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.

our rooms that evening, Sinclair immediately looks up at me from his casual position on the bed – looking down at his tablet, still doing work, as

my chest. I put my hands on my

into his pockets and smirks as he looks me up and down. “I just didn’t realize I was mated to someone who spends their

once, I hurry in and gasp when I see myself in the mirror. “Oh my god,” I murmur, leaning in to get a good look at the very real layer of dusty dark brown grime that’s covering me from head to foot. “Honestly,

still laughing, comes to stand behind me. I groan when I see our contrast in the mirror – him the perfect Alpha King, clean-shaved and pressed – and me, a messy ball

I exclaim again, immediately beginning to ruffle his hair and moaning as a little

dirt won’t hurt him,” Sinclair chuckles, reaching out to unstrap the baby from me. “Dirty in

if this is what we look like after just an afternoon, imagine how those people

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

from the warmth of my body, starts to cry a little

out to him. I hesitate, wondering if I should just take him and let him sleep dirty honestly, I can’t stand to hear

in the world, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.” Then, as

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 hold

heart breaks with how damn cute it is, seeing them together, before I turn and start the water in the shower for myself. I continue talking to Sinclair as I climb into

over my shoulder, starting to shampoo my hair. “I

yeah, Roger told me pretty

mad?” I ask, turning to see his reaction, and Sinclair shoots

course I’m not mad, Ella

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 coronation

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