  Then she could get a staff job at one of the many magazines or newspapers in Norway.

Rachel got up and ordered another coffee.  She really had nowhere else to be for the few hours before her meeting with the man, so she settled in at the small cafe and pulled out a book to read.  At least the place had some good coffee.

As she sat at the table, customers came and went, most of whom were unremarkable.  After an hour or so, a man so tall that he had to duck to enter the doorframe arrived at the cafe.  His silver shoulder length hair was tied at the nape of his neck, his closely cropped beard matched his hair perfectly, yet his face was unlined despite his apparent age.  His broad shoulders were covered by a custom-made white dress shirt.  His waist was somewhat thick, but not round with a beer belly, just thick and obviously muscular.  The man looked like a human mountain, for lack of a better term.  He looked around the cafe with his piercing blue eyes.  His square jaw clenched with a hint of nervousness, as if he wasn’t comfortable being around people, no matter how small a crowd. 

The large man walked up to the barista and placed his order.    After receiving his coffee and adding the cream and sugar to it, he walked up to Rachel’s table.  “Are you Rachel Jenner?” he asked.  His voice was deep and soft.  It sounded like the soft rumble of thunder in the distance.  The quality shook Rachel to the core.

She nervously shifted in her seat and shyly looked down. “Yes I am, who might you be and how did you know my name?”

“My name is Valemon Bjornson, and we have an appointment in a few hours, but I was in the area and thought I would stop by and we could meet here.  It would be less...weird,” he said with a warm smile. 

Rachel nodded in agreement as she took a sip of her coffee.  “Yeah, I feel more comfortable meeting a strange guy in a public place, to be honest.  So where’s your wife?” she asked. 

“She died a long time ago,” the man said sadly. 

“So umm, why do you want a baby on your own? That’s kind of weird, isn’t it?”

“It is, if you look at it that way.  To be honest, I have no living family, but I have substantial holdings and I need someone to inherit them.  I really do not wish for it to go into probate after I am gone.  Norway has taken quite a bit from me over the years; I’ll be damned if my ancient family home gets turned into a tourist trap for wannabe Vikings and neo-Nazis.”

Rachel looked at the man more intently.  He seemed quite young despite the silver hair and beard.  The man held the small cup of coffee awkwardly in his giant hands.   He seemed like a gentle giant to Rachel.  He was clearly nervous being here, and he obviously didn’t like how people were looking at him. 

“So you need me to carry your baby so you can make sure your house stays away from the state?”

“Pretty much.  Don’t worry; I’ll be a great parent.  I mean, I’ll have a nanny and the child will get all the love and attention it could possibly need, if that’s what’s concerning you.” 

“Yeah, it kinda did, to be honest.  Look, I’m healthy, I’ve got no STDs, and I’m not attached to anyone.  Right now, I have National Geographic breathing down my neck to go back to an island I found to do a more in-depth story, but after what I went through there, I don’t really want to go back right now.  I figure a pregnancy would be a convenient excuse.”

Valemon nodded.  “Well, I don’t see why not, then. You seem more genuine than most of the women I’ve interviewed.  You say you’re STD free, how do you know this for sure?”

Rachel blushed a bright red and fidgeted with her hands. “Well, I’m a virgin,” she replied softly.

Valemon’s eyes widened.  “How old are you? Might I ask?  If it’s rude, please forgive me.”

“I’m thirty.  Just never bothered with the whole relationship thing.  I was always focused on my career.  I managed to get out of college unscathed, too.  I guess when you’re built like an Amazon, guys know you can kick their ass and it’s not worth to it to try, I never was into the party scene either.”

He nodded.  “Makes sense.  I’ll have my lawyer draw up the contract later today.  We can meet here tomorrow and you can sign it?  There’s only one real condition, and that is you need to stay with me for the duration of the pregnancy.  I’ll be attentive and take you to all the appointments you need to go to.  I just want to make sure the pregnancy stays healthy.”

Rachel swallowed hard.  “Well, I guess.  Pregnancy can have sudden complications after all, and having someone who knows the local language would be great if I need to go to the hospital in a pinch.”

Valemon sighed in relief.  She was taking it better than he thought she would.  She was a very attractive woman.  He did well in finding her.  He stood up and reached out his hand.  “I’m off to my lawyers now.  It was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope that you enjoy the duration of your contract with me.”