Chapter 207
idental Surrogate for Alpha by Caroline Above Story
Chapter 207
Chapter 207 – Cora Comforts Roger
3rd Person
Cora wasn’t sure what she was doing.
Her sister needed her, so why was she walking away from E’s suite? Why wasn’t she offering to help
make arrangements for a funeral, or trying to help Henry convince the stubborn Luna to ept her loss
and focus on caring for herself and the baby? Why was she determinedly walking the same path she
had only nights before, when she’d been vulnerable and reckless enough to seek out Roger?
Because you’ve lost your damn mind. She thought bitterly. Worrying about a man who doesn’t deserve
your time or attention – someone who betrayed his own family and endangered E’s life. So what if
he’s gorgeous and clever, so what if he understands you even better than you understand yourself…
and makes your stomach go all soft and squishy everytime he looks at you with those fierce wolf
eyes… he’s still a scoundrel. He can’t be trusted.
But despite Cora’s confused inner musings, she was worried. She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Roger
since the news broke about Sinir’s death – and that was three days ago. E may not have realized
it, but after she copsed the doctor sedated her for a full 72 hours, and Cora knew that was part of
why this was such a struggle. E was waking up as if his death had just happened, but the rest of
them had been battling through thest few days without her. They’d exhausted every possibility, every
hope, and eventually epted what E could not.
When she reached Roger’s rooms, Cora knocked softly, unsure if he was even there. However her
question was soon answered, when a bitter growl sounded from somewhere inside. “Go away!”
“Roger, it’s me.” Cora called, fighting back a quiver of fear. “I just wanted to check on you.”
“I said go away.” He barked again, and Cora thought she heard something smash.
Taking a deep breath, Cora summoned all her courage, briefly wondering if she’d lost her mind. She
knew better than to interfere with a man in such a state, and though his harsh words and angry tone
sent nervous tremors through her body, she couldn’t help herself. She turned the door handle and
warily opened the door. The scene which met her was more concerning than anything she’d imagined.
His suite was a bitrger than hers, but no less opulent – at least it had been. Now ity in ruins –
every piece of furniture had been broken or toppled, every decorative vase and framed portrait
smashed and ripped. Papers and shards of *s, pottery and wood fragments littered the floors,
making the room nearly impa*sable. Cora sucked in a shocked breath, pressing her hand over her
mouth to suppress the sound.
“What the hell are you doing? Don’t you have ears?” Roger snapped, appearing in the door to the
bedroom. He was shirtless, dark trousers slung low on his hips, muscles rippling on his abdomen and
arms. His dark hair was tousled and a thickyer of stubble swathed his cheeks. In his balled fist he
held a half empty bottle of dark brown liquor, and he was swaying slightly on his feet, his eyes
unfocused.
Cora cursed in her mind, suddenly wishing she’de earlier. Roger was clearly in very bad shape,
and she wasn’t sure if he was a threat to her in this condition. “I’m sorry.” She stammered, trying and
failing to look at anything but the mess or his contoured muscles. “But, from the looks of it, you’re not
doing well.”
“Of course I’m not doing well!” Roger bit, taking a swig from the bottle and stalking forward. He trod
over the debris as if he didn’t even realize it was there, and Cora winced as *s and splinters dug into
the soles of his bare feet. Blood seeped out to blend in the wreckage, and Cora gulped as he drew
nearer. “My baby brother is dead.” Roger reminded her – as if she could forget. “How would you be?”
Cora felt herself cowering, even though she knew better. Thest thing you’re ever supposed to do with
an irate wolf is behave like prey, and here she was flooded with adrenaline and contemting flight.
“Not like this.” Cora managed to utter, ncing again at the destroyed suite, i
“Well I’m sorry if my grief is messier than yours.” Roger sniped, closing the door behind her and making
her flinch.
Why do you even care? I thought you were never speaking to me again.”
