Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Leo burst into the room and threw himself down in front of me. His eyes were wild and his breath came in short, harsh gasps.
“Are you all right? Were you hurt?” he asked, gripping my shoulders.
I shook my head. “I'm fine. I wasn't here. I was with Ethan.”
Leo slumped with relief. Then he looked over my shoulder, at Ethan.
“I'm glad. Your siblings, your wolves, are they okay?” he asked.
Ethan nodded. “Tessa saved my brothers. My guards were injured, badly, but no one was killed. Dr. Lee is here, she's doing triage. She'll take the worst off to the hospital.”
“Right, all right,” Leo said.
Leo turned to his beta, who'd followed him in. I barely knew the other wolf, although I'd seen him often at Leo's side. I don't think he'd ever spoken a single word to me.
“Johann, bring half our manor guard, and some repair tools. We need to get this place defensible quick.”
“Leo,” Ethan growled, “I can defend my own home!”
“Of course you can,” Leo said, “but your front door is in splinters and your best fighters are injured. Please. Let me help.”
Ethan sighed, crossed his arms, and paced for a moment. Then he turned back to Leo and nodded.
“Yeah. Yeah, I could use a hand with the door. Thanks.”
I could tell it was hard for him to admit he needed help. He was supposed to be strong, to protect his wolves. But Ethan didn't let pride get in the way of good sense.
Once it was clear the two alphas were done arguing, Johann bowed to both of them and vanished out into the hall. He was a competent wolf. He would have the manor defensible quickly.
Leo wrapped an arm around me. I leaned into his warmth. I was surprised to find I was relieved to have him there.
I also realized that he didn't know what had happened. He knew Ethan's home was attacked. He did not know our pup had been taken.
I took a deep breath. I had to tell him. I didn't want to tell him, because saying it would make it real.
“Leo,” I said, “They took the baby. They took Sable.”
“What?” Leo growled, looking around and spotting my mother. “Who are you? Were you here?”
“Leo, that's my mother,” I said. “She was watching Sable.”
“I tried to fight them, Alpha,” Mom said, backing up against the wall. “There were too many. I... I couldn't...”
“It's all right,” Leo said, voice gentle. “I know you tried. I'm glad you're okay, and able to tell us what happened.”
“That's right,” Ethan said. “Please, Melinda, tell us everything you remember. Any little detail could be important.”
My mother took a deep breath. I held her hand. She trembled like a leaf against my side.
But when she spoke, her voice was steady.
“There were six of them, in here. I heard more out in the halls but I couldn’t get a count.”
“That’s all right,” Ethan said. “We’ll figure it out.”
Mom nodded. “They were organized. They knew what they were looking for, and where to find it.”
“The baby?” Leo guessed.
“Yes. They had a description, and a photo. They wanted Sable, specifically,” Mom said.
“Where did they get a photo of Sable?” I asked. “I don’t even have a picture of her.”j
“Eva,” Leo guessed. “She had professional photos taken, before we had to bring her to the hospital.”
“Why would Eva send Rogues after Sable?” I asked. “She didn’t want the baby for herself. She just wanted to manipulate Leo.”
“It wasn’t her,” Mom said. “When they threw me into the wall, I played dead. They talked, a little. One of them mentioned someone named Rory.”
“Rory?” Leo asked.
“I don’t know anyone named Rory,” Ethan said.
“What exactly did they say?” Leo asked.
Mom closed her eyes, trying to remember. “One of them picked up the baby. She cried. The one holding her growled.”
I shivered, imagining how scared my poor baby must have been.
Mom continued, “Another one scolded him. Said to be careful. ‘Rory wants the pup unharmed.’ That’s all they said. They left, after that.”
“It sounds like this Rory is in charge,” Ethan said.
Leo nodded. “You think he’s the new leader of the Rogues?”
“I don’t know who else could send that many Rogues to attack our manor just to take one baby.”
I looked around the room. I wanted to be useful. I noticed several things were missing.
“They took her diaper bag,” I said. “And her formula. Her blankie.”
“That’s good,” Ethan said. “It means they want to keep her alive, and healthy. It means we have time to find her.”
I nodded, and wrapped my arms around myself. How were we going to find her? No one knew where the Rogues hideout was.
Dr. Lee came in then, and went directly to Mom.
“Melinda, I need to check you over,” she said gently.
Mom nodded. I felt immediately guilty. I hadn’t even thought to check her over for injuries! What kind of healer was I?
“She’ll be all right,” Ethan said to me, drawing me and Leo out of the room.
“I should have checked on her,” I whispered.
“You were worried about Sable,” Leo said. “It’s only natural. I’m sure she understands.”
I looked back into the room. The empty crib burned into my eyes. Why wasn’t I here?
What was I doing, going on a date, when my daughter needed me?
I should have been there. I could have fought. Now my baby was gone, again.
I leaned against the wall and slid down, curled into a ball.
My baby was gone, taken. And I didn’t even know why. At least when Eva stole her, I knew why.
“Hey,” Ethan rested a hand on my shoulder. “We are going to find her,” he promised.
“How?” I whispered.
“We know who has her,” Leo said. “We will find them. There is nowhere they can hide. Not from me.”
Dr. Lee came out of the room then.
“Melinda will be all right,” she informed us. “I’ve given her a mild sedative, to help her rest.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t…”
“Tessa, she’s your mother. It’s not appropriate for a medical professional to treat their immediate family,” Dr. Lee said.
“But, I’m a healer,” I protested.
“And a good one, but you can still be emotionally compromised,” Dr. Lee said.
“And anyway, you nearly drained yourself saving my siblings,” Ethan said. “You should rest.”
“I am not resting,” I growled. “Not while those damn Rogues have Sable!”
“All right,” Leo said. “But at least conserve your healing ability, and your wolf’s strength. Can you do that for me?”
I didn’t want to compromise. I wanted to be out there, hunting them. But I had no idea how to do that. I’d never hunted as a wolf. Unless those bunnies my wolf had snatched after my first shift counted.
“Why don’t you and Dr. Lee help your mother back to her room,” Ethan suggested, “and then you come back to us, and we work out a plan of attack?”
That sounded all right. I nodded, and followed Dr. Lee back to my mother’s side.
“Tessa, I’m so sorry,” she said.
“I’m the one who should be sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t here. I was out on a stupid date.”
“Oh, Tess,” Lee said. “You couldn’t have known this would happen.”
“You deserve a life, my Tessa,” Mom said, “Stupid dates and all. And you would have been out of the house at some point. At the hospital, maybe, or shopping for groceries. They were watching. They knew you and Ethan were gone.”
“They’re watching us?” I whispered.
Mom nodded. “They didn’t say anything, but I knew. It’s how they operated before. They wait until the alpha is gone. They don’t want to face a strong wolf on their own territory.”
That made sense. But I wasn’t a strong wolf. I was barely a wolf at all.