Ch. 91..95: The Luna and her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 91-95

The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 91

Jane

Paisley is curled up against her father’s side, her small head resting on his chest, rising and falling with his low, steady breaths. I must not have been very attentive when I poked my head into the nursery, but then again it can be hard to make out one pup from another when they sleep in a cuddle pile. Not to mention my entire being is currently consumed by flames.

Backing away, I pull the door shut with a gentle click. There is only one power on earth that could overpower the base animal instincts of my heat, and that is the maternal drive to put my pup’s needs above my own. Slinking away down the hall, I try to figure out what to do with myself. I’ve never gone through a heat alone. It’s only ever come on around Ethan, and even after I became his slave, only he could give me comfort.

My wolf needed to be bred- by him and no one else. If there was another Alpha alive whom my wolf would accept, I’ve never met him. Maybe I can make it through to the morning if I take a sleeping pill. I think weakly, and maybe if l just stay away from Ethan, it will go away on its own.

I know better than to think this. Among our kind a heat lasts until one’s wolf is satisfied, and while I might try to reason with my wolf, I know she ‘ll never be satisfied without being rutted. Besides, the longer it goes on the worse the pain will become, until l’m absolutely begging Ethan to claim me.

The inner well of courage | tapped into at Linda’s is fading the more time that passes. So I hobble away down the hall, bent double as I backtrack to my own room, and trying to think of any way to keep my former mate at bay. I hate thinking of myself as a coward, but I also can’t help thinking that if anyone has the right – it’s me. I have so much to lose, and I know what it means to lose everything in a way most people never will.

“Janey?” The sound of his rich voice sends me leaping into the air.

Turning hesitantly, my knees go weak when | lay eyes on him. He’s wearing pajama bottoms and nothing else, the carved contours of his muscular ch3st illuminated in the dim hall lights. His strong jaw is covered in a thin layer of scruff, and his wolf is already glowing in his eyes, no doubt brought to the surface by my scent.

“l just came to say thank you,” I stammer vaguely, for helping me earlier:”

If l want to get away before we both lose control, I need to do so now. We have mere minutes left before I lose the will to keep fighting, and once l do he won’t hold back. He’ll let himself go into rut, and then we’ll both be powerless to stop our wolves.

I start to turn away again, but I freeze when he purrs. “Not so fast, little wolf”

Whimpering, I brace my weight against the wall, listening to his footsteps approach behind me as my heart pounds in my chest. Before l know it he’s standing so close behind me that I can feel the heat radiating from his body. “Why did you come back, Jane?” He asks, brushing my hair away from my neck, so that his warm breath flutters over his mark.

“Because I felt guilty for imposing on Linda’s hospitality” | lie anemically.

“Is that so?” He replies, nibbling the shell of my ear and sliding one powerful arm around my middle, supporting my weight even though I did not ask him to help me stay upright. “And how are you feeling?”

“Fine.” l squeak, even as I lean back against him.

The cramping in my belly is getting more and more powerful now that he’s near, and it’s only with the greatest effort that I can stay standing.

“So stubborn.”‘ He croons, his hand dipping dangerously close to the center of my need. “Are you sure you didn’t come to my room for a bit of company?

It’s awfully late for thank yous.”

I can only whimper, rocking my h!ps back against him. My head lolls back against his broad ch3st, exposing the column of my throat to his l!ps and fangs, and preying he’ll claim me that way he used to. In the back of my mind I realize I’ve tipped over the edge, too needy to be afraid now – or perhaps too needy to retain my sense of self-preservation.

“If you want me to touch you, you need only ask.”

Ethan adds, stroking my h!p. “‘d be more than happy to help you, baby. You have no idea how hard it was for me to let you go earlier.”

His huge, hard c0ck is pressing into my backside, and suddenly my mind is overwhelmed with the memories and sensations of having him inside of me. A pool of wetness is soaking my p*nties, and if l were still in public l’d be paranoid about it seeping through my dress as well.

“Or” Ethan suggests, removing his hands from me completely and sending a flood of cold air over my body.”| can just put you to bed and leave you alone.”

“No!” I exclaim, before I can stop myself. I’m already reaching for his hands, eager to return them to my overheated form.

“Are you sure?” He teases me, grazing featherlight fingers down my arms before I can catch them.

“Please, Ethan.” I beg, turning to face him. I’m burning up.”

He catches my face in his hands, studying my flushed cheeks and shining eyes. “Poor little wolf” He croons, letting me lean my full weight against him, Just tell me one thing first.”

“Anything” l agree, rubbing myself against him in the hopes of marking him with my scent.

