Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

“Ohhh, Rafey,” I murmur, reaching for my baby boy as Cora and Roger come into the room. “I’m so sorry, mommy and daddy just needed a minute.”

“Yeah,” Roger says, his smirk deepening. “To talk.” I shrug a little and return his smirk, refusing to let him embarrass me as I carry my baby over to his little changing table and gather the supplies I use when I feed him.

“What happened out there,” Cora says, a little breathless as she presses the door shut and looks around at us, wide-eyed. “I mean – is that…okay? For them to just bring a criminal and an enemy back into the nation?”

“It’s not precisely legal,” Sinclair sighs, waving the group of us forward towards our little living room once I’ve got all my supplies gathered. “But it is complicated, and a very… targeted message that they’re giving to us.

That they’re on Xander’s side in this, agreeing with his policies and his lineage, not mine.”

Together, we troop into the living room and I settle onto the couch as I begin to feed the baby, hoping that he gets as much comfort as I will from the familiar routine.

“Are you two all right?” Roger asks, looking between. me and Sinclair, who settles on the arm of the couch behind me.

“We’re fine,” my mate growls, and Roger smirks a little but nods as he sits in an armchair across from us. Cora looks a little confused, but shrugs, giving up trying to figure it out and sitting in Roger’s lap, clearly wanting to be close. He wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him.

“All right,” Roger says. “Then what’s our plan on how to retaliate?”

“Unfortunately,” Sinclair sighs, “they’ve played their cards well, bringing Xander here on a diplomatic mission. Because I have to be…perfectly diplomatic this entire weekend, or else I risk not being crowned.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised as I look up at him. “It’s that precarious?”

“These are a King’s duties,” he says, giving a little shrug. “If at the first trial of diplomacy – no matter how large the trial – I rip someone’s throat out? I’d say it’s enough to give any nay-sayers a strong argument for why I should not be the one to lead this nation.”

I sigh, shaking my head and looking down at Rafe, my sweet boy. “So. We have to tolerate him.”

more informal events,” Sinclair murmurs. “But yes, when they gather as a delegation en masse? There’s nothing I can do to prevent him, unless I do want to

says, tilting his head

we…provoke him into doing

mean, obviously I don’t know him, but this is a man devious enough to plan to get me pregnant and then steal the child. I don’t think he’s someone we’re going to trick into a faux pau

crossing his arms over his broad, muscled chest. Something stirs in me again as I look at him, and Sinclair glances at me, the start of a smile down his lips as he senses my arousal, either

just shrug a little. I can’t help

two,” Cora murmurs, still confused

worry about it, Cora,” he murmurs,

still confused, but

war – this

give us more time to develop a better strategy for getting Xander back and ensuring that

they’ll let him go?” I ask,

Atalaxians,” my mate replies, looking seriously down at me. “I’m securely in power now, and everyone knows that Rafe is my son and heir. If he tries

clear-thinking mate has returned, pleased to have been able to play a part in that. And

nodding, understanding. “They know we want him. Now they

the best mind for these sorts of games of all of us

think,” Cora continues, “that our best move then is to demonstrate to them

chimes in, nodding his agreement, “keeping an eye on him to see if he does make

of vengeance that makes me

around at my family and down

a good plan,” I murmur, nodding my

just have to put it