Chapter 168

Sinclair “She’s still mad at you, huh?” Gabriel remarks, glancing pointedly in the direction of my sullen mate.

Ella is curled up on the couch reading the Vanaran history book she risked her precious life to reach last night, and occasionally glancing up to shoot me vengeful glares.

“You can say that again.” I chuckle humorlessly, my wolf reaching out for her through our bond, only to hit a granite wall. The clever minx certainly learned how to shut me out quickly, and though part of me is proud, my wolf is not the least bit amused. Still, as much as I hate the idea, I’m trying to give her some space. I know how mixed up Ella’s emotions have been the last few days, and I realize that’s to be expected between the pregnancy, our exile and her wolf waking – she’s truly been through more than most people could bear lately.

“She can plan the event – if she’s up to it.” I amend after a moment, recalling how tired she’s been lately. The bigger the baby grows the more often she naps the afternoon away, and I want to give her responsibilities without exhausting her or piling on too much stress.

“You know she’ll force herself to be up to it if you give her the chance.” Gabriel warns, clearly having a good sense of my mate’s determined personality.

“If it becomes a problem let me know and I’ll set her straight.” I decide, making mental notes for myself in anticipation of sharing all this with Ella. “Besides, I’m only going to be gone for a couple of weeks and she’ll have plenty of help.”

My gaze stays locked on the she-wolf in question as we speak and, as if she can feel my scrutiny, Ella looks up and finds me staring. She narrows her beautiful gold eyes and her grumpy voice sounds in my mind, Take a picture, it will last longer.

I know she means it as a barb, but I have to admit this isn’t a bad idea. I think maybe I will. I’m going to miss seeing your stunning face and gorgeous curves while I’m gone. How about I take you upstairs and strip you naked, and we have a photoshoot.

She flushes visibly, but she only bares her sharp little fangs in my direction. Not a chance. You don’t get to be rewarded when you’re abandoning me.

My wolf instinctively rises to the challenge. Oh really, and how are you going to stop me, trouble?

I’ll bite you. She threatens sa**sily, her own wolf rising to the surface. Hard.

Is that a promise? I purr, watching as my mischievous mate shivers in response. My blood heats, and I’m sorely tempted to abandon my conversation with Gabriel and go scoop her up this instant.

“Whatever you two are talking about, I don’t want to know.” Gabriel observes, shaking his head.

I chuckle, breaking the connection with Ella and returning to the matter at hand. “Sorry, I suppose I got carried away.”

“You think?” He jibes, grinning at me.

Still laughing, I continue, “there is one more thing I could use your help with.” I explain, sharing the details of Ella’s mysterious past. “We were planning on investigating her parentage back home, and I think that’s mostly on hold for now. Still, there may be other ways we can try to find out what happened to her.”

“Like what?” Gabriel asks, sounding a bit confused.

“Well blood tests for starters, they were supposed to do genetic analysis in Moon Valley but we left before we could get the results. And how do you feel about hacking the government servers on the continent? If we can find a birth record to match Ella, we might be able to identify her parents.” I suggest.

“I’m not opposed to it.” Gabriel admits, “but I’m not sure this is the time to play that card. I’m sure my tech engineers can manage it, but if Damon gets wise to the hack then he might patch any weak spots or back doors into his systems, and you may need those for the war. I know you want to find out about Ella’s past, but I don’t think you want to compromise the revolution by doing so.”

“You’re right,” I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. “We’re probably going to need to hack him at some point or another, and I don’t want to risk making our jobs even harder.”

“Ella doesn’t remember anything about her family?” Gabriel questions, and I appreciate that he’s still searching for solutions.

“She was a baby when they gave her up.” I explain, mentally sorting through all the conversations we’ve had up until this point. “There’s a chance some details from her childhood might have been repressed, and we even talked about going to a hypnotist to see if we could uncover anything, but I don’t know if she’s ready for that.”

