The Mystical Attraction of Alpha

Chapter 228- Roger Forges a New Bond

Sinclair

Sleeping with my pregnant mate is becoming increasingly challenging as her body grows with our pup. Even though Ella takes as many naps as the pups in the nursery these days, she’s still exhausted by the end of the night and I’m not faring much better amidst all this stress and activity. Still, exhaustion isn’t enough to get us off to dreamland when getting Ella comfortable enough to rest is a nightly struggle.

The nest is a blessing, as the incredible abundance of pillows surrounding her on all sides can easily be shifted and fluffed to perfectly cradle her precious form – the difficulty is figuring out where I fit into the cozy retreat. Most of the time Ella just treats me as an extra large body pillow.

More than once, I’ve woken in the middle of the night to find her sneakily trying to rearrange my limbs to her liking. Each time I’ve told her to simply wake me so I can help, or to turn the light on for her late night bathroom trips so she doesn’t risk running into something or tripping in the dark. Of course, my instructions go in one ear and out the other because Ella feels too guilty to willingly rob me of my sleep.

This morning is worse than most, because I have to be up at the crack of dawn despite the fact that Ella managed to completely sprawl herself over my body last night. If it wasn’t for my prior engagement, it would be picture perfect: she’s on her side with her arms and legs tangled around my own, her round belly resting on my torso.

Her long rose-gold hair cascades over my chest, and her heartbeat is in perfect sync with the baby’s. Rafe and Ella’s sweet smells overtakes my senses, and my groggy wolf sighs with utter contentment.

I mentally curse this summit. The last thing I want to do is get out of this bed, shortly followed by waking the angel on top of me. I try to extract myself as carefully as I can, rolling her small body away from me and attempting to replace my mass with pillows. I almost manage it, but every time I manage to free one limb from her clutches, she latches onto a different part of me. Eventually she stirs and I emit a hushed swear, knowing the battle is lost.

“See is not nice waking your mate.” She mumbles, her words slurred with speech as she nuzzles my bare chest.

“I’m sorry baby, I have to get up.” I confess, kissing her her hair. “I have to meet with Roger before todays’ events get started.”

Ella sighs, snuggling closer, “uh-huh.” She sighs, her soft breath fluttering over my skin. “Stay.”

more trying to pry her determined paws from my

head, which only upsets my own wolf and sends my temper spiraling further

escape attempt, to no avail. “Goddess

stay closed as a glorious smile splits her cheeks. “I’m not. You just don’t have the heart to deny me.” She’s right, I could easily

the time I reach my brother’s suite. To make matters worse, Roger has clearly slept through his alarm. The lights are off and I can hear a persistent beeping from the direction of the bedroom. Groaning, I bang on the door with my fist, not giving a damn how boarish I’m behaving.

inside, the door swings open and Roger appears. He squints at me in the low light,

This war. The bloody delegations.

his door wide and ushers me inside, yawning and

neatly leaned against the walls and leaving a huge empty space

my temper.” Roger shrugs, but there’s an expression I don’t recognize on his face. “It didn’t feel right to have Gabriel’s servants to clean up after me, so I’ve been trying to put it to rights

thinking I pull him into my arms, enveloping

brother.” I tease in a saccharine voice, “you’re learning all

pushing me away. “Enough of that, tell me what’s going

I wish I could give you that, but everything

the oath at five o’clock in the morning, without any witnesses, in a dark room when

you think of a better way?” I question, hating that I can’t

shakes his head. “Okay, how do we

fangs and raise my hand to my mouth, quickly slicing a gash in my palm. I use my left hand, because my right still bears the scar where I forged this bond with Hugo, and I can’t bear to mark over it. Hot, sticky blood seeps

make sure he’s truly ready for this – to submit to me from here on out. He may have felt confident he could go through with this arrangement in the high emotions following my near death, but reality may seem colder now that the shock and grief have passed. “As my second in command, it will be your duty to support and balance my wolf. But it will also be your responsibility to carry out my orders, even when you don’t agree -even when you think I’m being as dumb as a brick. You may advise, you may debate and I will always do my best to listen and understand, but at the end of the