“Earlier – you suggested you’d been with Eric through a heat.” He reminds me, keeping my face captive even though l just want to climb into his arms and go to bed. “Were you telling the truth?”

I’m gnawing on my l!p, fighting the urge to protect myself from this man who hurt me so badly, while struggling to contain my wolf who, like his own, doesn’t seem to give a damn that we aren’t fated. All she knows if that’s her mate is in front of her, whether the Goddess intended it or not. “No l admit in a low whisper, a stray tear slipping out of the corner of my eye.

Ethan tsks, catching the tear on his thumb, “ls it the pain?” He questions gently, easing me back towards my bedroom door.

Shaking my head, I can feel a rush of fresh tears surging forth, and l’m too out of control now to stop them, “Please don’t hurt me again, Ethan” I plead.

This stops him dead in his tracks, and the next thing I know he’s k!ssing me, stealing the breath from my lungs as I gasp and m0an, holding onto him for dear life. “I”ll never hurt you again, Janey.” He murmurs against my l!ps. “I’m so sorry I betrayed your trust.”

“l can’t promise you anything more than this heat.” , l admit weakly, “|-I want to, but l’m not sure I can. I’m afraid that when everything is back to normal the fear will take over again, and I won’t be strong enough to overcome it.”

He backs me into the room, closing the door behind us with a determined slant to his full l!ps. “Then I won’t give up.” He vows, “You can run and push me away all you want, but I won’t give up, Jane.”

“You promise?” I prompt him, whimpering as a fresh spasm clutches my insides.

“I promise.” Ethan proclaims, helping me onto the bed and pulling me back to the edge.”Now, are you going to let me take the pain away, or are you going to keep being stubborn?”

Despite the fact that I feeling like l’m being wrenched apart from the inside, it’s in my nature to challenge him at every turn. How else will T know just how dominant he is, if I don’t test him? How else will | feel the incredible power he possesses, if he doesn’t unleash it onto me and make me surrender to his strength.

When I don’t immediately answer, Ethan throws his head back and laughs.”Some things never change.”

He prowls over me, stripping the clothes from my body and spreading my legs so he can kneel between them. “No’ l complain, even as I lift my h!ps in offering.

“| don’t want your tongue.”

“What do you want?” He inquires, rubbing his thumb over my swollen cl!t, and driving my need even higher.

“You know,” l grumble, crying out when his l!ps replace his fingers, svcking my swollen bud into his mouth. “I want you inside me.”

“Good things come to those who wait” He reminds me with a dark chuckle, slipping two thick fingers into my soaked channel.

“But I want it now” I whine.

Pushing myself up onto my elbows, I look down at Ethan, who flashes his fangs in a wolfish grin and offers me one last comment before returning his mouth to my most intimate flesh and wiping every last thought from my mind. “Too bad”.

 

The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 92

Ethan

Jane’s heat didn’t subside for three days.

It was hard to explain to the pups why we were always locked away in her rooms together, not to mention the various sounds they overheard. After the first night we had Linda come and pick them up, trusting her to take care of them until the worst had passed. However pups are always aware of more than we realize, and I’m sure we didn’t fool them completely.

At the height of my rut I reclaimed Jane the way I’ve been dreaming of doing from the moment she reappeared again. I sank my teeth into the scars of my old mark while her scorching heat enveloped my c0ck, and made her mine once more. It’s true that claiming marks are forever, but the bond always feels stronger the more often they’re reasserted, and I now feel more connected to Jane than I have in years.

Of course, as she predicted, she retreated from me the moment we left the plush lovenest she created in her room, doing everything she could to keep me at a distance after the haze of her heat wore off. I can’t pretend it was easy to accept. My wolf had been determined to make her feel our love so deeply that she’d never doubt our feelings for her again, but her trauma runs deep- and I can’t be mad when that’s my own fault.

The more time that passes, the harder it becomes to pay for the crimes committed by the man I used to be, but the more Jane opens up to me the more I realize she never stopped being the woman I abused. I got to reinvent myself and move on when Paisley was born, to put Jane’s supposed attack on my mother behind us.

However it haunts Jane to this very day, being a prisoner and running from me still defines her, because she didn’t escape it when we parted. It followed her.

By Friday l’ve returned to my office, leaving Jane to spend time with the pups and promising to watch them tomorrow so she can catch up on her own work. My desk at the pack headquarters is piled high with papers, everything I missed while Jane and I were indulging in each other’s bodies.

I’m about halfway through the stack when I come across the preliminary reports from the investigator I hired to look into Eric. Since Jane’s heat I’m both feeling less defensive about the man – knowing he’s never been with her that way – and more protective of my mate. Jane was so Vulnerable when she came to me that night, and I can only imagine how things might have gone if she’d chosen him instead. I don’t trust Eric to take care of her the way she needs, and I don’t like the way he’s been taking advantage of her trust.

