Accidental Surrogate for Alpha novel Chapter 209

Ella

Isabel stares after me with her mouth gaping open in shock, not moving from the bed. I don’t pause to put on appropriate clothing or even don shoes, instead sprinting to my door and pressing my ear to the wood. After a moment Isabel recovers and comes to stand beside me. “What are you doing?” She whispers, her pretty eyes wide.

I lead her back from the doorway, pressing my finger to my lips. The feeling of my mate is growing stronger by the second, and his voice calls out again. Ella!

I hear you! I send back through our bond, praying he can hear me. I’m coming, Dominic. The baby is fluttering excitedly in my belly, and I have a feeling that when Sinclair isn’t calling to me, he’s calling to Rafe. Still, when his voice sounds again he says only my name, Ella! Through the distance I can sense his exhaustion and worry, the nearly unhinged determination of his wolf. There’s pain there too, and I know he must be injured. He’s trying to get back to us, but he’s too worn down and depleted to communicate beyond these simple calls.

“I have to get out of here.” I tell Isabel, speaking as quietly as I can. “Dominic is… I can feel him, he’s calling me. But he’s hurt, I have to reach him.”

Isabel blinks, “Are you sure?”

I cut my eyes to her, “Of course I’m sure, I know my mate better than I know myself.”

“Alright, I’m sorry,” Isabel replies, “I was just surprised. What can I do?”

“Can you distract my guards?” I request, wondering if she’ll actually agree. This feels like the first true test of our friendship, but Isabel only sets her jaw and nods.

“I’ll go out this way,” She tells me, pointing to the bedroom door. “You exit through the sitting room. I’ll keep them occupied as long as I can.”

I nod eagerly and dash to the far door, watching as Isabel slips outside. Her voice echoes down the hallway, “Excuse me, can you all help me? The Princess requires some items from the kitchen but our phone doesn’t seem to be working. Would you mind terribly going down to fetch a few things for us?”

I roll my eyes at her use of my surreal title, but I open the door as quietly as I can, peeking my head out even as the guards gathered around Isabel exchange uncertain glances. “We can’t leave our post, Miss. Philippe’s orders.”

“Well I promised the King I wouldn’t leave her side.” Isabel frets, wringing her hands like the perfect damsel in distress. “Maybe just one of you could go? I’m sure you’re all more than strong enough to carry even the heaviest tray.”

I slink away on tiptoes while the guards puff up their chests and debate which one of them should get to be her knight in shining armor, and I have to bite back a laugh when I catch Isabel batting her eyelashes at the guards. I disappear around the corner, trying to remember which of the secret passages Gabriel described to me is closest. I know there’s one on the floor below, but I’m worried someone might see me before I get there.

Ella, Ella Ella. Sinclair chants through our bond, filling me with all the courage I need to take this risk.

I’m coming, my love. I send back, moving as swiftly as I can. Suddenly I’m regretting my urgency to get out of the room without pause. I call attention on the best of days, and scampering through the daylit palace in my current state is not exactly discreet. I can only imagine how I must look: barefoot, wearing only a long silk nightdress, hair unwashed and disheveled.

Thankfully I make it to the passage entrance without difficulty, though I do have to hide behind a large statue until a pair of servants rolling a laundry cart pass by. For a split second I consider asking them to help me, but I don’t want them to risk their jobs by defying Gabriel’s edict to keep me in the palace. I know the King is worried about my wellbeing, not to mention outside threats like the bomb that intercepted Sinclair’s delegation. Still, I don’t appreciate his high-handed orders. So I move through the passages on my own, following the fresh scent of the outdoors to guide me around corners and through intersections.