Accidental Surrogate

I’m groggy, a few hours later, when I wake up because I honestly haven’t gotten much sleep. But still, I’m instantly aware that I’m awake because something in my body is…different.

s my eyes crack open, I have absolutely no idea what it is, and no real interest in finding out. Because nothing feels wrong or off…just… different… So, I yawn and snuggle my body back against my naked mate, my spine pressed to his warm stomach. Sinclair gives a deep, sleepy little growl as he tightens his arm around me, holding me close even as he sleeps. I smile at this, happiness sweeping through me as I think about how lovely it is to have a mate that holds me and protects me even when he’s mostly unconscious.

And he’s so warm, and the bed is so soft, and the sheets are so smooth under my bare skin that I almost… Almost fall back asleep… But then? My eyes suddenly fly open.

Because there is…there is something new within me.

As I start to put the pieces together, I am instantly, starkly awake – and so is Rafe, I realize, as I peer through the dark over the side of the bed. My sweet baby is peering at me curiously through the slats of his crib – almost as if he can feel it too This new…new thing within me, a bond that wasn’t there hours ago – but which is there now, just a tiny silver thread of something new My hands fly to my mouth and my eyes instantly fill with tears because even though I didn’t experience this with Rafe – my wolf wasn’t awake then, after all, to help me feel it – I suddenly know precisely what it is.

My voice is shaky as I breathe the word, hardly daring to voice it.

himself up so that he can be closer – almost like he knows it too – And suddenly I’m laughing – the sound bubbling out of me, rich with

back and throwing a leg over his hips so that I’m straddling him, my hands on his chest- “Baby!” I shriek, thrilled, almost in pieces because of it, completely unable to contain myself, or think coherently, or make any sense Sinclair blinks suddenly awake, his hands tightening on my hips as he stares

snaps to a sitting position as well, shifting me back a little so that I’m sitting in his lap, his arms going tight around me as he stares down into my

really there – ” Ella, it’s…” “A baby!” I shriek,

brand new baby!” “The best surprise I’ve ever gotten, Ella,” he murmurs, staring at me like I’m a marvel as he sniffs his tears away, still laughing a little

right? – is- “Here,” he says, putting a steady hand on my cheek. “Close your eyes,” he murmurs, his voice excited, if soft. I do as he says, loosing a deep breath and draping my arms lightly around his neck before I close my eyes. I feel Sinclair connect to me down our bond, and then together we turn to the little silver bond that runs between both of us, just as Rafe’s bond does so slim, so tenuous and new I feel Sinclair move forward to it, almost as if he puts a mental finger out and strokes it, just gently – And in a glowing rush, I suddenly know…so,

determination within it not that that Rafe lacks those traits, but there’s just more When I open my eyes

I ask quietly, completely overwhelmed. “When Rafe was still growing? When he was this

you tell me!?” I ask, smacking him on the shoulder