Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate

Chapter 116 – Reeling

Ella

Hugo, Sinclair and I are all staring at the television with wide eyes and slack jaws, unable to process the images flitting across the screen. It seems like every time we manage to take a few steps forward, Lydia and the Prince find a way to send us reeling back – and this is no exception.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Hugo expresses, obviously overwhelmed. “Why would he risk losing the pack’s sympathy by parading around another woman so soon after his wife’s death?”

“Trust me, Hugo – Damon isn’t the one calling the shots here. This is all Lydia.” Sinclair states gruffly. “She’s going to force her way onto the throne one way or another. Right now she’s playing the doting friend, but mark my words, by the time the election ends she’ll be in his bed.”

“How bad is this?’ I ask, looking up at Sinclair’s handsome face, “Does she have information that could hurt you?”

Sinclair squeezes my shoulders, “She knows some secrets.” He relates, “but luckily nothing I could imagine as a smoking gun. In fact most of what she knows would be more harmful to the Prince – things like my father’s attack. Things the public believes were accidents but our private investigators proved malicious.” His mouth flattens into a hard line. “The real danger is that she knows how we think, how we operate. Not to mention that the Prince doesn’t have more than two brain cells to rub together, but Lydia has plenty.”

“So what do we do?” I ask anxiously, my head replaying the news reel over and over again. “My bed rest isn’t common knowledge, and they’re making it sound like my absence from the public eye is suspicious. Do we tell everyone about my condition? Or do we make an appearance?”

“I’m afraid making an appearance might play right into their hands. This could be some sort of attempt to lure us out of hiding.” Hugo advises, looking very grim indeed.

surprise, since my hearing has never been so sharp before. Wheels roll over the door

over almost every day since we agreed to be invalids together, and he’s been an

my human modesty is too deeply ingrained to allow me to strut around nude the way Sinclair does – and I’m definitely not changing in front of Hugo.

every day, but it isn’t enough to free me of bed rest yet. We all gather around the breakfast table, the men analyzing these recent developments in low, serious voices, and me

Sinclair asks, turning his blazing emerald eyes to me. They’ve been going around in circles for more than half an hour, debating how we should respond to

flash of emotion in Sinclair’s eye as he observes the nervous habit. Releasing my swollen lip, I sigh, “Do we ever know what happened with Lydia’s husband? I mean the Princess is dead, but Lydia’s still married

going about this the wrong way. Instead of trying to understand their motivations, we can simply leave it at knowing they’re corrupt and respond without playing into their hands. After all, they’ll be expecting some sort of countermove to challenge the media’s narrative, but we

rustling up her husband

features are still drawn with worry. “I still don’t like it. I think it’s the best hope we have, but something

“You don’t need to convene a blue-ribbon committee to tell you this is all fucked six ways

I feel like I’m missing something.” Sinclair replies drying. “There’s something bothering me and I just can’t put my

from the beginning that Princess Angeline’s death felt off – like a political scheme.”

Prince is too unimaginative

them shut, closing his hand into a fist and swearing up a storm.

know who isn’t too unimaginative?” Sinclair growls,

the type to impulsively destroy one of his

you saying what I think you are?” I gape, both certain I’ve understood

the dining table. “If the Prince had lost his temper and beat her to death, I wouldn’t question it. And if there was some sort of violent attack, you could make the case for rogues or vengeance for some slight committed by

if it was a political scheme you would think the royal family would have staged her death and spun the details in a way that benefitted the campaign beyond Damon looking sympathetic.” Henry agrees. “Instead