Chapter 416: Awake, Ella

I woke very early the next morning, my mind immediately on Sarah and Jessica. They were somewhere in the palace, probably worried about what was coming next.

I carefully extricated myself from Sinclair’s warm embrace, grimacing to avoid disturbing him. He was so cute, my big, tough Alpha, so vulnerable in his sleep.

“Just go, Ella,” he murmured, his eyes still closed. I laughed softly.

Of course he'd felt me move; his senses were attuned to me, to my safety.

“All right, Dominic,” I murmured, leaning in to kiss him softly. “But you stay asleep.”

“No problem,” he whispered, turning over as I rolled to my side of the bed and stood. I glanced over my shoulder, admiring the tanned muscles of his back for a moment, before picking up my baby.

Rafe, as usual, was awake and quiet, waiting for me.

“Lovely little baby,” I murmured, nuzzling him before taking him to his changing table. “How did I get so lucky to have such a good boy? Not even crying this morning, letting his mama rest.”

Rafe squealed happily, making me laugh, but I glanced over my shoulder at my mate—I didn't want to wake him. Sinclair remained still, his shoulders rising and falling gently with his breath. Good. He needed his rest.

I changed Rafe quickly and took him into our enormous closet to feed him while I chose my clothes. When Rafe finished, I was about to put him in his car seat to shower when a shadow fell over me.

“Give him here,” Sinclair murmured. I smiled and handed him the baby.

“How did you know?” I asked, curious.

“Baby told me,” Sinclair said, smirking down at Rafe.

“What?!”

“Down the bond,” Sinclair clarified, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “He didn’t want to go in the car seat. He called for me.”

“Clever baby,” I said, awestruck. My son burbled happily at his father. “That’s amazing.”

“He just wants to be held,” Sinclair shrugged. “When you go to put him down, he calls for me instead of crying, like a human baby would. Not that amazing—just a different way of letting his parents know what he wants.” He then returned to bed with the baby, probably to check his phone and relax, while I showered and dressed. When I emerged, Sinclair gave Rafe back to me, and then he got ready while I dressed the baby.

Because of this early start, we were the first ones in the sunny breakfast room where we would meet Sarah and Jessica. I tapped my fingers on the table, staring at the door, until Sinclair placed a comforting hand over mine.

“You’re not going to hurry them by worrying,” he murmured, looking down at his phone, where he was dealing with countless messages from his many ventures since our return from the bunker.

I scowled. He was right, but I hated it. Instead of sitting still, I took Rafe to a small sitting area and spread out a blanket for some playtime before the others arrived.

I laughed for nearly half an hour, playing with my little boy, marveling at his growth. He was so bright, sweet, and cheerful—I could hardly believe he was mine. He’d fulfilled every wish I’d ever had about motherhood and beyond, opening me to a level of love and joy I never knew I was capable of.

“Sweet baby prince,” I murmured, kissing his belly. “Do you know how cute you are? And how much we love you?”

Rafe squealed, and I felt a pulse of happy joy through our bond.

“Oh my goodness,” I murmured, lying down beside him, bringing my face close to his. He reached out his pudgy hands to touch my cheeks and nose. I smiled so hard it hurt. “Little baby Rafe,” I murmured, kissing his hands. “You are everything to me.”

“I don’t know about this,” a voice said from above, and I jumped, then laughed seeing Sinclair standing over us, arms crossed in mock anger. “I don’t know if I like this little guy stealing my best girl’s heart.”

I laughed harder, sitting up.

“Seriously,” Sinclair said, pretending to speak to Rafe, who giggled. “You’d better knock it off, kid—it used to be me she talked to like that.”

“Don’t be jealous,” I sighed, taking his hand and pulling him down to sit beside us. “I can love you both.”

“Yeah, well,” he murmured, bringing his face close to mine and kissing my neck. “Just make sure you always keep me at the top of your list, all right?”

“Oh, sure,” I said, rolling my eyes. “We’ll see how well you do with that once you have a daughter to steal your heart.”

“I’ll just pretend she’s a boy.”

I laughed, both at his words and the feel of his lips on my skin. “Oh sure,” I said sarcastically. “You’d just love that. A little girl traipsing around with Rafe and Cora’s son, getting into all the messes boys do? There’s no part of you that wouldn’t overreact to her being in danger playing boys’ sports, participating in boys’ activities, learning to fight and be an Alpha.”

“If she’s your daughter? She can handle it.”

“No, Dominic,” I said softly, pulling back to look into his face. “Your daughter would be strong enough to handle anything. You’d make her strong, like you do me and Rafe.”

His eyes softened as he looked at me. “Trouble,” he growled, lifting a hand to my cheek and resting his forehead against mine. “You’re the heart of everything. There is no strength without you.”

Then he kissed me, our baby giggled, and my heart felt like it might explode with happiness.

Before it could, we heard the door open.

“Is…anyone here?” It was Cora’s voice.

“Here!” I called after breaking our kiss and clearing my throat. I waved to Cora.

Sinclair kissed me again briefly as Cora, Roger, and Henry approached. Then we smiled at our family.

“Why am I not surprised you’re doing something bizarre?” Roger asked, frowning and putting his hands on his hips.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“You have an entire mahogany table with velvet-lined chairs,” Cora explained, gesturing to the room, “and a full breakfast buffet. And yet you two are sitting on the floor making out?”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Getting to my knees, I lifted Rafe into my arms. “You have no sense of fun, Cora,” I chided. Sinclair stood and helped me to my feet.

“I have plenty of fun,” she protested, crossing her arms. “I just like coffee first.”

“Well,” I said, gesturing to the coffee pot, “help yourself, sister mine!”

A sound came from the door, and we turned. Sarah and Jessica stood there, hand-in-hand, a guard behind them. “I’m so sorry—are we…interrupting?”

I blushed. I was supposed to be a queen, and this was our presentation? On the floor, bickering?

“Please,” I said, hurrying to them. They were clean, in fresh clothes, and looked rested and happier than yesterday. “Won’t you come in and have some breakfast? We’re so excited to see you.”

I smiled as they accepted my invitation, but a feeling of unease settled in my stomach. I’d had a wonderful morning, but I knew things were about to get very dark.