Accidental Surrogate for Alpha novel Chapter 20

Ella

I dream that I’m on a boat, rocking gently in a starlit sea. I stare up at the night sky, bathed in the light of the full moon. My belly is swollen with my pup, and Sinclair is beside me, telling me stories about shifters – all the myths and legends of his people. His voice carries me along the waves, until he begins describing the life we’ll have together with our baby. He paints a picture of perfection, a happy life as a family of three – my child and I pampered and cared for while he rules his empire, wanting for nothing.

It all seems too good to be true, and it’s not until I realize I’m dreaming that I understand why. When I blink my eyes open, I realize that there are tears in them. I really am rocking, but not in any boat. Sinclair is carrying me inside from the car and clearly trying very hard not to wake me.

I must have fallen asleep. I realize dazedly.

“You don’t have to carry me.” I murmur, hoping the emotion in my voice can be passed off as grogginess.

“Hush now.” He croons, “I don’t mind. You just rest.”

Another time I might argue, but I’m so sleepy, and his arms feel so good around me that I just snuggle in. To my surprise, Sinclair leans his face towards my hair and inhales a deep breath. “You smell more like a wolf every day.” He shares. “The baby must be very healthy.”

This idea makes me smile, “Will I be able to feel it move soon, if pregnancy is so much shorter?”

“After a couple of months, yes.” He confirms.

This is still sooner than human babies quicken, but I feel so impatient. “Hmph, that’s so long to wait.”

Sinclair chuckles. “Maybe, but it will be so worth the wait, sweet Ella.”

“Do… do shifter pregnancies ever have complications?” I ask, finally feeling brave enough to voice this hidden worry. It’s been on my mind ever since the doctor told me the baby was developing slowly, but Sinclair seemed so confident that I told myself everything was fine.

“Rarely.” He answers. “But it happens. That’s why I’m being so cautious with you – I don’t want anything to happen, for both our sakes.”

I scoff, pressing my nose to his chest and inhaling his own scent. “I think you just like telling people what to do – baby or not.”

Sinclair’s wolf flashes in his eyes, but he smirks, “Keep it up you naughty thing, and I’ll show you what strict really is.” Before I can respond or contemplate what this might mean, he pushes into my bedroom, striding towards my bed as if he intends to tuck me in.

“No, I want a shower first.” I object.

“Are you sure? It’s very late.” Sinclair asks.

I nod, “I hate going to bed not feeling clean.” After a childhood of almost always feeling dirty, it had become a crutch of mine.

Sinclair helps me with the zipper on my dress, and within minutes I’m standing beneath a steaming cascade of water, feeling more and more myself as more of the day washes away. I felt like a different person with all that makeup and finery on, it’s such a relief to be free of it.

I’m rinsing shampoo from my hair when I hear a strange growl – violent and very close by. It isn’t Sinclair, and it isn’t coming through the mental link with the baby. I don’t know how I can recognize his growl from anyone elses, but in my heart, I know that danger is near. Did someone come into the bathroom after me? I wonder frantically, trying to peer through the fogged up glass, how did they get past Sinclair’s guards!?

The snarl sounds again, reverberating around the small space, and I cry out in fear, unable to stay quiet. I don’t think ten seconds passed before the door slams open and Sinclair appears, his wolf glowing in his eyes. “Ella, are you alright? What’s wrong?”

He comes over to the shower stall, opening the glass door to release the steam, and finds me curled up in a ball in the corner. “I swear someone was in here with me.” I confess shakily. “I could hear them growling and snarling, but I couldn’t see through the steam.”

Sinclair’s body, already rigid, tightens even further as he begins scenting the air and searching the room. “I don’t smell anything” He tells me after a moment, “but I’ll have the guards search anyway, just in case” He charges out of the room only long enough to bark some orders at his guards, telling them to begin searching the grounds. While he’s away, I wrap a towel around my naked body, trying to ease my trembling.

As soon as Sinclair returns, he pulls me into his arms. “It’s okay Ella, you’re safe.” He promises.