Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

On Leo's orders, I spent most of my time in the library. It was a relief. I could barely lift the baskets to carry laundry anymore, and if I went down to my knees to scrub the floors I was not getting up without assistance.
I still wasn't showing any sign of a baby bump, but the fatigue that the healer's journals warned about had hit with full force. I was constantly exhausted.
At least in the library I could work while mostly sitting down. The archivists didn't know why I was so tired, but they still made sure I had plenty of rest. Maybe they thought I was ill. Or they just assumed that I was weaker than other wolves because of my human heritage.
I never understood why the archivists were nicer to me than any of the other servants in the manor. I was just relieved that at least a small handful of the wolves of my pack didn't utterly hate me.
The library had been my refuge throughout my childhood. The archivists were kind to my mother, too, and would watch me when she couldn't. So it was nice to be assigned to stay there.
Another good thing about being assigned to the library was that it allowed me to avoid Eva. She did not like the dusty tomes or the looming bookshelves. She found the place dreary and boring. So I didn’t have to worry about dodging her wrath.
I worked diligently for the archivists, but there wasn’t that much that needed to be done day by day. The pack had a respectable library, but nothing extensive.
That left me with a rare treat, free time during the day. I of course spent that time studying the texts Dr. Lee had so generously loaned me.
While the texts I had found in the library to study were nearly antiques, these books were new. They contained both tried and true healing methods worked out over generations, and newer theories that were still being tested.
My favorite of the texts was a collection of first hand accounts of healing techniques. It was one thing to know what needed to be fixed. It was better to know how it felt to heal a specific type of wound.
I pored over the texts. If possible, I would commit every word to memory.
As the days went by, I noticed that I wasn’t the only extra occupant of the library. Leo’s brother Zane dropped by at least once a day during my shift.
At first I didn’t notice anything unusual about his presence. Most of the wolves would drop by for something to read on a slow day. The library was well stocked with adventure tales. Both Alpha Arthur and Alpha Leo encouraged their wolves to be well read.
So I didn’t pay much attention to Zane’s visits the first few times. He was quiet. He didn’t try to speak to me or interrupt my studying.
After a little while, though, I realized something strange. While Zane visited the library almost daily, he never checked any books out. And he wasn’t reading in the library, either.
He would come in, spend several minutes wandering the stacks, and leave. Sometimes he would speak to one of the archivists, but other than that he didn't do anything. He never spoke to me.
Zane's visits didn't bother me at first. The library was for everyone, after all. And Leo's pack had, according to rumor, lost their library and their archivists in the early attacks by the Rogue king. So it made sense that his wolves would be interested in our library.
But when Leo's other wolves visited the library, they left with books. They chatted with the archivists. They asked me for help finding things if I was on duty. I don't think they realized I was a servant, not an archivist myself.
Zane just lingered, and watched. And his visits grew longer. I thought he must be reading or taking books at other times. But I spoke to the archivists, and they said that he never appeared in the library at any other point in the day.
That's when I realized he only visited when I was there. I thought it must be a coincidence. But the archivists informed me that he came on one of my days off, looked around once and immediately left. He was looking for me.
But why? What possible interest could Leo's brother have in me? I was just a maid working in the library.
We hadn't spoken two words to each other since Leo's pack joined ours. I only knew his name because the wedding party had been introduced to all the serving staff. The closest thing we'd had to an interaction was that morning I found him sleeping with my sister.
Was that it? Was he worried I'd say something to Leo after all this time? Didn't he know how deeply I was mired in Eva's plots? I wouldn't dare say anything to anyone.
Well, I'd talked to Ethan, but I hadn't given him any details except that she had my mother. I wanted to trust him fully but I did not dare. And there was no way Zane could know about that.
Maybe Zane was watching me for Eva? They were still lovers, as far as I knew. Eva still insisted I trade out with her several days a week to go meet with him.
After almost two weeks of just watching me from the shelves of the library, Zane approached me. I was tense, but all he did was ask if I felt all right. I nodded and fled. I didn't know what else to do.
Zane made a point of speaking to me every time he visited the library after that. I never said much back to him. I was scared to. What if he was flirting with me? What if Eva thought I was flirting with him?
Eva would never forgive me for catching her lover's attention. She would never believe I hadn't done so on purpose. And I knew I wouldn't survive the beating that would come from it. Neither would my pup. And of course she still had custody over my mother. I could never forget that.
The head archivist approached me one day as I started my shift.
“The alpha's brother has been asking about you,” he told me.
“Asking what?” I asked.
The older wolf looked uncomfortable. “Strange questions,” he said. “He asked me if you had enough to eat yesterday. He asked my assistants how many loads of laundry we thought you did in a week.” The archivist paused. “I think the answer is too many.”
I shrugged. Before the pup, I didn't have a problem with my work load. Now, though, it was exhausting.
“Did he say why he was asking about me?” I asked.
The archivist shook his head. He visibly hesitated.
Then he added, “He also asked about the time you spend with Alpha Leo. We explained that you are only his maid, and that nothing improper is going on, but I do not think he believed us.”
I winced. Maybe Zane was just looking out for his brother. Maybe he thought I was plotting to seduce Leo.
“There really is nothing going on,” I insisted.
“Oh, I know. Alpha Leo is honorable and you are far too intelligent to become tangled up in the affairs of the alphas.”
I had nothing to say to that, so I just smiled and nodded and went back to my reading. If he only knew.