Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Sudden, powerful cramps made me double over in pain. Was something wrong with the baby? It was moving a moment ago. But it was too soon, wasn't it? I frantically ran through everything I'd learned about pregnancy in werewolves.
Mostly it was the same as for a human. It had to be similar, otherwise I wouldn't exist. My mother was human, and she'd carried a werewolf baby to term with no problems.
But there were differences. The term was shorter. I knew that. But how much shorter?
Was it enough of a difference that the baby would be moving this much already? How well-formed was Leo's pup at this moment?
I looked up at Leo as sharp pain ripped through my middle. Was it him? Was the pup somehow reacting to the presence of its father?
That should be ridiculous. How could a baby inside of me feel the presence of its father? But it hadn't moved before he arrived. Nothing else explained the sudden movements.
Another flutter of movement and a sharp pain nearly drove me to my knees. I felt the blood drain from my face as I fell. Leo caught me before my knees hit the floor.
“You're as pale as a ghost,” he announced, and that was definitely concern in his voice. “I'm going to take you to the healers.”
No, I couldn't go to the healers! They would know immediately what was wrong with me. And they would tell Leo. If he learned I was pregnant, the whole plot would unravel and my mother's life would be forfeit.
How could I convince him to let me go when I'd almost fainted in his arms, though? Leo just had to be the kind of alpha who actually cared about the wolves in his pack. Even the ones he thought were plotting against him.
I had to calm the pup. That was the only answer. If I wasn't pale and fainting, Leo would believe me that I was only tired and he'd let me go rest.
How was I supposed to calm a fetus, exactly? I didn't want the pup to stop moving, even though it made me a little nauseous.
Those tiny flutters were the most incredible thing I'd ever felt. But I needed the cramps to stop. I needed to know the pup was okay. And I needed to avoid the healers.
Wait, wasn't I a healer? My wolf had told me I was, or would be, a powerful healer. If that had been real and not a hallucination.
I needed it to be real.
How did I use my healing powers, though? The wolf had told me I'd come into my full powers when we finally met. But that meant I'd have to shift, and I couldn't shift while I was pregnant with Leo's pup.
Wait, no. The wolf had told me that I'd come into my full powers when I shifted. I had to have some healing ability because the scars on my face had healed.
That meant I had some healing available to me. But how did I access it?
The books all said that healing was mostly focus. I had to want it badly enough, and put everything I had into the effort. I could do that.
I wanted the pain to stop and I wanted the baby to be all right. It was, in that moment, the only thing I wanted. Surely that was enough.
I focused my mind while my body slumped in Leo's grip. I held the image of the pup, still barely formed, and I traced the lines of pain through my body.
I found the source of the cramps. I didn't understand exactly what it was but that didn't matter. There was tension and I eased it. The baby was upset. All it knew was the warmth and safety of my womb, and the distant love of its father.
Something had disturbed that peace. I closed my eyes and held the feeling of Leo's arms around me close.
There. It was there, just barely within reach. I didn't know how to describe it but I felt it. A kind of tingling warmth that wrapped around me and the pup. I fed all of my energy into that warmth and floated within it for as long as I dared.
When I came back to myself the baby was calm again and the pain had faded into a distant ache.
“I'm fine,” I insisted as I looked up into Leo's eyes. “I worked too hard, maybe. I should get to my rooms. Work starts early in the morning.”
“Are you certain?” he asked.
I nodded. “I'm sure.”
“Okay. If you're sure. May I walk you to your room?”
I would rather he didn't so I could get to the archives that much faster. But his concern was nice. So I nodded and let him escort me from the hallway to my room.
“Thank you,” I said. I should have bowed, but that might make the nausea come back. “I appreciate your concern.”
“Be more careful in the future,” Leo warned.
“I will.”
I waited in my room until Leo left. He looked sad, and confused. I wished I could talk to him, really talk to him and tell him the truth, but it was impossible. He'd never believe me anyways.
Once the coast was clear I hurried into the archives. The archivists were definitely early to bed, early to rise sorts so I had the place to myself. I found a computer and started it up.
I searched hospitals in the area and found a bewildering variety of answers. Was my mother even nearby? I didn't know.
I had to narrow the search parameters. What did I know? It had to be a private hospital; no public hospital would take a long term patient like my mother and allow someone like Eva as much control over her case.
And it had to be a werewolf hospital, one owned by a pack. Human hospitals operated under different rules. As next of kin I would have been informed the moment my mother entered one of those places.
That gave me a place to start. I entered those conditions into the search engine. From there, I pulled up images from each hospital.
The wallpaper used in my mother's room was distinctive. I remembered it from the photo. Only one hospital had that particular design in their patient rooms.
I looked it up and found a hospital owned by an Alpha Ethan. I'd heard that name before. Leo mentioned another alpha who was a dear friend. His name was Ethan.
I finally knew where my mother was. Now all I had to do was go there and convince the doctors to allow me to heal her. Then, at long last, we would both be free.
Leo
Leo didn't understand why he was so fixated on that scarred maid, Tessa. He'd followed her half the evening. He watched as she worked and watched as she rested, visibly exhausted just from a little cleaning.
She didn't seem like a lazy worker. Although Eva had described her as a schemer and he'd seen her cause trouble at the banquet, somehow he doubted she was the type to shirk her chores. So why did she take so many breaks?
Maybe she was ill. Sickness was rare among werewolves, but it was serious when it did strike. He would have to mention her to the healers and make sure they checked on her.
He felt guilty spending so much time thinking of Tessa when he had a pregnant mate to worry about. Tessa wasn't his wolf and she wasn't his concern. So why couldn't he put her out of his mind?
Leo went back to his rooms, determined to do some actual useful work. His beta, Johann, met him in his sitting room. He needed to arrange a proper meeting space and office but that was a problem for later.
“My Alpha, we've figured out who the traitor among us is,” Johann announced as soon as they were certain they were alone.
“Who?” Leo asked, although it pained him to believe anyone in his pack might betray him.
But the evidence was irrefutable. The King of the Rogues had been ready for their attack. Someone had warned him. Someone wanted Leo to fail.
“Your brother, Zane,” Johann said. “I have recordings of phone calls, and letters. He warned the Rogues. Zane is the traitor.”
Leo couldn't accept that. Not his little brother. There had to be another explanation.
“We'll give him another chance,” Leo declared. “He'll clear his name. I'm sure of it.”
“And if he doesn't?” Johann asked.
“Then I will deal with the matter myself,” Leo said.