Accidental Surrogate for Alpha novel Chapter 81

Ella

I haven’t been sick for a few days now, but when I see Roger standing on the other side of the door I immediately turn to one of the ornamental vases in the hallway and empty my stomach. Cora rushes forward to help me, glancing uncertainly at Roger as she pulls my hair back from my face.

I know that Sinclair and Roger are on better terms since the wild hunt, but I also know that their peace is very tenuous. Sinclair hasn’t decided whether or not he truly trusts his brother yet, and though Roger has been helpful bringing intelligence from the Prince’s camp, he could easily be playing the double agent for both sides – and now he knows my deepest, darkest secret.

This is so bad. I think frantically. He told the Prince that Sinclair hadn’t marked me, what if he tells him this too? Forget the blackmail – Roger is more dangerous to me than some bitter ex-employer could ever be!

I wipe the back of my hand over my mouth, straightening with a pitiful moan. I look over at Roger, finding his expression a combination of confusion and concern. “You’d better come in.”

“Ella, I’m sorry.” He begins hesitantly. “I didn’t mean to startle you, and I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I came over to check in with Sinclair and… well it wasn’t difficult to overhear your conversation.”

“I know, I know – your shifter hearing is very acute.” I grumble. “Trust me, I’m learning just how out of my depth I am every day.”

“I don’t understand.” Roger admits, following me into the sitting room. “How is this even possible?”

I sit down, graciously accepting a glass of water from my sister. “Listen, I’ll tell you the truth, but only if you promise me that this conversation stays between us. I know you’re been helping us lately, but I’m going to be honest – I’m not convinced you’re actually on our side.”

“That’s fair.” Roger admits, looking drawn and pale. “After what I did… I know I don’t deserve your trust, or your forgiveness.”

“Well I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what would happen if this information got out. The only people who know are servants of this house, and my doctor. Not even Henry knows the truth, because if this becomes public information Sinclair’s campaign will be over. The Prince will become King, thousands would die under his tyranny – including me and your nephew.” I remark pointedly, holding my hand to my baby bump. “I don’t care what kind of sibling rivalry you have, or how strongly you think you should have Alpha – if you endanger my baby’s life, you won’t only have Sinclair to deal with – I’ll kill you myself.”

“Ella!” Cora exclaims, shocked by my aggression. In truth I’ve shocked myself, but those primal Mama Bear instincts that started coming out at the ball are back in full force, and I don’t regret a single word I’ve spoken. I would do anything to protect my child, including killing to keep him safe.

“It’s okay.” Roger assures her. “You’re very spirited for a human. I can see why Sinclair picked you.” He stares me in the eye, holding the contact as he makes his next promise. “And you have my word that I’ll take this secret to my grave – I swear it on my mother’s grave.”

“Good.” I nod, feeling a bit more relaxed now. “But you’re wrong if you think Sinclair picked me. This all started as a rather wild accident.”

“An accident?” Roger repeats, his brow knitting with confusion.

“It was my fault really.” Cora admits, relating the mix up at the sperm bank. Of course, her confession only leads to more questions, about why I went to the sperm bank in the first place, and how we figured out Sinclair’s sample had been used instead of the donor I chose. When he hears about Mike, I’m amazed to see how outraged he looks in my honor – I suppose messing with one’s fertility is a grave offense among wolves, even more so than with humans.

“So you still don’t know how the samples got switched?” Roger presses, after we move past the Mike of it all.

“No.” Cora and I say in unison. “The surveillance cameras were disabled in the lab – before the samples were switched. And of course we don’t film in the exam rooms.”

“What?” I inquire, “this is the first I”m hearing of the security cameras being tampered with.”

“That’s one of the reasons they eventually let me off the hook.” Cora informs me. “Sinclair ordered them to hire me back, but the investigation didn’t actually move away from me as a suspect until they found the tapes were blank during your appointment. I don’t have access to the surveillance monitors.”

“Does that mean…” I can hardly wrap my brain around this. “We’ve been assuming this was an accident all along, and I could even understand someone erasing them after the fact to cover their mistake… but if someone turned the cameras off before the switch then it must have been on purpose.”