Chapter 99 – Falling for the Alpha as a Surrogate Novel

Filed to story: Falling for the Alpha as a Surrogate Novel >>

Sinclair

My wolf is clawing at the surface of my skin, determined to be let out so he can tear Lydia to shreds. Gritting my teeth, I narrow my eyes at the malevolent she-wolf. “Lydia, you are the second person who has attempted to blackmail me this month, and I have to tell you – this is getting really old.”

Rolling my eyes, I continue. “And you seem to be forgetting that I’m on the board of the Moon Valley associated press. I hold shares in every major publication in the city. What’s more, none of the outlets want the Prince to win the campaign, because if he does the free press disappears.”

Lydia snarls, throwing her hands up, “fine, then I’ll simply text it to every person I know! It will get around that way!”

“And I’ll refute it.” I inform her coldly. “I’ll say it’s an old photo from when we were married, and the pack will believe me, because you are a traitor who abandoned them.” As I speak, I scan the room for her phone. If I refute her story, it’s true that the pack will probably side with me, but I honestly don’t want to risk it.

I finally see her device, lying on the hotel bed’s pristine white coverlet. Straightening up to my full height, I stride closer to Lydia, towering over her. “You’ve gone too far this time, Lydia.” I declare, backing her into the wall. “I’m going to let you walk away, but you have to go now. Leave Moon Valley by sunset, and don’t come back.”

“Or what?” She mutters bitterly, tears still hovering on her lashes. “You’ll kill me?”

“You aren’t my mate anymore.” I remind her, “And you never deserved to be in the first place. I will kill you if you make me, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Go back to your husband, adopt a child if that’s what you want, but stay the hell away from my family.”

Lydia shakes her head, still full of defiance, even as the scent of her fear grows stronger with every moment that passes. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you’d actually harm me.”

With an abundance of control, I close my fist around her throat, glowering down at her and letting her feel the full force of my rage. “You took my brother from me, for more than a decade.”

I remind her. “You saw fit to ignore fate until you thought you could benefit from it, and you blamed our fertility struggles on me for years.” My voice is barely more than a snarl, and though I no longer feel insecure about this particular slight, it doesn’t change the hurt it inflicted at the time.

I press on, watching the panic grow in Lydia’s eyes as her air supply is abruptly cut off. “You left when the pack needed a strong Luna most. You have endangered everyone in Moon Valley with your selfishness, you cleared the way for a Tyrant to claim the throne. You drugged me, tried to steal my sperm, and on top of everything else, you made my Ella cry.”

I hiss, amazed to discover my wolf finds this as offensive as Lydia pushing the pack to the brink of war. Of course it was more than just tears, Ella ran away because of Lydia’s tricks, she might have been killed if I hadn’t found her so quickly. “The only reason you’re not dead already is because you were my mate, but that protection is gone now.”

I release her abruptly, moving to the bed and snatching up her phone while she remained huddled against the wall, gasping for air. “You have until sunset, Lydia. After that, all bets are off.”

I storm out of the room, not pausing to look back. I don’t need to– I can hear Lydia’s back sliding down the wall so she can huddle on the floor, sobbing out her pain and fury. Once upon a time the sound of my fated mate so distraught would have brought me to my knees, now it only fills me with satisfaction.

I should have thrown her out of my life years ago. In fact, I never should have started a relationship with her in the first place. Of course, I wasn’t strong enough at the time – but I’m strong enough now – I have to be, for my pack, for Ella and Rafe, even for Roger.

I want to go straight home to Ella, but I know I need to work off some of this violent energy first. I take my guards to the forest, shifting the moment I’m out of the car, and leading them on a run through the dense woodland. I don’t hold back, sprinting at top speed and leaving my men in the dust. I run until the flames of my fury are finally banked, only turning back once my wolf is calm enough to think of Lydia without growling.

I decide to work from home for the rest of the day, and I finally make my way back to Ella. When I arrive home, she’s sound asleep in my bed, curled up in a little ball beneath the covers. At first I think the round lump in the bedding is one of her pillows, but when I notice it breathing I realize that the precious human has burrowed into a cocoon of cotton and goose-down. Unable to resist, I lift the duvet to peek inside, leaning down to kiss her hair when I see her serene expression.

Afterwards I head for the shower, still sweaty from my run. I sigh as the steaming water envelopes me, telling myself that I have to go back to work after I’m clean, no matter how badly I want to crawl into bed with Ella and nap the afternoon away.

Just for a little while? My wolf begs. Five minutes?

You know it’s never just five minutes. I grouse. Five minutes turns into fifteen, and that turns into an hour. Besides, Ella needs her rest. I’ll probably wake her if I try to join.

But we promised to update her about Lydia. He reminds me, determined to win the argument.

And we will. I promise, when she wakes up in her own time.

And so I force myself to dress and go to my study, promising myself I’ll come check on Ella again in a few hours. In the end, however, she ends up finding me. Around three I hear small feet padding down the hall, and then a soft knock on my door.

I cross the room in an instant, swinging it open and looking down at the beautiful human with a furrowed brow. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“I’m allowed two twenty minute walks, remember?” She remarks pointedly. “Besides I wanted a snack and when I asked my guard he told me you were home.”

“Mhmm, and how did you get down the stairs?” I inquire, brushing a few locks of hair back from her upturned face.

“Marcus carried me.” Ella declares, gesturing to the guard still trailing after her. “What happened with Lydia?”

I glance at the guard in question, telling my wolf we can’t be annoyed with the man for following our orders not to let Ella near any staircases, just because we don’t like the fact that he touched her. “Let’s go to the kitchen and find you a snack, then we can talk.” I suggest, scooping Ella up.

“Dominic, I want to walk.” She groans. “I’ve been stuck in bed all day.”

“But there are more stairs.” I object, secretly thankful for this fact. I know the poor thing must be getting stir crazy, but I haven’t gotten to hold her since this morning, and I’ve missed her even after this short time apart.

“Fine but I’m standing when we get there.” Ella declares stubbornly.

“As long as you stand next to me, that’s fine by me.” I answer, hugging her close as I navigate the corridors. “Did you have a nice nap?”

“It was fine, what happened with Lydia?” Ella presses.

“So impatient.” I cluck, striding into the kitchen and setting her feet on the ground. “Food comes first. What were you craving?”

Ella squares her shoulders, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her chin up defiantly. “Dominic Sinclair, I am not telling you anything or eating a bite until you tell me what happened.”

I arch one brow, towering over her and giving her my most disapproving look. Ella glares up at me for a few moments, but finally caves when I emit a low rumble. “Fine,” she huffs, going to the fridge. She extracts a bag of baby carrots and some of my chef’s homemade hummus, pointedly opening the container and dipping one of the orange batons into the rich puree and popping it into her mouth. She chews and swallows, then says, “there, happy?”

“Not yet.” I murmur, taking a seat at the counter and pulling her to stand between my legs. My wolf relaxes as soon as she’s in the protective circle of my reach, knowing we can catch her if she starts to feel faint. I dip another carrot and hold it to her lips, determined to feed her a minimum of five before finally agreeing to share the latest developments. Ella obediently munches the morsels, and I can tell that she was hungrier than she’d been willing to admit. Her grumpy energy gradually diminishes, until she’s eagerly waiting for the next bite.

A bit later, I finally announce the news. “Lydia isn’t pregnant.”

 

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