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
Jane My first Christmas with all four pups should be a joyous occasion. After all, every Christmas I’ve known since becoming a mother has been tainted by Paisley’s absence. I’ve wanted nothing but the ability to bring her home where she belongs for as long as I can remember… and yet it takes all my strength just to get myself out of bed in the morning. Three weeks have passed since we returned from the Southern Isles. We had all our things shipped from the penthouse in the first couple of days we were home, and though having all their favorite toys and possessions back helped the pups adjust, they’re still furious with me for taking them from Ethan. It’s amazing how such young pups can hold a grudge for so long, but they don’t forget easily, and they wouldn’t even talk to me the first week we were here. They’ve gradually warmed up a bit – though not without a good bit of bribery on my part, offering sweets or fun activities like ice skating and sledding. It was something of a shock
Jane “Then he rejected me.” I explain, sharing our story with the child psychologist I hired to speak with the pups. They’re out in the play area of her office’s waiting room while I brief the doctor on our situation. “He told me to take the pups and go, but I didn’t want them to think he didn’t want them…” My voice is shaking now, thick with emotion as tears well on my lashes. “So I said it was me. And now they hate me.” I sob, trying to pull myself together enough to finish. “They hate me, they won’t talk to me, and I know they’re traumatized. They have nightmares every night and they jump at every loud noise. They’re not the same pups they were before they were taken.” “I’m very sorry, Jane.” The doctor consoles me, offering me a box of tissues. “I have little ones too, and I completely understand the desire to protect them from the truth.” “Do you think I was wrong? Would it have been better to tell them the truth?” I squeak, blowing my nose. “Look, I’m a big believer of being
Jane “Come on munchkins, we’re going on an adventure!” I announce, “get your coats.” The pups look at me suspiciously. “What kinda venture?” Riley asks. Their first therapy session had helped more than I expected. I don’t know everything they talked about with the doctor, but I expect having another adult reassuring them that they were loved and safe helped set them at ease. They still aren’t really talking to me, but they’re not fighting me as hard as they were before either. The hardest part is still when they wake in the middle of the night crying out in fear, then asking for Ethan when I go to comfort them. It’s the worst with Paisley. She’s never lived without her father before, and I’m trying to keep a special eye on her. She asks for him more than any of the others, and it seems most difficult for her to believe we can’t simply call him and ask for a visit. The more time that passes the angrier I become with Ethan for leaving our babies. It’s one thing to hurt me, but anoth