Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 91: Chapter 91

Ethan and Leo drove straight through the night to get back to Leo’s manor. They took turns, napping briefly so they’d be fresh to drive. I didn’t take a turn because I’d never learned how to drive.
Leo was openly surprised when I admitted that.
“No one ever taught you?” he asked.
I shook my head. “My mom planned to, but she was attacked before I was old enough to learn. Arthur never cared.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, I should have asked,” Leo said.
“It never came up,” I said with a shrug, stroking Sable’s hair.
Ethan had brought a car seat for her. We’d paused a few miles away from the Rogue compound to set it up. He also had a first aid kit, a diaper bag, and a change of clothes for both me and Leo.
Ethan was both optimistic and well prepared.
“I’ll teach you, if you like,” Leo said. “Or Ethan can. If you’d rather. He’s a good driver.”
“I hope his is,” I said, “our daughter’s in this car.”
Leo chuckled. “Our daughter. So. You, um, you still want to make this work?”
“Of course I do,” I said. “I’d never take her away from you.”
What was wrong with him? Why was he speaking so cautiously?
I looked up and met Ethan’s eyes in the rear view mirror. He lifted one eyebrow.
Oh. Right, I’d said some pretty harsh stuff back there. Leo must have thought I meant it.
“Leo,” I said, “You do realize I was acting, right? With Rory? I don’t think you’re a bad alpha, and I do want to keep courting you.”
“Oh.” Leo paused. “It’s not because you think I’ll take the baby, or have you banished, or anything like that?”
“No,” I said. “If I thought that, I really would just leave. I have my mother, I have Sable. I’m a healer. Ethan and Dr. Lee would help me. Any hospital in any territory, possibly including the human territories, would help me. I’m not trapped. I’m here because I want to be.”
Leo slumped a little and closed his eyes.
“I thought I’d really lost you,” he admitted.
I reached out and squeezed his hand. I should probably have told him I’d already chosen him, that he and Ethan weren’t really competing for me.
But I’d promised to make him work for it, and I wasn’t quite ready to face up to my feelings yet. I just needed a tiny bit more time.
Also, if he couldn’t figure out that I loved him when I infiltrated the heart of the Rogue threat to get him back, well.
“How about we talk about something less personal?” Ethan said after a few minutes of awkward silence. “Like why you think the Rogues are going to attack your manor?”
“Because it’s mine,” Leo said, “and Rory wants revenge.”
“It’s personal? Against you, not just the packs who stood against the Rogues?” Ethan asked.
Leo nodded. “Rory is the son of the last King of the Rogues. I killed his father, he wants revenge on me.”
“I didn’t even know the last king had a son,” Ethan said. “How did we miss that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they hid him,” Leo said.
“He wasn’t Rogue,” I said, “I think he’s a half-blood, like me.”
Ethan twisted around in the seat to stare at me, before remembering his precious cargo and turning back to face front.
“How do you figure that?” he asked.
“It’s mostly a guess,” I admitted.
“You aren’t the type to make wild guesses with no reason behind them,” Leo said. “Can you tell us why you think he’s part human?”
I nodded. “Well, firstly, Ethan didn’t know about him.”
“Okay?” Ethan asked.
“You and your information network were able to find my mother in a handful of months, with an influential alpha actively working to hide her. I couldn’t find a hint of her location in years.”
“My people are skilled at what they do, and you didn’t have any resources at your disposal,” Ethan pointed out.
“Yes, but still. You were fighting the Rogue King. I imagine you looked for any bit of information you could find about him. If he had a son, and you didn’t know about him, he had to have been extremely well hidden. Or someplace you don’t have any informants. Like, say, the human territories.”
“That makes sense,” Leo agreed. “It would also explain why we didn’t know the old king had a mate.”
“He might not have,” I said, “he probably thought of her as just a lover, or even a one night stand. The same way Arthur felt about my mother.”
Both alphas winced, but nodded to show they agreed with my assessment.
“Also,” I said, “he’s using a human built factory as a base, and keeping his Rogues near the human territories. I imagine he has allies and friends across the border. I got a look at their supplies while I was in there. A lot of their food is human brand names, and most of it is fresh. They have a supplier.”
“Now that’s something we can confirm,” Ethan muttered, “and possibly cut off if we find the supply route. Good work, Tess.”
“Very good,” Leo said. “Any other reasons? Not that I don’t believe you but you’ve gleaned a lot of intel in a very short time. If you’ve noticed more, we need to know it.”
“This last bit is more of a feeling than anything,” I said. “I don’t have any evidence to back it up.”
“Your guesses have been spot on so far,” Ethan said. “Trust your instincts and share it with us.”
“He’s not an alpha, but he should be,” I said. “The way the Rogues act around him, it’s the same way your wolves respond to you. And when I met him, he just felt like an alpha. But he is not one. Right?”
Leo and Ethan both nodded.
“Definitely not an alpha,” Leo agreed, “but I think I know what you’re talking about. I felt it, too.”
“I’m a stronger wolf than my sister,” I said, “and a healer. But my whole life, I thought I didn’t even have a wolf.”
“Half-bloods develop late,” Ethan said. “Especially the strong ones, like healers.”
“But part of being an alpha is being accepted by a pack,” I said. “Rory isn’t an alpha because he doesn’t have a proper pack. He wasn’t raised among wolves, he was raised as a human.”
“So he never formed the bonds that make a powerful wolf into an alpha,” Leo said.
“It makes sense,” Ethan said. “I’m not sure what we can do with this information, Tessa, but thank you for finding it.” He chuckled. “If you weren’t a healer, you’d make a more than half decent scout.”
“You are not recruiting my court-mate into your shadow wolves,” Leo growled.
“Hey, she’s my court-mate, too,” Ethan said with a wink for me. “And she can decide for herself.”
“Of course she can but…” Leo floundered. “I just meant…”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You worry.” I shrugged. “It sounds exciting but I think I’m happier as a healer.” I paused. “I still want to work in Ethan’s hospital, no matter who my mate is.”
“Absolutely,” Ethan said.
“Yes,” Leo agreed. “Ethan’s facility is the best in all the territories and you should have the best place to work.”
“See, he can be sweet,” Ethan said. “You just have to pry his foot out of his mouth first.”
It wasn’t that funny, but for some reason we all laughed at that.
The laughter trailed off as we turned onto a familiar road.
“We’re almost there,” Ethan declared. “Leo, Tessa, what’s the plan?”