Accidental Surrogate

Ella

“As happy as this is,” Sinclair says, folding his arms over his chest and looking around at the four of us. “And it is happy,” he says, looking at Cora and Roger to let them know that he’s sincere. They nod their understanding. “We do still have a problem on our hands,” he says, nodding to Rafe

in my arms.

“Yes,” I say, looking eagerly up at Cora. “Henry found out some more about the cult – I’ll tell you

all about it. It’s…not good,” I say, with a little grimace.

“Oh,” she says, drawing her brows together. “Okay – yes, I want to hear everything.” I nod, tugging at her waist so that she’ll follow me into the house. Sinclair and Roger come close behind.

“Did you find anything else out?” Sinclair asks Roger.

“No,” Roger replies, a little apologetic. “Just what we sent you from the library. Was it useful?”

“Incredibly,” Sinclair confirms, thankful. “But yes, we found out more…”

”

My mate and I take Roger and Cora into the little office and tell them everything, seating Rafe in

a little swing that we’ve placed there temporarily since we’ve been spending so much time here.

working on this issue. They’re both as horrified as we were to discover that we likely have

someone in our midst who is working for the cult, who either has already betrayed us or will soon.

Though both wrack their minds they, like us, can’t come up with a viable candidate for who it is.

“We need more information,” Sinclair growls, thoughtful, as he flips through what paperwork his

investigators have produced for the case, as if he might find something else there. I nod, agreeing,

but I look at Cora and see her fading a bit.

“You haven’t slept, have you?” I ask, concerned.

She smiles at me, apologetic, but shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Ella,” she says. “I want to help but I

think…”

“Upstairs,” I say, my voice definitive, swatting her on the rear. “Immediately, sleep.”

“I’ll take her,” Roger says, stepping forward to take Cora by the arm.

his chest and shoving

to stop him, Roger complies, laughing and falling back a bit. “I said sleep. Not bed.”

he says, “I just want to see my mate comfortably tucked in. All right?”

on her cheek. “We’ll figure it all out when you wake up, okay?”

And then she takes Roger’s hand and walks

say, leaning against his chest and sighing contentedly. He wraps his arms around my shoulders, dipping his head to give me a kiss on the cheek.

against him. “They’re idiots for

for a moment, considering all the things that

them,” I sigh. “Not like it was for

his head against the back of my neck. “You almost died like, four times since we’ve been together. How

sincerely up at

out that we loved each other, and especially that I was a

us, it was

says, looking calmly down into

says, nodding to me. “Like ours. They’re

I sigh, resting my head against his chest and closing my eyes. “That’s all I want. For

both of them.”

next five days pass with that seeming like a very real possibility. Cora and Roger stay with

reasons why they can’t go, and it fills

see the tiny little touches he places on her back when he

to say something in her ear, to see the way she

his dark, wry

Cora takes me by the shoulders and

go back

on my neck and

need you!”

”

me,” she says, taking her hands back and folding her

keep me in a little love bubble with Roger so that I

something.”

at her and giving her

shaking her head at me. “I’m not changing my mind, Ella. I’m in love with

it but she holds a finger up, stopping me. “But I have a life. And a boyfriend who I never broke up with. And

go deal with

petulantly down at my shoes.

I ask, glancing up at

a guilty hand to her forehead and shading

to be a

forward and rubbing her on the arm in what I hope is a