“I wasn’t nning on it,” She admitted, “but given what happened I… I just thought…”
“Wanted to check to see if I was celebrating?” Roger suggested coldly, still prowling forward until Cora
had no choice but to back away, her shoulder des colliding with the door. “I finally got what I wanted
right? Dominic out of the way and the pack in need of an Alpha?”
“Of course not!” Cora countered sharply. “I knew you would be sad, I just wasn’t prepared for you to be
quite so…” She trailed off, trying to find the right word before he growled and she involuntarily
squeaked, “rabid.”
Rogerughed without humor. “Why not? Don’t you think I’m some sort of monster? Isn’t this exactly
what you expect of me?”
“Stop it!” Cora hissed, trying to cease the shaking in her voice. “I know what you’re doing Roger and
you can’t bully me into leaving so that you can carry on wallowing this way.”
“Why? Isn’t it working?” He demanded, lowering his head to her neck and drinking in her scent. Cora’s
stomach flipped, and she could smell the whisky on his breath. “I can taste your fear, little human.
That’s how strong it is. So why aren’t you running away?”
All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.
“I’m not going to.” Cora insisted, clenching her eyes shut. “Because I know you won’t hurt me.”
“Is that so?” Roger rumbled ominously, trailing a finger down the length of her arm, extending a w
but only letting it graze her with a featherlight touch. “And how do you know that.”
“You said it yourself.” Cora croaked, trying to ignore the sensation of his warm breath on her skin, his
proprietary touches, which seemed to set her entire body aze. “We’re kindred spirits. I know that no
matter how terrible and unforgivable your thoughts might have been towards your brother at the height
of your anger and jealousy, losing him is a loss from which you will never recover. And your grief is all
the worse for how cruel you’ve been to him in the past.”
She gulped, “And I… I know you won’t hurt me because I’m not the one you’re angry with… I’m not the
one you hate.”
“So who is?” Roger asked, his gravelly voice like a caress.
“Yourself.” Cora breathed, wondering how in the Goddess’s name she could be so frightened and
turned on at the same time. She couldn’t deny the way standing up to an unhinged wolf terrified her,
but the mere fact that she was able to do so was something of a miracle. Cora had never been able to
stand up to anyone this way, and Roger was a hundred times more dangerous than any of the people
she’de up against in the past. Then there was the way he was looking at her, the way he was
touching her – impossibly gentle despite his menacing behavior.
She watched as her usation hit home, and suddenly Roger’s eyes shuttered. His shoulders sagged
as some of the chaotic energy ebbed out of him, and the next thing Cora knew, he was resting his
forehead on her shoulder, one of his powerful hands gripping her waist as tightly as he gripped the
liquor bottle. “I just got him back…” Roger murmured miserably. “I wasted so many years ming him
for things he couldn’t control, ignoring him when all he wanted was to be my friend.” A drop of moisture
landed on Cora’s skin, and she realized Roger was crying. Tentatively, Cora wrapped her arms around
his broad shoulders, wondering how it was possible for anyone to be so huge. She settled one hand in
his dark hair, stroking the silky locks as he continued to bare his soul.
“I was never the brother I should have been. I never looked out for him or taught him about the world. I
didn’t protect him when we were little, and I didn’t do it now – when he needed me most.” He heaved a
sob. “It was my job and I failed him.” i
The liquor bottle dropped to the ground, just one more piece of debris in all the ruin, and Roger
mped his arms around Cora’s middle, squeezing her tightly as he bore his soul. Any threat or
sensual intent was gone now, and Cora stroked and soothed him as he wept. There were tears in her
own eyes too, in sympathy for his loss, but also for her own mistakes with her sister.
This hadn’t been what she nned when she came looking for Roger, but she was d she’d listened
to her instincts. Roger clearly neededforting, and even though she decided not to let this change
anything between them, she was only too eager to take care of him… she didn’t want to think about
why that might be the case. She simply leaned into his arms, and gave him the sce he desperately
needed.