Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 63: Chapter 63
You are reading Surrogate for My Brother-in-law, Chapter 63: Chapter 63. Read more chapters of Surrogate for My Brother-in-law.
Leo
If anyone asked, Leo would say that it was perfectly logical for him to spend so much of his time at the hospital. His pup, his precious heir, was there under Dr. Angel's care. Of course he wanted to be there as much as possible.
But Leo took pride in the fact that he never lied to himself. And to claim that the only reason he was there was the pup would be a lie. He spent time in Ethan's territory and at Ethan's hospital in the hopes of seeing the wolf that Ethan had claimed from Leo's pack, Tessa.
He didn’t understand why his wolf still pined for the girl. She wasn’t pack anymore. She wasn’t his. She never had been.
But he still hoped to see her, and felt a deep pang of disappointment that he didn’t. He’d hoped she’d be at the hospital with Ethan, but she never was.
She must be staying in Ethan’s manor as a guest. Maybe she was afraid to face him. He’d nearly had her banished, after all. Fully banished, not just released from his pack.
He asked after her during one of his visits to Ethan’s office. He knew the maid was treacherous, but he didn’t think she’d acted out of simple malice. He knew she’d been overworked and bullied by the other servants. Maybe she’d thought the Rogues would treat her better. Maybe they’d threatened her to make her cooperate.
Ethan shrugged him off when he asked. “She’s fine,” Ethan growled. “She doesn’t want to see you or anyone from your pack.”
“I understand,” Leo said. “I just, well, I know I acted too harshly. I was just so panicked over the baby, and when Eva showed me the evidence she was passing information to the Rogues, I lost my temper.”
Ethan nodded sadly. “Leo, you’re alpha. Not Alpha Presumptive or a war leader. You have to control your wolf, and your emotions. Your pack depends on you to be steadfast and certain.”
“I know you’re right,” Leo said. “I just can’t think straight when it comes to her. She twists me up inside, and I don’t know why.”
Ethan shook his head. “If you don’t know, I can’t tell you buddy.”
Of course Ethan thought it was something like that. But it couldn’t be. Leo was married, happily, to Eva. Well, he was supposed to be.
The truth was, the draw he’d felt towards Eva was just gone. She still came to him in the night but that gentle aura that made his wolf curl up and hum with contentment was nowhere to be found. And Eva still had her haughty attitude and cold demeanor during the day. He was beginning to worry that that, not the night time version, was Eva’s true nature.
Had he been fooled? Had he been willfully blind to his mate’s flaws in his desperation for a family of his own? Maybe he was.
Leo needed to take a long, hard look at himself and decide what he wanted. Ethan was right. He was Alpha and he needed to be resolute. He couldn’t afford all this uncertainty, not with the Rogue threat rising once more.
That would have to wait for later, though. For the moment, he had a pup to look after and an ally to mend fences with. His pack and Ethan’s had to present a united front against the Rogues. Their wolves relied on that alliance, and the smaller, weaker packs needed to know there was protection available if the attacks started up again.
He stopped in to check on and hold Sable. She was doing well under Dr. Angel’s care. She’d gained a whole ounce of weight already, according to the nurse who weighed her while he watched.
After holding her for a few minutes and trying unsuccessfully to get her to take a bottle, Leo handed the baby to Dr. Angel and went to find his fellow alpha and best friend.
The whole thing with Tessa had strained their friendship, but it would endure. They knew each other too long and too well for a simple mistake to shatter their bond.
Leo knocked on Ethan’s door, and was invited in with a cheerful greeting.
“I hear Sable’s doing well,” Ethan said. “You don’t need to worry, Angel’s the best.”
“I know, and I really, truly appreciate that you let me bring her here after everything,” Leo said.
Ethan waved off his gratitude. “Dude we’re friends, always will be. But you have your pack business face on, so take a seat and tell me what’s up.”
Leo nodded and sat. “We need to have a strategy meeting, about the Rogues. Would I be welcome in your manor this evening?”
“Sure, we’ll have a meeting and then you can join us for dinner. Have some real food, not that fancy junk your in-laws keep shoving at you,” Ethan said.
Leo winced, but he had to admit a nice, simple home cooked meal sounded amazing.