R!pping open the envelope, I scan the contents quickly, my confusion and anger rising in concert. What on the Goddess ‘s green earth?

When I get home Jane is in the kitchen with the pups, and the moment l open the door Paisley comes running. I scoop her up into my arms, giving her a hug and a k!ss. “What’s the news, angel?” I ask her softly, eyeing her siblings, who hover near Jane and shoot me a few wistful looks. I can tell their dislike and anger at me is waning as time passes, but their loyalty to their mother is strong, and I certainly can’t fault them for that.

“Mommy says we only has one more week.” Paisley pouts, “but Riley and the others aren’ so sure nymore.” She confides, snuggling into my arms. “I don’ wanna leave you, Daddy”

“It’s okay, babydoll.” I promise her, “we won’t ever be apart for long. You have my word.”

I can see Jane glancing our way out of the corner of her eye. The sneaky little wolf hasn’t told me about her new moving date, but that’s alright, because I haven’t told her l intend to follow when they go. I won’t keep her here against her will, but I also don’t plan on letting her go.

“Hello everyone.” I greet the others, bending my head to drop k!sses on each of the pups heads. A week ago they would have pulled away from me with grumpy pouts and refused to let me near, but now Ryder, Riley and Parker subconsciously lean into me expectantly.

Jane, of course, is another matter entirely. I attempt to catch her l!ps fora k!ss, but she turns her head away. Instead I lower my mouth to my mark, nuzzling her sweet-smelling hair and nibbling the red marks until she squirms. “I need to talk to you.”I murmur by way of greeting.

She glances at the pups, silently asking if we can talk in front of them. I shake my head gravely, setting Paisley on the ground next to the others. “I’ll tell you what kids, we have half an hour before dinner:” Jane announces, “why don’t you go watch your favorite show until then.”

Four sets of wide eyes look up at her. “TV’afore dinner?” Riley asks agog.

“That’s right.” Jane grins. “Now run along before l change my mind.”

As soon as the kids are settled in front of the television set, happily glued to the colorful screen, Jane looks up at me. “What’s going on?

Pulling out the reports from my bag, I hand them over to my reluctant mate. “| think you need to see this.

“What is this?” Jane questions, flipping through the folder. She scans the first few pages, seeming to grasp the general theme. “You had Eric investigated?”

“You didn’t think l’d let my pups be raised by someone without looking into them first, did you?” I reply, arching my brow.

“l can’t believe you did this behind my back!” She exclaims. I mean it would be one thing if we’d agreed on it first, but you must have known it was wrong if you felt the need to sneak around and hide it.”

“You never would have agreed and you know it.”I tell her sternly, “Aren’t you at least interested in what they found?”

“Why should 1?” Jane demands, lifting her pert little nose into the air, “it’s probably a pack of lies.”

” I hired the best investigators in the territory.” I explain grimly, “And you should really see what they discovered.”

Shooting me a sullen glare, Jane returns her attention to the papers in her hands, reading them more carefully now. It’s almost amusing to watch her move through the packet, and I imagine if someone had been watching me earlier, my reaction would have been much the same. The first few pages don’t hold much information of interest, but about halfway through the dossier, things get interesting – to say the least.

Jane jerks her head up when she reached that spot, her emerald-colored eyes going wide. “Is this real?

“Of course it’s real.” I sigh, “look it up on the internet if you like. He did a good job hiding his tracks – but the internet is forever.”

“But…” She stammers, “why wouldn’t he tell me this?” She murmurs.

“Janey, I’ve tried to tell you, he isn’t what you think.” | share, searching her lovely features. “this is merely one lie we can confirm. Did you ask him about what I told you? Did you ask him about the pups?”

“And when do you think I would have done that?”

Jane questions tartly, giving me a knowing look. “This is the first day all week…” She trails off suddenly, seeming to realize she doesn’t want to remind me what we’ve been doing. As if l could forget.

“I don’t know.” I shrug, ” might have thought you’d make time to call your fiance in between fuc-“

“Ethan!” Jane exclaims, cutting me off and shooting a pointed look at the pups. Glancing over my shoulder, I realize they’re watching us instead of the television.

“What?” l joke, adopting my most innocent expression.

“I haven’t spoken to him” She says dryly, glancing back at the pages in her hands. The longer she stares at the lines of text, the paler she becomes. Part of me hates seeing her struggle through this, but a much larger part know she needs to come to terms with this sooner rather than later. “But maybe I need to.”

