Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 92: Chapter 92

“Drop us at the manor,” Leo said. He turned to me. “Unless you’d rather go with Ethan? You’ll be safer but I could really use a healer of your strength.”
“I’ll stay with you,” I said. I turned to Ethan. “Take Sable to my mother. She’ll be as safe with her as anywhere, now that Rory knows she exists.”
Ethan nodded. “I’ll have my best people protecting them. And I’ll come back once I’m sure they’re safe.”
“Bring as many wolves as you can spare,” Leo said. “I got a look at Rory’s Rogues, and there are a lot of them.”
“Enough they had to take meals in shifts,” I added. “I didn’t get a head count, but it was a big building and it was crowded.”
Leo nodded. “With half my fighters at your manor,” he added, “we’re gonna be outnumbered pretty badly.”
Ethan winced. “I shouldn’t have…”
“Ethan,” Leo said, “I sent my wolves to guard you because your home was attacked.”
“Rory attacked you, has been attacking your wolves, because you’re Leo’s friend,” I added. “He wants to separate you. Make you fight each other. That’s probably the main reason he had Zane try to recruit me.”
“Makes sense,” Ethan said. “It’s something I might try.” He sighed. “Okay. We can’t change the decisions we made in the past. I’ll drop you two off, take Sable to safety, and come back with reinforcements.”
Leo nodded. Ethan stopped the car at the edge of the drive up to the manor. Leo leaned over and kissed Sable on the forehead. Then he jumped out of the car.
I kissed her little cheek, nodded to Ethan, and followed Leo.
“Can you heal in wolf form?” Leo asked.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I’ve never really tried.”
“Okay,” Leo said. “Let’s hope you can. Shift, your wolf will be able to protect you.”
“You think the attack is coming soon?” I asked.
“I think it’s coming now,” Leo corrected. “It’s easier to move a handful of people in one car than it is an entire army. That’s the only reason we beat him back. He’ll want to catch us off guard, which means he’ll attack as quickly as he can.”
That made sense, or at least I thought it did. I didn’t know anything about fighting or armies or war.
I had a sinking feeling that I was about to learn more than I ever wanted to know.
I shifted to my wolf form. Leo’s order made sense. Also, I wanted my wolf’s strength and confidence because I was terrified.
Leo stayed in human form, but easily kept up with me as I jogged up the driveway to the manor. I hesitated on the front porch, and not because I lacked thumbs to open the door. There was a pressure pad meant to be operated by paws.
No, I hesitated because this would be the first time I stepped into my one-time home since I was released from the cells.
“I know you didn’t want to come back here,” Leo said. “But we’re going to need you.”
I nodded. He was right. If there was an attack, they would need a healer.
I followed Leo as he gathered his wolves, both his original pack and those who had been Arthur's wolves. I wondered it they would be able to act as one unified pack so soon after everything that had happened.
Leo jumped onto the stage in the great room, where he and Eva had exchanged their vows at the start of all of this. I sat at his side, in wolf form. I realized that most of the people in the room would have no idea who I was.
“I need everyone to be ready for an attack. The Rogues are coming, in force,” Leo announced.
The packs broke into agitated chatter. Leo waited out the initial reaction before raising his hands for silence.
“I know. Believe me, I know. I thought we were past this, too. But there is a new leader among the Rogues. And he is coming here, because I defeated the last leader, and he wants revenge.”
There were a few mutters at that.
“Ethan's pack is coming to reinforce us. We're not alone in this,” Leo reassured everyone. “Fighters, you're with me. We'll form a perimeter around the manor and hold until help arrives. Non-combatants, you're going to follow Tessa to safety.”
He put a hand on my head. There were a lot of shocked voices in the crowd.
I stared up at him, unable to verbally protest and seriously contemplating shifting back to give him a piece of my mind. That had not been the plan! I was supposed to stay with him.
“I know,” Leo whispered to me, “but you're the only one here who knows the way through the secret passages.”
I blinked, and nodded slowly. He was right about that.
“That's the only way we're going to get everyone clear,” Leo continued. “That hidden exit is far enough out into the woods that it'll give you a good head start.”
I lowered my head. I didn't like it. I didn't want to leave him.
“Get everyone moving towards safety. You grew up here, you know the best place to hide them, right?” Leo asked.
I had to nod. I did know a few places to stash the librarians, the servants, and the children. I'd used many of those places to hide from Eva.
“Great. Get everyone safe, and come back afterwards. We'll likely need your healing abilities by then,” Leo said.
I growled at him for trapping me like that, and then turned to the crowd. I tilted my chin towards the side of the room.
“Everyone who can't or won't fight, follow Tessa. Don't stop to worry about supplies or anything, there isn't time. Just go!”
Several people sifted out of the crowd. I waited at the door for them to gather. The head archivist led them, and stopped a few paces away from me.
“Tessa? Is that really you?” he asked, and I realized he never saw my wolf form. I didn't know what Leo had told everyone about my departure.
I nodded once, and tilted my head in question. Would he trust me? The rest would, if he did.
He took a deep breath. “I am glad you are well, child,” he said. “I've been worried.
I nodded again, and turned. I needed to get a sizable group through a narrow, twisting path through the walls. And I had to do it while trying very hard to forget the last time I'd been in those passages.
I led everyone to the passage near the laundry, and nudged the door open. The head archivist had everyone form a chain, hand to hand, and rested his hand on my flank. I led them through the darkness by memory. We didn't dare risk a flashlight showing through somewhere.
The thing neither Leo nor I had considered was that there was one other person who knew about the secret passages. Eva stood at the outside entrance with several Rogues. She grinned smugly as she caught sight of me in the lead of a gaggle of archivists, servants, and children.
“Oh, Tessa,” Eva said, “did you think we were going to let anyone escape?”
I snarled at her. These were my people! The archivists were the only wolves who had ever shown me kindness. The children were innocent. The servants were like me, weaker and smaller than everyone else around them.
They were mine. Leo had trusted me to protect them. And I would.
I crouched low on my haunches while Eva laughed. And then I lunged.