Ch. 331..340

Chapter 331

“NO!” I scream, but the word is transferred instantly to a roar as I transition into my wolf, my

but I barely bones and body shifting in a flash. It hurts – less than it did the first time, of course – notice it because I shake myself out of my captor’s hands and am halfway across the room at once, leaping for the man who holds Rafe, my jaws gaping. He goes a little pale, taking a step

backwards and putting out a hand towards me to stop me –

But that hand, it disappears into my mouth. And I snap my teeth down.

The man’s scream pierces my sensitive ears as my teeth meet together around his wrist, as I wrench my head to the side, tossing his torn hand aside, savoring the taste of his blood in my mouth. He screams again as he looks at the bloody stump I’ve left behind, as I prowl another step

forward –

But suddenly, I feel a great blow against my shoulder that sends me staggering sideways

And then, almost at the same instant, I hear what sounds like an explosion behind me – I don’t

turn to it, my eyes fixed on the man who holds my son in his arms – but I know, through the bond,

through some other wolf instinct, that it is Sinclair.

I don’t take my eyes off the man who holds Rafe, instead finding my feet and beginning to prowl

slowly forward towards him again. He backs up, step by step, looking over my shoulders at his

colleagues as they die. I can see the progress of the battle in his expression, in the fear that comes

into his eyes, in the blood that drains from his face as he realizes that he’s not getting out of this.

room. That he’s going to die here, but not until he watches all of his friends die first.

I hear the ripping sounds my mate makes in his gigantic wolf form, the screams of the masked

men as he takes them down, his snarls and his roars, the rending sound of flesh. And each blow

rings through me like a song as I bare my teeth at the man holding my child, as I stare him down.

It doesn’t take long for Sinclair to finish. I didn’t think it would.

—

It seems only moments later though surely it was minutes – before I feel a warm human hand

on my scruff, gentle fingers digging deep into my fur until they reach my skin. I’m not scared. I

know who it is. The only other man left alive in this room is my mate, and only he would I let

touch me like that.

“It’s all right, Ella,” Sinclair says, a growl still resonating in his voice, the fury still pulsing

time to look up at him, at my mate, covered in our enemies‘ blood. Something soars in me at the sight of him like that – my warrior mate with his barbarian soul.

Our

eyes meet for just a moment, and then he sees the determination in me and nods once.

Then, Sinclair turns back to the man holding my crying child. “Give him to me,” he demands, just once. The man does so, immediately, blood dripping from his trembling arm, knowing that his cause is lost –

perhaps looking for some clemency if he obliges us now.

Sinclair takes Rafe safely in his gigantic arms and turns away from the man, from me, walking away from us, shushing our child and bobbing him lightly in his arms.

And then, it’s just me, and this man, and my murderous rage.

I prowl another step forward.

The man raises his hands towards me, palms out. “Please,” he whispers.

But it’s a waste of breath.

I coil my limbs and leap for him, my paws hitting him in the chest first and slamming him back

into the wall moments before I sink my teeth into his neck, ripping out his throat.

The man falls gurgling to the floor with me on top of him, growling down into his face as the life.

leaves his eyes.

And then, when it’s done, I turn back to my mate, who stands in the middle of a room covered in

bodies and gore, his mouth curved up on one side into a proud smile.

I shift, then, back into my human body, standing up, the man’s blood still covering the bottom

half of my face and running down my neck. And then, with perfect control, I cross the room and

let my mate wrap me in his arms as I stare down at my child, who cries his little scared heart out.

And I relish every scream that echoes in my ears.

Because if I can hear him, it means that he’s still here, he’s still mine.

And I’ve done my job. I’ve kept him safe.

Sinclair

I turn, a little, taking Ella and Rafe with me as Roger bursts into the room, followed by a few

to command them to stay with the priest – to make sure that we kept him, as I delt with whatever

was happening up here.

Then, once the priest was secure, they were to come and help.

“Oh my god,” Roger says, his eyes going wide as he looks at the blood all over our bedroom – on

all the bedding, all the walls, even the ceiling – and at the bodies scattered almost creatively on

every surface. “What the – how did you –”

“They came for Rafe,” Ella explains, and I look down at her, a little surprised at the cool calm with

which she replies to my brother. This is the woman who cried when she saw Rafe’s first teddy

bear who once told me that she won’t eat chocolate Easter bunnies because it feels too cruel to

bite their ears off. But there is a level of ferocity in my little rose–gold mate that I think many –

including my brother – forget about her.

I smirk down at her, pleased and proud. She has certainly reminded everyone of that today.

“We killed them,” Ella says, her arms wrapped around my waist, giving a cool little shrug.

“You….sure did,” Roger says, still looking around with wide eyes. But then, his surprise fading,

Roger looks back at me with a grave expression. “Sinclair…” he hesitates.

–

“What?” I ask, my body tensing. I feel Ella go tense beside me as well as she gives half her

attention to Roger, the other half to Rafe, who she takes from my arms, resting her back against

me and allowing me to wrap my arms around both of them.

“The priest…” he says, shaking his head.

“He escaped?” I growl, suddenly filled with rage.

“No,” Roger says, his eyes going wide again. “Well, I mean – yes – but Sinclair, he disappeared.

Just vanished.”

–

“Fuck,” I snarl, whipping my head to the side and staring into space for a moment, trying to

–

decide our next move. Somehow, all of this was tied either the priest allowed himself to be

taken here to coincide with the attempt to kidnap on our child to distract us, or the kidnapping

attempt was the distraction – a sacrifice so that the priest could go free –

Or, something else entirely

But damn it, we just didn’t have enough information. And as was made clear today, the cult is beginning to make its moves. And we are simply not ready for them.

 

Chapter 332

“We have to go,” Sinclair commands, looking at his brother and then at me, both of our eyes trained on him. “To one of the bunkers. Where we’re better prepared for a siege, if need be.”

I don’t know what he means – not entirely – but I just give my mate a single nod, agreeing to his plan, trusting him. Roger nods as well, and I’m sure he knows more about it than I do. Sinclair shifts his gaze to the team standing wide–eyed behind Roger and nods to them. Understanding Sinclair’s command to prepare to move, they turn away, instantly in action.

Roger, however, stays perfectly still. “Cora,” he says, looking into Sinclair’s eyes, his intention perfectly clear. He won’t go without her.

“We’ll find her,” I answer, my voice assured. “She’s coming, Roger. I won’t have it any other way.”

Roger looks between us for a moment, his mouth tightening, and then nods once before turning to leave the room to make his own preparations.

“Ten minutes!” Sinclair calls after him. “Less, if we can!” I see the back of Roger’s head nod in

understanding, though he doesn’t turn to say anything else.

Then, my mate turns his attention to me, loosening his arms around me and the baby and coming around to look down into my face. “You’re a mess, little mate,” he murmurs, smiling a little.”

Though I have to admit that I rather like the sight of you covered in the blood of your enemies,

“Thanks,” I say, tossing my hair over my shoulder and pretending a casual air I don’t feel. “I hear it’s the next big thing in fashion. Very chic.”

He laughs a little at my joke and shakes his head at me, but still looks down at me. “Are you all right, darling?” he asks, and something about his voice – the worry in it, the need for me to be

okay, loosens the resolve in me. I feel my face fall then, my knees go a little weak –

Because, really, I can be weak now with him here. My baby needed me before – I don’t regret a moment of it – but I have Sinclair at my side now to keep me safe and I’m free to be vulnerable again.

“I’m not okay,” I say honestly, shaking my head, my voice trembling a little. Sinclair looks

steadily into my eyes, listening. “But I will be.”

“You will,” he promises, drawing me close and placing a single kiss on my hair: “But we have to move

“Yes,” I say, zipping myself back up a little and squaring my shoulders as I look my mate up and down. “Um – all this blood –”

“There are showers at the bunker,” he says, shaking his head a little bit and looking around the

room. “Maybe – baby wipes? To get the worst of it from our faces and hands? But the rest of the

time – we need to pack the essentials and get downstairs.”