“I think you do.” I agree, resisting the urge to put my hands on her. Keeping my distance is especially hard after everything we shared this week, but I really am trying to give her some space. “I’ll watch the pups if you want to do it tonight.”

“Really?” She asks, peeking up at me from beneath her lashes.

“Really” l confirm, wishing I could be a fly on the wall for their conversation. I get the impression that Eric thinks Jane is all sweetness. Having never had cause to get into a fight before, I imagine he’ll be quite surprised to discover how hot her temper can flare when given cause.

3rd Person

A little while later Jane stood outside Eric’s front door, her arms crossed over her chest, the investigative reports curled in her small fist. When the door finally swung open, Eric looked overjoyed to see her, but before he could get a word in edgewise, she thrust the papers into his ch3st, ” You’re a prince !?”

 

The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 93

Eric stared down at Jane in abject shock, trying to process her words as he took in all the changes she’d manifested in a little under a week. She reeked of Ethan and his mark flared red around the curve of her neck.

Her skin was glowing with health, and her cheeks were flushed with color. She was angrier than he had ever seen her, but he also immediately recognized that she hadn’t gotten through her heat on her own. Jealous anger flooded him, rising up to meet her own flaring temper, even though he knew he was in the wrong.

Glancing down at the papers she was forcing against his hard ch3st, he pried them free of her clenching fingers and flipped through them, quickly putting together the pieces of the story.”So,” He mused aloud, “Ethan stopped rutting you long enough to have me investigated?”

“Excuse me?” Jane snarled, “how dare you speak to me that way?”

“l asked you if you needed relief, Jane.” He reminded her, “l offered to help you with anything you needed”

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Jane hissed.

This isn’t about Ethan and I, or my heat, this is about you lying to me – for years!”

“And don’t you go making this about you!” Eric replied tersely. “Nobody in the Dark Moon pack knows who I truly am, for precisely this reason.” He explained.

“l wanted a normal life, but the only way to achieve that when you’re the son of the king is to disappear, to hide in plain sight in a place where no one knows you.”

The investigators had gone above and beyond looking into his past. Somehow they managed to do what all the paparazzi in his home nation had not, and Connected Dark Moon businessman Eric Danvers to Prince Henry of the Midnight Pack- a tiny island empire in the south seas. He was the youngest son, one of five children with no hopes of ever inheriting his father’s title, but a prince nonetheless.

“But we’ve been friends for years.” Jane insisted, “I opened up to you, I told you my deepest, darkest secrets and all the while | didn’t even know the most basic information about you. I didn’t even know your real name.”

“But you understand trying to protect yourself at all costs.” Eric – or Henry, argued. “You understand putting on a mask for the sake of leading the life you want”

“Not with my friends!” Jane argued. “I trusted you,

Eric. Henry – whatever your name is!”

“My name is Eric – same as it’s always been.” He insisted. This is who l am, and this is the life I want. I’m the same person I’ve always been, just with a fancier title.”

“Did you tell the pups what happened between Ethan and 1?” Jane asked abruptly, catching him completely off guard.

His eyes widened, and then his expression closed off completely. “Jane, what you have to realize, is-

“Oh my god!” Jane exclaimed. “You did it.” She murmured. “You told my babies that Ethan made me his slave so that they would turn against him.”

“How is that worse than him making you a slave in the first place?” Eric demanded in return. “Why is it you can forgive him enough to sleep with him over and over again, but I simply bring what he’s done out into the open and I’m the villain.”

“They’re four!” Jane exploded, “and he’s their father! Children shouldn’t have people unloading their baggage about their parents onto them – they’re innocent!”

“I was trying to protect you!” Eric insisted fiercely. “

All I’ve ever wanted is to protect you. Besides, I didn’t tell them the details, I put it in terms they could understand.”

“That wasn’t your place!” Jane hissed, “and it didn’t protect me. Don’t you understand that if you hurt my children you hurt me?”

“Are you sure that’s what you mean?” Eric pressed.

“The pups didn’t seem all that hurt Jane. Are you sure you don’t mean to say I can’t hurt your mate without hurting you?”

“I thought you were better than this, Eric.” Jane admitted grimly, shaking her head as tears burned in her eyes. “I thought you were on my side. But you’ve only ever been on your own side.”

“Don’t say that.”‘ Eric begged. “I’ve been on your side from the first moment we met.”

“Yes, well,” Jane began, swiping the tears from her cheeks, “I was playing a part then too. Maybe that was our mistake. We were both playacting instead of being honest, and we never saw the real people behind the facades.”

“I see you, Jane.” Eric professes, reaching for her.”

