Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate

Ella

I spin around to face my mate, my hands on my hips, ready to defend myself. But he closes the distance in an instant, taking my face in his hands.

“Are you all right?” he growls, looking down into my face, his eyes quickly moving over my features. My mouth falls open a bit and I blink in surprise. “I’m fine, Dominic.”

“Thank god,” he breathes, wrapping his arms around me and gathering me to him in a tight hug. “I mean, I’m mad as hell, Ella I can’t believe you did that, but -”

“Dominic!” I protest, pulling back a little and frowning up at him. “How could I not have done that!?”

“Are you seriously asking me how you could have not jumped out of the window and attacked a man under the explicit protection of a nation about to take us to war? How you could have just let the palace guards that we hired to protect our people handle it, like they were about to do?”

I narrow my eyes at him, but…well. I also see his point.

Still. I stand by it – every moment of it.

“His life was mine to take,” I say, my voice more of a growl than I intended it to be. “Mine, Dominic. And no – I didn’t do it for vengeance, but he crossed a line tonight, trying to take Sarah and Jessica like he did. Would you have let him live, after he did that?”

Sinclair’s mouth tightens into a thin line. “No,” he says, answering honestly. “I’d have had the guards shoot him, take the shot as soon as they safely could.”

“His death was mine,” I repeat. “If someone was going to take it, I wanted the blood on my hands. And you, of all people, know why.”

Sinclair steps back from me a second, looking down at the man’s blood quite literally all over me. And then he sighs, and shakes his head, and surprises me by starting to tug at my shirt.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“What, would you like to sleep in your blood-soaked clothing, Ella?” He asks, glaring at me a little. “You need a shower, and to get changed.”

“Oh,” I reply, realizing that he’s helping me. And so I take a step back, raising my hands and letting my mate pull my shirt over my head.

not that I disagree with any of the things you did,” Sinclair says softly as he helps me strip. He pauses and glares at me when he sees the long cut along my side, but I roll my eyes before closing them and accessing my gift. It just takes a second – it’s a scratch, honestly and when I open my eyes I’m all healed

nods and then moves to

saying,” he picks up, turning to me again. “I’m not sad

I say, sighing and stepping into the shower as Sinclair strips his own tuxedo, now likewise stained with my

ducks into the closet to grab us both a fresh set of clothes. When he comes back, I’m nearly finished. I rinse

Dominic,” I say quietly, my voice

He hands me a towel, looking at me with

I towel off. “All the good

” We’ll handle it, Ella,” he murmurs, brushing his knuckles down the length of my cheek, and I smile

“You think it’s fixable?”

he says, shaking his head with a little shrug. ”

up at him. ” That’s not what

pressing his lips to mine. “We’ll figure it out,” he murmurs when he pulls away, just an inch. “Now,” he raises his head more and swats me on the ass, maybe a little harder than necessary, but

side. I know that he’s madder than he’s

to know

hair up into a quick bun before stepping into some slippers. When

on the couch with Jessica by her side, a tablet in her hands. Roger stands next to her, Rafe asleep in his arms. Henry turns his chair towards us as we cross

at the

us. ” It’s…not good,” Cora says softly, shaking her head as she concentrates on me. “The press is getting wind, and

you – are

say, stepping to Roger’s side and reaching for my baby. “But

of us, worried and confused. “We’ve been getting reports, and the aids are desperate to come in and start making plans for how to handle this but…” he glances up at Roger. “We wanted

is?” Sinclair says, crossing his arms

says, locking eyes with me and nodding. “I mean, I personally wouldn’t have leapt from the window to do it?” He cocks his head to the

line – he was going to get taken out. It was just a

agreed?” I ask, looking

blinks up at me. “Wait, why am I being singled out?” she

say, shrugging

she says, raising an

anything, because honestly, that’s what