I laugh a little, heading to Rafe’s changing station with Sinclair in tow, tugging a few baby wipes

from the little container and handing them to my mate before grabbing some to wipe my own face. “To think, when I bought these,” I murmur, “this is not the task for which they were intended

”

–

Sinclair’s laugh rumbles a little but we both move on quickly, heading together to the closet to

pack two small bags with the essentials – a bit of our clothing, and Rafe’s, and then a diaper bag

with as many diapers and changing essentials as we can fit. Neither of us put Rafe down for a

moment, just passing him between our arms when the other needs both hands. It is an instinct, I

think, to keep him close.

As much as we came out of this horrible day largely unscathed, we are both, I know, shaken.

We’re done packing in only a few minutes and head for the bedroom door – which I suddenly

fealize is shattered off its hinges.

“Do we need anything else?” Sinclair asks, passing through and not even looking at the

splintered remains of our entry.

“Probably,” I shrug, following close behind him. “But we can improvise, yes?”

He nods and turns, taking my hand as we hurry down the stairs, not wanting to leave my side for a second.

Roger’s waiting for us at the doorway with a backpack over his shoulder, a group of soldiers next to him carrying boxes of whatever they could quickly gather from the investigation.

“My phone,” I murmur, tugging Sinclair into the living room quickly, where I grab it off the table.

Then, all finished, the group of us move out of the house. Sinclair, the baby, and I move towards

one car while Roger moves towards another. There are second cars behind each of these two,

which the teams fill. I don’t ask about the plan, trusting that Sinclair and Roger already have

plans in place for this kind of event.

It has been perhaps…seven minutes, since we executed nine men upstairs in our room? Seven minutes since my entire world exploded. And I’m so grateful that I have a mate who, seven

minutes later, is already in action to make us safe again.

Because, I think as I pull the SUV’s door shut behind me and turn to buckle Rafe into the little car seat squeezed into the middle seat between me and Sinclair, it hasn’t been real, not until now.

Until now, it has just been a strange note and a wild goose chase, trying to find information about who might be coming after our child.

But today? Today it was very real.

The car begins to move as soon as I click Rafe’s tiny buckle over his belly, and then I fasten my own seatbelt and reach my hand instinctually for Sinclair’s, which is waiting for mine over top of Rafe’s carrier. I look forward, not at him, a little lost in my thoughts.

I thank the goddess, honestly, for whoever sent me that note on the morning after Rafe’s christening. Because without it….

Tonight may have been a surprise.

And we may have lost him.

I press my eyes shut against the horrible thought, loosing a shaky breath. I feel Sinclair’s hand tighten on my own, supporting me, and a small smile tugs at my lips.

Because I am safe. And so is my mate, and my baby. And with that in mind, I can now work on the next step, which is making sure everyone else I love is safe too.

“Your dad?” I say to Sinclair, turning to look at him finally…

“Roger’s already on it,” he says, looking down at his phone. “It’s part of the emergency plan — it’s been in place for a long time, and adapted since the moment we found out you were pregnant. I get you to the bunker, Roger goes for dad.”

“And…” I say, hesitating. “Who gets Cora?”

“We send a car for her,” Sinclair replies, looking me in the eye. “As soon as you find out where she is.”

I nod and then scowl down at my phone as I pull up my contact information, sure that Roger is going absolutely insane right now at his assignment to fetch his father when I’m sure that all he’s howling to do is chase Cora down immediately and ensure that she’s safe.

God damn it, I think, my little wolf inside me prowling around in frustration, of all days for her to be shady evasive Cora…

I scowl as I press the “call” button and wait for her to pick up. When she doesn’t, I call again. And again.

 

Chapter 333

Cora picks up the third call and I narrow my eyes at her even though she can’t see me. I can tell she was screening my calls and only picked up because I’d never, ever triple-call her unless something had happened.

“Ella?” I hear her worried voice say, “what’s wrong?”

“Where are you, Cora,” I demand, letting my tone tell her not to fight me.

“What -”

“Where. Are. You.”

“I’m I’m at the clinic -” she says. “What’s happening?”

“We’re sending a car for you at the clinic, now,” I say, glancing at Sinclair, who nods to me to let me know he’s on it. “Get in it immediately, Cora. Don’t speak to anyone else. Don’t ask any questions.”

“Ella,” she hesitates, her voice wavering. “I can’t-

“This is not a request, Cora,” I growl. “They came for him. They tried to take Rafe. We are sending, a car for you, and you are getting in it.”

I hear a sharp intake of breath from her side of the line, and then a moment of hesitation, and then she agrees. “All right,” she says, and I can almost see her nodding anxiously. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

I exhale a deep breath of relief and nod. “Okay. I love you, Cora,” I say, my voice wavering a little.

–

“I love you too,” she replies, with I don’t know what regret? In her voice?

But before I can ask more, she hangs up.

“The car is five minutes from her,” Sinclair murmurs, squeezing my hand again. “We’ll get her. It

will be fine.”

“Okay,” I say, closing my eyes and resting my head back against the leather of my seat.

And then no one says another word for the rest of the hour-long ride away from the city and

deep, deep into the forest.

I’m a little surprised when the car slows down and Sinclair sits up in his seat, looking around in a

satisfied way that lets me know that we’ve arrived because really, it doesn’t look like we’re

anywhere.

–

“Good,” he says as the car comes to the end of what is basically a dirt trail honestly, the past five minutes have been a very uncomfortable ride and Rafe let us all know that he was not happy

“Made it…where?” I ask, looking around at the trees on every side.

“Here,” he says, and nods to the driver, who presses a button on the ceiling of the car, one of the buttons usually reserved for a garage door opener. And then my mouth drops open as, in front of us, the earth just…opens, sliding upwards like the jaws of some great creature and revealing beneath it a metal tunnel filled with orange light.

“Oh my god,” I murmur, my eyes going wide as I stare into it. “That is so creepy.”

“It’s cool,” Sinclair corrects, shooting me a little smirk.

“I mean, it’s impressive,” I continue as we drive into the entrance and start to drive down a steep incline into the earth. “But if you’re claustrophobic it is…nonpreferred.”

“Says my little mate,” Sinclair murmurs, turning to the window to hide his smirk, “who ripped someone’s throat out not two hours ago.”

“Yes,” I sigh, shaking my head and putting a hand on Rafe, who stops screeching and looks around in wonder at the sudden change of color, “so imagine what I would have done if he was trying to entomb me.”

Sinclair laughs but otherwise we don’t say anything else as the car drives a long way down the tunnel before the passage opens out into a wide space, like a large underground car park. There are a few more cars already down here, but the light layer of dust on them suggests that they haven’t been moved in a while.

I let out another inhale of breath, feeling suddenly quite safe, if just for the moment. I hadn’t realized that I was waiting for that but, perhaps a little bit of me was expecting another blindside on the ride. It is good, honestly, to be here, underground, where I hope no one can find us.

The driver pulls us into the next free space and Sinclair and I quickly unbuckle our seatbelts and prepare to get out of the car. The other car pulls up next to us and I see Sinclair’s men likewise on

the move.

“Is it all underground?” I ask, looking around.

“Most of it,” Sinclair replies, “for safety. Though there are some living quarters that peek out into

the forest, if we deem it safe to use them.”

I nod, understanding, and I lift Rafe’s carrier with me as I back out of the cat and shut the door

Then, I follow my mate and our two guards through the entry that leads to the bunker itself

I grimace when I see that the entire structure is very military As we walk through the hallway I

peer into some rooms we pass and note that the walls, floor, and ceiling of all of them and the

hallway itself are made with shining metal What sparse furniture there is in the rooms is

likewise rough and utilitarian I sigh a little, wishing for my comfortable little home

But then I remind myself that my bedroom is currently covered in corpses and blood. So. This looks pretty good for now.

Sinclair stops at a door almost at the end of the long hallway and pushes it open. I peer in, seeing a basic little living chamber that, luckily, has a queen-sized bed. I move inside it as Sinclair says a few words to the men who follow us, giving them orders for how to settle in while we wait for Roger, Henry, and Cora. Then, he follows me into the room.

“Is this all right?” he asks, looking around at the very basic accommodations.

“It’s perfect,” I breathe, setting Rafe’s carrier down on the bed next to me and smiling at him as I begin to unbuckle the baby. “It will do just fine. Do you have….a plan? For what to do next?”

“The start of one,” Sinclair sighs, running a hand over his hair and staring at the door.