You’re beautiful and kind and generous, you’re smart, ambitious and strong. I love you. I’ve been in love with you for as long as l can remember.”

His words shocked Jane to her core. She’d known he was infatuated with her, but she’d never dreamed he imagined himself in love with her. If she’d had any idea he felt that strongly she might have tried to put a stop to this sooner, especially now that she knew how Linda felt.

“Eric,” Jane began hesitantly, trying to find the right words to let him down easily.

“No,” He interrupted, “don’t say it like that. Don’t end this before it’s even begun. Just give me a chance, one chance to show you how good we could be together.”

“I’m so sorry” Jane admitted, “I’m so honored that you feel that way about me. There’s no greater compliment and the last thing I want is to hurt you. But Eric, we aren’t meant to be. We aren’t a good fit. You may think I’m beautiful and strong, but the truth is I’m barely holding it together. I feel lost every day of my life.

It’s like no matter what I do, I can’t seem to escape my past. It keeps hanging over me like some terrible spectre and all the while I’m just fighting for the basic hope of making my family whole again. That’s all l can focus on right now, it’s all I’ve ever wanted – and all these r0mantic distractions are just confusing me.”

“So let me help, let me make it clear.” Eric suggested. “You need someone to take care of you.

“No” Jane argued, deciding to try another strategy. “I need my pups to be together. I need us to be safe, and sure, one day l’d like to be loved if l can, but right now it’s all too much.”

“Would you be saying this if I were Ethan?” Eric demanded, “When you go home tonight and he crawls into your bed, are you going to turn him away?”

“I don’t know.” Jane confessed. “He’s confusing me more than anyone else, but I can tell you this much: when it comes to mates, my wolf makes the decision, not me. And my wolf…”

Understanding dawns on Eric’s face as I trail off, his face falling as my unspoken words land in his consciousness. “Doesn’t want me.” He guesses.

“That’s right.” Jane confirmed, wincing. “I” ‘m sorry, that isn’t how I wanted to tell you.”

“No” He raised a hand to stop her. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t listen.”

Jane nodded, peeking up at him nervously. “If we’re going to be friends, there can’t be any more lies between us, Eric.” She directed,”I don’t want to know about your life from a folder, l want to hear it from you.”

I”ll be honest too, I don’t think I can stand by and watch if you’re going to go back to that monster” Eric replied. “I want to support you, but there has to come a point where you draw a line in the sand when the people you care about are hurting themselves.”

“Goddess, Eric.” Jane muttered. “You make me sound like some sort of addict.”

“Is it really so different?” He asked, his voice a low grumble. “What would you say if it was Linda, or some other friend in your shoes? Would you just stand by while they went back to their abuser?”

“I think it’s not that simple.” Jane countered.

Ethan made mistakes, but I’ve done my fair share of damage too” She confessed. “Honestly, I’ve been justifying hiding the pups from him for so many years because of what he did, that it never occurred to me how I would react if he changed.”

“You can’t tell me that you’re considering staying?”

Eric interrogated, leaning forward to tower over her.

“No, I’m just saying that things are a lot more complicated than I was prepared for.” Jane admitted.

And it begs the question of how long people should be punished if they’ve truly repented for their wrongs.

Eric glared down at Jane. “You’re assuming that he truly has changed, he truly has repented. Has it not occurred to you that this has all been an act for your benefit?”

For the first time, Jane was starting to realize just how calculating Eric truly was – and it didn’t bode well.

His instinct was clearly to distrust, rather than give anyone the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t a trait many honest people possessed. “You can’t act with kids.”

Jane answered coolly, “they see through everything, and they’re always listening.”

Little did Jane know, but her pups were up to a lot more than mere eavesdropping. Across town, they were busy investigating Eve while their mother faced down Eric, and luckily for them – it was about to pay off.

 

The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 94

Riley, Parker, Paisley and Ryder slipped into Eve’s old bedroom while Ethan scrubbed dishes after dinner.

They were supposed to be brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed, but they knew their father would be distracted long enough for them to try and sneak in some investigating.

In all honesty, their efforts had hit a few stumbling blocks in the last few days. As badly as they wanted to clear Jane’s good name, they couldn’t very well do that when they were staying at Linda’s. And even now that they were back home, the police had been through the apartment, so they assumed they wouldn’t find anything at all.

Eve’s room was at the end of the hall next to Petra’s, and while the huge penthouse had so much space that they’d all managed to move in without clearing out any of the previously occupied rooms, they had to figure the adults had been through almost everything before them. Slipping into her former living space, they blinked around at the gaudy decor and tacky furnishings.

“This is really ugly:” Riley declared, staring at the overabundance of neon pink leopard print and fake gold crown molding.

