#Chapter 412 – A New Guest
Ella
“You,” I breathe, staring at Sarah in awe as she begins to eagerly nod. But I just shake my head in wonder. “You were the one who warned us – who left us the note that told us that -“.
And my eyes instantly snap to Conner, standing a few feet away and watching us warily, Rafe sleeping in his arms.
Sarah’s eyes follow mine. “Is that him?” she whispers. “The little baby?”
“Is that the prince?” Jessica asks, sitting up eagerly in her bed. “Oh – I’ve heard so much about him-”
But I’m instantly on my feet, moving to Conner to take my child and turning my head to Theo as Conner transfers Rafe to my arms. “Call Sinclair – tell him we’re bringing someone home -two people. Prepare…whatever gets prepared. I don’t know. And – and record this ” I say, pointing to Jessica and Sarah. “I want him to see it. All of it.”
“Luna,” Theo says, frowning, “I can’t do both at once-”
“Figure it out!” I call over my shoulder, quickly moving around the bed to Sarah’s side, bringing the baby close so she and Jessica can see them.
“Yes,” I say, tears filling my eyes as I sit on the bed with Jessica on my left and Sarah, still in her bedside chair, on my right. I lean forward so they can both see Rafe sleeping between them.”
This is Rafe – this is the baby, the prince. And you saved him,” I say, shaking my head and staring between them. My voice shakes with the intensity of it – with how much I want them to know the impact they had, how grateful I am for their early warning
Because if if we hadn’t gotten that note –
If we hadn’t known –
Those men who came through my window it would have been a complete shock, and I never, ever would have been able to react in time. And Sinclair wouldn’t have been as wary may not even have been home –
And my baby would be gone – in Xander’s hands-
“I owe you everything,” I whisper to Sarah, the tears starting to streak down my cheeks now.
“It was my pleasure, Luna,” Sarah says, crying now too as she smiles at me, clearly so, so happy to have helped to be able to finally meet me, and Rafe, and see the results of what must have been so dangerous for her to accomplish.
“He’s so big,” Jessica says, her eyes wide as she looks down at Rafe. Her words make me laugh and I look back down at my sleeping baby. “Yeah, he’s my little meatball,” I say, “you should see his dad.”
“He’s beautiful, Luna,” Sarah says, hesitating as she reaches out a single finger towards him. But I hold the baby forward a little, letting her brush his cheek. As she touches him, a huge smile comes to her face. “So lovely, the little prince.”
“What’s what’s going on here?” Cora asks, suddenly standing behind Sarah, her eyes wide with surprise and worry. She had only stepped away for a few minutes, and suddenly everything has changed.
“This is Sarah,” I say, smiling up at my sister and wiping at the tears on my cheeks. “She…well, she wrote the note.”
“The note?” Cora asks, her face twisting in confusion.
“Yeah,” I reply, nodding. “The one…. on the doorstep, the day after the christening. That told us…”
“Oh,” Cora says, and then she gasps as she figures out the true significance of this. “Oh my – oh my god.” Then she crouches down at Sarah’s side, looking up at her. “Are you serious?”
Sarah laughs and shrugs a little, clearly shy and not knowing how to respond. “Yes,” she says.
Cora turns to stare at me. “We have to bring them back!”
“I know,” I say, nodding eagerly. But then, seeing Sarah shrink away from us a little at Cora’s words, I reach out a hand to her, smiling at this new pair of sisters. “Would you like to come to the palace with us? As my guests? We can make you very comfortable there, and we want to thank you -”
Cora turns her head sharply at me, narrowing her eyes a little and letting me know- without words that she expects me to tell them the whole truth.
“And, well,” I say, sighing a bit as I look Sarah in the eye. “My mate will want to meet you too, and hear the story. And he will have questions.”
“Oh,” Sarah says, looking at Jessica, clearly worried.