“You can go,” I say, raising my eyebrows at Sinclair and holding the baby straight up against my chest letting him look around the room over my left shoulder. “I know you have work to do I’ll be okay.”

–

“I don’t want to leave you, Ella,” Sinclair growls, turning his eyes back to me so that I can see that they’re lit with a fury fueled by anger, and fear, and the knowledge that he came so close to losing us both today.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, holding that gaze, letting him know I don’t fear it. “It’s safe – you know it is. Go do your work. And when Cora comes, she’ll sit with me. All right?”

He hesitates, so I continue.

“You have to do work to keep us safe, Dominic,” I point out. “You can do more to help us if you’re strategizing with your men than sitting with me in this metal room.”

“Fine,” Sinclair growls, hating it but nodding. Then, he points to an intercom on the wall. “White button,” he says, “speaks everywhere. You need anything, you call. Yes?”

I nod and smile at him, letting him know that I understand. He gives me one last longing look and then leaves, shutting the metal door behind him with a clank.

“Well,” I say to Rafe, holding him back so I can look at his cute little face. “It’s just me and you now, kiddo” He gurgles and looks at me, giving me a little smile that makes me laugh. I just shake my head at him a little before returning him to his place on my shoulder.

“And they call me trouble,” I murmur, closing my eyes and holding my little boy close “Nobody’s come to kidnap me in awhile now Trouble Jr is right”

 

Chapter 334

I know the moment that Roger arrives at the bunker because he’s loud as hell, making sure that we all hear him pounding through the metal hallways. I wince a little, groaning and reminding myself that though metal is secure, it is loud.

Roger’s angry footsteps pound down the hallway towards me, towards the conference room at the end of the hall where I’m strategizing with the members of my team who have arrived. Roger knows we’ll be right here and he slams the door open as he strides into the room.

“Where is she “he snarls, looking around, as if he imagines that Cora will be sitting at the desk sorting through the paperwork with the investigative team.

“Oh hey, Roger,” I say casually, standing back and crossing my arms. “How are you?” I know that I shouldn’t piss my brother off any further – I know he’s on the edge as it is – but I’m unable to resist the chance to needle him a little bit. He’s being a dick right now anyway. He deserves it.

“Cut the shit, Dominic,” Roger snaps, his chest heaving a little bit as he stares at me, his fingers. curved like talons at his side. “Where is she.”

“Ellas in our room with the baby-

“Cora,” Roger shouts, his voice ringing through the room and making the rest of us wince. “Where is Cora!?”

“Damn it, Roger,” I say, lifting a hand to cover my ear as his words echo through the room. “Can you cool it? She’s on her way.”

“Where,” he growls, advancing towards me across the room, “where precisely is -”

But as he gets within a foot of me I swiftly raise my hand and smack him in the back of the head like I used to do when we were kids, making him stumble a few steps forward and gasp in outrage

“Would you chill out?” I snarl at Roger, starting to get frustrated with him. “She’s fine, she’s safe, she can’t get here any faster just because you’re freaking out about it.”

Roger spins to glare at me after he finds his feet again and opens his mouth to retort when our father interrupts

“Boys,” dad says, his voice low with the warning we’ve both been familiar with since we were old enough to be scolded We both react to it instinctually, straightening up and turning towards him like we’ve just been caught “Enough of that,” he continues, rolling into the room and looking at us sternly

“Sorry, dad,” we both murmur, and then we look to each other again.

“I’m sorry, Roger,” I say bruskly, meaning it but eager to move on. “But she’s seriously getting here as fast as we can the plan is working. So, can we just concentrate on other things? You standing by the door panting for her like a golden retriever who’s been left home alone all day isn’t going to help anything.”

Roger glares at me but nods once, agreeing to my logic and – I think – wanting something to distract him.

“Good boys,” my father says, rolling up to the head of the table. Then he focuses on me. “Roger updated me,” he says. “I’m so sorry to hear what happened to your family today. And so grateful that you came through it unscathed.”

I nod to him. “I am as well. But now we need to get to work. Are you ready?”

Both of them nod back to me and, together, we focus on our team, coming up with a plan to better. defend against this cult that wants my child and to formulate a counter attack. Because now, after what they did today?

This is war.

Ella

—

I look up when my door creeks open, expecting Sinclair and hoping a little that he’s brought me some food, but my eyes go wide when I see Cora peeking through..

“Cora!” I gasp, jumping to my feet and almost leaping across the room to her, Rafe still perched, against my chest looking over my shoulder. Cora slides through the small opening in the door and presses it shut behind her as I reach her.

“Oh my god,” I say as I wrap my grateful arms around her, “I’m so glad you’re safe. Are you all. right?”

Then I pull back a little bit to get a good look at her, to assess her condition. Her body looks fine. health-wise, but her face…

“What’s wrong?” I ask, suddenly knowing that something is truly, deeply wrong as if I didn’t know it already, from her absence the past five days, her unwillingness to return Roger’s calls.

“What’s wrong with me,” Cora gasps, bringing her hand to her face as she studies me. “Ella – you’re covered in blood!”

I look down at myself and blink a little “Oh,” I say Honestly, I’d forgotten Then I look back up at her. “Well, none of it’s mine,” I insist and change the subject. “But seriously, Cora, what’s wrong? Don’t say nothing. I can tell ”

“Nothing,” Cora lies, taking my face in her hands “You were the one attacked today – seriously,

me frown. But her words and her face are sincere with worry so I nod, taking a minute to reassure her before I get to my own questions.

Quickly, I pull Cora to the bed to sit down with me and fill her in on the events of the afternoon. I watch her eyes go wide and her face go pale as I continue, telling her all about the priest that they captured, and the men who invaded my bedroom, and how they pulled me away from my baby and grabbed him. And then about Sinclair’s intervention, and my own participation in the gory scene.

“And then we decided to come here,” I finish with a little shrug. “Almost instantly. Apparently they already had some kind of crazy apocalypse plan, we just had to put it in motion. You were the only wildcard that we had to improvise about, though, and send a car to find you.'”

Cora nods, understanding, and glancing away from me now that the conversation has turned back to her.

“Cora,” I say, taking a moment to lower Rafe back into his little carrier and leaning forward to take her hand. “What has been going on with you?”

She still won’t look at me, though I can see her shoulders start to shake with repressed tears.

“Oh, baby,” I murmur, moving closer to her and wrapping my arms around her. “What’s wrong? How bad can it be?”

“It’s really bad, Ella,” she whispers, her voice shaking with her emotions. I hold her tight and feel a few tears spill out onto my arm. I shush to my sister, making soothing sounds and rocking her a little bit.

“I’m here,” I promise softly, meaning every word of it. “Whatever’s wrong – whatever happened I’m here for you Cora.”

A few minutes pass as Cora cries a little bit, but she lets me hold her. Then, when she’s ready. she pulls away from me. Just a little bit.

“I know you’re here for me, Ella,” she says, sniffing and wiping at her face. “But he – he’ll never forgive me…”

“Who?” I ask, baffled. She can’t mean Roger – he’ll forgive her anything – what could she have possibly done that her mate wouldn’t forgive her for –

But when she raises her eyes to me, I know suddenly that’s precisely who she means.

“No, Ella,” Cora murmurs, shaking her head slowly at me. “Not for this Not This”

“What,” I breathe, my stomach turning with anxiety as I stare at my sister, desperate to know

Cora releases a shaking breath and then reaches into her back pocket, pulling out a folded piece. of paper that she hands to me. I take it with trembling hands and unfold it, staring at it. But then I

“I’m pregnant, Ella,” Cora whispers.

My mouth falls open and I stare at my sister, incredulous. She gives me a moment to put the

pieces together and then I’m like a gaping fish, opening and closing my mouth, trying to force the words out.

–

“How “I gasp, still staring at her. “But if you – and Roger can’t -”

And then slowly she shakes her head. “No, Ella,” she says, her lower lip starting to tremble with her grief.

I snap my mouth shut and stare at her, realizing that if Roger can’t…

“Hank,” she sighs, her voice quavering. “Hank is the father of my child.”

 

Chapter 335

My hands fly to my mouth, covering it in an attempt to hide my shock, but it’s not enough – Cora can see my every emotion in my eyes and my body, which has gone still with shock. And as she takes me in, seeing that my own thoughts are trending towards her worst fears

That Roger is, indeed, not going to have an easy time with this that it could very well spell the end of their very new relationship, especially as he has not yet given her his mark – She bursts into tears, burying her face in her hands.

