Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

Chapter 467

“In here!” she calls, peeking out from the living room and giving me a big smile.

“Also, sorry,” she adds, grimacing a bit. “We were very rude, bursting in here like that, weren’t we?” “I’ll forgive you as soon as you give me my little nephew to hold for a few minutes,” I say, smiling and reaching for Rafe, who my sister happily hands over to me. I’m instantly gratified when he gives a squeak of happiness and reaches out his own hands, clearly recognizing me and wanting to see me as much as I want to see him.

“Yes,” Ella sighs, crossing her arms as she observes me with the baby.” Rafe makes everything better.” “That can be his slogan,” I say, grinning at the baby, “when he’s King.” Ella laughs and I turn to smile at her as Roger comes into the room after me. I shift my gaze to Sinclair, who stands behind Ella, quiet with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, looking between the two of them. “First you tell Roger not to come to the palace this morning, and then you’re bursting in here this afternoon? What’s up?” “We had kind of a crazy night,” Ella says with a grimace, moving to the couch and sitting down on it. Sinclair moves to stand by her, clearly tense and still not adding anything to the conversation.

“Oh?” I ask, sitting across from my sister. Roger sits behind me on the arm of the couch, paying close attention and sending a little pulse of wonder and curiosity down our bond. He, too, is very intrigued by this.

Ella sighs and then begins to tell me all about her evening last night – first the dinner with Calvin, and then his claim to being her mate, and then Sinclair turning into a wolf and bursting out the door, seeking to hunt him down.

My eyes go wider and wider as Ella continues.

“But,” Ella says with a shrug. ” Honestly, I don’t think he’s my mate, Cora. I am not…into him, in that way that mated pairs are supposed to be.” “Really?” I ask, turning my head to the side. “I mean, he’s really good looking Ella – ” Roger scoffs behind me and Sinclair glowers, which makes me and Ella burst into laughter.

“No,” she says, shrugging and reaching across the couch, clearly seeking her baby. I hand Rafe back to her and she pulls him into her lap, clearly deriving a lot of comfort from having him near. A little excitement twists in me, because I can’t wait to hold my baby just like that. “It’s not like that, Cora – I mean, I feel a very interesting pull towards him? And there are like, literal sparks in the air between us whenever we get close or our skin touches?” My eyes dart up to Sinclair now, who growls behind Ella to hear her say this detail. But she just rolls her eyes and ignores him.

“But Sinclair says that…when you meet your fated mate, your wolf knows it, and you’re like…very attracted to them. Like, tear your clothes off attracted to them.” She pauses for a moment, her eyes moving between me and Roger. “Is that what it…was like? For you?” “Well,” Roger says, his voice unusually serious. “We have a bit of a different story because Cora’s wolf was so tucked away for so long. But as soon as her wolf…woke up? For the first time?” I look over my shoulder to see him nodding vigorously. “Yeah, Ella. We knew. Immediately we knew. I mean, I knew before because of the intensity of my feelings and my attraction to her, but when our wolves found each other…” “There was no denying it,” I finish, giving my sister a little shrug. “But Ella,” I say, frowning a little, “why did you come here? I mean, it’s a crazy story and I’m glad to know it. But why rush across town when you’ve clearly had a rough night and very little sleep?” “Because,” she says, biting her lip a little. “We were kind of hoping that you could…ask mom.” “Oh!” I say, blinking in surprise a little. “How…how do I do that?” She shrugs a little. “You just like…call to her.” “What,” Roger says, and I look up again to see him smirking. “Like, she just puts her hands to the side of her mouth and hollers?” “Would you take this seriously?” Sinclair snaps, drawing all of our eyes to him.

“All right,” Ella murmurs, narrowing her brows at her mate and scooting forward on the couch. “You come sit here with me. It was just a joke, Dominic.” Roger just grins but Sinclair scowls, clearly stressed, and slips in behind Ella, wrapping his arms around her. My heart goes out to him as I watch him tuck his head against hers, because as much as Ella says Calvin is not her mate? I can tell that he’s stressed and wants a definite answer.

“Okay,” I say as I breathe out a steady breath, reaching my hand up for Roger’s.

He gives me his, not asking why I want it, but I just want him close. “So, like, inside? Where the gift is? I just…call to her?” “Yeah,” Ella says, giving me a little smile as she leans into the man who is undeniably her mate. But…well, Sinclair had two. I guess it’s possible, would even be…symmetrical, for Ella to have a fated mate as well.

“I’d ask myself,” Ella says with a shrug, “but I burned up the bond when the priestess tried to take Rafe.” Ella hugs her little baby closer and I give her a sad smile, thinking about everything that my sweet sister has gone through in the fight for her family. And suddenly, all I want to do is contact mom even just to give her a piece of my mind for giving Ella such a tough path. So, I squeeze Roger’s hand, and I sink inside of myself, searching… reaching… And it takes a few minutes, but suddenly I come to a very steady place within myself, where my gift glows with a warm lavender light. And then I call out without words… Mom?

There’s a pause, and then a pulse within the gift, and then it burns brighter. And when I open my eyes…she’s suddenly there. The goddess, transparent, incorporeal, in my living room.

“Oh,” I say, jumping a little in surprise.

Because she’s just there. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Hello, Cora,” she says, giving me a delighted smile.

“Hey, mom,” I reply, my voice quavering a little. Because she’s so beautiful, and I can feel the love she has for all of us radiating from her, so much so that it brings a little bit of a tear to my eye.

“Um,” Roger says, and I glance up at him to see him looking at me like I’m a little crazy.

I frown at him and then look around at the rest of my family. “You can’t see her?” I ask, a little surprised.

“Nope,” Ella says, grinning at me and laughing a little, hugging Rafe tight. ” From our perspective, it looks like you just called the armchair mom.” I laugh a little and gesture towards her. “Well, she’s right there,” I say with a shrug.

“We believe you,” Roger says, giving my hand a little pulse.

“Time is short, Cora,” my mother says, turning her head to peer at me. “I cannot appear consciously like this to you for long, or frequently. But I could tell by your request that you needed my help.” “Yes,” I say, sitting up a little straighter. “Um, do you know what happened with Ella? Or do I need to tell you?” A little humor passes unintentionally down the bond between me and Roger, and I can tell that he thinks it’s very funny that I look like I’m talking to the armchair. But I just roll my eyes and ignore him.

“I know everything, Cora,” she says, her smile beatific.