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

settled around a ! much faster than I thought was

Cora and I and giving us a smile, “when

Otherwise, they’re not

his eyes still on the

us laugh. “If I’m making food, it’s

eat a lot of hotdogs,” I murmur

looks over at me from her chair

hire us chefs,” I consider. She raises her eyebrows, pleased at the

gathered happily around the fire, talking about nothing and everything, chatting lightly about what we’ll be doing in our mutual future but not touching on any of the big, scary subjects that

about laughter, and

crisp just the way

“you’re going to

to open my eyes as I take another bite – He won’t mind

as well as Sinclair walks Rafe away from me, apologizing in a loud murmur for how messy and inconsiderate his mother is I wave a hand at him,

finish my s’more and look around at my family, watching them quietly Henry watches Sinclair and his grandchild while Cora and Roger sit close to each other, not talking but clearly connected in this

around at our dark Camp

dark

about pantele Roger murs to sing a hand to play with Cora

murmurs

she says, looking up at the stars and then turning her head to look

him.

crossing my face as I watch

I decide that that’s my

I can, I stand up from my little

curious and I nod my head first towards the RV and then

quietly. My

a hand on his back, leaning down to

by one, as stealthily as we can – which is not very

noisy platform – the three of us and the baby make our way back

alone by the fire to

they’re talking about,” I say to Sinclair

shut behind him, the baby still curled in his arms. I’m

Roger and Cora

that their business, little spy?” he says, coming to sit with me

our own moment, rolls his way back to

about wanting to watch some television, though we both know he

reaching for my baby,

you know I always want

murmurs, slipping his arms low around me

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

never cared as much about the details of my brother’s love life until you came

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

girlfriend drama -”

body going stiff behind me, just a

ask, turning