Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate

Ella

Cora and I stand silently in the garage of the bunker, watching our mates pack their cars in preparation for their assault. Rafe is in my arms, fussing unhappily, and Henry has rolled his chair up on Cora’s other side, likewise watching tensely.

“It will be finished tonight,” Henry says, nodding confidently. “I know it. The boys will finish this.”

“I hope you are right, Henry,” I sigh. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep sending him off like this.”

Henry looks up at me, sympathy in his eyes, but I can’t return his gaze – I’m too overwhelmed. Instead, I look down at my little red baby, who is now crying unhappily in my arms.

Minutes – I know we’ve got minutes left until Roger and Sinclair leave. And I can barely take it.

“Come here, mini trouble,” Sinclair murmurs, and I jump a little as I realize that he’s close to me now, reaching out for the baby. I was too lost in my thoughts. I look up at my mate, my eyes filled with tears, and silently hand over the baby in to his waiting arms.

He doesn’t turn his attention to Rafe, though, instead putting out his other arm to wrap around me. I rest my head against his chest, looking away from him. But my eyes just fall on Cora and Roger, saying their own goodbyes next to me, and I can’t take that either.

So I turn my head in the other direction, pressing my eyes shut.

“It will be okay, Ella,” Sinclair whispers to me, the baby going quiet in his arms, as he always does, “I promise you, it will be okay.”

“I know you’ll do everything you can, Dominic,” I whisper. “I trust you – it’s just the rest of the world, and what it has in store, that I can’t trust.”

He nods, understanding, and then presses a kiss to my hair, pulling away too soon.

around the strap of his bullet-proof vest

touch of his fingers beneath y chin. And I stare up at him, my my beautiful, tender, ferocious mate. I’m coming

I growl, narrowing my eyes at him. “Or

this, shaking his head and passing the baby back to me. Then he presses a kiss to my mouth, tells me he loves me, and turns towards his car. Cora moves close to me next, slipping her hand around my elbow with a big

it, Ella,” she says. “The big push.

say as I turn to look at her, my bad spirits getting the best of me for

little towards a smile as she holds the hope for both of us. “At some point, it’s

pull out of the garage and drive away. Predictably, things are

kitchen and sink down around the table. The bunker isn’t totally quiet – there’s still a good

too ill to join the assault team, or those members whose skills lie more in research

people around, but still, I know that the three of us feel like we’re the only people in the world right now, so united are we in our misery. Or, well, four people, if we’re including Rafe. But I sigh as I look down at

Henry says, dipping a hand into the pocket of his wheelchair and coming out with a deck of cards. “That

up a little. “Nothing says distraction like a couple hands of high- stakes poker,” she quips. I smile at her, knowing that Cora loves cards. She’s clever and precise enough with them to be a bit of a card sharp. That’s how she kept us supplied with pocket money and candy in the orphanage,

are gone, let’s gamble away all their money,” I say, perking up myself at the idea.” Show

we sit, a little smile playing at his lips. “What shall the buy in be, ladies? Half a million?

both?” I

us both to shame and earned not

go,” I sigh, pretending to hand the sleeping baby off to him. ” He’s all

towards him to put them neatly back in their box.

her still-flat tummy. She cocks her head to the side and smirks at Henry. “Should