Accidental Surrogate

Sinclair

My wolf is clawing at the surface of my skin, determined to be let out so he can tear Lydia to shreds. Gritting my teeth, I narrow my eyes at the malevolent she-wolf. “Lydia, you are the second person who has attempted to blackmail me this month, and I have to tell you – this is getting really old.”

Rolling my eyes, I continue. “And you seem to be forgetting that I’m on the board of the Moon Valley associated press. I hold shares in every major publication in the city. What’s more, none of the outlets want the Prince to win the campaign, because if he does the free press disappears.”

Lydia snarls, throwing her hands up, “fine, then I’ll simply text it to every person I know! It will get around that way!”

“And I’ll refute it.” I inform her coldly. “I’ll say it’s an old photo from when we were married, and the pack will believe me, because you are a traitor who abandoned them.” As I speak, I scan the room for her phone. If I refute her story, it’s true that the pack will probably side with me, but I honestly don’t want to risk it.

I finally see her device, lying on the hotel bed’s pristine white coverlet. Straightening up to my full height, I stride closer to Lydia, towering over her. “You’ve gone too far this time, Lydia.” I declare, backing her into the wall. “I’m going to let you walk away, but you have to go now. Leave Moon Valley by sunset, and don’t come back.”

“Or what?” She mutters bitterly, tears still hovering on her lashes. “You’ll kill me?”

“You aren’t my mate anymore.” I remind her, “And you never deserved to be in the first place. I will kill you if you make me, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Go back to your husband, adopt a child if that’s what you want, but stay the hell away from my family.”

Lydia shakes her head, still full of defiance, even as the scent of her fear grows stronger with every moment that passes. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you’d actually harm me.”

With an abundance of control, I close my fist around her throat, glowering down at her and letting her feel the full force of my rage. “You took my brother from me, for more than a decade.”

thought you could benefit from it, and you blamed our fertility struggles on me for years.” My voice is barely more than a snarl, and though I no longer feel insecure about this particular slight, it doesn’t change the hurt it inflicted

eyes as her air supply is abruptly cut off. “You left when the pack needed a strong Luna most. You have endangered everyone in Moon Valley with your selfishness, you cleared the way for a Tyrant to

just tears, Ella ran away because of Lydia’s tricks,

the bed and snatching up her phone while she remained huddled against the wall, gasping for air. “You have until sunset, Lydia. After that,

on the floor, sobbing out her pain and fury. Once upon a time the sound of my fated mate

first place. Of course, I wasn’t strong enough at the time – but I’m strong enough now – I have to be, for my pack,

the car, and leading them on a run through the dense woodland. I don’t hold back, sprinting at top speed and leaving my men in the dust. I run until the flames of my fury are finally banked, only turning back once my wolf is

beneath the covers. At first I think the round lump in the bedding is one of her pillows, but when I notice it breathing I realize that the precious human has burrowed into a cocoon of cotton and goose-down. Unable to resist, I lift the duvet to peek inside, leaning down to kiss her hair when I see

I head for the shower, still sweaty from my run. I sigh as the steaming water envelopes me, telling myself that I have to go back to work after I’m clean, no matter how badly I want to crawl into bed with Ella

little while? My wolf

grouse. Five minutes turns into fifteen, and that turns into an hour. Besides, Ella needs her

promised to update her about Lydia. He reminds me, determined

when she wakes

again in a few hours. In the end, however, she ends up finding me. Around three I hear small feet padding down the hall, and then a soft knock on my

the room in an instant, swinging it open and looking down at

twenty minute walks, remember?” She remarks pointedly. “Besides I wanted a snack and when I asked my guard he told me you were

did you get down the stairs?” I inquire, brushing a few

the guard still trailing after her. “What happened