Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

Chapter 275

Bonded

Ella

My head feels…so heavy. I groan, trying to move my hands up so I can press them against my temples, but I can’t move them.

“Easy,” I hear him say beside me and instinctually I turn towards his voice. Where –

“Easy, Ella,” he murmurs, his words thick with emotion. “It’s all right…”

I peel my eyelids apart, then, confused at the effort. It’s like I haven’t opened my eyes for weeks…

My vision comes back to me slowly, the room around me coming into focus with effort. I blink rapidly, looking around at Sinclair, and Cora, and Roger all standing around me, peering at me with worried faces. I feel very suddenly like Dorothy, when she wakes up from her trip to Oz.

“What?” I murmur, my voice thick and my throat scratchy. Suddenly anxious, I try to sit up, pushing at the bed beneath me but –

What the hell were all these wires, tied to my arms?

“Easy, trouble,” Sinclair whispers, pressing his hand to my shoulder, keeping me down. My body responds to his command, relaxing backwards as I look up at him. But…

“Where am I?” I ask, staring at him, and then I press my eyes closed. It’s all just too much.

“You’re in the hospital,” I hear my sister explain. “After the gift, at the temple…”

But her voice fades, almost as if I can’t hear it. I feel my heart start to pound, my breath ratchet up as my memories start to come back to me. Of being on the temple steps of Cora there, and what we learned about each other of Sinclair’s warm arms around me –

–

–

–

And then, nothing – and then clouds – and Sinclair again, and my baby –

Oh my god, where was my baby?

“Rafe?” I gasp, spinning towards Sinclair as my eyes fly open, desperate. “Where is Rafe?” Then I start to look all around me, searching for him – he’s here, he has to be, I remember him, my little baby, wrapped in white swaddling, holding him in my arms

“A dream,” Sinclair says hurriedly, “it was a dream, Ella – we met him in the dream –”

then, drawing my attention to it, reminding me that he’s here – of course he’s

breathe, moving my own hands so that they rest on either side of my baby. Then I close my eyes,

I reach out to him, sending all the love I have

I open my eyes again, feeling a rush of sudden and unexpected joy.

one of my hands and lowering his head so

We stay like that for a long minute as tears start to

in just a few minutes. To come flying back to reality after such a hard few weeks, after days of struggling in the dream state to get here. It is hard on me,

there’s no where else I’d

doctor,” I hear Roger murmur, and then his footsteps move to the door, heading

at my side, letting us have our

I all right,” she huffs, laughing through the tears that are falling down her own

then glance down at my poor beat up little body. “Um, I think so?” I feel so weak but there is also…a warmth, a stillness in me that feels… I frown, looking up at

her hand through her hair. “Yeah? I gave you back mom’s the Goddess’s – the gift, I gave it back to you,” she

gasp then, working to sit up straighter in my bed. “Cora!” I scold. “Why?! I gave it to you –

”

–

–

being ridiculous – you were dying – of course I gave it back to you I didn’t

from a Goddess – from our mom –

”

eyes snap to him as I feel suddenly guilty and a little childish, arguing with my sister like this in front of him, especially when I’m clearly so sick. I look up at him, my eyes apologetic, and I see his face instantly soften. “Please, Ella,” he begs.” You’re so weak – and she saved you with it – it can’t possibly matter

then turning to Cora. “Okay,” I repeat, raising a finger to point

the

—

hand tight in my own, when the Doctor comes in, Rafe hot on his heels. It’s

says quickly, coming to my side, almost running into Cora in his hurry to get to me. He quickly scans my face, his expression worried. “I have to say, I’m shocked to see you awake –” He quickly grasps my wrist, feeling for a pulse and turning towards the monitors

I say, hesitating, looking up at Sinclair. “Not precisely a medical

will,” he observes, a little humor in his voice. The doctor’s face screws up

turning back to the monitors. “Whatever it was it is a…remarkable

sharp pain spikes through my back. Sinclair starts at my grimace, leaning closer to me, scenting