Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate - Season 2 Episode 23

After Ella shared her story with me, we spent a long time just kissing and cuddling, talking through our feelings and reaffirming our love. Still, Ella wasn’t entirely soothed. I could tell she was still beating herself up about her panic attack, no matter how many times I promised her it was all right.

“I just want to be able to give you what you need.” Ella moans after a while, sounding as miserable as ever.

“I don’t need to tie you up, baby.” I promise, wondering if I’ll ever be able to convince her that she’s enough for me – exactly as she is. “There are plenty of other things we can do.”

“But the idea of being tied up with you doesn’t frighten me.” Ella confesses, surprising me. “I think it was just the way you asked. Because it wasn’t about you and me, it was about what had been done to me in the past.”

I frown, unsure if she’s being completely forthright. “That’s possible.” I agree. “But the chances are that if the question was that upsetting, feeling it would be worse.”

“Not if I know it’s coming, and not if I’m handcuffed or something. The straps on a medical table are different.” Ella argues. “I’m not saying I want to try it right this second or when you’re really stressed. It would probably be better when things are calmer so that if I do panic it doesn’t ruin everything, but I think I would like to try sometime.”

“You really don’t have to, Ella.” I a*sure her. “Not for my sake. It should be fun for both of us, not something you have to endure.”

“I’m not just saying it for you.” Ella insists. “I don’t like thinking that they still have so much power over me. Maybe if I can get over that fear by replacing the bad memories with some good ones… I can take my power back.”

I narrow my eyes at the little minx, wondering if this is another tactic to convince me. Ella knows I’d do anything to help her, and it would certainly be clever to turn the tables on me this way. However when I look into her shining eyes, I see only sincerity. “Okay, one day when things are calmer, we can try.” I decide, running my hands over her slick skin. “But if you give me reason to think you’re just humoring me, you’re going to be in big trouble, baby.”

“I’m not!” Ella insists indignantly, sitting up and giving me a delectable view of water dripping down her bare breasts. “I don’t know if it’s my wolf coming out or what, but the more time that pa*ses, the more I find myself craving your… well, your dominance.” She flushes bright red as the words leave her mouth, and I’m relieved to see that all the heavy emotion of the last hour is starting to fade in favor of flirtation.

“It might be your wolf.” I confirm with a grin, sliding my palms up to cup her sensitive mounds, running my thumbs over the tight buds at their center. Ella shivers and arches into my hands, delightfully sensitive amidst her raging hormones. “Or maybe you’ve always been a secret S** fiend, and you just needed time to tap into that part of yourself.”

Ella blinks, dropping her gaze for a moment before looking back up at me in surprise, as if she’s just realized something. “Do you remember when we first found each other, and I was confused because I felt like a different person with you? You said I was becoming the person I was always meant to be, and it just hadn’t been safe for me to come out of my shell before.”

“Mmm,” I rumble fondly, needing no help to recall our food fight. “As I recall you thought I was full of it.”

“But you were right.” Ella muses, sliding her arms around my neck. “My wolf recognized you even before I knew she existed.”

“Are you saying I’m right now too, and you are a S** fiend?” I joke, beyond pleased when her beautiful laugh meets my ears.

“Only for you.” Ella grins, making my inner wolf swell with pride.

“Well you never have to worry about getting my dominance, trouble.” I tease, dragging her forward for a kiss. “You know exactly how to bring it out.” I nip her plump lower lip and claim her mouth again, the pa*sion always simmering for this incredible woman surging to a sudden boil. I’m already fantasizing about how I can create the most pleasure for us both without losing the stranglehold I’m keeping on my mating instincts, when the bedroom door crashes open in the distance.

I smell Hugo before I see him, which is the only reason I don’t react more forcefully. Instead I simply pull my mouth lips from Ella’s, my wolf going into high alert. If Hugo is barging in this way it must be an emergency. Ella yelps when my Beta stalks in a moment later, Ella is hiding her face in my neck, almost as though she thinks Hugo might not be able to see her if she can’t see him. I offer her a soft purr, but I look up at my second-in-command with instant anxiety, “What’s wrong?”

He glances nervously at Ella, but I nod for him to continue. “One of our spies in the border territories just called in an urgent warning. Apparently a coalition of rogue wolves is planning a a*sault on Moon Valley. Their numbers are in the hundreds and they’re coming at us from all sides. This isn’t just some raid – it’s a highly coordinated attack and you can bet they didn’t organize it on their own.”

“When?” I demand sharply, already reaching for a towel. I slide Ella’s body off of mine, concealing her beneath the bubbles of the deep bath and rising out of the water.

“Tonight.” Hugo sighs in exasperation. “We have maybe two hours to get reinforcements to our scouts.”

I swear viciously, the borders of Moon Valley extend for hundreds of miles, we don’t have enough time to reach our most remote outposts, and those are probably the ones the rogues will be targeting first. “Call in everyone you can and immediately deploy those already on duty. Send them to the most vulnerable outposts first, and make sure everyone is fully briefed. Deploy the warning sirens and release a bulletin to all the media outlets in the city, order an immediate lockdown and roll out the emergency helpline for anyone who sights or encounters rogue aggressors. Tell them to issue reminders on shelter locations, and set closing times for two hours from now. Have the hospitals initiate their own emergency protocols and put out a call to any willing and able wolves who want to help defend the city, but make the dangers damn clear. No one under 18.”

The words flow from my lips out of pure reflex, and Hugo immediately turns on his heel to carry out my instructions. When he’s gone, I turn back to Ella, who is looking up at me with wide eyes. I pluck her out of the bath and wrap her in a towel. “Listen to me, Ella. Your guards are going to take you to a safe house and it’s critical that you stay there until the danger has pa*sed. I’ll come for you as soon as I can, but listen to the guards and don’t set a single foot outside until the all clear orders have been given. Don’t open the door for anyone, and don’t even think about doing anything heroic. If you see an injured child lying in the street, leave them for the guards to help. Do you understand me?”

Ella furrows her brow, unease flowing off her in waves “But where will you be? What are you going to be doing?”

“I have to stand with my men.” I explain. “We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“Fighting, you mean.” Ella clarifies. “You’re going into battle?”

“Yes.” I answer simply, knowing I can’t shield her from the truth. “I wish I didn’t have to leave you, but I can’t let other wolves defend my city without me.”

Ella’s lower lip, still swollen from my kisses, is trembling. “Do you promise that you’ll come back to me?

“I’m not going to let some dirty rogue get the better of me, baby.” Taking her face in my hands, I continue. “Now give me your word that you’ll do as I’ve asked.” I command. “Go to the safe house, listen to the guards, and wait for me.”

Ella nods shakily, and I pull her into my arms. Our lips collide with sudden desperation – as if we’re both thinking the same thing. Just in case it’s for the last time. Suddenly I realize I never walked Ella through the contingency plans she requested, like what to do if I’m killed. Unfortunately there’s no time for that now. Her guards know what to do if the worst happens, and that will have to be enough for the time being.

“I love you.” I profess, stealing one last kiss. “No matter what.”

“I love you too.” Ella answers, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Please be safe, Dominic.”

“Don’t worry, trouble. We’ll be together again before you know it.” I answer, but we both know that’s not a promise I can make. Every time I go into battle, I do so knowing it might be the end, but I’ve never had more of a reason to survive than I do now, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let this be my last moment with Ella. I’m going to make it – I have to.