Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate - Season 5 Episode 96

I give Ariel one last kiss for luck and exhale deeply, focusing my eyes on Henry as I lean back against my partner, who wraps an arm around me with support.

“Actually, Ella,” Cora says, and my eyes dart to her. She smiles at me from across the couch, her arms around her baby on her lap. “I’m the one who has the news first.”

“Oh,” I say, my eyes widening as I shift a little to direct my attention to her now. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

She shakes her head, dismissing my apology as Roger sits on the arm of the couch behind her. She raises a hand and he takes it and gives it a small squeeze.

“Um, we contacted Mom this morning,” he says quietly, apology plastered all over his face. “To…ask what the Dark God might have been up to. I’m sorry we did it without you. I know you would have wanted to be there…”

“No,” I breathe, although I’m a little disappointed. “I mean, I wouldn’t have been able to see her anyway, right?”

“Yeah,” she says, tilting her head to the side. “Unless we go to the temple, it’s kind of a… one-on-one experience, isn’t it?”

“But we can go,” Sinclair murmurs behind me, supporting me, “if we don’t get the answers you need…”

“It’s okay,” I say, nodding to everyone in the room. “I understand – you don’t need to be so nice to me. I was completely unconscious after giving birth and

We needed information quickly. OK. So…”I wiggle my fingers at my sister, smiling at her. “Please spread the word. “I’m dying to know.”

“Well,” Cora says, laughing a little and looking at Roger. “Mom was n’t happy to hear that her boyfriend visited you.”

“Really?” I gasp, a little delighted by the immortal gossip.

“Really,” Cora confirms, her eyes wide as a smile takes over her face. “She thought he knew about you, but she had no idea he would go so far as to give the baby a gift behind her back.”

“Behind his back,” I repeat, shaking my head. “Wow. SW? He said it was… dangerous?”

“She said he didn’t have the guts to go that far,” Cora says, laughing and shrugging at a little. “Or, well, those were not her exact words, but that was the sentiment. “That he’s just trying to get her attention from her and let her know that he’s angry, but that he knows better than to mess with her true bloodline.”

“So,” I say, looking at little Ariel who lies curled up in my arms, sleepy but idly kicking her tiny feet. “Was it really a gift?”

“Mom doesn’t know what it was,” Cora says, shaking her head. “But she… she said she can’t make him take it back, Ells. That immortal gifts aren’t… gifts you can give back or re-give. They become a part of us.”

“That makes sense,” I sigh, pulling my baby closer. “Well, at least we know he’s not… bad.”

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“Which doesn’t mean it’s good,” Sinclair complains behind me. He clearly wanted better news.

“There are some precedents,” Henry says, leaning forward in his chair and studying the baby as best he can. “The texts are old, but there are some that report gifts bestowed by both the Goddess and the Dark Lord. What’s interesting is that they seem to be reliable: there’s one text in particular that speaks of a gift of healing bestowed by the Goddess that sounds quite similar to yours, Ella,” he says, raising his eyebrows at me. Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

“Oh,” I say, perking up a bit. “Well, that’s interesting. Could you read that?”

“I’ll have it translated,” Henry says with a nod, “and I’ll send it to you as soon as possible.”

“And what were some of the ‘gifts’ the Dark God has given?” Sinclair asks, his voice heavy and hesitant at the word ‘gift’.

“He doesn’t give everyday gifts like the Goddess does; her interests have always been more domestic, for lack of a better word. She deals with the heart and the home – assigning mates, healing the body, changing the weather to ensure good harvests.” He waves to Cora and me as he lists our gifts, and I turn my head, because he’s right: while Cora and I have used them in very different ways, they seem to be gifts that could be used to build a family and keep it safe in difficult times.

“And the dark god?” Sinclair presses, his voice a little annoyed by his anxiety now.

“He,” Henry says, his eyes now turning to his son, “prefers… more radical magic. Not things that can or should be used every day. Things that… change the world.”

A chill runs through me at this and I find myself holding my breath as I look at my little girl.

“Change the world?” Sinclair asks, tensing behind me.

“The text reports that she once gave a man the gift of the eclipse, allowing him to keep the moon’s shadow before the sun for days, and only relented when her enemies gave in to her demands.”

We all stood still and silent at this.

After a long moment, only Roger dares to break the silence of the room.

