Filed To Story: Falling for the Alpha as a Surrogate Novel
“What?” I ask, frowning, my baby strapped sleeping to my chest. I put my hands on my hips. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” he says, gracefully unfolding his gigantic self and standing up from the bed. Then he slips his hands into his pockets and smirks as he looks me up and down. “I just didn’t realize I was mated to someone who spends their days toiling in the mines, is all.”
“What?” I ask again, confused, and Sinclair, laughing, nods towards the bathroom. Both irritated and interested at once, I hurry in and gasp when I see myself in the mirror. “Oh my god,” I murmur, leaning in to get a good look at the very real layer of dusty dark brown grime that’s covering me from head to foot. “Honestly, why did they let me into the palace looking like this!?”
Sinclair, still laughing, comes to stand behind me. I groan when I see our contrast in the mirror – him the perfect Alpha King, clean-shaved and pressed – and me, a messy ball of dirt with crazy hair –
And then I gasp when my eyes light on little Rafe, who is likewise covered in a light layer of brown dust. “Oh my god!” I exclaim again, immediately beginning to ruffle his hair and moaning as a little puff of dust explodes into the air. “Ohhh, little baby! Mommy’s sorry!”
“A little dirt won’t hurt him,” Sinclair chuckles, reaching out to unstrap the baby from me. “Dirty in those camps, is it?”
“It’s bad, Dominic,” I murmur, helping him take the baby from my arms. “Honestly, if this is what we look like after just an afternoon, imagine how those people are living…”
“Well, we’ve diverted a lot of attention to it,” he replies, holding the baby away from him a little as he carries him over to his little baby bath. “Hopefully all of the people will be out of those terrible camps and in better situation in a month’s time, though of course some cases will take more.”
Rafe, waking a little now that he’s away from the warmth of my body, starts to cry a little in protest.
“Oh,” I say, my heart going out to him. I hesitate, wondering if I should just take him and let him sleep dirty honestly, I can’t stand to hear him cry like that –
“Keep going, Ella,” Sinclair murmurs, smirking at me and laying the baby down in his bath. “Let him cry a little for once he’s the happiest baby in the world, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.” Then, as I begin to strip out of my clothes, Sinclair takes off Rafe’s little outfit as well, tossing it into the hamper.
“You know,” I sigh, watching the little pieces of baby clothing disappear into the basket, “he’ll probably be too big to wear those by the time they’re clean. He grows like crazy.”
“Damn straight he does,” Sinclair says, tickling Rafe’s naked belly, proud, as he turns on the warm water and prepares to start bathing him. Rafe still fusses unhappily but reaches for his father’s finger, wanting to hold it.
My heart breaks with how damn cute it is, seeing them together, before I turn and start the water in the shower for myself. I continue talking to Sinclair as I climb into the hot stream, relishing the feel of it against my tired muscles.
“I talked to Cora about the wedding,” I call over my shoulder, starting to shampoo my hair. “I don’t think she’s into it, Dominic. I’m sorry.”
“That’s disappointing,” he replies. ” But yeah, Roger told me pretty much the same thing.”
“Are you mad?” I ask, turning to see his reaction, and Sinclair shoots me a little look of disbelief.…
“Of course I’m not mad, Ella – ”
I laugh a little, shaking my head and turning away to rinse the shampoo from my hair. “That’s not what I mean I know that you’d never be mad at them for wanting a different kind of mating ceremony. But… does it mess up your plans at all? For the coronation, and the coronation weekend?”
“It does a little,” he calls to me. As I soap my body, I smile to see him taking a washcloth and using it to gently clean the baby, making soft, warm noises to little Rafe as he does. Rafe, tired, lets his father know his protest, but my heart swells with the patience I see in my mate as he washes his baby, explaining softly to him that he’s sorry he has to take a bath so late at night, but mommy got him all filthy doing her humanitarian projects –
I laugh when I hear Sinclair’s commentary and flick a little water from the shower at him, which makes Sinclair turn to me with a grin.
“Will you be able to fill the time at the coronation?” I ask, soaping up my loofah and beginning to clean my body. “With some other activity, that might convince the humans and the wolves that we’re united?”
“Probably,” Sinclair says to me, giving Rafe a final rinse. “But…let’s see if she can’t be persuaded, Ella,” he says, reaching for a towel and then lifting the baby out of his tiny tub and wrapping him up and turning to me. “I have a feeling that when Cora sees what you’ve got planned for her, she’s going to be swept away.”
I grin at him as I, too, rinse myself off and warp a towel around my body. ” How do you know what I’ve got planned?”
“You’re not the only one up late at night,” he murmurs, carrying my warm, clean baby over to me. ” Sometimes I see what you do.”
“And sometimes,” I say, grinning up at him as I take Rafe from him, wanting him close again. Rafe immediately quiets when he’s in my arms again, which pleases me to no end. ”
Sometimes you just snore endlessly, keeping Rafe and I up for hours – ”
“Lies,” he snaps, smiling a little as he takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turns my face up to him.
“You like it when I snore. Reminds you that a strong, powerful Alpha is sleeping next to you, ready to rip your enemies to shreds – ”
I bite my lip a little, grinning up at him because…well, honestly, I do like that. I like that quite a bit.
“I’m not sure I need the snoring to remind me of that,” I murmur, stepping closer to him, feeling a little heat build in my core as I stare up into his beautiful, rugged face.
“And what would remind you of that,” he murmurs, his eyes flashing with hunger.
“Oh,” I whisper. “I have an idea. Or two. Or ten.”
Cora
“Ella,” I sigh, turning to my sister, who is standing behind me with her hands clutched together, tears rimming her eyes, not breathing because she’s trying so hard not to burst into tears
“You look so beautiful!” she squeaks, and I can’t help but laugh because she looks like a little cartoon character, standing there, completely undone by the sight of me in a wedding gown.
“Ells!” I laugh, taking a few steps towards her and reaching out my hands. “You can’t do this for every new dress!”
“But you look so differently beautiful in each one!” she shouts, and then a sob breaks from her and she burries her face in her hands, letting loose. I burst into laughter at this, raising my own hands to my cheeks and taking a deep breath.
“I’m sorry! I can’t help it!” she cries and I just shake my head, pulling my hands away and smiling as I turn to look at myself in the mirror.
I mean, she’s not wrong – I look damn good in this sparkling white gown that hugs my body all the way to the floor and then spreads out behind me in a beautiful beaded train. But honestly – Ella is so much more sentimental than me. She has gotten choked up at every single one I’ve tried on so far – and they’re all beautiful but …I’m just not having the same reaction as she is.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?