“Oh no!” I breathe, dropping my hands from my face and throwing my arms around her again. I’m so sorry, Cora! I didn’t mean it! It’s not that bad!”

“Yes it is!” she sobs. “He’s the only thing I want I know that now and he’s never going to be able to accept this –”

“Sure he is!” I assure her, hoping to hell that I’m right, but then I frown towards the door as if Roger is standing right on the other side of it. And I narrow my eyes, wondering if there’s somehow I can force him to go easy on her – maybe even to accept the baby as his own

But inwardly, my wolf turns around with anxiety. Not his baby, not for Roger, she says to me, pacing back and forth, he can’t feel that way about another man’s baby – his wolf will never accept it

And I scowl, knowing that my wolf is right somehow. She knows Roger well and has intuited that Roger is the kind of wolf who would feel his paternity on a very visceral level, who would need the blood link in order to feel connected to the child.

I know that it’s different with me – that adoption would be a very real possibility for me in the future, especially as I was myself an orphan. I understand it and could welcome a child not of my blood as my

own. But Roger…

Passingly, I wonder where Sinclair falls along this line – I know that he treasures his biological connection to Rafe but would he –

Quickly, I dismiss the thought, turning my attention back to my poor sister, knowing that she needs my full attention right now. Slowly, I pull away from her and rub her back as she sobs. Then, as her cries start to lessen, I move my fingers to Cora’s wrists and pull her hands away from her face, making her look at me.

“Cora,” I whisper, shaking my head back and forth. “No matter what happens, you know I support you. I’ve got your back. Yes?”

”

Trembling a little, clearly still devastated, Cora nods. But I hold her gaze, communicating as clearly to her as I can that we are going to find a way through this. To make this right. And I decide, suddenly, that I’ve got to get her talking – have to get her out of her grief spiral and onto a plan. It would be best if I could get her a bit angry, determined – but, well, we’ll see where it goes.

“Cora,” I say again, taking her face in my hands. “How did this happen?”

And she begins to tell me everything, about how Roger stopped calling her after we came back home and god, I could kill him for that – and then all about the night she spent with Hank after the baptism, about how good Hank has been to her, and kind, and patient, and how she decided that even though she felt so intensely about Roger…

“You thought he was never going to love you,” I murmur, and then I drop my head, cursing myself. Because I was the one who kept hammering that idea in her head – that they should be apart if they couldn’t agree on children. I’m the one who drove her into Hanks’s arms, resulting in… this.

“Shit, Cora,” I murmur. “This is all my fault.”

“No, Ella!” Cora disagrees, putting her arms on my shoulders. “It’s not. You were just trying to be there for me. And,” she laughs now, low and ironic. “And seriously, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.

What was I thinking, not using contraception? I’m a fertility doctor, for heaven’s sake. If anyone

knows the risks, it’s me.”

I whip my head up at that. “Seriously, Cora,” I say, my eyes wide. “What were you thinking?”

And then we both just stare at each other, and, quite suddenly, burst out laughing. And it carries on, and on – and even though nothing about this is funny, not really, we can’t seem to hold ourselves together. As soon as one of us starts to stop, we catch each other’s eyes again and the peels of laughter start all over – desperate, humorless laughter, as if we’re clutching to the edges of our sanity.

“Oh my god,” Cora says, bent over, clutching her cramping stomach and wiping a tear from her eye. “It’s so not funny, Ella…” she murmurs.

–

“I know,” I reply, my giggles still peeling from me. “I feel so horrible. It’s just so ridiculous, Cora – just the incredibly bad luck of it –”

And then, slowly, we come back to each other.

And honestly, like rain, the laughter brought a little peace. I can see it in her face now, that she believes me, that she knows that whatever happens she still has her sister on her side. And even at the worst, we’ll still find something to laugh at.

“God, Cora,” I murmur, shaking my head at her and taking her hand and giving her a sad little smile. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, Ella,” she sighs, holding my gaze steadily, her eyes a little lost.

“Are you going to…keep it?” I ask, and I watch as her hand drifts to her stomach.

“I don’t know,” she repeats, shrugging and looking away from me now. “Honestly, I never thought much about being a mom. It was never on the table. And since Roger and I got together…it was even more of a non–issue.”

“Okay,” I say, not wanting to push her on it. “Have you told Hank?”

—

Slowly, looking at the floor, she shakes her head. “I can’t be with him, Ella. We – we broke up. I did it, the day I went back to the clinic, after spending all that time at your house with Roger.” She looks up at me then, her expression grieved anew. “It was horrible. You know how stoic Hank is – he was so upset, but he was trying to hold it together…. I mean, I don’t know how I go back to him now and tell him I’m having his kid.‘

“I get it,” I say, squeezing her hand, We’re silent for a moment before I breech the topic I know that she really doesn’t want to address. But I know that it’s time. “Cora,” I start, hesitating, “Roger has been… completely flipping out since you’ve been gone.”

“I know,” she groans, putting her face in her hand. “He has been blowing up my phone. But once I found out I was pregnant – honestly, I just took a test on a whim because I didn’t get my period after one day I just…I couldn’t…”

–

I squeeze her hand. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been my choice – I would have run to Sinclair, needing his comfort, wanting his help, even if I’d done something that I knew was going to feel like a knife in his chest. After all, Cora didn’t mean for this to happen – and it happened before she and Roger were together. So it’s not a betrayal…

But still. I try to imagine Sinclair’s face if I had to tell him I was pregnant with someone else’s child, even if it was a mistake…

And the pain I feel, just imagining it… I reach out and put a hand on Cora’s shoulder, understanding anew.

–

Rafe lets out a little chirping cry as I stare at my sister he’s not unhappy, just suddenly aware

And the door to the room opens. Cora and I both spin to look at it, our eyes wide –

–

Shit, shit I think as I look to see –

But I let out my breath when I see that it’s just Sinclair, carrying a tray of food for me.

He smiles when he sees Cora, crossing the room to greet her, but after he takes a few steps he stops as if he hits a wall.

Sinclair’s face falls, his eyes going wide, as he focuses on her, staring at her, his gaze flicking fast over her form. And suddenly, I realize that he knows that he can smell her –

“Oh my god,” he says, his voice shaking.

“The door!” I shout, knowing that if Sinclair is here, Roger isn’t far behind

Sinclair goes pale, spinning to slam the door shut – and he almost gets there, almost gets it closed –

But Roger shoves his shoulder against it before the door can click.

“Hey!” he shouts, cheerful, not yet realizing that Cora is here, clearly thinking that Sinclair is just

playing some kind of game and pretending to keep him out.

Tense, staring at the door, Cora grabs my hand.

Sinclair works frantically to shut the door, but Roger realizes something is wrong and growls, slamming his entire weight against the door so that Sinclair stumbles back into the room.

Roger storms in, worried, intuiting that we’re keeping something from him, but his face brightens immediately when he sees Cora on the bed next to me.

“Cora!” he cries, relief and delight chasing each other across his expression as he takes three steps into the room.

And then her scent hits him.

And he falls immediately into a crouch, his face confused and worried and defensive –

“Roger!” Sinclair snaps. “Calm down! Stop!”

–

But Roger ignores him, slowly prowling towards Cora, who jumps to her feet next to me, going pale. I stand too, placing myself between them, but Roger continues to slink towards us.

“How…” he growls, his eyes sweeping over her – and I realize suddenly that he’s not…he’s not mad

He’s terrified.

“How?” he asks again. “How Cora? How did you get my pup?”

 

Chapter 336

I gasp, my hands again flying to my mouth –

–

His pup his –

“Oh my god,” I murmur, my eyes flashing to Cora’s shocked face

But before I can do anything, say anything else, Roger leaps forward, grabbing Cora hard by the arms. She screams, terrified, and I can see the very real shock and fear on her face as Roger shakes her once, hard.

“How, Cora!” he yells, his eyes wide- so wide I can see the whites all around them –

I gasp, realizing that Roger is completely flipping out – realizing that he’s he’s turning

—

Sinclair sees it the moment I do and bellows, crossing the room in two steps and grabbing Roger around the waist, tackling him to the floor as Roger’s body changes swiftly, flashing into his wolf form in the blink of an eye. I move to reach for Cora, wanting her by my side, but Sinclair and Roger are between us.

