Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate

Ella
“Ella, you can’t just demand
But I glare at Sinclair, slicing my hand through the air and shaking my head as I realize that he can’t hear what I’m hearing.
And the first thing that comes to my ears...
Is a laugh.
“All right, little daughter,” a soft voice says, and I instantly recognize it as my mother. “I stopped there for a reason, but if you get
out of my pool, I’ll give you one more.”
I narrow my eyes at the moon but do as the Goddess bids, stepping out of the pool.
“I ended there because I do not know the outcome,” she says, her voice sorrowful. “His mission will be...his own. But, I do know
this...”
And I reach out and put a hand on Sinclair’s arm, very tense. I gasp a little as a new vision forms very fleeting, very brief –
But in it, Jesse is an old, old man wrinkles crinkle around his eyes as he smiles down at a child in his arms
His grandchild, or maybe his great- grandchild or maybe not a child of his blood at all, but certainly one he loves very, very much
–
It’s gone as soon as it comes, but it’s enough.
Jesse – he lives. And it’s enough.
“”Thank you,” I breathe, my eyes turned up now towards the sky, the tension falling from my shoulders. ”
Thank you.”
“Trust them,” the Goddess says, her words even fainter now than they were before. “Even if you don’t trust this world, or me,
trust them.”
And I nod, understanding, committing to it.

And suddenly, whatever magic was here lifts, and she’s gone.
The light from the pool fades until it’s just...a lake, or a pond again.
“What...what just happened?” Sinclair asks, staring down at me with wide eyes.
“Did you see?” I ask, desperate to know.
“See what?” he asks, shaking his head at me. “See you plunge into the pond yelling at the sky like a literal lunatic!?”
“See the last vision!” I explain, and when he continues to stare at me I let out a deep breath. “Okay. Guess that one was just for
me.”
“She showed you more!?”
I nod slowly. “She knew I was upset when the vision ended with Jesse in darkness. So, she showed me him as an old man,
holding a tiny child.”
My mate scowls at me and then glances up at the moon, as if he wants to get mad now but he’s a little too scared of her for
blasphemy. “Well, that hardly seems fair,” he murmurs. ” Why do you get extra visions?”
“Well, you,” I say, pointing down at his shoes, “have warm dry feet. So. Fair trade.”
He laughs at me almost despite himself, shaking his head as he wraps Jesse up tightly in his blanket. The baby’s face is
peaceful now, his eyes starting to drift shut. “Leave it to you, trouble,” he murmurs, “to bully the Goddess into showing you extra
magical visions.”
“I’m his godmother,” I say, grinning and taking the baby from Sinclair’s arms when he offers him to me, probably knowing that I’m
upset and want to hold the baby close. “If I’m not going to bully a diety for him, who is?”
“I’ll leave it to you,” Sinclair sighs, wrapping a warm arm around my shoulders. “Come on. Let’s go get you into some warm
socks.”
About an hour later, Sinclair makes good on his promise and comes out of Cora and Roger’s closet, tossing a pair of fluffy socks
onto my lap.
“All right, Ella,” Cora says, frowning down at me with her baby in her arms, ” spill.”

“I told you,” I say on a sigh, “it’s not bad.”
But, of course, she doesn’t believe me. Cora took one look at the wet hem of my gown, my ruined shoes, and
Sinclair’s pale face when we came out of the forest and went totally still. We tried to put on a good show, ensuring the group of
all the wonderful things we saw which is true! – but Cora didn’t say much at all, ushering everyone into the waiting vans so that
we could all get back to the house as fast as possible.
She’s a polite hostess of course, and she made sure that everyone was happily settled in the house with food and drink so
Jesse’s celebration could continue, but I could tell: the entire time, she just wanted to get us alone so that she could get the full
details.
Roger is just as worried, though he’s doing a bit better playing it off.
“They said it’s all right, Cora,” he says, putting a hand on her shoulders. ”