Accidental Surrogate

Ella

“I can’t wait any longer” I say, two hours, one shower, and three sandwiches later. I stand up in the tiny steel kitchen, accidentally scattering the bag of chips I was picking at all over the counter. Honestly, I wasn’t even eating because I was hungry. I was just trying to distract myself.

“Ella,” Sinclair sighs, reaching for my wrist.

“No!” I say, moving away from his grasp. “They’re being selfish! They know I’m dying to know!”

“Let them take their time!” Sinclair urges, standing up with me. I turn to glare at him and see him looking longingly at the hallway as well.

“See?” I say, pointing at him and narrowing my eyes. “You want to go too.”

Caught, he looks at me and grimaces a little. “Well, obviously I want to go talk to them, Ella,” he says, rolling his eyes. “He’s my brother as much as she’s your sister – I want to know as badly as you do –”

“Then let’s go!” I laugh, slapping my hand on the table and grinning down at the baby, who looks at me curiously. I laugh again at his expression and coo down at him. “Let’s go see your auntie and your Roger and your new cousin!”

“Ella,” Sinclair warns, stoic. “It’s not right. They’re entitled to their time alone!”

“Oh whatever,” I say, waving a hand to dismiss the Idea as I grabbing the half–empty bag of chips off the table. “She’s probably hungry. She’s a pregnant woman! She needs sustenance!”

And then, before he can stop me, I’m charging down the hall, determined to see my sister and learn everything.

“No, stop!” Sinclair calls half–heartedly behind me, and grin over my shoulder at him, because I know he could catch and stop me if he wanted to. I laugh then, hurrying towards the door to our room and reaching for it, thinking that my mate is just as nosy as I am – he just has more qualms about indulging in it.

rap lightly on the door before pushing it open. “Hello!” I sing, sweeping into the room, my heart swelling with happiness when I see Cora laying down on the bed, her head propped up against the pillows, her shirt pushed up a little and Roger pressing his ear low against her stomach.

huge smile that does my heart so, so good to see,

bunker. And as I cross to her I think, suddenly,

まず

were attacked this morning – that I killed a man,

bedroom…

her voice suddenly worried. Suddenly alert, Roger sits up, likewise looking at me

myself sit down hard on the bed and doing my best to smile at

tongue, realizing that she, too, forgot about my morning in the excitement of this afternoon, and she opens her arms to me so I can come in for a hug. Sinclair closes the door behind him and comes to my side, taking the baby from me before I move across the bed and allow Cora to wrap me in her arms,

bed, the baby happily tucked against his arm. All right? he asks me, with a little concerned nudge to my

poking her with my elbow. “Cheer me up, then, distract me

laughs a little and complies with my request, looking down at her bare flat stomach and giving a little shrug. “There’s nothing much to say yet, Ella,” she says. “I’m barely pregnant. If a woman came to me in this condition, just hardly having missed her period, I would honestly advise her

asks, laughing and casually brushing his hair away from his face. “Because,” he says, smug, “the child has incredible genes – the paternal line is especially

swats his head a little, making

“Do you

a little, making my stomach twist. Cora likewise notices that something is

she asks, and then she looks at Sinclair, blinking, remembering. “Yes,” she says softly. “I remember you talking about

to her, reassuring, but then he looks back at Sinclair. “But it feels….different to me,” he

say eagerly, leaning forward, wanting it to be all right. Sinclair

are different, it doesn’t have to be exactly like what I felt with Rafe. If you feel it, it’s real. But what do you mean when you say it’s

her stomach. “You could… communicate with the baby, from very early on. And you said that you knew that Rafe was a boy

of the baby’s sex?” I ask, leaning forward to stare at him,

trying harder. “I feel the link, for sure. But I’m getting…” he

and puts a hand on his brother’s shoulder, not