“What the hell, Ariel,” he breathes, leaning forward to look at his niece.

A small, ridiculous laugh breaks out in me at this, and I shake my head as Cora and Sinclair and then Henry start laughing as well. I shake my head at my brother-in-law, very grateful for him and his strange sense of humor, which was revealed so late in the game.

“Seriously,” Roger says, sitting up straight and running his hand through his hair, staring at his niece with wide eyes. “She’s the smallest of all of us, but she looks like she’s going to have a lot of power.”

“Well, we don’t know what it’s going to be,” I sigh, rolling my eyes and trying to ease the tension out of my shoulders. “It could be… something smaller. Maybe he’s just trying to annoy Mom.”

“Or under her skirt,” Roger mutters, and I smirk as Cora turns to hit him for saying such blasphemy about our mother and a deity. Roger simply wrinkles his nose at Cora as he smiles and grabs his arm where she hit him, pretending the blow hurt when it clearly didn’t.

“So, Ariel is clearly the most powerful wolf among us,” I say with a sigh, lifting her up a little in my arms so she can look at the family. “So, she’s the Alpha now.” Ariel, betraying my trust, simply gives a sleepy meow, her eyelids fluttering shut as she snuggles back into my arm.

Cora laughs and I feel a small pulse of pride and pleasure in my bond with Sinclair.

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“At least it means he can take on his brother and cousin,” Roger says, looking between the kids: Rafe stumbling on the floor and Jesse in Cora’s arms. “Although… none of them are very impressive yet.”

“You think so?” I ask, looking at the group. “Is it… I mean, everyone has gifts from Mom, right? But does the fact that she’s strong make the boys strong, through their bonds or something?”

“I don’t know,” Henry says, tilting his head and considering his grandchildren with interest.

“But,” Sinclair says, clearly thinking about it as he speaks, “that’s not how bonds work, is it? I mean, Cora and Ella are blessed with the Goddess’s gifts, but Roger and I aren’t any stronger for it.”

I click my tongue, offended, and turn to look over my shoulder at my partner. “Excuse me, Dominic, but you have benefited from my gift many times…”

“Yes, honey,” she says, rolling her eyes a little and shaking her head, “but you know what I mean. We’re not physically stronger or gifted.”

“True,” Cora says, looking at the two of them. “But… we both bonded with extremely powerful Alpha wolves who happen to be brothers.” “Baby,” Roger says, interrupting her and smiling at her, pressing a hand to his heart. “That’s… the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me -“

“It’s just a fact, Roger,” she sighs, rolling her eyes, making me laugh.

“You think I’m powerful and tough,” he whispers, sliding down the arm of the couch to get behind her, wrapping his arms around her and Jesse, rocking them back and forth.

Jesse squeals and laughs as Cora tries to hold back her laughter. “You’re in awe of me.”

“Oh God,” he sighs, despite his smile. “I take that back – “

“Never, I will treasure this moment all my life…”

I’m shaking with laughter even as Sinclair raises his voice to cut her off.

“As surprising as this development is to the two of you,” he says, his voice not without humor, “what’s your point, Cora?”

“I don’t know,” she sighs, leaning contently against Roger, who gently kisses her neck. “Just that maybe there’s more to these bonds than just the raw power that passes between them. I mean, I don’t think it’s really a possibility that Ella and I would discover we were sisters and end up being brothers. “We’re… kind of a power quartet, when we put our minds to it.”

I nod, considering that maybe Cora is right. Perhaps it’s less about the bonds themselves and more about what they create in combination.

“And those three,” Cora continues, pointing between the children, “are already linked together, each with a goddess gift. And then Ariel with a dark gift, too?” She shrugs. “I think, in combination, they could be… formidable.”

“The future of our nation, right here,” I say quietly, leaning down to kiss my little girl again and extend my hand to my son, whom I suddenly want to hold very close. “Whatever gifts they have, I hope they can be convinced to use them to protect themselves first, and then our people.”

Silently, my family nods as we look at each other. Because our family comes first, but our nation?

These children are going to play a very important role in this. I hold my breath a little, praying inwardly that we can raise them to be strong enough to use their gifts for good.

“Actually,” Henry says, causing us all to turn to him in surprise. “There are some precedents there, too.”

And my eyebrows almost shoot up to my hairline. Anything else new today?

I settle back against my partner, ready to listen again.