Chapter 358
Accidental Surrogate for Alpha
Accidental Surrogate Chapter 358-Ella
I push my suspicions aside as I come to Coraâs side as she explains to Conner â the bright, red-haired
young man who noticed that the men who attacked me didnât transform into their wolves â our plan.
âSure,â ,â he says, blinking up at both of us when Cora asks if heâd be willing to let me try to heal him
with the Goddess power. âUm,â he says next, hesitating a little, âdoes it hurt?â
âUm,â I reply, rubbing an anxious hand up and down my arm, âI donât think so? But then again, Iâve only
tried it on myself?â I look over at Cora to see if she has any ideas, but she just shrugs.
âConsider it a very experimental treatment,â Cora says, turning back to Conner. âBut I think Ella is right
â it never seemed to hurt her before, when she used it. Or that one time I used it. But if it works!â she
gives him a big smile now, âI think you will be a very happy little guinea pig!â
âGuinea pig?â he asks, confused. âWill I is this going to transform me into a guinea pig!?â
âNo,â I say, laughing and sitting down on the edge of his bed, reaching for his arm, which he pulls away
from me in sudden anxiety. âSeriously!â I say, laughing still. âThatâs just a common phrase â you donât
know it? Maybe itâs a human phrase. For like, a creature who gets experimented on first.â
âOh,â Conner says, relaxing a little but still looking at us warily. But then he nods, letting us know that
heâs on board. âJust a lot of strangeâ¦.magic, I guess, these days. Magic that I donât think weâve had a
lot of exposure to before.â
âYouâre telling me,â Cora murmurs, checking some final details as she runs a hand over her stomach,
which is hosting what we can best describe as the first human-wolf hybrid pup ever conceived.
Conner doesnât get it, but I do, and I give her a bright grin, which she returns. âOkay!â she says.
âConner, can we try it on the burn on your arm?â she asks, pointing to the gauze on his right forearm. âI
think thatâs a minor enough wound that it could be a good place to experiment.â
âOkay,â he says, moving to unwrap it. I lean eagerly forward, but regret it immediately when he pulls the
gauze away, wincing as he reveals an angry, wet red wound. I sit back again, grimacing at it, reminded
again of why I didnât become a nurse. But then I steel myself and sit closer, looking up at Cora. âHow
do I start?â
She just shrugs at me, as lost as I am. âI donât know, Ella,â she says, waving a vague hand at me. âDo
your⦠meditation thing. Access the gift. Or whatever.â
âOkay,â I agree with a little shrug. And then because it feels strange not to be doing anything to engage
with the wound, I reach out and hover my hands over Connerâs arm as I close my eyes.
Itâs easier to fall into the state than it has been before â maybe because Iâm not wounded, or growing a
child, or stressed in any real way. This time, the relaxation comes almost immediately and I find myself
sinking quite deeply into that space where the light behind my eyes turns a light lavender.
âYouâve got it, Ella,â Cora whispers next to me, and I can tell that sheâs excited but working hard not to
distract me too much. âYouâre glowing. Now, do you feel like you can direct it?â
I take another deep breath and, when I exhale, I begin to seek for pain. I feel the gift move then, as itâs
done before â it sweeps through me first, seeking to heal anything, but when it doesnât find anything
itâ¦pulses a little, curious, almost wondering why Iâve called on it.
And so I give it a little push, asking it to lookâ¦further than me. To go outside. And it feels, a very little
bit, like the time that I passed it to Cora â though itâs hard to compare, because I had been so weak at
that time.
But now, when Iâm strong, I feel like I have so much more control â like I donât have to shove the entire
gift into someoneâs hands before I collapse under the weight of it. But instead, like I can just take a
piece of it, and move it forward to where â
To where I can begin to feel a very real pain in front of me, radiating up towards my hands. And so I
give it a little nudge, and push the gift towards it, and I feel it flowing from my hands.
Next to me, I hear Cora gasp, and Conner inhale sharply, but I do my very best to not let myself be
drawn away, to continue with my steady little push until I feelâ¦
Until I feel the pain beneath my hands cool, and ebb, and steady. Until I canât feel it at all. And then I
pull my hands back, and lay them in my lap, and take a few deep breaths as I allow the lavender light
to fade behind my eyes. And then I open my eyes and look around.
And Cora and Conner are staring at me, their jaws wide open. âDid it work?â I breathe, curious. And
neither say a word, so I dart my eyes downward at Connerâs arm-
And my own mouth falls open.
His wound itâsâ¦
Itâs gone. I blink, shocked, and lean forward, grabbing his arm â which makes poor Conner jump â so
that I can bring it closer to my eyes. And as I study it I realize that the wound is not gone itâs justâ¦fixed.
The skin has closed over what was a few moments before a pussy, bloody burn. And itâs not as if the
magic has unmade the wound and returned the arm to its former state â
It really, honestly looks as if it just healed it. On Connerâs arm is a new patch of flesh, still tender and
pink and hairless, without any of the freckles that cover the rest of his arm.
âOh my god,â I breathe, staring at it, and then up at Cora, and then over at Conner.
And when I see the bright smile on his face, the tears in his eyes, I burst into joyful laughter myself,
hardly able to believe it. And then Cora lets out a shriek of joy and throws herself on top of me in a
crazy hug, knocking me back against the bed and poor Connerâs legs as she, too, laughs with joy.
âItâs a miracle!â she shouts, so excited she stumbles over the words. âItâs incredible! Ella! Think of what
you could do!â
âI know!â I yell, giddy with excitement for it and hugging my sister close to me. Then men in the room
are all turned towards us now, even those at the far side of the room who probably had no idea what
we were trying â
And, as they figure it out- that they could start feeling better so soon if Iâm able to keep doing this
smiles spread across their own faces.
âAre you okay?â I ask Conner when Cora lets me sit up straighter, our arms still wrapped excitedly
around each other. âDid it hurt â does it hurt?â
âItâs fine,â he says, holding his arm up in front of his face and marveling at it. â It didnât hurt at all â I
mean, it was tingly â and a little cold â but itâs amazing â itâs totally fixed!â
âAhh!â I yell, excited, and I squeeze Cora closer in my excitement.
âThank you,â Conner breathes, and my heart squeezes when I see tears start to streak down his face.
âThank you so much, Luna,â he says, shaking his head. at me in wonder.
âIâm so glad,â I say, reaching out and squeezing his hand. âSo glad, Conner.â
And I bite my lip and smile at him, and he smiles back, and then suddenly Iâm jumping to my feet
almost spilling 1 Cora to the floor â
âWhat!â Cora shouts, laughing. âElla, what are you -â
âIâm going to tell Sinclair!â I shout, dashing towards the door. âIâll be back!â I call over my shoulder to
her, to all of them. âIâll be right back!â
And I can barely contain my excitement as I sprint down the hall towards the conference room, where I
know the boys are working hard, trying to come up with a plan.