Accidental Surrogate for Alpha novel Chapter 31

3rd Person

Sinclair was tired of fighting his instincts. Ella was looking up at him with heavy-lidded eyes, the scent of her arousal heavy in the air. Why was he fighting his desire for her? So she was human – she was also beautiful, spirited and bright, everything he could want in a woman. It was exhausting trying to rein in his wolf, and he was tired of denying himself. The fact was that Sinclair wanted Ella more intensely than he could remember wanting anyone. The logical part of his brain insisted it was just the pup growing in her womb, but the more time that passed the more the Alpha believed it was the woman herself.

Sinclair dipped his head until their mouths were mere inches apart, and Ella sighed and tilted her chin up – offering her lips for the taking. He was about to claim them when a knock sounded at the door, followed by a low squeak and a familiar man’s voice, “What on earth?”

Sinclair turned to look at Hugo, who was frozen in the doorway, staring at the food-splattered kitchen and the couple on the floor in abject shock. “Not now.” Sinclair growled, his wolf clamoring just beneath the surface of his skin.

Hugo met the Alpha’s piercing gaze, “Dom –”

“I said not now.” Sinclair repeated fiercely.

“Trust me.” Hugo stated resolutely, “you want to hear what I have to say.”

Grumbling with annoyance, Sinclair looked back to Ella, sorely tempted to tell her not to move a muscle until he returned. However he knew that if Hugo was being this persistent, he probably wasn’t going to be back anytime soon. It filled him with regret that he wouldn’t be able to lick all the chocolate from Ella’s sweet body himself, or even help her wash away the remnants in a steaming shower. His mind was overflowing with all the sensuous possibilities, but the best he could do was promise the little human that, “we’ll finish this later.”

He helped Ella to her feet before taking his leave, grabbing a dish towel on the way out to wipe the flour, chocolate and syrup from his face. “What’s up?” He asked Hugo, once they were alone.

“There’s been a rogue attack in old town.” The Beta shared gravely. “It looks like there’s quite a few fatalities.”

Sinclair cursed, “any hints on who’s responsible?”

“Witnesses say the attackers came out of nowhere. They burst onto the canals and started wreaking havoc.” Hugo explained. “It’s clear they were sent to harm, no one reported having anything stolen.”

Sinclair’s wolf – already fighting for control – reared up inside him, overwhelmed by urgent concern for his pack members. There hadn’t been a rogue attack in a very long time, and he highly doubted that the timing of this incident was a coincidence. “I’ll shower as fast as I can, and I’ll be right there.”

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The scene of the attack was worse than Sinclair could have imagined.

Moon Valley’s old town was normally an enchanting place at this time of year. With its idyllic maze of canals woven through historic buildings and blanketed in thick white snow, it should have looked like a winter wonderland – if it weren’t for all the blood. Ever since the river froze a few weeks earlier, the waterways became bustling thoroughfares dotted with pop up shops to be navigated by humans and shifters on ice skates. They weren’t as grand as they’d be after the solstice celebrations began the following week, but they certainly shouldn’t have looked like this.

At least a dozen bodies littered the ice, and thick crimson pools steamed then froze solid on the glassy surface. Keening filled the air as shifters mourned and injured beings suffered on the sidelines, tended to by concerned bystanders and emergency responders. Sinclair scanned the carnage – noting that all the victims were wolves, not that this came as a surprise. This part of the city was dominated by estates passed down through generations of wealth which, combined with the steep rents on new properties and high end businesses, all but guaranteed the inhabitants were shifters.