“Tell me ’bout it” Paisley answered in reply. She and her siblings had been on somewhat wobbly footing lately. They loved each other dearly and always had fun playing, but she couldn’t get past the fact that they couldn’t forgive Daddy for what he did to Mommy. Lt hurt her too, but she’d grown up without a mother, and after discovering she was alive and well, she’d started to realize how complicated adult matters were in a way her siblings had not.

“Do you know where she might hide bad things?”

Parker asked, wrapping an arm around Paisley as if he could sense how uneasy Eve’s rooms made her.

“Uh-huh,” Paisley confirmed, “She didn’ think I knew, but she has a safe under the bed.”

“She probly cleaned that out when she left.” Ryder frowned.

1 dunno.” Riley countered, “Daddy was really mad, I bet he didn’ let her outta his sight.”

“That’s true” Paisley agreed, “she’d have to be pretty dumb to open it in front a him.”

The four pups crawled under the mattress and box springs, gasping in excited unison when they laid eyes on the silver cube. It took both Ryder and Parker working together to pull it out into the open, and then the young wolves were faced with a new problem. “And ideas about the comb’nation?” Ryder asked.

“How ’bout her birthday?” Riley suggested.

“or Daddy’s.” Parker added.

“Well l dunno hers,” Paisley grimaced, “l do know Daddy’s… but she really wasn’ smart. It might a been something real simple.”

Try one, two, three, four.” Riley instructed, watching as her brother entered the numbers into the keypad and shaking her head in defeat when it made an angry buzzing sound and flashed red. Next they tried Ethan’s birthday, but when that didn’t work, they entered a string of four zeroes instead. Still nothing happened, and the pups were beginning to get discouraged.

“1 think we should get Daddy:” Paisley declared,

He might know the number, and we can’t do much without him ‘nyway.”

“l dunno.” Parker scowled. “1 don’ trust him.”

That isn’t fair!” Paisley objected, “I’ve known Daddy since as long as I can member, and he’s only ever been great. And I know what bad looks like.” She reminded them. Unlike their sister, the other pups had never been subjected to abuse like Paisley had survived from Eve, and every now and then she thought they didn’t realize just how good they had it.

“Okay.” Riley agreed, reaching out and squeezing her sister’s hand. “If you trust Daddy, I trust Daddy.

As if he could sense them talking about him, or perhaps he’d simply finished the dishes and realized the pups weren’t actually getting ready for bed, Ethan appeared in the doorway at that very moment. “What are you guys doing in here?” He asked, his dark gaze locking in on the safe, “What is that?”

“Is Eve’s safe.” Parker announced happily, drawing Ethan deeper into the room.

“We’re trying to open it.” Ryder added, scooting over so that Ethan could kneel down in front of the silver box.

“How did the police miss this?” Ethan mused aloud, “Where was it?”

“Just under the bed” Paisley explained, climbing into his la*p before he was even sitting down fully.

“What numbers have you tried?” He asked, rearranging himself so that his daughter could settle, and pleasantly surprised when Ryder climbed onto his folded knee next to his sister.

Riley rattled off the answers, leaning against Ethan’s side without even realizing what she was doing.

“We wanted to try her birthday, but Paisley didn’ know it.” She explained.

“Well l can solve that problem.” Ethan announced, leaning forward and punching in the numbers. All five of them gaps when the keypad chirped and blinked green, shortly followed by a loud click!. “Good job, you guys.” Ethan praised, pulling the door open.

Parker leaned in over his shoulder as he began pulling papers from the interior, and for the first time in weeks, Ethan had all four of his pups snuggling close. It lifted his heart even though he knew it wasn’t entirely intentional, but he wasn’t going to risk ending it now.

He opened the first file he extracted and held it close to his body so the pups would have to stay close, scanning the contents so quickly the young children couldn’t keep up.

“Oh my Goddess,” He muttered on the fourth page, which included musings about how to frame Jane for the rogue attack on her graduation trip. “Why would she keep this for so long?”

“What is it, Daddy?” Paisley pressed.

Ethan tried to come up with an explanation they would understand, “lt’s just something bad she did a long time ago, something l can’t believe she would keep for so many years afterwards.”

“Why not?” Ryder inquired.

“Because it’s proof she’s guilty” Ethan murmured, studying the “marionette spell” Eve had placed on Jane in order to force her to do her bidding. Unfortunately for him, her notes indicated that Petra had been in on it all along. In fact, she was the one who paid for the gag spell they placed on Jane afterwards, which might explain why Jane had suddenly been able to speak about the events after her death.

“Paisley did say she was dumb” Parker added sagely.

