Chapter 383
idental Surrogate Chapter 383-Cora’s Decision E
“What?” Cora asks,ughing a little as if it’s a ridiculous notion. “What on earth could I have to pick and
choose from?”
“Let’s back up a little,” Roger says, tugging her into the room and gesturing
towards one of the chairs around the table. As she settles herself into a seat Sinir pulls over the little
armchair that I’ve been using when I feed Rafe, and I
murmur my thanks to him as I settle down in it. As Roger begins, Sinir swiftly hands me all of the
things I need to feed Rafe – a burp cloth, a little nket to throw over my shoulder, etc. – and I smile to
myself at his consideration in anticipating my needs without me having to ask. My Alpha is a warrior,
but he’s also a sweetheart. And I’m grateful for him every day. Everyone waits for me to get settled, but
then once Rafe is happily eating
Henry begins.
“We discovered,” Henry begins, his eyes moving between me and Cora, that
Xander has fled east to Adxia.”
“Shit,” Cora sighs, slumping down in her chair. My emotions match hers. We
knew that Xander was on the run we’drgely decimated any of his that martial
forces in taking out his priests. But our great fear was that in the time it took us to regroup, that he’d
leave the country and find allies who might help him. And it looks, now, like he did precisely that.
“Is Adxia…a good ce for him to go?” I don’t know a lot about the
neighboring kingdom, especially as I was raised as a human and hadn’t known
that overlying the map of the human world there was a hidden world of wolf
N?velDrama.Org (C) content.
kingdoms with its own wars and politics. Of course, ever since Damon broke the
secret of the of the wolves to the human world those maps have increasingly
probably fill its own book.
Which, considering that I’ll likely soon be Queen, is…unfortunate. But I force
myself to pay attention to Henry’s answer.
“Adxia is a notoriously ruthless wolf nation,” he sighs. “They stick even more
strictly to what they perceive as the traditions of wolf kind even more than we
do. Inparison to them we are…ridiculously liberal.”
“What does that mean?” Cora asks, crossing her arms over her chest, her face
worried and confused.
“It means,” Roger exins, “that Xander has likely found allies with a group who
would not be on board with our own nation’s current policy, which is that wolves
and humans are equal and deserve to be treated with the same respect. They
would also,” he continues, hesitating now and looking between me and Cora,
“really not like the fact that we’re having this conversation with our mates. For
Adxians, women are…”
“Second-ss citizens, at best,” Sinir finishes for him. “And at worst,
property.”
“What?” I gasp, my eyes going wide. ” Seriously? Are they also a nation that’s
been frozen in time for five hundred years?”
“I mean, it’s not a bad way to think of it,” Roger says, tilting his head to the side.
“Women there are not taught to read or write, they have almost apletely
separate culture and stay strictly within their homes. It is…not great, in terms of
rights.”
“Gross,” Cora says, her face clearly disying her disgust. “Though, it makes
sense why Xander would go there, considering how he tried to use E as his
broodmare.”
“Precisely,” Sinir says, nodding along with her. “And they’re staunch
nationalists and monarchists as well. They’re likely to respect Rafe’s im to our
future throne as Xavier’s grandson, not as my son. And, as such, would see
Xander’s im to the role of regent as… legitimate.”
“That’s all so ridiculous,” I say, sighing as I look down at my baby, this innocent
little person around whom so much revolves.
“Agreed,” Sinir says, reaching out to ce aforting hand on my shoulder.
“It’s unfortunate that he was able to get there so fast. This would all be much
easier if we had caught him at the border, had been able to prosecute him here
without having to go through a foreign government to do it.”
“Why?” I ask. “Can’t we just…demand that they give him back? Extradition, or
whatever?”
“We could,” Sinir replies, looking seriously down at me. “If I was King. Which,
currently, I am not.”
I blink up at him for a second, confused, and then put all of the pieces together.
“Ohhhh,” I say, my eyes going wide. Because while all of the other ims to the
throne within our country have been disposed of, and it’s rather a foregone
conclusion that my mate will take the throne….
He hasn’t done it yet. Which means, technically, that he doesn’t yet have ess
to any of the powers which would allow him to make any of these demands.
“Well, how fast can you do it?” Cora says, sitting up straight and looking easily
at Sinir. “Can we do like… some kind of quick and dirty coronation? p a
crown on you and get you on a throne by morning?”
We allugh a little at the idea of this, but there’s no real cheer in it, because I
think we all know the answer. “It’s moreplicated than that,” Sinir says,
running a hand through his hair. ” First, I have to im it, and then my im has
to be ratified by the governors. It’s…all a bunch of bureaucratic nonsense.
Interestingly the kind of bureaucratic nonsense that the Atxians don’t care
about. In their country, I’d have been king the moment I killed Damon. But,” he
shrugs a little, rueful. “That’s what we get for wanting to live in a nation in which
the people have a say in their lives. It’s a better process – but it takes longer.”
“Well,” I say, looking up at him. “Can we get it started?”
“We can,” Sinir says, nodding down at me. “But this is where your choice
“Seriously,” Cora says, spreading out her hands on the table. “I can’t with the
suspense anymore. Can one of you please just tell me what’s going on?”
“Until Dominic is King and we have ess to the state military and protection,”
Roger says quickly, “we don’t think it’s a good decision to split up anymore.
Which we all agreed to.”
“It has been a disaster, hasn’t it?” Sinir says, looking down at me again.
“Every time we try to leave you two home for safety, we either get torn up or you
do. Or both.”
“So we’re staying together from here on out,” Roger says, gesturing around the
room. “The six of us. Or, well,” he nces at Cora’s stomach. “Six and a half.”
“I would like to point out,” Cora says, “that this was my n from the start – but
noooo, I wasn’t allowed to go to the sewer, was I?”
“Yes, you’re very clever,” Roger says catingly, rolling his eyes a little before
moving on, which makes meugh lightly. “But, Cora, if we get everything
started with Dominic’s coronation, that means that…”
He hesitates now, as if he knows what he says will hurt her.
“What?” she pushes, dying to know and getting a little frustrated.
“It means that you wouldn’t be able to go to the temple any time soon,” Sinir
finishes. “To ask your mother for answers to the big questions you have. About
your baby, and about your mating.”
“Oh,” she says, sitting up straight in her chair and thinking it through. “Oh, I see.”
I nod along with her, seeing the point now. Because after we discovered that the
priestesses of my mother’s temple in the city had been infiltrated by the Cult, it
has been shut down for the moment. Besides, that temple was more of a ce
of worship than a true conduit for my mother – the closest of those temples,
where priestesses live in dedication to her and are able to truly call on her
presence, is hundreds of miles away.
And if Cora wants to go and ask her questions?
We either have to do it now, before the coronation begins? Or she has to wait and that waiting could
take quite a long time.
I purse my lips, wondering what the right choice is. Because what matters more
now – answering my sister’s big questions? Or chasing down the man who tried
to kidnap my son?