Accidental Surrogate

Wedding Preparations Ella “Ella!” Cora shouts from the closet, her voice a little frantic. “Ella, help! Please!” I turn quickly towards the closet, a biscuit and a cup of coffee in each of my hands and Rafe strapped to my chest in his little carrier. “What’s wrong?” I call as I hurry towards her.

But I see the problem immediately as I come to the door, with Cora wrapped up in yards of fabric and one of the stylists tugging fervently at the buttons which close the back.

“It doesn’t fit,” Cora says, her face worried.

“What?” I say, my eyes going a little wide. “But we did a fitting two days ago did you -” “I guess I got bigger,” Cora sighs, looking down at the little baby bump that makes me so happy to see. “I don’t know – it would be a ridiculous thing to consider with a human baby, but with the way these wolves grow? In leaps and bounds?” She looks back up at me, shaking her head. “I’m sorry Ella what the hell are we going to do?” “We’re going to use the back-up dress,” I say, grinning widely and shoving the rest of the cookie in my mouth while I put my coffee down on a shelf. Then I move for a big white box I’ve kept secretly in the corner under a pile of other big white boxes.

“Oh, thank god,” the stylist murmurs under her breath, making me laugh.

“Can you call the seamstresses?” I say to the second stylist, who nods and steps away to place a call on her phone. “We might need some last-minute alterations.” “I can’t believe you planned all this, Ella,” Cora sighs as I take the top off the box and reveal an identical wedding gown, just one size larger. “How…how did you even have the foresight to see this coming?” “I had a wolf pregnancy too!” I say, lifting the dress out and carrying it over. “I remember how unpredictable it is. At least you aren’t being flown over to another country right now in a middle of a war.” “True” Cora says, beginning to strip off the first wedding dress as I hang up her second and begin to steam it. “This is….slightly less stressful than that. But only barely.” I laugh a little, shaking my head and glancing over my shoulder at her. “So,” I say, eager. “Are you excited?” “Um,” Cora says, her voice high and noncommittalI gasp a little and turn fully to her now. “You’re not excited for your wedding!?” “Ella!” she says, laughing and shaking her head at me as she steps fully out of the dress and the stylist takes it away. ” You know that none of this has been important to me, and that Roger and I already had the mating ceremony to end all mating ceremonies. So,” she shrugs, “this all makes me more anxious than anything.” “Aww,” I say, moving to my sister, the steamer still in my hand. “Don’t be anxious, Cora. It’s going to go beautifully!” Cora sighs and smiles at me before dipping her head to kiss Rafe on his. He burbles up at her, happily kicking his legs, making her laugh. “You’re more comfortable in the limelight than me, sis,” she says with a smile. “The way you handled the coronation yesterday- “I was a mess at the coronation! I ran backwards! I cried!” “It was perfectly you though,” she says, raising her eyebrows at me with a smile.

I say, grinning at her, “you just be perfectly you! And it will be just as great.” “If you say so,” she says with a grin, crossing her arms across her chest. ” Actually, do you have a robe or something I can wear while I wait for the dress to be ready? I’m chilly.” “Here try this,” I say, pointing the steamer at her and letting out a little burst of warm steam

me, demon,” she says, swatting at me and laughing, making me turn away and get back to work. But even as I point to the robe hanging up in a corner of the closet and Cora dashes over to pull it on, I am filled with

it’s going to be a really

wedding in the great hall, where we had the coronation yesterday, but it has been satisfyingly transformed. I was a little hesitant about the choice because I didn’t want everything to look the same, and like we couldn’t make something special for Cora and Roger, but…well, it’s the biggest space we’ve got, and there are crowds of people already waiting outside of the palace in addition

beyond what I imagined it could be -” “How is that possible,” he laughs, looking around, “when you planned it all?” Sinclair is dressed to match Rafe, a little surprise I planned that makes him laugh. But they’re already such twins anyway, I think that it’s adorable. Not wanting to show up the bride, I opted for a very pale green that looks pretty with my hair. We decided not to wear our crowns today, wanting to be very much the siblings of the bride and

looking around the room again in awe. “I mean, I told them my ideas, but this team – they really took it and ran. It’s amazing!” And I’m not exaggerating – not at all. I told the team that I wanted everything to be white – white roses, white satin, white candles – but this? The entire room looks like a fairytale. And when the sun flows in

wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close to his side. “You did beautifully, trouble.” “I didn’t do it, the aids did!” I laugh, but I

crook of her arm. “To begin letting the guests in?” Sinclair looks at me and raises his eyebrows.

think so. Let’s get this started!” The aid grins at me and eagerly rushes off as Sinclair and I head to the front of the room, where we intend to greet as many guests as we can as they come