Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

#Chapter 307 – Old Friends

Ella

Two hours later, Sinclair and I welcome our friends back to our house for a casual breakfast and coffee

–

–

or mimosas, according to preference to celebrate Rafe’s moonlight baptism. I can tell our guests are dragging – they’ve been up all night, after all – but spirits are high.

“Wow,” I say, leaning back against Sinclair’s chest with a croissant in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. Rafe, thankfully, is asleep in his little recline stroller. Usually I’d put him to bed in his crib, but I want people to be able to say goodbye if they have to leave. “I can’t believe everyone I still up,” I say, peering around at our friends and family. “I mean, I know we’re on baby time so normal hours mean nothing anymore, but everyone else…”

“It’s a special occasion,” Sinclair murmurs; lowering his face to my hair and taking a long sniff of my scent. “We’re used to it. In wolf culture shifter children are rarer than we’d like, so we take the time to celebrate them when they’re born.”

“That’s so nice…” I say, sniffing a little, my eyes filling with tears.

“What?” Sinclair asks, pulling away from me a little, shocked. “Are you – why are you crying –

–

I swat at him, laughing a little. “What! Hormones! I’m tired! Leave me be.” Then I brush the tears off my cheeks, smiling despite them. I’m just overwhelmed and grateful, honestly, for all the love that our family has shown our baby. “It really is a beautiful tradition,” I murmur, and Sinclair kisses my cheek before moving away to talk to some of the Alphas who have come to see their new prince.

As Sinclair moves away, Isabel quickly moves to my side to take his place. “Hi, mama,” she says, giving me a warm smile as she wraps an arm around my waist. “How are you doing?”

my arms around her again,

lets me know that her words are an understatement. James

in one of the guest rooms?” I ask Isabel quickly, taking her hand and squeezing it. “You can stay as long as

but we both want to get home.

okay?” I ask, anxious, tugging her hand and urging her to tell me. She nods to a little love seat in the corner and I follow her

private as we can be.

voice soft and a little sad, “I know that you’ve been distracted – and there’s nothing wrong with that you’ve had such a hard pregnancy, and I know that the birth wasn’t easy on you either – you really shouldn’t have been paying attention to anything besides your body and Rafe and Sinclair

just tell me –“My stomach is roiling with

—

don’t think that Sinclair has told you absolutely everything,” she says, “about how bad the refugee problem is now, after the last days of the war when you were away on the boat. It’s nothing that he’s done

baby. If I were ever separated from him by war – just, had no idea where he was, if he was cared for – my heart wrenches to think of it. Isabel notes my paling face,

says softly, anxiously looking to where Sinclair is standing. “I’m

—

–

say, shaking my head and looking at her with a new determination on my face. “I need to know, Isabel -I’m getting strong, I need to do this sort of work. If Sinclair intends to lead these people,

“I knew that you’d feel that way. That’s why I told you – not because …well, Ella, if you’re still healing, you need to focus on yourself first. You can be so selfless you always put others ahead of

—

me so well. “Thank you, love,” I say, giving her a little smile. “I’ll

and looking around the

frown at her, not understanding, but giving her the space to work through

them if he could. Sinclair, we know, wants equal rights and peace

during the war when

the humans, at Cora, my own sister. I frown to think of it, to see some of