“I don’t know if it’s ever possible to be ready for that sort of thing… especially not if her parents intentionally bound her wolf for so long.” Gabriel a**esses. “But I can put some feelers out for hypno-therapists, and if she starts looking into her past while you’re away and wants to try going down that path, I’ll be prepared.”

“Thank you.” I breathe, feeling relieved already. I know none of this is going to resolve our fight, but I have to hope that staying busy and having her own purpose will help the next few weeks pa** more easily for Ella. Part of me worries that I’m piling on too much, but that’s why I’m going to stay in close contact and make sure she has all the support she could want. Of course, I would have told her all this – asked her opinion and consulted her – if only she would speak to me.

I catch myself glancing back to Ella, who stubbornly pretends that she can’t feel my gaze. We only have a few hours left together, and I don’t want to leave on bad terms. Ella might not want to kiss and make up, but I’m not going to give her a choice. There’s no telling what might happen in the next few weeks, and we can’t take a single moment together for granted.

My wolf rumbles through our bond, and Ella’s rose gold head jerks up, her eyes wide as my words slip past her defenses. You have until this evening to sulk, little one. After moonrise we’re going to go for a run, and we’re going to settle this as wolves. Then I’m going to bring you home and claim you as many times as it takes for the message to sink in.

What message? Ella squeaks, and I can feel her heart racing through the bond.

That I’m only leaving you because I love you so much. I answer fiercely, my voice dropping to a gravelly purr. I’m going to rut you so hard that you won’t be able to walk normally the entire time I’m gone. So that every step you take and you feel that ache between your legs, you’ll think of me and remember exactly who you belong to. And when I come home, we’re going to do it all again. Do I make myself clear?

Once her shock wears off, Ella’s eyes harden and she scowls at me. You’ll have to find me first.

You do not want to hide from me mate. I warn her, my hackles raising.

Her wolf immediately rises to the challenge. Watch me.

At the same time, I can’t let my desire to spoil the sweet creature sway my judgment. Thus, Ella was beside herself when I refused to change my mind about embarking on my travels alone, and she was furious when she realized I wasn’t going to let her antics in the library go unpunished. Today I am definitely paying the price. The wiley she-wolf snuck out of bed before I woke this morning, and she hasn’t spoken to me all day.

“She’ll come around.” Gabriel assures me hopefully, patting me on the shoulder.

“Spoken like an Alpha without a mate.” I remark dryly. It would be one thing if Ella were merely angry, but the horrible part is knowing that her vexation is covering a deep well of pain.

“So how are you going to make it up to her?” Gabriel inquires, looking back and forth between us.

“Well, I’m leaving Philippe as her head guard, but I’ll take as many men as you can spare to watch over her.” I request, knowing I’m going to need most of my own men for the journey ahead. I don’t like the idea of leaving Ella in the care of men I don’t know, but Gabriel and I have been friends since we were boys, and I trust him implicitly. “I think it’s really important that she continue visiting the refugees. There’s no one better to oversee their relocation and she needs to maintain those relationships herself. The people will take comfort in her presence, and they’ll trust her with things they won’t tell Vanarans, or even my own men.”

Gabriel nods in agreement, “They really do adore her, you know? You would have thought she’s been their Luna for years.”

“That’s Ella for you.” I smile, unable to suppress my pride. “My little love magnet.”

Gabriel laughs, “What else?”

“I’ve been thinking that it might be good to plan some sort of event at the end of my trip. That way I can go to the Alphas and make my case without demanding an immediate answer. I can invite them to the capital in two weeks for a summit or festival or something, and they can come with their decision after having time to consider the alliance fully.” I muse aloud, sharing this thought for the first time.

“Are you sure you want to give them the time to think?” Gabriel inquires. “It’ll be harder for them to say no if you’re there in front of them.”

I shrug. “I’ll be in front of them anyway, and I don’t want to form these alliances through fear or intimidation. If people are going to go to war for my cause, they need to be on board of their own volition.”

“Alright.” Gabriel concedes, though I can tell he thinks I’m being too noble. “And where does Ella fit into that?”