Filed To Story: Falling for the Alpha as a Surrogate Novel
He releases a slow and steady breath. The rage and fear still burns in him, I know, but it’s tempered now with the knowledge that I’m okay. He opens his mouth to say more but I nod down at the little girl.
“We need to get her in,”
I say, my eyebrows going up.
He hesitates, wanting to storm out and assess the situation, wanting simultaneously – I know – to yell at me for taking whatever risk it was that I just took But he masters himself, glares at me a little, and nods as he realizes that I’m right. And then the King steps behind Jessica and I and escorts us into the palace.
We move quickly through the halls, heading immediately for our rooms, where we know we’ll be safe and I’l feel more at peace, with my mate and my baby and my family all near. Conner comes with us, briefing Sinclair on the details as we walk. I keep a hand on Jessica’s shoulder, not wanting to be separated from her for an instant.
“Sarah needs to be brought to us,”
I say to Sinclair, who still glares at me but nods once. He, in turn, looks over his shoulder at another of his guards and nods to him, letting him know to pass the order around. Then we all move steadily through the halls towards our room.
We get there quickly, luckily not passing many people in the halls who would see poor Jessica’s tear- stained face or my bloody face and clothing. But when I press open the door, Cora’s appalled gasp is enough to make up for it.
“Ella!”
she shouts, dashing over to me and throwing her arms out, clearly wanting to wrap them around me, to hold me and make sure I’m okay.
“Cora, no!”
I gasp, stepping back. She hesitates and I gesture towards her pretty new sweatsuit.
“Cora you’re all in white -”
“Oh my god,”
she mutters, burying her face in her hands.
“You’re so ridiculous, Ella – I can’t believe that’s what you’re worried about – ”
“Jessica,”
I say, getting down on one knee as Sinclair closes the door hard behind us.
“Do you remember Cora?”
I ask, pointing up at my sister.
Jessica looks up at Cora and nods.
“She’s a doctor,”
I say, hoping the words are reassuring.
“She’s going to have a look at you, all right? Make sure you don’t have any bumps and bruises that we need to fix. And while she does that, I’m going to go get changed into something cleaner, okay?”
Jessica hesitates, clearly not wanting to be separated from me, but then nods shakily as Cora reaches out a hand.
“Come on, kid,”
Cora says with a smile, tugging Jessica away.
“Does anything on your body hurt?”
Cora asks as she leads Jessica over to where Roger stands with wide, scared eyes, not understanding what’s going on. Relief courses through me when I see Rafe sleeping in his godfather’s arms, blissfully unaware of the drama and the violence of the night.
Jessica begins to speak and I loose a long breath, glad that she’s in good hands.
And then I look up at my livid mate, and nod once, heading for the bathroom. My heart wrenches to not go immediately to my child, to take him in my arms, but… Well, I am all bloody. And my mate and I need to talk. Sinclair understands immediately, following me into the bathroom where we can speak privately.
And he slams the door hard behind him
Ella
I spin around to face my mate, my hands on my hips, ready to defend myself.
But he closes the distance in an instant, taking my face in his hands.
“Are you all right?”
he growls, looking down into my face, his eyes quickly moving over my features. My mouth falls open a bit and I blink in surprise.
“I’m fine, Dominic.”
“Thank god,”
he breathes, wrapping his arms around me and gathering me to him in a tight hug.
“I mean, I’m mad as hell, Ella I can’t believe you did that, but -”
“Dominic!”
I protest, pulling back a little and frowning up at him.
“How could I not have done that!?”
“Are you seriously asking me how you could have not jumped out of the window and attacked a man under the explicit protection of a nation about to take us to war? How you could have just let the palace guards that we hired to protect our people handle it, like they were about to do?”
I narrow my eyes at him, but…well. I also see his point.
Still. I stand by it – every moment of it.
“His life was mine to take,”
I say, my voice more of a growl than I intended it to be.
“Mine, Dominic. And no – I didn’t do it for vengeance, but he crossed a line tonight, trying to take Sarah and Jessica like he did. Would you have let him live, after he did that?”
Sinclair’s mouth tightens into a thin line.
“No,”
he says, answering honestly.
“I’d have had the guards shoot him, take the shot as soon as they safely could.”
“His death was mine,”
I repeat.
“If someone was going to take it, I wanted the blood on my hands. And you, of all people, know why.”
Sinclair steps back from me a second, looking down at the man’s blood quite literally all over me. And then he sighs, and shakes his head, and surprises me by starting to tug at my shirt.
“What?”
I ask, confused.
“What, would you like to sleep in your blood-soaked clothing, Ella?”
He asks, glaring at me a little.
“You need a shower, and to get changed.”
“Oh,”
I reply, realizing that he’s helping me. And so I take a step back, raising my hands and letting my mate pull my shirt over my head.
“It’s not that I disagree with any of the things you did,”
Sinclair says softly as he helps me strip. He pauses and glares at me when he sees the long cut along my side, but I roll my eyes before closing them and accessing my gift. It just takes a second – it’s a scratch, honestly and when I open my eyes I’m all healed up.
I twist so Sinclair can see the skin again smooth and healed. Satisfied, he nods and then moves to the shower, turning the water on so it’s nice and steamy, just how I like it.
“Like I was saying,”
he picks up, turning to me again.
“I’m not sad to see him go, just…”
“I know,”
I say, sighing and stepping into the shower as Sinclair strips his own tuxedo, now likewise stained with my uncle’s blood.
“I’m…Queen now. I should have let someone else do it. Should not have…gotten my hands dirty, as it were.”
Quickly, I soap myself down, doing best to keep my hair dry as Sinclair ducks into the closet to grab us both a fresh set of clothes. When he comes back, I’m nearly finished. I rinse myself off as I look at my mate a little guiltily.
“People got pictures, Dominic,”
I say quietly, my voice apologetic.
“There may have been…press.”
“I’m aware,”
he says on a sigh as I turn off the water and step out of the shower.
He hands me a towel, looking at me with a blank face.
“It will…be what it is.
Wolves won’t care about the violence – I think, when the details come out, they’ll understand. Humans, though…”
“I know,”
I sigh, glancing at the door as I towel off.
“All the good press will we bought with Cora’s wedding…”
He steps close to me then, wrapping an arm around my naked waist and again pulling me flush against him. ”
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?