Accidental Surrogate

Ella

“How are you feeling?” Sinclair asks, standing in the doorway of my bedroom. The wild hunt is tonight, and I know he’s not merely asking about my morning sickness or fatigue.

“Nervous.” I confess. “Do you think…” I trail off, blushing and unsure if I can actually speak the question I need to ask.

“What is it Ella?” He inquires, coming forward with an encouraging smile.

“Do you think I could see your wolf before we go tonight, just so that I’ll recognize it when I see you?” I whisper, barely loud enough to hear myself, but knowing Sinclair’s wolf ears will be more than capable of picking up on the sound. And so I won’t be scared. I add silently in my head.

“Of course.” He chuckles, “That’s a great idea. I should have thought of it myself.”

His powerful hands move to the buttons on his shirt, and I find myself taking a step back. “What are you doing?”

“You wanted to see my wolf, I don’t want to ruin this shirt.” He shrugs. “It’s one of my favorites.”

“Right.” I breathe, “Right, of course.”

He continues stripping off his clothes, and I work hard to avert my gaze. So far I’ve been very successful in avoiding temptation by not looking at his body in these vulnerable moments, and I’m not about to change that now – on the day when it’s more important than ever that we practice self control.

“Does it hurt, shifting?” I ask, staring at my fidgeting fingers.

time.” Sinclair shares, “The first time is almost unbearable, it takes hours and hours, but once you’ve gotten

suddenly lightheaded, “How old are

make the change when they go through puberty.” Sinclair informs me, pulling

eventually suffering through this sort of grisly shift, and I don’t like it one bit. “What was yours

was with me, he got me through it, just like I’ll do for our son.” He states, a promise

I can imagine Henry was a very gentle and supportive presence for Sinclair, and

forward, taking my face in his oversized hands. This is probably the first time he’s ever been unclothed when I’m not, and I’m amazed at how much stronger I feel with my own body covered. I never realized until now how vulnerable it is to be undressed and exposed when others are not, but Sinclair doesn’t seem to mind one bit. He’s still wielding the power in this

“Yes, sorry.” I flush.

murmurs, “and don’t get close to me until after I’ve shifted, you don’t want to be within reach of my claws when I

my pulse pounding in anticipation. Sinclair backs away from me, holding my gaze the same way he did last night at the stone circle. I keep my eyes on him, watching with horrified fascination as he ensures he’s not near anything breakable, then disappears. There’s a loud crack and the air seems to go blurry, I even feel a bit nauseous trying to keep track of the rapid movement. However when my eyes adjust and I’m able to take in the familiar room again, I see that where Sinclair was standing a moment before, now there is only a huge, black

slack. “That’s not a wolf that’s a bear!” I

any natural wolf and probably almost as tall as I am – gives me

is actually the man who spends every night

the rug and waiting patiently for me to recover

with images

what he’s thinking and his mind is clearly in the gutter. “Not like that! You know what I mean.” I’m amazed that anyone could manage to be so suggestive without speaking a word, or even

imposing Alpha would ever do something so very doglike, but then again his silly side always surprises me. Suddenly it seems positively hilarious

Can I touch

me to come to him. It takes a minute for me to find the courage to move my