I move, fast, grabbing Rafe’s carrier and dashing along the wall to the back of the room, watching Cora stumble backwards towards it as well. Rafe starts to wail with the shock and the noise of it all, but we reach the back wall at the same time as Cora.

Snarls rip through the air as I take Cora’s hand. As I snap my attention back to our mates I see that they’re both in their wolf forms, snapping at each other, wrestling on the ground, each seeking dominance –

“Oh my god,” Cora murmurs, her hand shaking as she raises it to her mouth, unable to take her eyes away from her mate fighting mine.

“It’s okay,” I assure her, reaching out and taking her hand, hoping that I’m right, “He was just – he was just really freaked out Cora –”

She turns her eyes to me, scared, but I squeeze her hand, willing her to believe that it’s all right. I open my mouth to say something, but my words are drowned out by a mighty roar and we both spin our heads back to the wolves to see Sinclair standing over Roger, pinning him down beneath his paws, Sinclair’s mouth open and with all his razor teeth on display.

Next to me, I feel Cora tremble and realize that while she’s lived amongst wolves for a while now – and while I’ve had time to get used to this kind of ferocity as part of my life and my own identity

That, well, this is perhaps the first time she’s experiencing it for herself.

And that, perhaps, it’s not the best moment for her to have this experience.

Even though he’s crying, and even though it goes against everything in my mother’s heart to put Rafe’s carrier down and ignore him, I do just that. And then I wrap my arms around my sister and let her tuck her face against my shoulder, crying her heart out in fear, and grief, and shock, and surprise

And whatever else it is she’s feeling.

As she does, I look over her head at Sinclair, who I see is stepping away from Roger now, some of the intensity going out of them. All right? I ask him, mind–to–mind.

Yes, he replies instantly, looking at me with his fierce wolf’s eyes. He flipped out – it was a purely bodily reaction to the shock, stress, and surprise. Fight or flight, and his body

unfortunately–picked fight. I needed to pin him down so he could take a second and realize that he’s being an ass.

I nod, understanding, and I feel my mate smirk as he transforms back into his human body. And in a flash of light, he’s there, that smirk right on his face where I knew it would be. Sinclair tucks his hands into his pockets and nudges Roger’s wolf with his toe. “He’s embarrassed, now,” he says, his voice light. “He knows he’s behaved badly, and he doesn’t want to face you all.”

I feel Cora lift her head from my shoulder, surprised as she watches Roger’s wolf get to his feet hanging his head a little but looking directly at her. Slowly, she uncurls herself from me and stands on her own, looking into his face.

“Come on, Roger,” I urge softly, kneeling down to attend to my own baby boy, lifting him up into my arms and bobbing him, hoping he settles. “It will be all right.”

And then there’s a flash of light, and he’s standing there in front of us, devastated.

“Cora,” Roger breathes, shaking his head, his face full of grief. “Cora, I’m so sorry

“It’s okay,” she murmurs, her hands still shaking.

He crosses to her in a few steps and takes her face in his hands, staring down into her eyes.

You’re you’re all right? God, Cora, if I hurt you I’d kill myself ”

“I’m okay,” she stumbles out, laughing a little and looking up at him, and as I stand with Rafe in my arms I can feel my heart in my throat to see the love she has for him written plain on her face.

“I’m a little shaken, Roger – you scared me –”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers again, shaking his head, earnest apology written in every line of him. ” I’m so sorry, Cora:”

And then he takes a step back, his hands sliding to Cora’s shoulders as he looks down at her stomach, marveling.

“Is it…” she says, her hands going to her stomach as she likewise looks down at herself. “Is it really…”

“Yes,” he breathes and they look up at each other again. “It is I can smell it, can sense the bloodline – Cora –”

And then laughter bubbles out of her shocked, relieved, delighted laugher

–

And Roger stares at her face for a second, and then he’s laughing too. And he grabs her again different this time, with no fear, no aggression – just sweeping her up in his arms and spinning her around in a circle as they marvel at themselves, at this impossible thing they made – I tear my eyes away from them, just for a second, a huge smile on my face as I meet Sinclair’s. eyes beyond them. I see the same expression on his face as he and I stare at each other.

–

Because whatever this is however it happened

It’s a miracle. And it’s good.

take a step towards Cora as Roger places her back on her feet, but Sinclair nudges me in my mind. Come on, trouble, he urges. Give them a minute.

But – I gasp, looking at him with pleading in my eyes. Sinclair just cocks his head at me and narrows his eyes. I scowl, realizing that he’s right. I glance again at Cora and Roger and find them totally lost in each other, their faces hardly an inch apart as they whisper whatever it is they’re whispering – how much they love each other, their future plans, speculations about what the hell is going on.

And I sigh, desperately wanting to be in on those conversations, but I pout and move to my mate’s side instead, my still–crying baby in my arms.

“Give him to me,” he says, and I do, settling Rafe into the baby–whisperer’s arms and leaning my head on Sinclair’s shoulder as we walk out of the room and shut the door behind us.

“Unfair,” I sigh, looking over my shoulder at the closed door as we walk down the hall towards the conference room. “Cora got to be there when all the drama went down when I got pregnant. But now she’s the human pregnant with a wolf baby and it is deeply unfair that I have to give her privacy.”

“You’re right,” Sinclair says, not meaning it, but humoring me. I can tell by the smirk I still see on his face as I look up at him. “But hey,” he says, grinning down at me. “At least, in recompense, they’re giving Rafe a little cousin to play with.”

And I gasp as I look down at Rafe in my mate’s arms, a little chagrined to see how easily he quieted there but filled with excitement none the less.

“Hear that, baby?” I whisper to him. “A new cousin to play with!” 1

But Rate doesn’t really seem to care, frowning and turning his face away from me and towards his dad, clearly wanting to sleep.

“He doesn’t get it,” I say, smiling up at my mate.

“He will,” Sinclair says. “A new baby Sinclair. This one as much a miracle as the last.”

“But no where near as cute,” I whisper, grinning up at my mate. Sinclair doesn’t commit to a side, but he gives me a wink, and I know that he, too, knows it’s true. And so I kiss him, and the two of us settle in to wait until Cora and Roger are ready to come out and tell us everything.

 

Chapter 337

I don’t really notice when Ella leaves. I’m too busy crying.

I think I scare Roger again when I start, because it’s just a few tears at first, but then suddenly I’m blubbering against his shoulder because it feels like every single emotion I’ve ever had – every single one – is racing through me at once.

–

“Cora,” Roger whispers, concerned, pulling me to him. But when I don’t stop he just holds me tight, shushing me and rubbing a hand up and down my back. Then, when I continue, he slowly walks backwards with me in his arms until his legs hit the bed, and then he sits down, pulling me into his lap, and lays back, taking me with him.

I start to calm down then, curled against Roger’s body, breathing in the warm scent of him as he makes soft comforting noises and kisses my head and whispers to me that it’s all right and that I’m lovely.

I’m embarrassed when I get myself together – seriously, the guy finds out that he’s going to be a dad and all I do is cry about it for five solid minutes – but when I look up at him he gives me a gentle smile, like he doesn’t mind at all.

“I’m so sorry, Roger,” I murmur.

“What?” he asks. “Cora, I’m the one who grabbed you and flipped out and spontaneously transformed into my wolf in a panic –”

“Yes,” I concede, nodding, but still feeling guilty. “But Roger, I didn’t call you for five days

“That’s all right Cora,” Roger replies, dismissing it way too easily as he strokes my hair.

And I shake my head at him as I realize that he’s just completely overwhelmed by his excitement about the baby right now – that he’s willing to forgive me anything in this moment because he’s not thinking straight. But then his hand pauses on my hair and I see him start to figure it out. “Wait,” he says, hesitating and looking at me more seriously. “Cora, why didn’t you call me for five days?”

–

“Because,” I answer, holding his eyes but blushing regardless, not wanting – at all – to talk about my other sex partners with my mate. Especially now, when he’s probably newly volatile and protective with his new dad instincts to kill anyone who threatens to take me away from him.

“Because, Roger…until you came into this room right now, and sensed your connection? I thought the baby was Hank’s.”

