Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 88: Chapter 88

“I'm going,” I declared.
“Tessa, no,” Ethan said.
“It has to be me,” I said.
This time, I was the one with the plan. And it would work. It had to work.
“Why?” Ethan demanded.
“Because I can get inside,” I said. “The Rogues tried to recruit me once, because I was Leo's maid. They wanted someone close to him.”
“They won't believe Leo's court-mate would betray him,” Ethan said.
“They'll believe it, because his wife did,” I said. “And if they're watching us, they know I'm dating you, too, and living here. They'll definitely believe I'll jump ship to get my baby back.”
Ethan winced, but he had to admit I was right.
“I don't like it,” he said.
“For your rescue plan to work, we need someone on the inside,” I pointed out.
Ethan planned to have his scouts surround the compound. A combined force of his and Leo's wolves would cause a distraction nearby. The scouts would sweep the compound and bring out Leo and the baby.
But the compound was a massive abandoned factory with tons of places to hide a prisoner or a baby. The scouts might not find them both in time. Someone needed to go in first, and locate them, so they'd be ready to escape.
And I was the best person to get inside, because I could believably “switch sides” and fool the Rogues long enough to find Leo and Sable.
Ethan clearly didn't like it, but he knew I was right. He tried a few more times to convince me not to go. When I just crossed my arms and waited out his arguments, he gave up.
The Rogue's hideout was a day's drive away. Ethan drove me to one of the hospitals he'd investigated that was nearby. It wouldn't be suspicious for an alpha to drop a healer off at a hospital. And then I slipped out the back door, shifted to wolf, and ran the rest of the way. Anyone watching us would think I had taken the opportunity to escape from him.
It was surprisingly easy to get into the Rogue's hideout. All I had to do was show myself, and tell the guard at the door that I wanted to talk to Zane. He'd tried to recruit me before, so I thought it was believable that I'd try to contact him.
They let me in, and took me straight to their leader in his office. Eva and Zane were both in the office, flanking his desk. I kept my eyes on the Rogue King. He waved me into a seat opposite his desk.
“So, you're Tessa, right? I've heard a lot about you. I'm Rory,” the new Rogue King introduced himself.
“Yes, that's me,” I said.
“And why are you here?” Rory asked.
“You have my baby,” I said. “I want her back.”
“Ah, yes, I apologize for that,” Rory said. “It was never my intention to separate you from your child.”
“You had her stolen. What, exactly, was your intention?” I demanded.
Rory shrugged. “I needed to draw out her father.”
“You couldn't have just, I don't know, made a phone call? Sent a letter? Anything besides steal my baby?”
Rory winced. “Yes, I see now my methods must seem extreme to you. And I am sorry, for what that's worth.”
“So you'll give her back?” I asked.
“Of course,” Rory said. “I have no intention of keeping her from you, I never did.” He paused. “I do have to ask, though, once you have your daughter back, where are you going to go?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, I doubt you're here with any alpha's blessing,” Rory said. “And consorting with Rogues is a crime punishable by banishment.”
I shrugged. “I was already kicked out of my first pack. The pack I'm with now just keeps me around because I'm a healer.”
“I see,” Rory said. “And what are your plans, then?”
I said, “I hadn't really thought about it. I might try for the human territories. We're near the border, right?”
“We are, but the human territories are dangerous for a wolf. Why would you want to leave the packs if you haven't been officially banished?” Rory asked.
I shrugged. “I've never been treated very well by the packs,” I said, and I couldn't help but glance at Eva. “My own sister tore up my face and our alpha didn't so much as scold her. I'm an alpha's daughter, too, but no one cared about that. All they cared about was my human blood.”
“Hm,” Rory said, looking from me to Eva and Zane.
“She's obviously lying,” Eva said. “She's here to rescue her lover.”
“I dunno,” Zane said, “we targeted her for recruitment for a reason. And she hasn't even asked about Leo.”
“I figured you'd killed him already,” I said.
“No, no we haven't done anything that hasty,” Rory said.
Something in my chest unclenched. Leo was still alive.
“Oh. That's nice,” I said. “I didn't want him dead or anything. I'm just here for my baby, that's all.”
Rory studied me for a moment, and nodded slowly. “That's fair,” he said. “Was Alpha Leo kind to you, when you were his maid?”
I shrugged. “He wasn't any worse than the rest of the pack,” I said honestly. “He was always suspicious of me, though. I don't know what I did.”
“He worked her like a dog,” Zane broke in, “even while she was pregnant. Another alpha had to step in and make him give her time off and light duties.”
“Is that true?” Rory asked.
I nodded slowly. Leo hadn't known at the time that I was pregnant, and as soon as he found out he made sure I was okay, but I needed them to believe I didn't care.
“Well,” Rory said, “it seems to me you have a lot more in common with me and my Rogue wolves than you do with anyone in the packs.”
I shrugged. It was maybe a little true. Except for the part where they damn near killed my mother. And kidnapped my baby. And hurt and killed innocent people for no good reason. So, no, I really didn't have that much in common with them at all. But I could pretend, to save Sable and Leo.
“I think you might find you like it here,” Rory continued, “and to be perfectly honest, we could really use a healer, too.”
“I get to keep Sable?” I asked. “No one's going to take her again?” I purposefully shot a look over at Eva.
“Oh, relax, I don't want the kid,” she said. “Never did.”
“And you won't let her beat me up, either?” I asked. Although now that I had a wolf of my own, and she didn't have a hostage, I could probably defend myself.
“Of course not. Eva, dear, you really should apologize for the way you treated your sister,” Rory said.
Eva snorted, shook her head, and left the office.
“Well, I'm sure she's sorry. Deep down inside,” Rory said with a shrug. “Don't worry, we won't let her hurt you. We don't let stronger wolves beat down the weaker ones here.”
“That sounds nice,” I said. “I guess I could stay, just for a while. To see how it is.”
“Wonderful. Tell me, have you ever participated in a trial?” Rory asked.
“A trial? Um, I testified at the council of alphas, when Eva was banished.” I had to be honest, surely she would have mentioned that.
“And that was awful. Though I understand why you did it. Eva was horrible to you. But tell me this, how often are the alphas held accountable?”
“Um, my father was?” I said.
“Yes, now that he's old and useless to the council. They wanted to supplant him with a younger, more easily manipulated alpha. Leo.”
I nodded like that made any sense at all. Leo was far stronger than Arthur. He would be much harder to push around.
“Anyway, I'd say it's about time Leo was held accountable for his crimes, don't you?” Rory asked.
All I could do was nod.