Ch. 96..100: The Luna and her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 96-100
The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 96
Ethan
The commander’s words sink in slowly, but I keep my spirits high despite the bad news he’s delivering.
Unlike the detective, I had the intelligence to think ahead. “Then I suppose it’s a good thing I made copies of every paper we found in Eve’s safe.” I muse aloud.
“You made copies?” The commander responds excitedly.
“Yes, I had a feeling about Detective Smithers, you see”I share. In fact, I made three sets of copies and promptly hid them. I’d been so paranoid about the conspiracy that I even made sure to put them in different locations. Unlocking my office safe, I pull out the copy lI brought to work. “I’m looking at them right now. If you send someone quickly, they might catch me before I leave for the day.”
Before he even responds to me, I can hear the commander barking orders to a uniformed officer in the background. “You, get to the pack headquarters this instant, go straight to the Alpha. No stops on the way.”
Once he finishes, his volume increases as he returns his mouth to the receiver, “Done. You know it’s the strangest thing. We found out about all this because Smithers got hacked this afternoon.”
“ls that so?” I inquire innocently. “Well, wasn’t that lucky for us?”
“Indeed.” He agrees, sounding more relaxed now that he knows the evidence wasn’t completely lost. “Of course we won’t be investigating that, since whoever is responsible exposed a traitor in our ranks. We really owe them.”
“If l hear anything about it l’l be sure to pass on your appreciation.” l offer, deciding not to excoriate the man for missing that all of this was happening right under his nose. After all, I’ve been there. I know just how cunning Eve can be, and how skilled she is at hiding her schemes.
As if he can read my thoughts, the commander states, “And l’m sorry for everything he’s put your family through, Alpha. I feel horribly responsible for not seeing his corruption sooner.”
“Thank you” l accept graciously, “l understand better than you think, but you should know this doesn’t end with me. The public isn’t going to be happy when this comes out”
“Ah” He replies, clearly understanding my warning about the hack reaching the papers. “Then l’ll begin writing my press statement now.”
“And l’ll go tell my mate the investigation into her is finally closed” I answer, wanting to hear him confirm it, just in case.
“Tell her congratulations from me, sir:” He answers, a bit more stiffly now. I imagine he’s not happy that this story is going to get out – it will be a public humiliation for the force. Still, I think he also realizes any other Alpha would have removed him from his position as punishment, and accepts that keeping his job comes with a price.
Hanging up the phone, I wait until the officer arrives and hand over the copied files, before heading home to Jane and the pups. When I walk in the door, four energetic munchkins rush my legs. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!”
Kneeling down, I catch them all in a bear hug squeezing them tightly even though they clearly didn’t come to me for cuddles. They’re squirming excitedly, trying to wriggle free and jump up and down at once. “
Can we tell her, can we tell her?” They whisper.
Looking over their heads, I can see Jane looking on in surprise and confusion. She’d been walking down the hall when I entered, and now she stood in the center, clearly nonplussed. “In a little while.” I promise them, “Mommy and I need to talk a little first.”
They gr0an in disappointment, but I release them and instruct, “go play, the sooner Mommy and l finish our conversation, the sooner we can tell her:”
Riley, Ryder and Parker instantly race off to their rooms, but Paisley stays snug against my ch3st, his little arms wrapped around my neck. Chuckling softly, I loop an arm around her middle and lift her as I get to my feet. “How was your day, Princess?”
“I missed you’ She tells me, “| like it better when you work from home.”
“I do too” l admit. “But it’s tough right now with everything going on. People need to see me out and about, it’s important for leaders to be present when things seem uncertain.”
“Daddy, I needs you more than the people.” Paisley tells me, slightly sulky.
“Is that so?” I ask, searching her earnest expression.
“Yes, you’re my Daddy, not theirs” She explains, as if l should know this without being told.
“Well being Alpha is a little bit like being the pack’s Daddy.” I explain. “l have to take care of, and protect everyone who lives here.”
Paisley wrinkles her little nose. “Why?”
“Because someone has to” Jane answers for me, approaching us but staying out of my reach, as if she thinks that I’ll sweep her up alongside Paisley if she gives me the chance. Such a clever little mate. “And you’re Daddy’s the strongest wolf in the pack, so the responsibility is his.”
“You didn’ have a choice?” Paisley asks me, blinking her bright eyes curiously.
“Not really,” I shrug, “but that’s okay. I love the pack, I want what’s best for it.”
“And you’re what’s best, right Daddy?” Paisley grins lopsidedly.
“That’s right” I nod firmly.
“Okay’ She answers, reluctantly accepting that she can’t have me all to herself. “As long as you don’t love the pack more than me” As the words leave her l!ps, she narrows her eyes at me, challenging me to confirm her statement.
Trying not to laugh, I reply, “Not possible. I love you pups and your Mommy a million gazillion times more than I love the pack.”
