Accidental Surrogate for Alpha by Caroline Above Story
Chapter 389 The Temple (Ella)
It is, indeed, a long climb. Cora and I are panting by the time we get to the top, and even though Sinclair took Rafe from me halfway through the hike I have to take a moment to catch my break when we pull ourselves up to the final level.
Roger has the indecency to look a little smug about the fact that he barely looks winded and Cora gives him a little shove on the shoulder as she works to take a few deep breaths and wipe the sweat from her brow.
Even as I work to bring my heartrate back down, I absolutely marvel at the sight before me.
The Goddess’ temple, like the one in the city, is built completely with white marble. But unlike the one in the city, this one looks…ancient. Vines grow in ropes all over it, looking almost as if the structure is part of the forest itself, having grown up organically from it. The temple is tall and wide, the pillars in front drawing my eyes upward to the slanted roof which curls into a dome. At the very peak of the dome is a golden crescent moon, reaching up towards the sky, glinting in the bright sunlight.
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“Wow,” Cora says, standing straight next to me and likewise marveling at the temple. “Mom has some… impressive property.”
“I know, right?” I mutter back, crossing my arms and shaking my head. If someone had told me, when I was a little girl sleeping in my creaky little orphan bed, that my mom lived here…
Well. I probably would have believed them.
But I was a very imaginative child.
“Um,” Roger says, looking anxiously at Cora. “Shall we?”
I smile at him, seeing that he’s eager to move on but also that he wants to give her room to process this experience. It’s more intense for her than it is for him, and I think that it’s very sweet that he realizes this. Roger really has come leaps and bounds as a person from when I first met him.
Sinclair comes to stand next to me and I grin at him and then turn to my baby, taking his hands and speaking to him quietly, asking him how he likes it here and if he’s ready to meet his granny for real this time. Rafe claps and gurgles like he really is excited.
“It’s like he understands sometimes,” I say quietly, smiling up at Sinclair.
“Well,” Sinclair says, grinning proudly down at his son. “He’s very clever.”
“Yes,” I say, leaning closer to kiss my baby’s forehead. “Yes, he is. The most clever baby the world will ever see -”
“He can keep that title for about…five more months,” Roger calls to us, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk. Sinclair just laughs and shakes his head, letting it pass.
“Are you ready, Cora?” I ask, moving again to her side.
“I think so,” she says, giving me a nod and reaching for my hand. I give it, and, with another deep breath, the five of us begin to walk towards the temple. As we approach, a woman in dove- colored robes comes out of the front.
I hesitate for a moment, going still at the sight of those robes –
Because the last time I saw them-
But I feel Sinclair behind me, his hand warm against my back, and then a little pulse of comfort comes down the bond and I exhale, skipping forward a little to stay at Cora’s side.
Because he’s right. This is…this is not the same situation we were in before. This is different, and not every priestess we meet is going to try to take my baby away. Some of them, surely, actually serve my mother.
“Welcome,” the woman says, bowing a little and giving us a deep smile as we approach. “Daughters of the Goddess – you are welcome here. And you are right on time.”
Cora and I smile at each other and then look back to the woman. “Is she here?” I ask. The priestess smiles warmly at me but Cora turns to me with a frown. “Can’t you feel her?”
I blink at Cora for a second and then, as I realize what she means that she can feel our mother here already – I bite my lip, feeling a very deep grief.
Because I cannot feel her. I used up’ our bond – used the magic of it to unbind my wolf and my gift so that I could save my child, and Cora, and my mate. Cora realizes this very suddenly, her mouth making a startled “o” of concern, but I just shake my head and work hard to give her a smile.
“It’s okay,” I say, squeezing her hand. “I’m glad you can feel her for both of us.”
She nods to me, sympathetic, and then we both turn back to the priestess.
“Please,” the priestess says, smiling around at our whole party and taking a moment to let her gaze linger on the baby, admiring him. “Please, do come inside.”
And so, as a group, we follow the priestess into my mother’s temple. And as we go, I wonder if everyone’s heart is pounding as much as mine.