The strategy meeting went well. He and Ethan thought enough alike to understand each other, but Ethan had a quicker wit whereas Leo had a deeper strategic understanding. They filled in for each other’s weaknesses. It made them a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
Leo presented the intelligence his scouts and spies had brought him. These new Rogue attacks weren’t isolated incidents. They were targeted. Someone was feeling out their packs, looking for weaknesses. It was the same pattern the old Rogue King had followed, but more polished and subtle.
“You think there’s a new King,” Ethan surmised at the end of the meeting.
“I think someone’s vying for the position,” Leo agreed. “I don’t know who, or how good their chances are, but there’s too much evidence to ignore it.”
“If you’re right, what can we do about it?” Ethan asked. “Our packs do not need another all out war. Some of the smaller packs won’t survive that. The strongest packs barely did the last time.”
“I wish I knew,” Leo admitted. “I wish I knew who it was so I could just challenge them the way I did the last king. I’m not cut out for all this sneaking and subterfuge. I like to look my enemy in the eye.”
Ethan agreed. “I’ll have my own scouts start asking questions,” he declared. “One of us should be able to get a name.”
“You could ask Tessa,” Leo suggested.
Ethan snorted. “Tessa’s no spy and never has been. I don’t know where your wife got that evidence, but I know Tessa and I know she never did anything to betray her pack.”
Leo let the matter drop. He excused himself to go get cleaned up for dinner.
He stepped around a corner and bumped into a slender, soft frame. He apologized, thinking he’d bumped into one of Ethan’s sisters.
And found himself looking into Tessa’s wide, frightened eyes.
Mine! his wolf howled into his mind. If he was shifted, the wolf would be bouncing on his hind legs and wagging his tail.
The wolf didn’t care about the banishment or that Tessa was no longer pack. The wolf claimed her as strongly as it rejected Eva. The wolf wanted the maid.
Leo shoved down the wolf’s instincts and nodded gently to the former maid. He was married and she was courting his best friend. They could never be anything but friendly.
“You look well,” Leo said.
“So do you,” Tessa replied.
Before the moment could become any more awkward, one of Ethan’s sisters, Erma, bounded around the corner and dragged Tessa away to dress for dinner.
Leo watched them go, baffled. Since when did Ethan’s household dress up for dinner?
If anyone asked, Leo would say that it was perfectly logical for him to spend so much of his time at the hospital. His pup, his precious heir, was there under Dr. Angel's care. Of course he wanted to be there as much as possible.
But Leo took pride in the fact that he never lied to himself. And to claim that the only reason he was there was the pup would be a lie. He spent time in Ethan's territory and at Ethan's hospital in the hopes of seeing the wolf that Ethan had claimed from Leo's pack, Tessa.
He didn’t understand why his wolf still pined for the girl. She wasn’t pack anymore. She wasn’t his. She never had been.
But he still hoped to see her, and felt a deep pang of disappointment that he didn’t. He’d hoped she’d be at the hospital with Ethan, but she never was.
She must be staying in Ethan’s manor as a guest. Maybe she was afraid to face him. He’d nearly had her banished, after all. Fully banished, not just released from his pack.
He asked after her during one of his visits to Ethan’s office. He knew the maid was treacherous, but he didn’t think she’d acted out of simple malice. He knew she’d been overworked and bullied by the other servants. Maybe she’d thought the Rogues would treat her better. Maybe they’d threatened her to make her cooperate.
Ethan shrugged him off when he asked. “She’s fine,” Ethan growled. “She doesn’t want to see you or anyone from your pack.”
“I understand,” Leo said. “I just, well, I know I acted too harshly. I was just so panicked over the baby, and when Eva showed me the evidence she was passing information to the Rogues, I lost my temper.”
Ethan nodded sadly. “Leo, you’re alpha. Not Alpha Presumptive or a war leader. You have to control your wolf, and your emotions. Your pack depends on you to be steadfast and certain.”
“I know you’re right,” Leo said. “I just can’t think straight when it comes to her. She twists me up inside, and I don’t know why.”
Ethan shook his head. “If you don’t know, I can’t tell you buddy.”
Of course Ethan thought it was something like that. But it couldn’t be. Leo was married, happily, to Eva. Well, he was supposed to be.
The truth was, the draw he’d felt towards Eva was just gone. She still came to him in the night but that gentle aura that made his wolf curl up and hum with contentment was nowhere to be found. And Eva still had her haughty attitude and cold demeanor during the day. He was beginning to worry that that, not the night time version, was Eva’s true nature.