“She’s right about that much.” Ethan confirmed, flipping ahead. Part of him was afraid that if the police found out Petra had been involved in framing Jane, they’d see it as more motive for her murder. He needed to find something condemning Eve once and for all.

Fortunately it didn’t take long to find. There was a notebook in the bottom of the safe, one that spelled out all of Eve’s evil brainstorming, from the plot to poison Paisley at the hospital, to the scheme to murder Petra and frame Jane. It would seem Eve had already been planning this before Petra betrayed her, which made Ethan feel sick to his stomach.

He’d come to terms with the fact that Eve was vengeful and evil, but he’d always imagined there was some logic to her schemes. This made it seem like she was completely without conscious, doing whatever it took to further her aims. Did she ever care about his mother at all? Was she capable of caring about anyone?

“I need to get this to the police.” Ethan stated, more to himself than to the pups.

“But I thought the p’lice b’lieved Mommy did it” Parker questioned.

Ethan blinked down at his pups, both unsurprised and disturbed by how much they were aware of. “They do, but this should be more than enough proof that she’s innocent:”

“Even to that mean ‘nspector?” Ryder asked.

“If it isn’t, then there’s even more going on here than Eve’s schemes.” Ethan admitted, looking at each of their adorable faces in turn. “But I promise you this, if something’s up, I’m going to get to the bottom of it. I won’t rest until your Mommy’s safe and sound.”

“Once she’s safe, is she gonna take us ‘way?” Riley questioned, looking up at Ethan curiously.

“I thought that’s what you wanted?” He clarified, studying Paisley’s identical sister closely.

Riley shugged noncommittally, reminding the Alpha so much of Jane in that moment he had to blink.

“I dunno… I kinda like it here.”

“Well,” He began, wrapping one strong arm around her shoulders and the other around Parker’s so that he could hold them all close, “| love having you all here, so as long as you want to stay, you’ll always have a home here.”

Paisley grinned up at him, “thanks, Daddy.”.

Ethan’s heart swelled when one by one the others thanked him too, each calling him Daddy in turn. If he hadn’t been decided before, he certainly was now: he wasn’t ever going to let them go -not for anything in the whole world.

The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 95

Ethan

“What do you mean, this isn’t enough?” l growl, glaring at the investigator. I’ve just handed him everything we found in Eve’s safe, from her murder schemes to her personal legends detailing all the money she stole from the Atelier over the years. To my shock and absolute fury, the detective simply blinked and told me it was all circumstantial.

“Sir, no one saw her writing this, we don’t know that it actually belongs to her.” He insists stubbornly.

“Are you serious?” l demand. What I really want to ask is ‘do you even have a brain? or ‘how the hell did you get this job when you clearly aren’t intelligent enough to have made it through grade school.’

However I have a long history of playing the diplomat in the face of challenging people, so I restrain myself – though not without difficulty.”It’s practically a full confession, it was locked in a safe in her room and it’s in her handwriting. The perspective of events she describes makes it obvious she’s the author.”

Shaking his head, he frowns. “That’s all speculation.”

“You haven’t even had time to fully examine it.”I hiss, “Just go through it, you’ll see that I’m right.”

“I can’t accept that.” The detective refuses, seriously testing my patience. “It’s not admissible evidence. It wasn’t found in an official police search or with a warrant, and you admitted you broke into her safe to access it. No court in the world would accept it.”

I’m a concerned citizen, who found evidence in my own home and I’m bringing it to you with all the details of its discovery. That’s perfectly admissible!” I grumble, wondering if perhaps I should have left it in the safe and called them to the house. However the man’s next words make it abundantly clear he’s less worried about the chain of evidence, than he is with passing off the blame.

“And how do I know you didn’t doctor all this stuff?

” He asks impudently, “You could have made it all up.!”

“Are you accusing me of fraud?” | question harshly,

“the victim was my mother, I want to find her killer more than anyone.”

I mean no disrespect, Alpha.” He insists, not seeming the least bit sincere. “I simply mean that you’d do anything to protect your mate.”

“I want to talk to your supervisor, right now.” l grit out, resisting the urge to throttle the man.

He pales, “Sir, that really isn’t necessary:”

“Yes” I correct him, “It is. I fact I should have required it from the beginning. Your incompetence on this case has been staggering – so staggering that it’s beginning to defy belief. It makes me wonder why you’re so determined to imprison the wrong woman, and why you keep defending Eve when the writing is clearly on the wall.”

“Fine.” He glowers, “you’re not the first pack member who hasn’t agreed with the direction of an investigation, or the first entitled nobleman who thinks they can pull a few strings and make things go their way. The force commander hates those types more than anyone – so you go right ahead. Just see how much faster it gets Jane arrested.”