“Oh,” Roger says, his eyes going wide as he stares at me. Then, slowly, he rests his head back

“I mean,” I say, hesitating. “I didn’t want it to be. It was just… the logical thing to think at the time. I can’t smell the baby’s bloodline, and had no reason to assume that I – unlike literally any other human woman – could, somehow, carry a wolf baby…”

“No, I get it,” Roger replies evenly, still staring the ceiling and I think sorting through his own feelings.

—

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I should have told you – I was a coward. I just… I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to face it, especially if it meant…” I bite my lip, not wanting to face it.

“Did you think I would leave you?” Roger asks, his voice quiet, looking down at me now.

“I don’t know,” I answer, honest. “Would you have?”

“No,” he replies instantly, but then he hesitates. “I mean, Cora, it would have been…incredibly difficult for me. And I love you – I don’t think I’d ever find another mate – but,” he sighs and puts a hand over his face as he shakes his head, admitting the truth to himself. “If you were carrying

–

another man’s baby….it would have put an incredible strain on our relationship.”

I sit quietly, looking at him for a few moments. “But,” I say after a long pause. “It’s…not someone else’s child. It’s yours.” The words are shaky as they fall from my mouth, because I still can’t believe it.

“Yes, that’s right,” Roger replies, moving his hand down his face and looking at me, a little smile on his mouth. “So…do we even need to…think about it?”

“Do you want to?” I ask, curious.

“Not…a lot…” he confesses, grimacing.

“I mean,” I say, cocking my head to the side. “Do you forgive me? For…sleeping with him?”

“Cora,” Roger murmurs, sitting up and obliging me to sit up as well, considering that I’m laying on his chest. Then he takes my face in his hands again. “There’s nothing to forgive. I don’t I don’t care if you’ve had a romantic past – we weren’t even together when you slept with him. I didn’t like it, but I’d never hold it against you.”

—

I blush, realizing that I’ve perhaps been feeling…well, feeling a little slutty about the fact that I slept with Hank two days before I slept with Roger. But as I look up into Roger’s eyes I realize that that’s a completely human emotion – that wolves, unlike humans, are not precious about chastity or prude

about sex. They’re incredibly fierce about their mates, of course, but….we weren’t mated when it happened.

“All I care about,” Roger says, shaking his head slowly from side to side as he stares at me, “is our future. All right? Me, you, and this… weird little baby…” he murmurs, looking down at my stomach.

“Is it weird?” I ask, looking down at my stomach again, suddenly scared that Roger can smell something strange about the baby –

“Well, yeah, it’s weird,” he says, but when he looks up at my face he sees that he’s scared me a little bit. “No, Cora –‘ Roger says quickly, laughing and pressing a quick kiss to my mouth. “Not like that – just…we didn’t think it could exist. Right?”

“Okay,” I say on a relieved exhale of breath. “Okay.” And then I lay my head against Roger’s chest again as he lays back down on the bed, wrapping his arms around me, and I close my eyes and let myself feel…

Safe.

For the first time in days, I feel safe.

As I exhale again, though, I hear Roger take a deep breath and hold it. I look up at him, curious. ” What is it?” I ask.

“Cora,” Roger says, staring guiltily up at the ceiling. “You’ve taken most of the blame for this whole Hank situation,” he sighs, shaking his head again. “But honestly…it’s all my fault. I haven’t been fair to you.”

“What?” I ask, frowning at him. And then Roger moves to sit up again, folding his legs together on the bed and taking my hands. Unnerved a bit, but curious, I do the same, sitting across from him so that I

can see his face.

“Cora,” Roger says, holding my gaze like a penitent man even though guilt is clearly written all over him, “you didn’t call me for five days this week. But I…” he sighs, looking down at the bed and shaking his head again. “I didn’t call you for weeks when we got back to the capital, after our time

in the desert.”

–

“But,” I whisper, frowning at him. “It’s different,” I point out. “We we weren’t mated.”

“I know,” he says, meeting my eyes again and nodding. “But…I never told you why I stopped calling you.”

And I go a little pale as he says this. Honestly, I just thought that he had lost interest in me – or that he decided that wanting to be a father was more important to him than his attraction to a

human woman.

But now he tells me that there’s a reason? A real, concrete reason, why he didn’t call?

And I hold my breath, not sure if I actually want to know.

 

Chapter 338

“It’s all right,” Roger says, his eyes going wide as he takes in my pale face, my scared expression and realizes that he’s freaked me out for the third or fourth time today. “It’s not – it’s not bad, I was just kind of a dick – it was a misunderstanding –”

“What?” I ask, more confused now than ever.

–

“Listen,” he says, leaning in towards me. “Just let me tell you, all right? II was going to tell you at some point, definitely not like this but…” he sighs, looking into my face and then down at my stomach, and then back up into my eyes. “I think that… if we’re going to start on this new part

–

–

of our lives – this parent thing – well,” he says, giving me a charming little half–smile and a

shrug. “We should be on the same page, right?”

I nod, agreeing, but looking at him a little askance. “Did you not think that we should…go into our mating? On the same page?”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It’s a little different, Cora – because it didn’t matter – I didn’t think we could have kids

་་

I frown at him – not mad or angry, but confused…

“Listen, let me just tell it,” he says, leaning forward and looking at me with pleading eyes.

“Okay,” I say, quite simply, taking his hands and leaning even closer to press a kiss to his mouthr letting him know that I’m listening with an open heart.

“Okay,” Roger says again, taking a deep breath before he begins. “Do you remember… when you and Ella went into the desert with her mother, Regina?”

“Reina,” I correct softly, and he laughs.

“Right,” he says, shaking his head. “Those names are so easy to mix up. Anyway – you three were out on your girls trip, and my choice was either to hang out with those priests in the temple, or go back on to the ship all alone.”

Ismirk at him, knowing precisely which one he chose. He sees my smile and laughs a little.

“Yeah,” he says, grinning at me. “I chose solitude. Or at least…I thought I did.”

“Was there someone on the ship?” I ask, curious.

“Not precisely,” he replies. “I was standing at the bow looking out at the desert – honestly, a little pissed off at being left behind. Sinclair sent me to protect Ella, and there’s frankly nowhere I wanted to be except at your side –”

I smile when I hear this, but I don’t interrupt.

“But then, as I was looking at the sky, staring at the moon, it started to grow…brighter and brighter. And at first I thought that I was just crazy or drunk I mean, the captain gave me a little of his whiskey when he saw how upset I was

I squeeze his hands a little, begging him to focus, and he looks at me again and nods.

“And suddenly,” he says, his voice faltering a little, looking down at our joined hands, “she was there.”

“Who?” I ask, a little breathless, but some part of me knowing already.

Roger looks up at me now, his eyes wide and still a little startled by the experience. “Your mother, Cora. Except…at the time, I didn’t know she was your mom.”

“Oh,” I reply, and I try to keep my face steady but honestly…some part of me is a little jealous. We all met the goddess that night in the temple with Ella – Roger met her, and me, but she had only spoken to Ella beyond a brief introduction that Ella insisted on giving us. And at the time it had made sense – Ella was her daughter, the one she wanted to see.

But now? Now that I know that she’s my mother too? And that she only spoke to Ella in the temple, and then went to Roger later that night for a little chat?

I sigh a little through my nose, disappointed. Why does she want to talk to everyone but me?

“I know,” Roger murmurs, reaching forward and brushing my cheek with his thumb. “It’s half of why I didn’t want to tell you, Cora,” he continues, his face all sympathy. “I knew that it would… hurt.”

“Well, what did she do?” I ask, pushing past my jealousy and truly wanting to know.

He sighs, looking off into the distance a little as he continues his story. “She didn’t come in her bodily form,” he says, “like she did in the temple. Instead, it was just…a vision of sorts, more like the baptism but…not quite.” He shakes his head a little, at a loss to explain it. “But her message was perfectly clear.”

I squeeze his hands again, letting him know that it’s okay. That he can tell me. So Roger turns back to me and looks at me directly, not holding anything back.

“She told me,” he says, “that I was chasing the wrong destiny. That my future was not in war and politics, as my brother’s was – and you have to realize, that that was devastating to hear at the time, considering that we were in a war – and Dominic had just made me his Beta –”

I nod, understanding, concentrating on nothing else but his words.