Had he been fooled? Had he been willfully blind to his mate’s flaws in his desperation for a family of his own? Maybe he was.
Leo needed to take a long, hard look at himself and decide what he wanted. Ethan was right. He was Alpha and he needed to be resolute. He couldn’t afford all this uncertainty, not with the Rogue threat rising once more.
That would have to wait for later, though. For the moment, he had a pup to look after and an ally to mend fences with. His pack and Ethan’s had to present a united front against the Rogues. Their wolves relied on that alliance, and the smaller, weaker packs needed to know there was protection available if the attacks started up again.
He stopped in to check on and hold Sable. She was doing well under Dr. Angel’s care. She’d gained a whole ounce of weight already, according to the nurse who weighed her while he watched.
After holding her for a few minutes and trying unsuccessfully to get her to take a bottle, Leo handed the baby to Dr. Angel and went to find his fellow alpha and best friend.
The whole thing with Tessa had strained their friendship, but it would endure. They knew each other too long and too well for a simple mistake to shatter their bond.
Leo knocked on Ethan’s door, and was invited in with a cheerful greeting.
“I hear Sable’s doing well,” Ethan said. “You don’t need to worry, Angel’s the best.”
“I know, and I really, truly appreciate that you let me bring her here after everything,” Leo said.
Ethan waved off his gratitude. “Dude we’re friends, always will be. But you have your pack business face on, so take a seat and tell me what’s up.”
Leo nodded and sat. “We need to have a strategy meeting, about the Rogues. Would I be welcome in your manor this evening?”
“Sure, we’ll have a meeting and then you can join us for dinner. Have some real food, not that fancy junk your in-laws keep shoving at you,” Ethan said.
Leo winced, but he had to admit a nice, simple home cooked meal sounded amazing.
The strategy meeting went well. He and Ethan thought enough alike to understand each other, but Ethan had a quicker wit whereas Leo had a deeper strategic understanding. They filled in for each other’s weaknesses. It made them a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
Leo presented the intelligence his scouts and spies had brought him. These new Rogue attacks weren’t isolated incidents. They were targeted. Someone was feeling out their packs, looking for weaknesses. It was the same pattern the old Rogue King had followed, but more polished and subtle.
“You think there’s a new King,” Ethan surmised at the end of the meeting.
“I think someone’s vying for the position,” Leo agreed. “I don’t know who, or how good their chances are, but there’s too much evidence to ignore it.”
“If you’re right, what can we do about it?” Ethan asked. “Our packs do not need another all out war. Some of the smaller packs won’t survive that. The strongest packs barely did the last time.”
“I wish I knew,” Leo admitted. “I wish I knew who it was so I could just challenge them the way I did the last king. I’m not cut out for all this sneaking and subterfuge. I like to look my enemy in the eye.”
Ethan agreed. “I’ll have my own scouts start asking questions,” he declared. “One of us should be able to get a name.”
“You could ask Tessa,” Leo suggested.
Ethan snorted. “Tessa’s no spy and never has been. I don’t know where your wife got that evidence, but I know Tessa and I know she never did anything to betray her pack.”
Leo let the matter drop. He excused himself to go get cleaned up for dinner.
He stepped around a corner and bumped into a slender, soft frame. He apologized, thinking he’d bumped into one of Ethan’s sisters.
And found himself looking into Tessa’s wide, frightened eyes.
Mine! his wolf howled into his mind. If he was shifted, the wolf would be bouncing on his hind legs and wagging his tail.
The wolf didn’t care about the banishment or that Tessa was no longer pack. The wolf claimed her as strongly as it rejected Eva. The wolf wanted the maid.
Leo shoved down the wolf’s instincts and nodded gently to the former maid. He was married and she was courting his best friend. They could never be anything but friendly.
“You look well,” Leo said.
“So do you,” Tessa replied.
Before the moment could become any more awkward, one of Ethan’s sisters, Erma, bounded around the corner and dragged Tessa away to dress for dinner.
Leo watched them go, baffled. Since when did Ethan’s household dress up for dinner?
End of Surrogate for My Brother-in-law Chapter 63. Continue reading Chapter 64 or return to Surrogate for My Brother-in-law book page.