Accidental Surrogate for Alpha novel Chapter 126

Ella

The streets were all but empty as we drove through the darkened city. I suppose everyone is still inside watching the news or waiting for more information to be released about the attack. I understand that we needed to be off the grid so no one could track us electronically, but I wish I had my phone. I wish I knew what had happened. I’m impatient to see Sinclair, to hear what happened and make sure he isn’t wounded.

My wolf is whining in my head, eager to be reunited with her mate. I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about the danger Sinclair has been facing while I was safe and sound with my guards, but now that the crisis has passed the possibilities consume me. I’m imagining returning home to find Sinclair covered in blood, his powerful shoulders crumpling under the weight of the lives he took tonight. He’s going to need me, and I’m already wondering how I can possibly comfort him when I don’t have the first clue what it’s like to go to war.

My guards are clearly focused on a very different train of thought. “Something still feels off to me.” Gabriel grumbles, scanning the deserted streets. “If the all clear is ringing, why hasn’t anyone come out yet?” He mutters, dragging a hand over his face.

“I think it feels off because it was a crazy situation to begin with.” Sean answers. “There’s never been an attack of this size in living memory.”

“Which is precisely why this is too soon for the danger to have passed.” Gabriel shakes his head, slowing the car. “I don’t like this. I think we should go back.”

Just as the words leave his mouth, the sound of screeching brakes shatters the quiet. A black SUV with tinted windows skids to a stop in front of us, cutting off our path. Gabriel slams on the brakes and the car lurches to a violent stop. The guard beside me throws his arm out to prevent me from slamming into the back of the driver’s seat. His hand catches me in the sternum, stealing the air from my lungs.

Before anyone can say a word, Gabriel curses and throws the car into reverse. We only make it a few meters when the vehicle slams to a stop again, this time colliding with a deafening crash. My body is jolted and jostled, and I whip around to see what we hit. A second SUV is behind us, blocking our escape route. “Fuck.” Gabriel explodes, “It’s a set up.”

I realize that there are other cars around us, blocking our path. Terror slices through me as understanding sets in. The battle isn’t over yet. We’ve walked into a trap, and Sinclair isn’t here to protect me this time. He’s so far away that there’s no chance he might make it back in time to help me. I have to trust that my guards will keep me safe, even if my pounding heart and the blood rushing in my ears warns me that this is all going to end very badly.

“Ella, hold on.” Gabriel instructs. “We’re not going to get out of this without a few scrapes.” He forces his foot down on the accelerator, and the car surges backward at full speed. There’s nowhere to go, so our only option is to try and push the other car out of the way. It rocks and slides, nearly toppling, becoming dented and smashed inward as it hops up onto the curb.

The noise is deafening, and I feel like a ragdoll as my body is thrown around wildly, yanked back and forth by gravity. I’m restrained by my seatbelt and the guard’s arm, but we’ll all fairly helpless to do anything but try to minimize the damage to our bodies. Glass shatters somewhere on my left, but I’m still just trying to get my bearings. I’ve never been in a car crash before, and I’ve heard people say that time slows down in this sort of accident. I wish time would slow down, everything is happening all at once, and I can’t keep up.

The car behind us is almost out of the way now, but the SUV on our right rams into the passenger side door, pushing us further away from safety. Gabriel keeps trying to maneuver the vehicle around to give us an escape route, but the other cars have us completely surrounded. My head cracks against the window when the car ramming our side slams into us right as Gabriel attempts to reverse through the tiny opening between the rear car and the bollards protecting the footpath from errant vehicles like our own.

My vision goes black for a moment, and the next thing I know, everything is still. My guards are climbing out of the car and shifting into their wolves, and Gabriel gives me one last order. “Whatever you do, stay inside, Ella.”

The world around me has gone very fuzzy, and I’m horrified when I look out the window and see how many wolves are waiting to fight my guards. I count at least three dozen, and part of me is furious that the Prince chose to send his best fighters here, when the people he hopes to rule are facing an imminent threat. I know he’s the one who created the threat, but he could at least put on a show and pretend to care, to help defend the city.

I feel very nauseous all of a sudden, and it only gets worse when the fighting begins. I’ve seen more than a little violence in my life, but not like this. Never like this. Gabriel, Sean and my other guards form a tight circle, their backs to one another as they bare their fangs and snarl at our attackers. The Prince’s men shift, and then they’re clashing viciously with my guards. Blood sprays over the pavement, and I see flesh ripped and torn, bodies tossed onto the street like bags of bones.