Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Leo
Hearing Ethan claim Tessa's pup as his felt like a punch straight to Leo's gut. He had no right to be upset. He knew that. Tessa was just his maid.
His wolf growled inside him. It wanted to attack Ethan. It wanted to make the other alpha submit, so that it could claim Tessa and her pup as its own.
Leo controlled his wolf more ruthlessly than he had since his parents' deaths. Ethan was his friend. As close as a brother, no, closer since Ethan had never betrayed him.
And Tessa was his, yes, his maid and a member of his pack. But that was where it ended. She was free to choose her own mate. And could he blame her for choosing Ethan?
He had no right to be angry at them. And his hurt feelings were just irrational. Leo was married to Eva, happily married with a cub of his own on the way.
He should be overjoyed, in fact. His friend was going to be a father at the same time he was! They could raise their pups together. The children would have each other for friends, and the alliance between their packs would continue to the next generation.
He went back to the banquet, while Ethan stayed to tend Tessa. Ethan was her mate, after all. Leo had no place in that bathroom anymore. His maid was fine, her mate was tending to her, and he had to go back to his wife.
When he sat back down next to her, Eva leaned over to ask, “What happened?”
“I'll explain after dinner,” Leo promised. “Ethan's taking care of her. She's fine.”
“Okay,” Eva said. “Just, it wasn't the food, was it?”
“No, no, everything's fine,” Leo promised.
Eva stood and announced a toast to Leo's fighting prowess. Leo smiled graciously as both packs cheered.
“Is everything all right?” Alpha Arthur asked.
“Yes, Tessa was just a little under the weather,” Eva said. “Ethan's looking after her.”
“Oh, that's kind of him,” Annette said. She looked around. “Well, besides the maid getting ill, this has been a lovely banquet, Eva. You're doing a fine job as Luna.”
Eva preened under her mother's praise. Leo was quick to voice his agreement. Although, a part of him couldn't help but think that a Luna's job was to care for their household. And Eva hadn't even left the banquet to check on Tessa.
No, he was being unfair. Eva had to stay, she was the host. And Tessa had Ethan and Leo to check up on her. Besides, Eva was pregnant, too. Seeing Tessa become sick might well have set her off. Leo was just glad that Eva didn't seem to suffer from morning sickness as severe as Tessa's.
After the banquet, Leo took Eva to his room in the hopes that she would want to spend the night. She went with a flirtatious smile, but did pause in the sitting room.
“I think you should tell me what happened with Tessa, first,” she said.
“Oh, of course,” Leo agreed. She was Luna and Tessa was part of her household. “I would have told you sooner but I didn't want to interrupt your first banquet.”
“Thank you for that,” Eva said. “It was a great success, don't you think?”
“It was an excellent banquet,” Leo agreed. “Anyway. Tessa's fine, like I said, but she isn't ill. She's pregnant.”
“W-what?” Eva stammered.
“I know, it's a shock,” Leo said.
“You're not upset?” Eva asked.
“Well, I mean, I'm not really surprised,” Leo admitted.
“You're not?” Eva asked, visibly shocked.
“Look, don't think too badly of Tessa,” Leo said. “Ethan is a very charismatic wolf. And can you blame her for wanting a highly placed mate?”
“Ethan?” Eva repeated.
“Yeah, he's the pup's father. I wish he'd mated her properly first, but he's always been impulsive. Don't worry, he'll take good care of her and the pup,” Leo assured her.
“Oh that's... that's a relief,” Eva said, sinking into the nearest chair.
“You were really worried about her, huh?” Leo guessed.
“Yes,” Eva agreed with a sweet smile. “So. Two babies! That's exciting.”
“It is. It'll be good for our pup to have a friend their age,” Leo said. He reached out a hand to Eva. “Would you like to come to bed?”
Eva visibly hesitated, before shaking her head. “I want to,” she said, “I really do. But I should go check on Tessa. Ethan's gone home, so she's alone, right?”
“Well, yes,” Leo said.
“She's always been delicate. You know she's part human,” Eva said.
“She mentioned that, yes,” Leo said. “It's sweet of you to worry.”
“I am her Luna,” Eva said, standing up. “I'll make it up to you,” she promised, leaning in for a kiss.
“Of course. I understand, you have to take care of your household,” Leo kissed her back and smiled as she left. It was good to see the Luna Eva was becoming.
Tessa
After Leo left, Ethan escorted me back to my room. I waited for a barrage of questions, but all Ethan did was tuck me into the bed and bring me ginger tea. He shushed me whenever I tried to talk, and said we had time for that later.
“You need rest,” he said. “It can all wait until tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
He bent over and kissed my forehead. “Don't worry, Tessa,” he said. “Everything will be all right.”
I wished I could believe him.
Eva arrived a while later, after the banquet was over. She was not nearly as reassuring. She stormed into my room and yanked me out of the bed.
“What was that about?” she demanded.
“I didn't want it to happen,” I protested. “I couldn't stop it. The food was too rich and the pup is really active.”
“I don't care about your excuses,” Eva snarled. “And I wasn't talking about that. I mean why does Leo know you're pregnant? And why does he think it's Ethan's pup?”
I shrugged. “I don't know, I really don't. I was so scared, and I couldn't hide it because they got there too fast and I lost my shawl and I panicked. But Ethan just claimed the pup as his.”
“Why would he do that?” Eva glared. “Did you seduce Ethan? Leo's best friend? What are you scheming, Tessa?”
“I'm not! We only went on a couple dates, and that was mostly so Leo would give me time off! I don't know why he did that. But it's a good thing, right? Because there's no way I can hide this,” I pointed to my bump, “with some loose shirts. Not while I'm working as Leo's maid.”
Eva grumbled, but she had to admit I had a point.
“You had one job, Tessa,” she snarled. “How stupid are you? All you had to do was hide your pregnancy from Leo until I could take the pup and claim it as my own.”
I shuddered at the reminder. I had to find my mother and get away before the pup came. I'd find some way to let Leo meet it, but I could not let Eva take my baby.
“Oh, don't look so upset,” Eva rolled her eyes. “You couldn't take care of a pup! You're just a servant, and a half-blood. It'll be better off with me anyway.”
I shook my head.
“Oh, please,” Eva sneered. “You think your hero Ethan would really take responsibility for a pup he didn't even put in your belly? You're kidding yourself.”
I nodded. She was probably right.
“Stick to the plan, Tessa. It's your only hope.” She prodded me in the chest. “It's your mother's only hope, too. Don't forget that.”
How could I possibly forget? I nodded, and Eva flounced out of my room. It took me a long, long time to get to sleep that night.