3rd Person “Shhh, you’re gonna wakes him!” Paisley whispered, scolding her brothers when they started to get a little too rowdy at Ethan’s bedside. “When is he gonna gets up, anyway?” Parker frowned. “He’s been sleeping forevers!” “Mommy says we haves to give him time.” Riley reminded him, peeking up over the edge of the bed. “He looks really sleepy.” “Well a course he does.” Ryder responded wryly, “everyone looks sleepy when they’re sleeping.” “You know what I mean.” Riley countered archly. “Like he needs rest.” “Are you pups being good?” Linda’s voice sounded at the doorway. She’d been checking in at the nurses station when the pups disappeared from her side. Of course, it didn’t take her long to find them at all. They’d been trying to sneak into Ethan’s room all night, not understanding the hospital’s rules about visiting hours. “Yes Auntie Linda.” They chimed in unison. “Are you sure about that?” Ethan’s gr
Jane I’m practically skipping as I move through the hospital’s crowded hallways, eager to get to Ethan and tell him our news. I haven’t seen him since he came out of surgery, and I’m also anxious to hear how everything went. They wouldn’t tell me anything beforehand, but legally married or not, I’m his mate. I’m sure they would have told me if his condition was serious. The TV’s at the nurses stations are all playing the news on an endless loop. Headlines about King Aimon’s death were quickly followed by reports of Southern Islanders celebrating in the streets. It seems his own people hated him almost as much as we did. Details about his death indicate that Ethan and I were involved, but so far everyone is reporting that Eric is expected to take the throne. Part of me wonders if that will mean I have to say goodbye to Linda, but I’m so happy for them both. I’m just so elated this ordeal is finally over. We’re all free to be with the ones we love at l
Jane Two months later “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Paisley, Parker, Riley and Ryder, happy birthday to you!” A jumble of singing voices, both young and old, struggle to fit all four of the pups’ names into the traditional song, and the group soon devolves into giggles. This is always how birthdays have gone with my babies, and this year the list of names is even longer now that Paisley is with us – not that they seem to mind. They’re surrounded by friends, decorations and presents, about to dig into a scrumptious cake shaped like their favorite cartoon character. The quadruplets are beaming, kneeling up on their chairs to lean over the swiftly melting candles and counting, “One, two, three!” At once they blow out the flames, waving their precious heads back and forth to make sure they get all five. Looking at them now, it’s hard to believe how much has changed in so short a time. A couple of months ago I wasn’t sure if I would ever see them a
Jane As I walk through the sterile halls of the hospital, my mind whirls with thought. Grief and despair are closing in fast, but I’m trying to hold onto my anger instead. Fury will keep me going enough to get through the difficult days ahead. If I let myself feel this – if I succumb to this agony, I might never recover. How am I going to tell the pups? I know they don’t have any idea how much things have changed between Ethan and I, but this still isn’t going to be a fun conversation. After all, I did tell them that Daddy and I would be taking them home, it’s not going to be easy to walk that back. They were upset about the idea of being separated from Ethan even before the kidnapping, and now they need as much love and stability as possible. I don’t want to break their hearts, and telling them the truth about why we’re going home alone would do exactly that. I can’t bear for them to know that Ethan doesn’t want them, especially not after everything they’ve been through. That leav
Jane “Tell us what?” Paisley asked, “Mommy where are we?” “This is my home, in the Dark Moon territory.” I explain. “Come on, let’s get upstairs to the apartment, then we can talk.” I encourage. “Our we here to gets our stuff so we can moves?” Riley chirps excitedly as we enter the building lobby. “I’ll explain everything when we’re upstairs.” I promise, praying I can put this off until we’re in the privacy of our own home. After everything we’ve been through over the last few months, the last thing I need is for my children to have a full-on public meltdown in the middle of the street. The pups continue to excitedly question me as the elevator carries us higher and higher, and I’m frankly amazed they haven’t picked up on my somber energy. Either I’m doing a better job of hiding it than I thought, or their senses are so frayed from all their recent adventures that they don’t realize how upset I am. We don’t have any luggage. The pups were taken with nothing but the clothes on th
3rd Person Linda stalked into Ethan’s brightly lit hospital room, confusion and anger warring inside her. She wasn’t sure what to think after her conversation with Jane, but she knew she had to get to the bottom of things before it was too late. She pushed through the door without knocking, finding the Alpha seated grimly in his bed, staring out the window and looking as if the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. “What the hell, Ethan?” Linda demanded. “Hello Linda.” He said blandly. “How’s Eric?” “He’s going to be fine.” She remarked curtly. “Jane on the other hand –” “I don’t want to talk about Jane.” Ethan snapped coldly. Linda blinked. She hadn’t quite believed her friend until now. She thought Jane had surely misunderstood, or that some terrible miscommunication had occurred with the Alpha, she never imagined that Ethan had truly ended things with his mate. “It’s true then?” She gaped. “You dumped her?” “You make it sound like we’re teenagers.” Ethan snipes
Ethan My family is gone. I watched the clock through the night, waiting for confirmation from my spies that Jane and the kids landed safely in the Dark Moon pack. I sent a contingent of agents to the territory as soon as I purchased the plane tickets, ensuring my people would be on the ground before my family arrived. I’ve never had permanent spies in the Dark Moon territory before, but I certainly will now. I may not be able to be near Jane and the pups, but I need to know they’re safe, I need to know how they’re doing. My spies will allow me to watch them from afar, to live vicariously through their reports. Living without them seems like an impossibility, but then again living without my mobility is never something I imagined happening either. I always assumed I might die in battle, and part of me wishes I had instead of having my wolf permanently trapped inside me. It’s not that I think losing my legs is the end of the world, but for a wolf, the ability to transform is everythi
Ethan “This is crazy, you know that?” Linda asks, watching as the doctors fit the braces onto my lower body. “Linda, if you’re not going to be supportive, you might as well as go back to your palace.” I tell her coolly. Eric was released a few days ago and the couple is slowly settling into their life as the new King and Queen. They’re planning a mating ceremony and a coronation, as well as trying to launch an emergency PR campaign to get the Kingdom up to speed on the changes in governance and conduct outreach to those citizens in need. Still, Linda visits me every day and though she’s not always the most supportive of guests, it does feel nice to have at least one person who knows what I’m going through. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be unsupportive.” She replies contritely. “I just think this plan of yours is a recipe for disaster, I mean what’s going to happen when people find out.” “If you have a better solution I’d love to hear it.” I gripe, “And they’re not going to find ou