Accidental Surrogate for Alpha novel Chapter 422

Chapter 422- Bath Time

Ella

“Cora,” I scold, frowning, “you know I don’t’ feel that way – ”

“Well I know you’d never say it,” she protests, sighing. “But I do get that this union between a wolf and a human that, symbolically, it’s important. And even if you’re not disappointed that it could be…disappointing.”

“I want you to have the mating ceremony you want, Cora,” I reply, steady in my truth here. “Especially in the case of something as important as this.” I give her hand a little squeeze before pulling mine away. “But if you’d like to consider a middle path…maybe you could let me show you what I was thinking?”

She turns her head to look up at me, surprised. “You’ve been…planning?”

“Just a little,” I say, unable to keep the eagerness out of my voice. “Just late at night when Sinclair is asleep and I can’t sleep, or I get up to feed Rafe – ”

“You’ve been loosing sleep over this!?”

“No!” I protest, but then I hesitate. ” Well, not much.”

“Ella!”

“Just – can I show you what I was thinking!?” I plead, “sister to sister!? And then, if you hate it, you can say no.” A wide grin comes to my face then. “But I think you’re going to like it.”

Cora gives a big sigh, leaning back into her seat and closing her eyes. ” Fine, Ella,” she says. “But this is not a yes.”

“I didn’t think it was!” I say, newly excited. Because honestly…it’s gorgeous, and I can’t wait to show her my plans.

When I come sighing into our rooms that evening, Sinclair immediately looks up at me from his casual position on the bed – looking down at his tablet, still doing work, as usual – and immediately laughs.

“What?” I ask, frowning, my baby strapped sleeping to my chest. I put my hands on my hips. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he says, gracefully unfolding his gigantic self and standing up from the bed. Then he slips his hands into his pockets and smirks as he looks me up and down. “I just didn’t realize I was mated to someone who spends their days toiling in the mines, is all.”

“What?” I ask again, confused, and Sinclair, laughing, nods towards the bathroom. Both irritated and interested at once, I hurry in and gasp when I see myself in the mirror. “Oh my god,” I murmur, leaning in to get a good look at the very real layer of dusty dark brown grime that’s covering me from head to foot. “Honestly, why did they let me into the palace looking like this!?”

Sinclair, still laughing, comes to stand behind me. I groan when I see our contrast in the mirror – him the perfect Alpha King, clean-shaved and pressed – and me, a messy ball of dirt with crazy hair –

And then I gasp when my eyes light on little Rafe, who is likewise covered in a light layer of brown dust. “Oh my god!” I exclaim again, immediately beginning to ruffle his hair and moaning as a little puff of dust explodes into the air. “Ohhh, little baby! Mommy’s sorry!”

“A little dirt won’t hurt him,” Sinclair chuckles, reaching out to unstrap the baby from me. “Dirty in those camps, is it?”

“It’s bad, Dominic,” I murmur, helping him take the baby from my arms. “Honestly, if this is what we look like after just an afternoon, imagine how those people are living…”

“Well, we’ve diverted a lot of attention to it,” he replies, holding the baby away from him a little as he carries him over to his little baby bath. “Hopefully all of the people will be out of those terrible camps and in better situation in a month’s time, though of course some cases will take more.”

Rafe, waking a little now that he’s away from the warmth of my body, starts to cry a little in protest.

“Oh,” I say, my heart going out to him. I hesitate, wondering if I should just take him and let him sleep dirty honestly, I can’t stand to hear him cry like that –