“But I promise,” I say, reaching out a hand that I place gently on her knee. I withdraw it immediately when I see Sarah flinch. Still, I persist, leaning forward. “I promise, Sarah – you will not be harmed, and we – we will do everything we can to help you. We just we’d love to know more about you, and that day, and your life…would that be all right?”
Sarah hesitates again, looking between Cora and I.
“You can say no,” I say softly. ” Though I very much hope you will trust me and say yes. I…I owe you everything, Sarah.”
And then, with her eyes firmly on Rafe, Sarah nods once. Cora stands up immediately, moving forward to the guards, letting them know to prepare. But I stay with Sarah and Jessica, talking softly with them for the next few hurried minutes while I can hear my team behind me, working in a bit of a flurry.
Then, when Theo taps me on the shoulder, I finally turn around. “We’re ready, Luna,” he says, his face again serious. “If you are?”
“I think so,” I say, turning to Sarah and Jessica. “Shall we?”
And the two of them stand up and walk with me out of the tent, and out of the camp, and towards the cars that will take us all to the palace.
About thirty very tense minutes later, our convoy of cars pulls up to the back entrance of the palace and travels into the underground garage that we left from this morning. Cora sits tensely beside me as I look persistently out the back of the car, towards the car behind me in which Sarah and Jessica are riding.
I was very, very unhappy when Theo told me in no uncertain terms – that Cora and I would be riding separately from the refugees. I had fought him on it, but he was stalwart, holding out the phone to me with the direct order from Sinclair written clearly in a text message.
But, since no one would get into the cars until I agreed to the order, Sarah eventually gave me a soft touch on the elbow and told me that it was all right. Only then did I relent, though I’m still not happy about it.
“Hank texted,” Cora murmurs as we pull slowly towards our parking space.
“You still text Hank?” I ask, my eyes going wide as I look towards my sister for the first time this ride.
“He didn’t text me,” she says, rolling her eyes. “He knows Roger would kill him. But he texted you, through me, because he says you’re not answering your phone.”
“Clever Hank,” I murmur, leaning forward over Rafe’s carrier. “What did he say?”
“He said to tell you he thinks you’re doing right by Sarah and Jessica,” she says, her voice warm, “and that he’ll meet us there again tomorrow, if we can.’
“Okay,” I say, starting to unbuckle Rafe immediately when we stop. “Text him back that I said thanks, and yes, we’ll text him in the morning to let him know our plans.”
“So stiff,” Cora says, looking up at me and raising her eyebrows. “Where has my sweet sister gone? Don’t you at least want me to include some kind of rainbow or star emojis to lighten that up a bit?”
I pause before I lift my son out of his car seat so that I can glare at my sister. “This is serious, Cora,” I snap.
“Sorry, sorry,” she sighs, turning to get out of the car.
I’m not actually mad at her, obviously, but I don’t have time to tell her so. As soon as I get out of the car I head to Sarah’s side. “Okay,” I say, smiling at the sisters. “Please come inside – we’re going to get you settled in a room, and have dinner sent to you. Does that – does that sound all right?”
“That sounds fine,” Sarah says, raising her hands to play anxiously with her hair as Jessica presses close to her side, her arms wrapped around Sarah’s hips.
“Okay,” I say, giving them both a warm smile before I see movement at the door that leads into the palace – and then a very familiar, too-tall, too- broad silhouette come through the door. “You two stay right here for a second, okay?” I say, and Sarah nods before I dash away to Sinclair.
“Ella – “He says immediately, his voice worried as he looks beyond me.
“Look at me, Dominic,” I demand and he instantly does as I say, his eyes wide with surprise.
“What is it?” he asks.
“What do you have planned for them?” I ask, bouncing Rafe in my arms, because he’s starting to cry a little- probably picking up on some of my anxiety and a little of the anger that’s starting to curl in me as I anticipate what my mate is going to say.
Because I know – I just know that his Alpha instinct is to treat this woman like a prisoner of war, and not like the savior she is.
And damn it, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let him do that.