“But then she said,” he twists his mouth a little, concentrating. “It’s hard to know how to phrase it – because it wasn’t precisely words – but that for the future of the world, I had to focus on family.

family -on finding my mate, and having children, and being a dad, and raising my kids well to be leaders of their generation.”

“Oh,” I say, blinking with surprise. And then I lean forward, finally getting it. “Oh, so you stopped calling me because…”

“Because I didn’t think we could have kids, Cora…” he whispers, clutching my hands tightly. “And it fucking broke my heart to do it because I loved you I was obsessed with you, you know that I

при

7

was and before she said anything to me I didn’t even care about kids – didn’t even really want

–

them it was always Dominic who was dying to be a dad, not me –”

“Oh!” I say again, my eyes going wide.

“Don’t listen to me,” Roger murmurs, apologetic, “I’m fucking it all up, Cora – I’m thrilled that you’re pregnant, and not just because the goddess told me to be. I want –” He pauses He pauses his

confused language for a moment and steadies himself, choosing his next words carefully to make sure that I understand.

“I very much want this child, Cora” he tells me, pausing to ensure that I hear him, “and I can’t wait to build a family with you.”

–

And I nod, because I do. I really get it. Honestly, I’m kind of in the same boat – I was likewise unsure if I wanted kids. But the moment I really understood that this was our child – mind and Rogers…

There’s nothing else I wanted in the world.

“So, you stopped calling me,” I whisper, “because you thought…my mom told you to.”

–

“I was so fucking dumb, Cora,” Roger murmurs, his eyes going wide as he again runs his hand through his hair. “I was totally freaked out I didn’t want to, but when a goddess tells you to do something you feel compelled to do it – and I thought she was telling me to run from you, when she probably was telling me to run to you to take you directly to my stupid tiny bunk in that

—

–

awful little ship and knock you up right then and there –”

I can’t help the little laugh that spills from me then, thinking about the nights I lay in my own ship bunk, aching for him. “Honestly,” I murmur, “I probably would have let you.”

–

–

“See?” he says, laughing with me and leaning close. “She shouldn’t have come to me at all – she should have just let things pan out the way they were going to should have known that I’m too stupid to understand a goddess’s meanings and prophecy –”

I’m laughing harder now, shaking my head and considering that we could have saved ourselves so much grief if my mom had just butted out and left us to our own devices –

–

Roger laughs along with me, and suddenly he’s gathering me up in his arms, pulling me into his

Roger, misinterpreting my mom – me, crying for weeks and running to Hank for no reason –

And I’m kissing him, loving my sweet mate, who never stopped loving me –

When suddenly I realize –

“Oh my god,” I murmur, pulling back from him. “Roger, when you mated with me…”

He frowns at me, not understanding where I’m going with this.

“You…” I whisper, shocked. “You thought you were picking me despite the fact that we’d never have kids. You thought you were..defying a goddess.”

Roger’s smile is slow, but deep, and he nudges me with his nose before pressing a long, slow kiss to my lips. “You were worth it, Cora)” he whispers. “I was ridiculous to try to stay away from you. I’d defy a

thousand gods to live this life by your side. It’s the only place I want to be.”

And I close my eyes, and kiss my mate, and let his love sweep through me.

Because even though it sometimes feels like my entire life I’ve been abandoned…Roger chose me.

Above everything else. Above his future, his family, the orders of a goddess, his destiny even… Roger chose me.

–

And as I kiss him, as I hold him close to me, I know that I chose him a long time ago, and now every part of me sings that despite all obstacles and hesitations – that choice was right, right, right.

 

Chapter 339

“I can’t wait any longer” I say, two hours, one shower, and three sandwiches later. I stand up in the tiny steel kitchen, accidentally scattering the bag of chips I was picking at all over the counter. Honestly, I wasn’t even eating because I was hungry. I was just trying to distract myself.

“Ella,” Sinclair sighs, reaching for my wrist.

“No!” I say, moving away from his grasp. “They’re being selfish! They know I’m dying to know!”

“Let them take their time!” Sinclair urges, standing up with me. I turn to glare at him and see him looking longingly at the hallway as well.

“See?” I say, pointing at him and narrowing my eyes. “You want to go too.”

Caught, he looks at me and grimaces a little. “Well, obviously I want to go talk to them, Ella,” he says, rolling his eyes. “He’s my brother as much as she’s your sister – I want to know as badly as you do –”

“Then let’s go!” I laugh, slapping my hand on the table and grinning down at the baby, who looks at me curiously. I laugh again at his expression and coo down at him. “Let’s go see your auntie and your Roger and your new cousin!”

“Ella,” Sinclair warns, stoic. “It’s not right. They’re entitled to their time alone!”

“Oh whatever,” I say, waving a hand to dismiss the Idea as I grabbing the half–empty bag of chips off the table. “She’s probably hungry. She’s a pregnant woman! She needs sustenance!”

And then, before he can stop me, I’m charging down the hall, determined to see my sister and learn everything.

“No, stop!” Sinclair calls half–heartedly behind me, and grin over my shoulder at him, because I know he could catch and stop me if he wanted to. I laugh then, hurrying towards the door to our room and reaching for it, thinking that my mate is just as nosy as I am – he just has more qualms about indulging in it.

rap lightly on the door before pushing it open. “Hello!” I sing, sweeping into the room, my heart swelling with happiness when I see Cora laying down on the bed, her head propped up against the pillows, her shirt pushed up a little and Roger pressing his ear low against her stomach.

“Hey!” she says, her face breaking out into a huge smile that does my heart so, so good to see,

especially after how incredibly sad she was when she arrived at the bunker. And as I cross to her I think, suddenly, about the insane swing that this day has taken.

まず

My face falls as I remember that we were attacked this morning – that I killed a man, ripped his

bedroom…

“Ella,” Cora gasps, her voice suddenly worried. Suddenly alert, Roger sits up, likewise looking at me with concern.

“No,” I say, letting myself sit down hard on the bed and doing my best to smile at them as Sinclair comes to the door. “It’s just been a…big day, hasn’t it?”

Cora clicks her tongue, realizing that she, too, forgot about my morning in the excitement of this afternoon, and she opens her arms to me so I can come in for a hug. Sinclair closes the door behind him and comes to my side, taking the baby from me before I move across the bed and allow Cora to wrap me in her arms, surrounding me with support.

Watching me closely, Sinclair sits down on the edge of the bed, the baby happily tucked against his arm. All right? he asks me, with a little concerned nudge to my mind.

I nod happily to him and then turn to Cora. “Come on,” I say, poking her with my elbow. “Cheer me up, then, distract me from the fact that my baby was almost kidnapped this morning by telling me all about your miracle.”

Cora laughs a little and complies with my request, looking down at her bare flat stomach and giving a little shrug. “There’s nothing much to say yet, Ella,” she says. “I’m barely pregnant. If a woman came to me in this condition, just hardly having missed her period, I would honestly advise her not to tell any family or friends that she’s pregnant yet. A lot can happen in these early stages.”

“No to this baby,” Roger murmurs, definitive, returning his ear to her stomach. “This one’s strong! “How do you know?” she asks, laughing and casually brushing his hair away from his face. “Because,” he says, smug, “the child has incredible genes – the paternal line is especially fierce, not to mention good looking

Cora and I both laugh and she swats his head a little, making him sit up and grin at her.

Sinclair leans towards his brother, curious. “Do you feel the bond, Roger?”

Roger turns towards him then, and his face drops a little, making my stomach twist. Cora likewise notices that something is off and she sits forward, worried.

“The bond?” she asks, and then she looks at Sinclair, blinking, remembering. “Yes,” she says softly. “I remember you talking about the bond.” She turns to Roger now. “You can feel the same thing?”

“I can feel it,” he says to her, reassuring, but then he looks back at Sinclair. “But it feels….different to me,” he adds, “than the way you described it with Rafe.”

“Well, the important thing is that you feel it, yes?” I say eagerly, leaning forward, wanting it to be all right. Sinclair slides his hand over to take mine, reassuring.

“Ella’s right,” he says, looking only at his brother. “All bonds are different, it doesn’t have to be exactly like what I felt with Rafe. If you feel it, it’s real. But what do you mean when you say it’s different?”

