The Mystical Attraction of Alpha

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

the skin again smooth and healed. Satisfied, he nods and then moves to the shower, turning

me again. “I’m not sad to see

into the shower as Sinclair strips his own tuxedo, now likewise stained with my uncle’s blood. “I’m…Queen now. I should

both a fresh set of clothes. When he comes back, I’m nearly finished. I rinse myself off as I

Dominic,” I say quietly, my voice apologetic. “There

says on a sigh as I turn off the water and step out of the shower. He hands me a towel, looking at me with a blank face. “It will…be what it

I towel off. “All the good press will we

and again pulling me flush against him. ” We’ll handle it, Ella,” he murmurs, brushing his knuckles down the

“You think it’s fixable?”

head with a little shrug. ” No going

up at

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

my side. I know that he’s madder than he’s letting on, and that this really is a big

it’s good to know that he’s got

the soft clothing Sinclair brought in for me, twisting my hair up into a quick bun before stepping into

a tablet in her hands. Roger stands next to her, Rafe asleep

asks, nodding down at the tablet. “What’s the

Cora says softly, shaking her head as she concentrates on me. “The press is

– are you all

stepping to Roger’s side and reaching for my baby.

come in and start making plans for how to handle this but…” he glances

Sinclair says, crossing his arms and

thing, Ella,” he says, locking eyes with me and nodding. “I mean, I personally wouldn’t have leapt from the window to

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

are we all agreed?” I

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

say, shrugging a little.

she says,

none of us say anything, because honestly, that’s