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.

wrapping my hand around the strap of his

murmurs, turning my face up to him with a touch of his fingers beneath y chin. And I stare up at

my eyes at him. “Or I am going to be very mean to

tells me he loves

“The big push. After this, we’ll have

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

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

out of the garage and drive away. Predictably, things are simultaneously boring and tense once

three of us file into the little kitchen and sink down around the table. The bunker isn’t totally quiet – there’s still

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

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 the little baby, who is falling asleep now. “You don’t even know what’s going on, baby,” I

out with a deck of cards. “That

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

little eagerly. “Now that the boys are gone, let’s gamble away all their money,” I say, perking up myself at the idea.” Show them what they get for going

at his lips. “What shall the buy in be, ladies? Half a million?

both?”

hours later, Henry has put us both to shame and earned not only a million dollars but also

the sleeping baby off

him to put them neatly back

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