“Well,” Roger says, turning back to Cora and then looking down at her stomach. “You could… communicate with the baby, from very early on. And you said that you knew that Rafe was a boy from the very first moment you sensed your link…”

“You’re not getting a sense of the baby’s sex?” I ask, leaning forward to stare at him, curious.

“No,” he murmurs, closing his eyes and trying harder. “I feel the link, for sure. But I’m getting…” he sighs and opens his eyes, looking over at Sinclair. “Less information, I guess, than you did.”

Sinclair leans forward and puts a hand on his brother’s shoulder, not concerned but wanting to support him.

“Do you think it’s because the baby’s half human?” Cora asks, curious.

“Is it?” I ask, looking wide–eyed at her and then at Roger.

“What?” Cora asks, turning to me. “Ella, of course it is,” she says, gesturing towards herself.

“Well, I don’t know,” I say, shrugging. “Some kids get or express – more genes from their fathers than their mothers, and vice versa. Maybe it’s…90% wolf and 10% human, or the other way around. Or maybe it’s like…” I grin, laughing a little to myself, “a little Roger clone.”

Cora wrinkles her nose at me at the idea but Roger grins happily, and I laugh again at their opposing reactions.

I look to Sinclair, seeing what he thinks, but he just shrugs. “As far as I know, this is the first pregnancy of its kind,” he murmurs, smiling around at us. “Anything could happen.”

“Is it, though?” Cora murmurs, her hands going to her stomach, suddenly worried, Then she looks at me. “Ella…”

“What?” I ask.

“Well,” she continues, hesitating and glancing at Roger. “I mean, we know that Roger is the father, because he can sense his bloodline. But…you don’t think it could be like…what mom did, do you? To our mothers? Where she… took one of her embryos, and put it in me, and then gave the father a nudge to go to their beds? I mean..this baby was probably conceived during that freak storm…” she says, biting her lip and looking at Roger, who goes pale.

“No, Cora,” I say, reaching out and grabbing her hand, shaking my head and making her look at me. “Mom asked Reina- and your mother too, I’m sure to carry us. They consented to it.

―

“But what if,” she says, hesitating again, “what if it wasn’t mom? What if,” she looks worriedly around at all of us again. “What if…it’s the god of darkness? Who also arranged for Rafe to be born? What if he…”

–

Cora bites her lip, looking down at her belly before continuing in a whisper. “What if he arranged for this baby too, and because he’s a different kind of god from our mother – didn’t bother to ask me if I consented to it? What if this baby is not mine at all?”

 

Chapter 340

We all go a little pale, I think, as we consider the possibility that Cora, too, is an accidental – or not so accidental – surrogate.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” I say suddenly, shaking my head but a little shaken – I admit – by the idea that the baby was conceived during a storm that basically forced Roger and Cora off the road and into an empty room with not much in it besides a bed. It seems…a little too convenient to be chance, didn’t it?

“This is your baby, Cora,” I say with assurance, knowing it to be true.

“She’s right,” Roger says, nodding at Cora without doubt in his eyes. “You are this baby’s mother, and I’m its father, and that’s the end of the story. All right?”

Cora nods, but I can see her hesitate still.

“We’ll get answers, Cora,” Sinclair says quietly. “I agree with Ella and Roger – but if you’d like, we can consult the elders, like we did when we wanted information on how Ella was pregnant.”

“Oh,” she says, her eyebrows going up “Yes, can we do that? That would be great.”

Sinclair nods, giving her a little smile and letting her know that he’ll set it up as soon as can be arranged. I realize something and gasp with excitement, bouncing a little on the bed.

“Maybe you’re a wolf, Cora!” I say, “like me! Maybe you just didn’t realize it! Maybe the same thing happened!”

“No, Ella,” Cora says, laughing at my excitement a little. “Our mother made it very clear to me on the temple steps that day – two daughters, one wolf, one human. I’m the human.”

“Oh,” I say, suddenly disappointed. But I take a deep breath and dismiss the thought, wrapping my arms around my sister’s shoulders and pressing my cheek to hers. “Well, whatever!” I say, cheerful. “Whatever this baby’s genetic makeup is, I’m excited. And we’ll love little ‘it‘ so much.”

“I’m inclined to think the baby is a hybrid,” Sinclair says, carefully laying down on the bed and putting his head in my lap, resting the baby on the bed next to him, letting Rafe have some tummy time. “The first of its kind. Which is…very cool.”

Roger looks at him, curious. “Why do you think the baby’s a hybrid?”

“The bond,” Sinclair says, looking him in the eye. “If the baby were half human, it maybe makes some kind of logical sense that you only have access to half of the kind of link you would have with a baby who was genetically all wolf.”

Roger cocks his head to the side, considering. “I wouldn’t mind that,” he murmurs, and then he looks at Cora and smirks. “I have a weak spot for humans. Cute ones, at least.”

She wrinkles her nose at him and I sigh, glad we’re on happier conversational ground again. “I think it’s cool that we don’t know the gender,” I sigh, looking over at my little boy who works to hold his head up.

“You were happy enough to know Rafe’s,” Sinclair reminds me. “I seem to remember you tackling me in excitement when I told you he was a boy.”

“Yes,” I say, remembering it fondly. “But there’s something good about the mystery too. The wait.”

Cora laughs, drawing my attention back to her and I see her looking at Roger, grinning at the clear disappointment on his face. “You wish you knew,” she guesses with a grin

“Well, yeah,” he says, huffing a sigh “It’s not usual for wolves to wait to know the sex. We always

know. It’s like someone telling you that it’s Christmas but then having to wait six months to get the gift.”

My sister laughs again and reaches forward to give him a little shove. “You just want to be

assured it’s a boy,” she accuses, her grin deepening. “You won’t be able to rest until you know.”

Roger smirks at Cora, rueful, but doesn’t deny it.

“You don’t want a girl!?” I gasp, my hands flying to my heart. “A lovely little girl!?”

“You wanted a boy,” Sinclair reminds me, laughing as well.

“Yes,” I agree, shooting him a very tiny glare before turning back to Roger. “But I also wanted a

girl.”

“How can you want both?” he asks, confused but laughing anyway.

“Because!” I declare, “you just can!” Everyone is laughing now and I turn to Cora, nudging her with

my elbow. “Back me up here!”

“Sorry, sis,” she says, quirking a little smile at me. “I’m team girl. If we have a boy I’m handing it immediately off to Roger,” she declares, though we all know she doesn’t mean it as she pretends

to dust her hands off and be done with it.

“Why are you leaning towards a girl,” Sinclair asks, amused and curious.

“Because,” she says to him with a smile. “Girls get all the good stuff. Dress–up and books and imagination and mermaids,” she shrugs. “Boys just get football. And turtles.” She sticks out her tongue to let them know what she thinks of that.

We all laugh at this and I tuck my head against my sister’s shoulder, pressing a quick kiss to it first, so terribly excited for her.

“If the child is hybrid,” I consider aloud. “Do you think you’ll be pregnant for six months? Or nine? Or… something between?”

“I don’t know,” she murmurs, stroking her stomach again and then transferring her hand to Roger’s hair as he bends down to press his ear to her stomach again, listening for the baby, though I don’t know what he’ll hear at this point. It’s probably just an embryo right now.

“Well, you’re probably amongst the few people on earth with the best guess,” I murmur, my eyes on Roger, so excited for him to become a dad alongside my sister. “As one of the very few OBGYN’s in the world who work with both wolf and human populations…”

“Sure,” she sighs, “but I’m not geneticist. We have a lot to learn.”

“That’s okay,” I say, looking over at my mate and my baby as I speak. “But if I have learned anything at all from my own surprise wolf pregnancy… it goes faster than you think. Try to remember everything…”

My mate smiles at me, and I at him, and then I close my eyes with my head still pillowed on my sister’s shoulder.

As I relax the memories of this morning nag at me a little bit, dragging against my consciousness and trying to force me to remember that someone is coming for my child – someone powerful, and determined, and clever.

But in this moment, I choose to dismiss those fears and lean into the love.

Because there is so much of my life that has been so incredibly lucky and I choose, now, to believe in the strength of my family and hope for better times to come.

Because they will come. We’ll make them come, the four of us, for Rafe and little “it.” We will

build the best world for them, no matter what it takes.