Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

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.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” I apologize.

“It’s okay, it’s probably just all the stress piling up on you.” He reasons. “But if you don’t feel safe you can sleep in my room tonight.”

I nod into his chest, realizing it’s bare for the first time. He must have been getting ready for bed himself.

My nerves are so frayed that I don’t even object when he swings my legs up into his arms, or think about stopping to grab night clothes, I simply let Sinclair carry me back to his rooms. When he sets me down I realize I didn’t bring anything to sleep in. I pause, trying to decide if I want to go back or ask to borrow something, when Sinclair’s voice interrupts my thoughts. “Oh no!”

“What, what’s wrong?” I ask anxiously, spinning around and searching for a threat.

However Sinclair’s attention is focused on me, and suddenly I’m painfully aware of the fact I’m only wearing a towel.

“You washed off my scent.” He frowns, prowling closer.

“So?” I murmur, “I’m only going to sleep. No one is going to be smelling me.”

He shakes his head. “We can’t take that risk.”

“I – what risk?” I murmur, feeling my blood heat up in response.

“Well if I have to wake up early and leave for the office, there won’t be time to mark you before I go.” Sinclair reasons. “I’m afraid my wolf is fairly insistent. It needs to be tonight.”

“Your wolf?” I squeak.

Sinclair nods, “It’s for the baby’s protection, he won’t let either of us rest until it’s done.”

He’s towering me over now, and I can already feel my body getting worked up. The last couple of times he’s marked me have been almost dangerously arousing. “But I’m naked.” I whisper, as if it’s some sort of secret.

His green eyes flash, and a shiver runs down my spine. “Do you want me to go get you some underthings?” Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

I gnaw on my lower lip. I don’t want him to leave, and the idea of being completely naked with this man is beyond intriguing. Besides, I know it doesn’t mean anything to him. Nudity to shifters is completely normal, and he might think I’m pretty or a good kisser, but at the end of the day I’m still a human. He could never want me that way.

I shake my head after a moment, hoping I won’t completely embarrass myself. Sinclair nods with approval, reaching for my towel. I instinctively clutch the fabric to my skin, backing out of his reach. He arches a brow, “Second thoughts?”

“No.” I respond defiantly, unwrapping the terrycloth and revealing myself to him completely.

His dark gaze rakes over every inch of my exposed skin, and before long I have goosebumps. Sinclair strips off his own clothes, and it takes all my willpower not to look below his waist. He backs me into the bed, and when my thighs hit the mattress I clamber up onto it, still inching out of his reach, but too afraid to turn my back on such a known predator. I know he would never hurt me, but right now his wolf is in control, and I feel his power deep in my bones.

I’m shifting backwards towards the pillows, and suddenly Sinclair is on the bed with me. He’s on all fours, stalking me with lethal grace until I’m pinned beneath him, feeling more vulnerable than I have in my entire life. A low purr sounds in his chest as his green eyes bore into mine, and somehow I feel soothed, even as he lowers his face to the curve of my neck and breathes me in. His chest is brushing mine, and I’m embarrassed to realize my nipples are already hard.

“Are you cold?” He rumbles in my ear.

I nod, not feeling brave enough to admit how turned on I am.

“Mmm, let’s see if we can do something about that.” He offers, pressing his limbs flush to mine. The next thing I know his body is undulating against mine as his hands stroke every inch of me. This is like the previous times he marked me, only even more intimate than before.