Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

chapter 490 – Time Grows Short

Five and a Half Months Later

Ella

There’s a strange atmosphere in the palace today and I admit that I don’t quite no how to feel, because everything

is half dread and half excited anticipation.

At least, that’s how it is for everyone else.

For me? For me it’s just a great deal of discomfort.

“Ella,” Cora scolds as I try to bend over and pick up one of Rafe’s socks from the floor. “Let me do that – ”

“I can do it!” I gasp, reaching for it –

But then I stumble and almost fall over, and Cora catches me by the shoulders.

“Enough!” she snaps, shaking her head at me. “Back to the nest! Stop getting out of it! You’re six full months

pregnant, Ella – full term! For heaven’s sake, if you fall over I’m scared you’ll split like a watermelon and just spill

the baby out.”

“That might be better,” I mutter, glaring at the errant sock and doing as my sister says, heading back for my bed.

“This baby is big, and I’m not precisely looking forward to pushing her out.”

“Well, what did you expect,” Cora says, flipping the sock into a hamper and walking behind me to the bed. ” You

decided to have babies with the most gigantic man I’ve ever seen.”

“First,” I say, holding up one finger as I sink down on to my bed and start to tuck my legs under the covers, “I did

not choose to have children with that gigantic man, I chose a nice slim sperm donor for my first child -”

“Yeah well, you chose to have the second baby,” Cora reminds me, raising an eyebrow at me as she sits down on

the edge of the bed.

“And second,” I say, choosing to ignore her logic, “Rafe was a little baby. It’s not my fault that this one is very

content to stay in for as long as she possibly can.” I sigh, resting my head back against my pillows and putting my

hands on either side of my belly.

“Poor sister,” Cora coos, reaching out to stroke my stomach as well. “She’ll be here soon enough.”

What Cora says is true I’ve been in pre-labor for a couple of hours now. I’m having mild, irregular contractions

which Cora says is unlikely to be Braxton Hicks at this late stage. So, baby girl is coming soon, even if she’s taking

her time about this as well.

“Remember how crazy it was?” I say softly, my mind turning to the past. ” When Rafe was born?”

“I do,” she replies. “Do you miss it?”

I peek through my eyelids at her, smirking a bit. “Do I miss almost dying and fearing for my life, having to stop and

give birth in a strange palace because the roads to the hospital were blocked?”

She shrugs. “Well, do you?”

“Maybe a little,” I murmur, and then I laugh, shaking my head. “It was all very exciting. Poor baby girl needs a fuss

too.”

“We’ll give her plenty of fuss,” Cora says, running her hand comfortingly across my stomach. “Besides, two months

from now we get to have her baptism, and then it’s Aunt Cora’s revenge.”

“Cora,” I groan. “Honestly, it wasn’t so bad -”

“I’m going to come back from it soaked,” she says, grinning at me, ” covered in mud, with an insane story about

your daughter’s future – ”

“You know,” I say, sitting up on my elbows and glaring at her, “you don’t have to be her godmother – ”

“Oh whatever, Ella,” Cora says, rolling her eyes and laughing. “Like you have any other friends.”

“I have plenty of friends – -“I protest, my mouth falling open, but our completely unserious fight ends abruptly when

the door opens and our mates come in, our sons in their arms.

Rafe turns in Sinclair’s arms and gives a happy little cry when he sees me. ” Mama!” he calls, raising his hands

above his head and then leaning over, reaching for me.

“Whoa, kid,” Sinclair says, laughing and catching Rafe before he hurl himself to the floor in his eagerness to get to

me. When they’re about halfway across the room, Sinclair puts Rafe on his feet and he totters over to the bed,

absolutely breaking my heart with how cute he is.

“Hey, Rafey!” I call, reaching out for him. He bangs into the side of the bed and giggles, reaching for me, and Cora

obliges him by lifting him up so that he can crawl over to me and cuddle up in my arms.

“God, when did he get so big?” Cora murmurs, shaking her head at Rafe.

“Don’t remind me,” I say with a sigh, tugging my little boy close and giving him a big kiss on the head. He’s one

now. I cried the entire day of his birthday. Sinclair was honestly a little freaked out.

“He’s a show off,” Roger says, his voice a little bitter as he sits down next to Cora with Jesse in his lap. Sinclair

moves to the other side of the bed so he can sit in his spot next to me.

“Roger’s just jealous,” he says, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek. ” Because Rafe is faster than Jesse.”

“Jesse’s six months old,” Cora says, rolling her eyes at the dads.

“He could be faster for six months,” Sinclair says dryly, trying to hold his smirk.

“Don’t worry, Jesse,” Roger says fondly to his son, softly petting the silky brown hair that’s started growing on his

head. “You’ll beat that meatball someday – you’re lighter and quicker –

I burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of my family, shaking my head at all of them. “I can’t believe you’re

debating which kid is going to win a footrace,” I say, “when I’m laying here, in agony – ”

“She’s not in agony,” Cora says, waving a dismissive hand, “not yet at least – ”

“In agony,” I insist, reaching forward to smack her on the arm.

“Sorry, my Queen,” Sinclair sighs, wrapping his arms around me. “But the good news is that everything’s wrapped

up for now Roger and I have cleared our calendars, so now there’s nothing to do but concentrate on you.

“Yeah, so you’d better make it fun,” Roger quips. “When Cora was in labor, there were drinks – you’ve got to live up

to this, Ella.”

Cora laughs and smacks her mate, shaking her head at him. He flinches and then falls back on the mattress in

pretend agony, taking Jesse with him and making the baby laugh, muttering something about an abusive wife and

mother.

I laugh at them but turn to put my head on Sinclair’s shoulder. “How’s it going out there?” I ask. “Everything okay?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” he murmurs.

“I know that,” I say quietly, watching him closely. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to know. It’s my nation too.”

Sinclair gives me a sad little smile and presses his forehead to mine. Then he passes a bunch of information down

our bond at once, letting me see and feel that the Atalaxians have been pressing their advantage. They’re aware

that our military is rapidly getting itself together and the Atalaxians losing the leverage they had. It means that

everything is going according to plan, but it also means an increase in actual fighting along the front.