Chapter 406
Accidental Surrogate for Alpha
Chapter 406 â Pillow plans Ella
I sigh, closing my eyes for a second. âI forgot all about the Atalaxians,â I murmur.
âYouâve had a long day,â Sinclair replies, even though thatâs not really an excuse. Not for a Queen, who
needs to balance it all. I take a moment to collect my thoughts before opening my eyes and looking at
him again.
âWhat I want,â I say quietly, âis a big team to go solve a lot of the overarching problems with the
refugees. Doctors, lawyers, social workers anyone who can help us start to patch the big problems
there, to get these camps functioning not as a holding space but as a system that helps people get
back to their lives, or start new ones.â
I think more on his question of how long I think this will take. âBut once thatâs doneâ¦â I shrug a little, âI
wonât need such a big team, once thatâs accomplished. But I still want systems in place that help
people, and I want to run them. Would that beâ¦possible?â
âI think itâs very possible,â Sinclair says seriously, reaching out a hand to stroke my hair. âAnd I think itâs
very good of you to want to do it. When do you want to start?â
âTomorrow,â I say, my eyes going wide. âI need to go to the Human Camp â I need to see if anyone
there needs to be healed immediately, especially the children â â
Sinclair laughs, shaking his head at me. I make a little squeak of protest at his wanting to delay me, but
he shakes his head, letting me know that Iâm misinterpreting him. âIâll make sure you have the
bodyguards to do it, first thing in the morning. The lawyers and social workers â theyâll take a bit longer.
Is that all right?â
âYes!â I breathe, suddenly incredibly excited. And then my eyes fill with tears again as I smile at my
mate, as I scooch closer across the gigantic bed until our baby is frankly squeezed between us,
wanting to be close to my mate and our child at the same time. â Thank you, Dominic.â
âOf course, Ella,â he says, kissing me on the forehead. We stay like that for a long moment, passing
love between our bond in a steady loop, each of us connecting with Rafe so that he feels it too. He
gives us a contented little burble in reply.
âAlthough Ella,â Sinclair murmurs, making me look up at him.
âWhat?â I ask, curious and a little worried. âThis time?â he says, leaning in to hold my gaze, making
sure he hears me. âYouâre taking your phone.â
And I laugh, nodding and tucking my head under his chin, perfectly happy and excited about our new
plans. Okay, love,â I sigh, content. âIâll take my phone. I promise.â
Cora
Iâm completely beat that evening as I unlock the door to our little house â but even if Iâm almost too
exhausted to feel my own feet beneath me, I canât help but smile as my key twists in the lock. My key, I
think, grinning. My lock. My house!
As I push the door open and look around, I still canât quite believe it â that Ella and Sinclair gave us this
house, that itâs really ours. At first it felt a lot like Roger and I were just living here, that it was just a
loaner or something.
But as every day passes, and we feel more and more relaxed hereâ¦.
Well. It starts to settle in. That this is my home, with my mate.
And I smile down at my belly, running a hand over it even though Iâm not showing at all. Because in a
couple of months, weâre going to bring a little baby home here. And heâs going to grow up calling this
place home.
And itâs such a rich, wonderful anticipation thatâ¦well, I lose my breath a bit, Iâm so happy. But I inhale
deeply and look up when I hear my mate at the top of the stairs.
âHey,â Roger says, smiling widely and starting to hurry down them, eager to be at my side. He reaches
me almost in an instant, pushing the door shut behind me in the same moment that he wraps and arm
around my waist and kisses me.
And I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back, smiling as I do so â because this, too, feels a
little unreal, especially after the horrible things that I saw today. Roger, mine, my mate â waiting for me,
in our house.
How the hell did I get so lucky?
âWhere you been, gorgeous?â Roger murmurs, moving his face back from mine just an inch, his arms
still wrapped around my waist. âI was surprised you werenât home when I got here.â
âI know,â I sigh, shaking my head a little. âIt wasâ¦a crazier day than I thought it would be.âBooks
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âReally,â he says, surprised. âWhat happened?â And then he lets me go, moving to the door to twist the
lock and then taking my hand, leading me into the kitchen where Iâm sure that thereâs some kind of
takeout waiting for me.
