Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

Chapter 422- Bath Time

Ella

“Cora,” I scold, frowning, “you know I don’t’ feel that way – ”

“Well I know you’d never say it,” she protests, sighing. “But I do get that this union between a wolf and a human that, symbolically, it’s important. And even if you’re not disappointed that it could be…disappointing.”

“I want you to have the mating ceremony you want, Cora,” I reply, steady in my truth here. “Especially in the case of something as important as this.” I give her hand a little squeeze before pulling mine away. “But if you’d like to consider a middle path…maybe you could let me show you what I was thinking?”

She turns her head to look up at me, surprised. “You’ve been…planning?”

“Just a little,” I say, unable to keep the eagerness out of my voice. “Just late at night when Sinclair is asleep and I can’t sleep, or I get up to feed Rafe – ”

“You’ve been loosing sleep over this!?”

“No!” I protest, but then I hesitate. ” Well, not much.”

“Ella!”

“Just – can I show you what I was thinking!?” I plead, “sister to sister!? And then, if you hate it, you can say no.” A wide grin comes to my face then. “But I think you’re going to like it.”

Cora gives a big sigh, leaning back into her seat and closing her eyes. ” Fine, Ella,” she says. “But this is not a yes.”

“I didn’t think it was!” I say, newly excited. Because honestly…it’s gorgeous, and I can’t wait to show her my plans.

Sinclair immediately looks up at me from his casual position on the bed – looking down at

chest.

as he looks me up and down. “I just didn’t realize I

see myself in the mirror. “Oh my god,” I murmur, leaning

comes to stand behind me. I groan when I see our contrast in the mirror – him the perfect Alpha King,

in a light layer of brown dust. “Oh my god!” I exclaim again, immediately beginning to

hurt him,” Sinclair chuckles, reaching out to unstrap the baby from me. “Dirty in those

my arms. “Honestly, if this

we’ve diverted a lot of attention to it,” he replies, holding the baby away from him a little as he carries him over to his little baby bath. “Hopefully all of the people will be out of those terrible camps and in better situation in a month’s time, though of

a little now that he’s away from the warmth of my body,

I say, my heart going out to him. I hesitate, wondering if I should just take him and let him sleep

going, Ella,” Sinclair murmurs, smirking at me and laying the baby down in his bath. “Let him cry a little for once he’s the happiest baby in the world, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.” Then, as I begin to strip

the basket, “he’ll probably be too big to wear those by the time they’re clean. He

he turns on the warm water and prepares to start bathing him. Rafe still fusses unhappily but reaches for his father’s finger, wanting to

I turn and start the water in the shower for myself. I continue talking to Sinclair as I climb into the hot stream, relishing the feel of it against my

the wedding,” I call over my shoulder, starting to shampoo my hair. “I don’t think she’s into it, Dominic. I’m

disappointing,” he replies. ” But yeah, Roger told me pretty much the

ask, turning to see his reaction, and Sinclair shoots me a

not mad, Ella –

shaking my head and turning away to rinse the shampoo from my hair. “That’s not what I mean I know that you’d never be mad at them for wanting a different kind of mating ceremony. But…does it mess up your plans at all? For the coronation, and the

I soap my body, I smile to see him taking a washcloth and using it to gently clean the baby, making soft, warm noises to little Rafe as he does. Rafe, tired, lets his father know his protest, but my heart swells with the patience I see in my mate as he washes his baby, explaining softly to him that he’s sorry he has to take a bath so late at night, but mommy got him all filthy doing