In the end, I didn’t go to the force commander. Not just yet.

Instead I called in the private investigator I used to look into Eric, telling him I needed everything he could find me on the police investigator – as soon as possible.

After returning to work, I spend the whole day just trying to figure out how l’m going to keep this under wraps until the investigator gets back to me. Jane sent me a text last night after she confronted Eric, telling me she needed a girl’s night and was going to go stay with Linda. She promised to fill me in on what happened when she gets home tonight, and frankly that was fine by me.

I swore the kids to secrecy about what we found in the safe, in part because I didn’t want to get Jane’s hopes up when I knew there was a chance things wouldn’t be resolved easily. I’ve been suspicious about this crooked investigation from the beginning, and the more time that passes, the more likely it seems that something more is going on behind the scenes.

However, the other piece of the equation is that l want to tell her myself – I want to see the look on her face when she hears the news, and I don’t want her to know that the kids were involved until after the fact. It will stress her out even more than she already is to know they’re aware and worrying about all this, let alone trying to investigate it.

So Jane’s delay gave me the time I needed to convince the kids we should let this be a fun surprise for her, but keeping the secret for one night when she wasn’t even there is a very different matter than dragging it out for Goddess knows how long. I love my kids, but four year olds aren’t the best secret keepers, especially not when they’re so excited by what they found.

However in the end the problem solves itself, because around five thirty I get a call from my Pl, and his voice is completely triumphant. “Ive got him.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, feeling a surge of hope.

“Already?”

“Well it’s like you said, the man’s either a complete i***t, or so overconfident in his own abilities that he thinks he’s completely above suspicion and doesn’t need to cover his tracks.” The man, a bear shifter called Jackson, shares. “Are you ready?”

“Yes” l answer eagerly, “What did you find?”

“Well for one thing, our friend the detective is a bit of a ladies man.” Jackson announces, “and he has truly terrible taste. “Would you like to take a guess as to who he’s been seeing lately?”

“Don’t tell me,” I mutter, feeling a profound sense of disbelief. “Eve?”

“You got it” He confirms. “If she’s pregnant, ten to one he’s the father, because they’ve been sleeping together since before Jane came back into town. He has a cache of photos and videos I desperately wish I could unsee on his computer, some from her, some with her.

And then there are the messages”‘ He continues, “it looks like she’s been stringing him along for months, promising to let him claim her completely if he helps her get away with all this.”

Swearing under my breath, l ask, “I suppose you didn’t find this information legally?”

“You don’t hire me because I do things by the book, you hire me for finding the impossible.” He reminds me, “but if you’re worried about bringing this to the police commander, don’t worry. While I was hacked into his system l sent a few emails from his account. One to the commander, a few to the papers. It ll be obvious that he didn’t send the files himself, but he made a very big mistake including himself in some of their… recreational videos.”

“Holy sh!t.” I grin, feeling so warmly towards Jackson that he might be at risk of getting k!ssed if we were in the same room. I tell him as much.

“Then I’m definitely glad I chose to call you.” He laughs, “but you can always show your appreciation when you write my check, Alpha.”

“Have no doubt about it, I will.” l confirm, already planning on giving him an insanely large bonus.

“Well, l just got the ball rolling for you.” Jackson explains, “by now the police will probably be arresting him and confiscating his devices, and he won’t have seen it coming from a mile away. And this time tomorrow he’ll be the biggest story in the territory.

Thanking Jackson profusely, I hang up and start gathering my things to head home, when my phone rings again, and this time it’s the police commander.

“Hello?” l say, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Alpha” he greets me in reply. “I’m afraid l’m calling to inform you about something quite unpleasant.”

“Go ahead” I prompt him, sounding more eager than wary.

“We’ve just taken Detective Smithers into custody.”

He shares. “It seems he’s been having a tawdry affair with Eve Mechant, and we’ve found considerable evidence that he’s been helping her frame your ex-wife for your mother’s murder”

“I thought something was off with him.” I remark coolly, “just this morning I dropped off a box of evidence implicating Eve for the crimes, and he ignored it and accused me of fraud.”

“Yes.” The commander continues, “about that, l’m sorry to say that when he was arrested he was in the middle of shredding the documents you brought him. I don’t know what all was included in the files, but my assumption would be that he got rid of the most d*mning pieces first. The only reason I knew you brought it to him, is because a junior officer witnessed part of your conversation earlier”

“How much was he able to destroy?” I ask.

“More than half, by the looks of it.”‘ The commander admits. “I’m afraid Jane isn’t off the hook just yet.”