âWe went to the refugee camp, the one with the wolves,â I tell him, smiling with pleasure as my
suspicions are confirmed. Roger opens the fridge and pulls out some packages of my favorite Thai
noodles. He starts to put them into a bowl for me as I sit down at the table and continue. âThere were
so many children there who needed help. Ella healed the ones who needed it most â but it wasâ¦it was
a lot.â
âIâm surprised to hear that,â Roger replies, bringing me my food along with a big glass of cold water.
âWell â or maybe not to hear it. But Iâm surprised that I didnât know that it was so bad that so many
children were suffering. That seems like the sort of thing that Sinclair would be on top of.â
âWeâve been gone for long time, and weâve been distracted,â I say, starting to slurp up the noodles
eagerly, so hungry that Iâm unable to help myself from being messy. But in my heart, I know Roger
couldnât care less, so I allow myself to dig in and indulge. âI guess Sinclair didnât have all of his
information systems in place to give him all the details.â
âAre you guys going back?â Roger asks, curious, and I hear a little hesitation in his voice.
âYes,â I reply, continuing to eat as I look up at him. âTomorrow, if we can. But to the human camps.
Thereâs just⦠so much to do. So many people who need immediate help â and Ella really can provide
that immediate care that other doctors canât. And she needs me,â I say, giving a little shrug, âor else
sheâll have an emotional breakdown over each and every kid.â I smirk, remembering how she was
today. âAnd try to adopt them.â
Roger laughs at this, shaking his head a little, because he knows Ellaâs personality well enough by this
point to understand exactly what I mean. But then he quietly looks at the floor, raising my suspicions.
âWhat?â I ask, putting my fork down and waiting. Because I know thereâs something heâs not saying.
Roger just sighs and looks up at me.â Canât you guess?â
âYouâre worried,â I reply, shaking my head a little. âThat itâs too dangerous.â
âKnew you were clever,â he says with a cheeky wink. I open my mouth to protest but Roger just raises
a hand, asking me to wait. And, obliging my dear mate, I do. After a moment he starts again.
âI trust you, Cora,â he says, taking a deep breath. âBut you are pregnant. And even beyond the baby,
youâre aware that Iâmâ¦â he shrugs and I smile already, anticipating the joke, âmildly fond of you.â
I laugh aloud and he grins at me, holding my gaze. âCora, after everything that weâve been through,
you know it would kill me if anything happened to you, right? So, would you mind if I asked Sinclair to
ensure that youâre going to these camps with a heavy guard?â
I open my mouth to agree instantly, but then I hesitate.
âWhat?â Roger asks, encouraging me to speak.
âI donât mind the guards,â I say honestly, âbut weâre going to the human camp. Andâ¦I wonder if itâs
good for us to show up with like, twenty wolves to help a group of people who patently distrust wolves.â
âA good point,â he says, nodding and looking off into the distance a little. â Iâll bring it up with Sinclair.
But do you mind, overall?â he asks, looking back at me again, âthe idea of an increased guard?â
âI do not,â I say, smiling at him and giving a little shrug. âThough I imagine Sinclairâs already got it
planned.â
âThatâs whatâs nice about having an Alpha brother,â Roger says, laughing a little. âHe solves your
problems before you ever even know they existed.â
âHe also gives you houses,â I point out, reaching for my glass of water and taking a big gulp.
âYeahâ¦â Roger says, hesitating and rubbing the back of his neck, looking down at the floor.
âWhat?â I ask, picking up on a hesitation in Rogerâs voice thatâs new to me. I stand up, finished with my
noodles and go to stand next to my mate at his place leaning against the granite countertop. âWhatâs
wrong?â
âAre you ready to get pissed off?â he asks, looking up at me through his eyelashes a bit.
I cross my arms, saying nothing, just waiting for my mate to continue.