Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate by Caroline Above Story

Chapter 352 – Duke

Ella

“D-duke?” I stutter out, completely overwhelmed by the information, my eyes going wide. “There are dukes? And I had I have an uncle!?”

“I’m sorry,” Henry says, and I can see the guilt written all over his face. “I overlooked this – honestly, no one has heard from him in years – and, considering what we think he was actually getting up to, it makes a great deal of sense that he wanted everyone to believe that.”

“Who,” I say, frantic now, looking between Henry, and Sinclair, and Roger – Cora, I see, looking at me with worried eyes, but I know she doesn’t have any answers – “who is he?”

“Relax, Ella,” Sinclair murmurs to me, leaning close. “It’s all right -”

“It is absolutely not all right -“I snap, not wanting to be mean but completely panicked right now. “My father is dead but I have an uncle? Seriously? And no one told me?”

Henry continues to hang his head, shaking a little, and I instantly feel guilty. It’s not his fault – it’s so complicated, the politics, and why would he tell me about an uncle if he hadn’t spoken to the man in 30 years had genuinely a*sumed he was dead –

“I’m sorry, Henry,” I say quickly, leaning forward to put a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry – I’m behaving so poorly – ”

is absolutely correct. I have failed you in this.” His eyes shift to Sinclair

good. No one blames you, dad and Ella, you don’t have anything to apologize for. We all know this is a

know I don’t blame him for any of it, and that I love him dearly and am grateful for him every day. At least, I hope he gets all that from a squeeze, but the little smile he sends me suggests that

little irritated at the disruption and wanting all of the information on the table now so that we can decide to do something, instead of just talking about it. I smile at him a little, loving my all-action Alpha mate who is ready to go even though he almost got burned

about whether or not his father was his biological father. Either way, Xander was recognized, but he was never the favored son. That is why

stance which I actually think is quite clever,” Roger quips, and I’m shocked to find a smile on my mouth as he delicately raises his brows, looking up at the ceiling. “I mean, some of us think that the

the stomach to get him to stop, I grin at my brother-in-law, grateful for the laugh which has drained some of my

always fringe, always very much the King’s sullen brother rather than a real

“was perhaps… the mistake. That started

what?” I ask, confused

is for sure. But our best guess, at this point, is that…well, that Xander put this in motion. That he knew he was never a contender for the throne when his brother died but he coveted it

“To – to reclaim the throne. To keep

the grandson of a King. The nephew of a Duke that, perhaps, always wanted

benefits from Rafe being born? The man who intends to kidnap

great pains, I think, to ensure

thoughts, “is the a*sumption that

his deathbed he must have found a way, somehow, to communicate your existence to his brother before, or directly after, his death –

me?”