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.

a huge smile that

incredibly sad she was when she arrived at the bunker. And as I cross to her I think, suddenly, about the insane

まず

this morning – that I killed a man, ripped

bedroom…

Cora gasps, her voice suddenly worried. Suddenly alert, Roger sits

doing my best to smile at them as Sinclair comes to the door. “It’s just been a…big day, hasn’t it?”

afternoon, and she opens her arms to me so I can come in for a hug. Sinclair closes the door behind him and

baby happily tucked against his arm.

elbow. “Cheer me up, then, distract me from the fact that my baby was almost kidnapped this morning by telling me

shrug. “There’s nothing much to say yet, Ella,” she says. “I’m barely pregnant. If a woman came to

to this baby,” Roger murmurs, definitive, returning his ear to her stomach. “This one’s strong! “How do you know?” she 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 fierce, not to mention

and I both laugh and she swats his head a little, making him sit up and grin

leans towards his brother, curious. “Do

and his face drops a little, making my stomach twist. Cora likewise notices that something is off and she

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

at Sinclair. “But it feels….different

wanting it to be all right. Sinclair slides his

different, it doesn’t have to be exactly like what

baby, from very early on. And

sense of the baby’s sex?” I

the link, for sure. But I’m getting…” he sighs and opens his

a hand on his brother’s shoulder, not concerned but wanting to support