Accidental Surrogate for Alpha by Caroline Above Story
Chapter 380 Persistence (Sinclair)
I wake up frowning, knowing immediately that something is…well, not wrong, but certainly off. I reach out an arm, seeking Ella, but my hand passes over cold sheets. My frown deepens as I sit up and realize that she’s not here. A glance at Rafes bassinet makes it clear that he’s not here either.
Where the hell is my family?
I sigh, swinging my legs out of the bed, wondering how much time has passed. As I scrub a hand down my face I consider that it can’t have been much – there’s still no daylight peeking around the blinds. So, a few hours a most. But why the hell hasn’t she come to bed?
I stand and head for the door, wondering what the hell trouble is getting up to now. I smirk a little to consider it. Ella…well, it’s part of her appeal, isn’t it? She’s always up to something. I’ll certainly never be bored by her side.
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The hallway outside my room is empty but I head down it towards where I hear a few murmuring voices. But when I turn into the room, I’m surprised because the first person I see is my father, sitting quietly in his chair by the door, staring into the room.
We don’t say anything to each other as I lean against the doorway by his side, because we’re both aware that I didn’t come here seeking him. I give him a nod and place a hand on his shoulder as my eyes turn to her – Ella, across the room, my infant son sleeping pressed against her chest while she holds her hands out over one of my wounded men, healing him.
“She’s going to wear herself out,” my father says quietly.
“How long has she been at it?”
“Hours,” he says, shaking his head. ” She’s been burning her candle at both ends for days, Dominic. She’s…very dedicated, she wants to do good. But she gives too much.”
I nod, understanding, agreeing silently. My kind mate with her big heart she can’t stop giving, even if it means giving all of herself. But that’s where I come in. It’s my job to take care of her, when she’d burn herself out taking care of the whole world if I let her.
I stand for a few long moments with my father, watching her work, knowing it won’t do any good to interrupt her in the middle of her task. I’m content to wait in silence, but my father surprises me with his next words.
“I’m so sorry, Dominic,” he says, his voice thick with grief.
Shocked, I look down at him. “What?”
He just shakes his head slowly, looking up at me with such regret –
“I almost cost you – cost us everything. I played right into the enemy’s hands and risked your mate, your child -” He covers his face with his hand, unable to look at me. “I failed you, Dominic -”
“Stop that,” I snap, tightening my hand on his shoulder.
“It was so stupid, to send you away and leave Cora and Ella unprotected – I should have seen it coming, that of course they would follow us back to the bunker after the first attack in the sewer that of course they were just biding their time – Xander has nothing but time -”
“Enough,” I growl, starting to get angry with him. “This was not your fault, dad -”
“It was my plan – ”
“It was our plan!” My voice comes out louder, harsher than I meant it to. But my dad just looks up at me, more helpless than I’ve seen him…maybe ever.
“We all agreed to this, dad,” I continue, working hard to bring my voice back down to a calmer register. ” Me, Roger, Ella, Cora – all of our men, the whole team. We all fell for it, we were all…” I sigh, shutting my eyes and reliving the shame that flooded me the moment I realized that Xander was working to trap us in that house, that he was going after the girls and the baby. “We all messed up, almost cost ourselves everything. You are not alone.”
Dad opens his mouth to protest, to continue, but his voice fails him. And he just hangs his head, breaking my heart.
“What’s all this?” I hear Ella ask, and I look up from my father to see her standing before us, her eyes wide with worry as she absently drifts a hand over the soft black fuzz of Rafe’s hair.
I’m silent for a beat as I try to figure out what to say, but then I just shake my head. “It’s nothing, Ella,” I respond, not wanting to add to her plate. I can see by the darkness under her eyes that she’s exhausted too. “Just …the fallout.”
She nods, accepting my incomplete explanation, and focuses her eyes on my father. “Haven’t we been through this already?” she asks quietly. “No one blames you.” I nod, agreeing with her, looking down at my father for a response.
But he just waves his hands at us. “Let an old man have his guilt,” he sighs, working hard to give us a tired smile. ” It gives us something to dwell on to fill these long days. But you two -” he shifts his eyes to Rafe now, dozing against Ella’s chest. “You have better things to worry about. You should get that child to bed.”
“Yes,” Ella agrees, a little guilty, starting to unstrap the baby carrier. ” Will you take him, Dominic? I wouldn’t have kept him out here so long – I just didn’t want to risk him waking you if he got up in the middle of the night –
“Ella,” I interrupt, stern, and she looks up at me with surprise. “You’re going to bed with the baby. Come on.” I step forward and hold out a hand.
“Oh no,” she says, shaking her head and backing up a step. “I have too much to do there’s – there are more –
wounded men who I need to -”
“Ella,” I repeat, closing the distance between us and putting a hand on her elbow. “You’ve done enough.” I lower my voice so that just she can hear me, so that it’s barely more than a rumble in my chest. “You need to rest, trouble. They want you to rest too.”
Ella looks over her shoulder then at the room full of half-healed men. Most of them are asleep but those who are not look up at her with grateful eyes – not a single one of them looking at her with need, or anger, or desperation. They’re incredibly grateful for what she’s doing for them – I know they are because I feel the same way. She’s earned their loyalty through and through and each and every one of them would choose to let her rest, now, rather than wearing her out trying to fix them. Especially not now, when they’ve only got relatively minor wounds left.
Still, Ella bites her lip and hesitates. ” There’s just…so much more to do…”
I step behind her then, wrapping my arms around her and letting her lean back against me. I give her a moment to collect her thoughts, but my embrace communicates in no uncertain terms that she’s in my care now. So, she’d better wrap it up.
As she looks around the room I follow her eyes. “Where’s Hank? Or Cora?” I ask quietly, looking for a doctor.
“Cora’s asleep,” she answers. “And Hank…well, he went to bed a while ago too. And I…kind of snuck back in. And kept working.”
“We told her not to, sir!” One of my closest soldiers calls to me. “She wouldn’t be budged.”
I smirk a little and nod to the soldier before resting my chin on top of Ella’s head. “Trouble, through and through,” I say, and she laughs a little, stroking Rafe’s sleeping head again. “Come on,” I say, giving her a little tug towards the door.
“It doesn’t feel right, Dominic,” she sighs. “To leave them here in pain.”
“You can start again when you’re rested,” I say quietly, leading her away. “I’ll help.”
“Are you coming?” she asks my dad when we get to the door. “It’s late.”
“You go,” he replies, waving a tired hand at us. “I’m not tired yet.” “But,” she starts, all concern, but he looks up at her with worried make her fall silent. eyes that
“I couldn’t sleep if I tried, my dear,” he says quietly. “Go rest – leave an old man to his thoughts.”
Ella and I leave then, but I know that both of our thoughts are on him worried for him. Neither of us say a word as we return to our little hospital room and turn in for bed.