Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 17: Chapter 17

I didn't know what to say when Leo asked about my scars. Would he even believe the truth? I knew he wouldn't.
In Leo's eyes, Eva was his wife and his mate. He thought she was the one who held him close in the night. He thought she was the mother of his heir.
He wouldn't hear a single harsh word about her. Leo would think I was trying to drive a wedge between him and his wife. He already thought I was a schemer.
And if I did dare to tell the truth, Eva would take it out on my mother. I couldn't lose her when I was so close to finally finding her.
But I had to tell him something. I couldn't just ignore a direct question from an alpha. Even Eva couldn't get away with disrespect that blatant.
I finally decided to tell him the truth, just without telling him who had done it. If he wanted to know so badly, he could talk to Alpha Arthur or the healers. They all knew.
“It was when I was young,” I said. “Another cub was angry about my looks. She beat me until I couldn't struggle, clawed up my face, and shoved me down onto a hot stove. The scar never fully healed.”
“That's awful,” Leo said, and for once there was sympathy instead of pure disdain when he looked at me as Tessa.
“It was a long time ago,” I said. “It doesn't hurt.”
“Still, it shouldn't have happened. Was the other cub reprimanded?”
I shook my head. “No. Her position in the pack was higher than mine. I'm just a half-blood, she was a full wolf.”
He blinked. “You're half human?”
I nodded. “My mother.”
Leo crossed his arms. “I didn't know there were any humans in this pack.”
“She was hurt in a Rogue attack,” I admitted. “She's in the hospital.”
“Oh.” Leo looked away. “I'm sorry to hear that.”
“Don't be. You stopped them.” I decided to take my chance to say it. “Thank you for that. For killing the Rogue King. I know it cost you dearly, but thank you.”
Leo said, “I'm healing. And it was my duty as an alpha.” He sighed. “I hope your mother will heal as well.”
I bowed. “Thank you. I need to get back to work.”
“Of course.” Leo paused. “Wait, just one more moment.”
I paused in the doorway. I tried to hide my nerves. Why was he suddenly so interested in me?
“You're half human,” he said. “Have you ever shifted?”
“No, alpha,” I said, cringing.
“Oh. Well, it might happen still. I hear it takes longer, for half-bloods. Just listen for your wolf.”
I nodded. Then, for some reason, I said, “I saw her once. In my mirror.”
Leo smiled. “There you are, then. I look forward to seeing you join the hunt.”
“Thank you, Alpha Leo,” I said. “But I really must go.”
“Yes, yes, I shouldn't keep you.”
I hurried to the winter linen closet. Leo and I had made quite a mess of the place. I needed to clean it up before it was discovered.
Eva found me just as I finished straightening up the closet. She was still in a foul mood. She shoved a list of chores at me.
I glanced over the list. “This is a lot,” I protested softly.
“You know you have to earn your keep,” Eva said, voice dripping false sweetness. “And your mother's, too. Plus, you're eating for two, so that's more resources we have to waste on you.”
“This pup was your idea,” I pointed out.
Eva shrugged. “Whatever. Get the work done or find another pack to take you in.” She smirked. “I'm sure there are dozens of alphas looking to recruit a pregnant, wolf-less, half-blood.”
I shuddered. As bad as things were for me in the pack, they were still my family. A strange pack would likely treat me a hundred times worse.
I sighed and bowed. I had no choice but to obey and we both knew it. I stared at the list as Eva flounced away.
It would take me all day and into the night to finish the list. It left me no time to rest, and almost no time to grab anything to eat. But if I didn't finish, she would report to the alphas that I was slacking and they'd let her punish me. She was a Luna, now, and that meant running the household fell to her.
I wondered how she and Annette were dealing with being the same rank. It was rare to have two Alpha couples in one household. Soon either Leo would leave with his pack and mate, or he and Arthur would have to come to some kind of agreement and join the packs officially.
I worked my way through the list, carefully managing my time. I was staggering with exhaustion by the time one of the wolves who ran the archive found me.
“You have a message,” he said, “from Alpha Ethan, of one of our neighboring packs.” The archivist tilted his head. “Why would an outside alpha want to contact you?”
“I'm not sure,” I said. “May I ask what the message is?”
The archivist offered me a written note. I thanked him and found a quiet place to read it. Ethan wanted me to come work for him at his hospital. He was offering me a position as a senior healer.
I stared down at the scribbled note. Senior healer? I was untrained, and couldn't even use my full powers yet. I wouldn't be able to do that until the pup was born and I could shift and properly meet my wolf.
It was so tempting to accept, though. I'd be free of Eva's abuse. But Ethan didn't know that I was half human, and pregnant with Leo's pup.
I could never hide all of that working as a senior healer. For the moment, I was safest where I was. So I went to the archive, and wrote out a polite refusal. I did offer to come help with any difficult or hopeless cases, though. I wanted to help and I wanted more chances to talk with Ethan.
My hope was that if I helped heal more of his injured patients, Ethan might be willing to help me find my mother. He owned a hospital and he was an alpha. He'd have the resources to locate her.
The archivists promised to send my message on. I returned to my work, scrambling to catch up on the time I'd lost dealing with Ethan's message.
I was busy carrying firewood in to keep the big wood stoves in the kitchen stocked when I stumbled into a strange wolf. I staggered, dropping logs everywhere.
“Oh, so sorry, let me get those for you,” the stranger said.
I recognized him when he spoke. It was Ethan, the alpha who'd just tried to recruit me. What was he doing here?
“I don't suppose you could take me to Leo, could you?” Ethan asked. “After you tell me where all this heavy firewood goes, of course.”
“I can take it,” I said.
“But then you couldn't lead me to my friend.” Ethan grinned.
I realized that he didn't recognize me without my mask. I didn't think he'd be teasing me about firewood if he thought I was a powerful healer.
I showed him where the wood went, and then led him to Leo's rooms. The alpha was alone, and he broke into a huge grin when he saw Ethan.
Then he saw me and he frowned.
“Why are you with her?” he asked.
“I bumped into her and knocked a bunch of firewood out of her arms,” Ethan said. “What I want to know is why an itty bitty maid like her is hauling heavy firewood around when you have two packs full of healthy male wolves who should be doing that.”
“What?” Leo looked at me. “Good grief, Tessa, why are you hauling firewood?”
“I was ordered to,” I answered.
“By whom?” Leo demanded.
I didn't dare tell him. I just handed over my chore list. He read it with a frown and shook his head.
“This is ridiculous. It's too much for one person, and I doubt you're even strong enough to do some of these.” Leo looked from me to Ethan and back. “I don't know who made this list but don't worry about finishing it. Go clean my room instead.”