Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate

Ella

The trip improves by leaps and bounds the moment we stop at the campground for the night.

“Finally,” I sigh, taking a deep breath of the fresh air as I climb down the steps of the RV, my

baby curled in my arm and looking around him with bright and interested eyes. “It’s good to be on

steady ground again.”

“Remind me never to take you on a boat,” Sinclair murmurs, coming down the stairs behind me.

If you didn’t like this…you won’t respond well to that.”

“Yes sir,” I say passively, smiling down at the baby, who frees one of his arms and reaches out

into the cool evening air, clasping his fingers at a firefly who passes close by. I don’t mention that

I liked the sea voyage to the desert much more than I liked this, even though the accommodations

weren’t as nice.

“What about this?” Sinclair murmurs as he steps down the final step and comes to stand behind

me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I smile as I lean back against his chest. “Is the forest

an improvement?”

I look around our isolated campsite, lit with grey and blue tones in the dying light of the day. I

smile at what I see, appreciating the cool air and the blinking light of the fireflies that float lazily

through the space.

“Yes,” I say with a decisive nod. “This will do quite well.”

“Good,” Sinclair replies, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before releasing me and moving to a luggage compartment low on the RV. I watch as he opens it and begins pulling out camping gear – chairs, a cooler, some bags with extra snacks and bug spray.

“Oh!” I say, surprised by it all as my mate begins to set it all up around a burned-out ring where a

fire goes. “Oh, we’re very prepared.”

“Of course we are,” Roger says, climbing out of the RV with Cora behind him. When he reaches. the ground, Roger flicks the switch that prepares Henry’s little elevator. “We’re always ready to go

glamping in this family.”

I laugh at the term, settling into a chair that Sinclair waves me towards, smiling down at the baby “What do you think, Rafe?” I whisper to him “Do you like glamping?” He gives a happy little coo in response and I laugh, grinning up at his father. “I think that’s a yes

“Kid has taste,” Sinclair says, winking at me as he continues his work

around a ! much faster than I thought

over to Cora and

Otherwise, they’re

true!” Sinclair protests, his eyes still on

us laugh. “If I’m making

gonna eat a lot of hotdogs,” I murmur

she looks over at me from her chair next to mine. “You know I can’t

make them hire us chefs,” I consider. She raises her eyebrows, pleased at the idea, and we both

continues like this long into the night – the family gathered happily around the fire, talking about nothing and everything, chatting lightly about what we’ll be doing in our mutual future but not

laughter,

little as I bite into a smore that Sinclair hands me, the marshmallow burned to a crisp just the way I like it. “Oh my god,” I murmur, closing my eyes as

Sinclair laughs, “you’re going to get marshmallow all

refusing to open my eyes

arms I let him, wanting to be alone. with my s’more anyway Cora, Roger, and Henry laugh as well as Sinclair walks Rafe away from me, apologizing in

watching them quietly Henry watches Sinclair and his grandchild while Cora and Roger sit close to each

herself and smiling around at our dark Camp 7

dark

to sing a

murmurs

looking up at the stars and then

him.

own smile from crossing my face as I

that that’s

my little camping chair and send a pulse down my bond

and I nod my

quietly. My mate follows

walks to his father and puts a hand on his back, leaning down

one, as stealthily as we can – which is not very stealthy, considering

the RV with a noisy platform – the three

Cora and Roger alone

I say to Sinclair as

door shut behind him, the baby still curled in his arms. I’m sitting in the little kitchen

at Roger and Cora through the

coming to sit with me on the plush leather.

moment, rolls his way back to the bedroom, making

wanting to watch some television, though we both know

reaching for my baby, who

I always want

laughs. “Do you know,” he murmurs, slipping his

his chin on my shoulder so that he too can look out at

“I never cared as much about the details of my

them. “Roger’s hot. He probably has had lots

girlfriend drama -”

Sinclair asks, his body going stiff behind me, just

I ask, turning