Accidental Surrogate

Chapter 209 – Ella Breaks Out

Ella

Isabel stares after me with her mouth gaping open in shock, not moving from the bed. I don’t pause to put on appropriate clothing or even don shoes, instead sprinting to my door and pressing my ear to the wood. After a moment Isabel recovers and comes to stand beside me. “What are you doing?” She whispers, her pretty eyes wide.

I lead her back from the doorway, pressing my finger to my lips. The feeling of my mate is growing stronger by the second, and his voice calls out again. Ella!

I hear you! I send back through our bond, praying he can hear me. I’m coming, Dominic. The baby is fluttering excitedly in my belly, and I have a feeling that when Sinclair isn’t calling to me, he’s calling to Rafe. Still, when his voice sounds again he says only my name, Ella! Through the distance I can sense his exhaustion and worry, the nearly unhinged determination of his wolf. There’s pain there too, and I know he must be injured. He’s trying to get back to us, but he’s too worn down and depleted to communicate beyond these simple calls.

“I have to get out of here.” I tell Isabel, speaking as quietly as I can.” Dominic is… I can feel him, he’s calling me. But he’s hurt, I have to reach him.”

Isabel blinks, “Are you sure?”

I cut my eyes to her, “Of course I’m sure, I know my mate better than I know myself.”

“Alright, I’m sorry,” Isabel replies, “I was just surprised. What can I do?”

“Can you distract my guards?” I request, wondering if she’ll actually agree. This feels like the first true test of our friendship, but Isabel only sets her jaw and nods.

bedroom door. “You exit through the sitting room. I’ll keep them occupied

The Princess requires

of my surreal title, but I open the door as quietly as I can, peeking my head out even as the

Isabel frets, wringing her hands like the perfect damsel in distress. “Maybe just one of

of them should get to be her knight in shining armor, and I have to bite back a laugh when I catch Isabel batting her eyelashes at the guards. I disappear around the corner, trying to remember which of the secret passages Gabriel described to me is closest. I know there’s one on

me

moving as swiftly as I can. Suddenly I’m regretting my urgency to get out of the room without pause. I call attention on the best of days, and scampering through the daylit palace in my current state is not exactly discreet. I can only imagine how I must look: barefoot,

defying Gabriel’s edict to keep me in the palace. I

and constant, but no matter where I look, I cannot see him. Ella, Ella, Ella. I open my heart to him and follow the path our bond illuminates, throwing caution to the wind as I reach

moments I hear footsteps pounding the pavement behind me, and I smell Philippe’s familiar aroma at my back. I curse in my head, there’s no way I can outrun the

voice is growling in my ear and his footsteps sound as though they’re right on top of me. He practically tackles me, racing up behind me and gripping me as

doesn’t. He supports my body easily, then

us, but the other guards keep them at bay, holding their arms outstretched and backing them out of the square. I’m not sure if it’s for my safety or to keep them from witnessing the ensuing scene, but I

my voice and kicking my legs as he hitches me closer. I thrash and fight as he tries to drag me

snarls impatiently. “Damnit Ella,

one of my own, “I will never give up, as