The temple, inside, is different than the ones that we’ve been in before.
While the desert temple was elegantly sparse, and the city temple was sweeping and impressive, this one is… cozy. The architecture is still bright and wide, but you can tell that women live here and treat it as a home. As I look around at the padded benches by the windows, at the well-loved books neatly tucked into alcoves and the little worn stick broom tucked into a corner, I decide quite suddenly that this is my favorite temple of all – and that I quite like it here.
The priestess does not pause in the middle of the large central room of the temple, the space beneath the dome, but instead leads us across it to a door at the back. Before she opens it, she turns to us with a warm smile. “Are you ready?” she asks, giving us a moment. to prepare.
Cora tucks her hair behind her ears and Roger comes to stand behind her, straightening his shoulders, his face very serious. He is, after all, about to be introduced to his mate’s mother as such for the first time. I smile at both of them as I reach for the baby, who Sinclair helps me unbuckle from the carrier. I don’t know why I do it, but somehow I want Rafe quite close to me as we go to see his grandmother. It feels …right.
Then, once we’re all ready – and Sinclair has placed a warm hand on my shoulder – Cora nods to the priestess who opens the door and leads us inside.
We see her immediately, we all do-
The beautiful Goddess, standing at the far end of the room, glowing with the faint luminescence of moonlight. Her face breaks into a smile as we cross the room, her eyes flashing over all of us but focusing on Cora. I can’t help the tears that well in my eyes when I see her, as I study her form. And this time, as I look at her –
I see Cora all over her, in her face, in her expression, in the way she holds herself. Her hair is still like mine, but it seems like everything – everything else is my sister. How did I not see it before? Was I such a fool?
But as I think the thought, I dismiss it. Because she’s a Goddess, she’s divine. I think…she lets us see what we want or need to see in her.
As I think that my mother’s eyes move to me, and she smiles. And a few tears slip down my cheeks as I smile back.
Then, as she should, she refocuses on Cora, moving forward to take her hands. “I’m so glad that you’ve come to see me, daughter. Finally.”
“Hey,” Cora says, tears slipping down her own cheeks, and then she laughs a little at her awkward start. “Hello, mom.
The Goddess reaches a hand to Cora’s cheek, smiling at her.
“Um,” Cora says, half turning to her mate. “You remember Roger, right?”
“I do,” the Goddess says, laughing a little, the sound ringing in my ears like tinkling bells. “I’m glad, Roger, that you finally figured out what I meant in my message to you. By the desert.”
“Yeah,” he says, smiling and grimacing awkwardly at once as he runs a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry about that I…overthought it.”
The Goddess’ smile grows then and she reaches a hand out to him as well. ” You will come with me,” she says, turning towards another door, to an even more private room. “So that we may speak.”
I step back then, towards my mate, but before she goes my mother turns to me and gives me a special smile. “Ella,” she says warmly, and then her eyes shift to Rafe in my arms. “Thank you,” she says, “for bringing my first grandchild to meet me. I had a glimpse of him before, of course, when you had him dedicated to me. But to see him now – in the flesh? It is…a gift.”
“He’s a gift,” I whisper, holding my baby tight, tugging at the little bond I have with him and passing a great deal of love down it, so much that my baby looks up at me curiously and squeaks a little with his happy joy. I laugh and look down at him.
“As you are to me,” my mother says, and I look back up at her, tears still dripping down my face. And I nod, understanding – finally – exactly what she means.
The goddess tuns then, taking Cora and Roger’s hands, leading them away. As the door closes behind them, I take a step backwards into Sinclair’s arms, which I know were waiting to wrap around me.
“You okay, gorgeous?” he murmurs, bringing his lips down close to my ear to whisper the words.
“Yeah,” I say, snuggling against him and dipping my head to kiss Rafe’s. “I really, really am, Dominic. I’m perfect.”
“Yes,” he sighs, kissing my own head now, just as I did Rafe’s. “Yes, you are.”