“Good.’ Paisley nods, satisfied by my answer and now squirming to get down so she can run off and play with her brothers and sister.
Jane’s cheeks are flushed with color when I turn to her, and to my surprise, she’s scowling at me. “What?” I ask her, closing the distance between us. “I’m not allowed to say I love you?”
“No, it’s not that.” She tells me, refusing to meet my gaze and determinedly staring at the wall. “It’s just really annoying when you’re so cute with them.”
“Oh, and why is that?” I tease, settling my hands on her wa!st before she can think to move away.
“Because it makes it a lot harder to hate you.” She confesses begrudgingly, every bit as sullen as Paisley had been a few minutes ago when she told me she needed me more than the pack.
“Hmm,” I muse, trailing my lips over her neck when she still won’t turn her head to give me a real k!ss hello.
“Harder, but not impossible?”
That seemed to get her attention. Untensing enough to lean into me a little, she switches her stare to my collar, restlessly fidgeting with the buttons of my shirt.”I didn’t say that.” She murmurs.
The more time we spend together, the more l’m able to read this new Jane. She’s changed a lot over the years, somehow both softer and harder than she was before. More vulnerable, more anxious, but also infinitely more guarded. Like now, I can see she wants to tell me something, but she also can’t bring herself to offer the words freely. “How did it go with Eric?”
Her emerald irises slowly climb to meet my penetrating stare, and I can see from her mournful expression that I guessed correctly. “You were right about him.” She relates, leaning closer still. “He told the pups about us, and he’s been lying to me for years. He tried to pass it off like we’d been doing the same thing … but I came clean to him about my identity after we became friends, he had every opportunity to do the same -knowing l’d understand..”
“And he never did” I finish her thought, wrapping my arms around her small body and snuggling her to my ch3st. “l’m sorry sweetheart.”
“He wouldn’t even acknowledge the possibility that he was in the wrong.” She says, her voice muffled by my shirt. “I feel so stupid”
“You are the farthest thing from stupid, Jane” I answer sternly. “He’s the stupid one.”
“He was pretty stupid yesterday’ She agrees, sounding a little happier now. I can feel her ribs expand as she inhales a deep breath, then sighs contentedly and presses her nose to my chest, before doing it again.
Chuckle deeply, I ask. “Are you smelling me, little wolf?”
“No” She lies, her voice sounding small and petulant.
Stroking my hands up and down her spine, I offer, well, would you like some good news?”
She perks up, suddenly awash with curiosity. “
Really?”
I nod. “The pups want to tell you what they found themselves, but I wanted to make sure you know there’s nothing to worry about first. The long and the short of it is that they found some evidence against Eve, and after a few bumps in the road – the police are closing the investigation into you. You’re not a suspect anymore.”
Her mouth drops open in shock. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t joke about this” I relate solemnly.
“It’s over?!” She exclaims, lighting up until she positively glows and jumping up and down in excitement. “That means we can finally go home!”
The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 97
Ethan
Over the years I’ve been in more fights than l can count, some more noble than others – some decidedly dumb. Either way, I’ve taken more than my fair share of punches, but l’ve never felt such a powerful gut punch as the one Jane just landed. I feel as though all the air has been stolen from my lungs, like I’ve forgotten how to breathe and won’t ever remember again.
I expected my mate to be relieved that she was no longer in any danger of being arrested, I wanted her to be happy and excited like this – but not because it meant she could leave. l’d known she was planning on moving up her departure date, but I thought that was because she was afraid. I hoped that with things more settled and everyone safe and sound again, she’d reconsider. It’s not why I did it of course, but I can’t deny how disappointed I am to see her so overjoyed to go back to the Dark Moon pack.
“What about the perfume launch?” I say blankly, taking a step back from her. Things aren’t finished here.”
Jane quickly sobers, seeing my change in mood. “I m sorry, Ethan.” She professes, “| didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I’ve just… having all the kids together has been my dream since the day l gave Paisley up. It has haunted me and preoccupied my every free moment for more than four years.
“The kids can be together here.” I tell her, “and it’s safe now, you can stay here. We can start fresh.”
Her face falls, “Ethan when I fell into heat I warned you it wasn’t going to change things. I was honest with you from the beginning about what I wanted.”
That isn’t true” I growl. “You couldn’t be honest with me because you aren’t even being honest with yourself”
“Excuse me?” Jane utters indignantly. “Who are you to decide if l’m honest with myself? To assume you know what’s going on in my mind, or know my own feelings better than I do? Who are you, to think you know what’s best for me?
“I’m your mate.” I rumble dangerously, “That’s who.
“No – you were my mate. She corrects me fiercely. “
Once, a very long time ago. Not anymore.”
“It’s been a day, Jane”‘ I remind her, pointedly staring at my fresh mark. “One day and one night since I last claimed you.”
“Well I didn’t ask to be claimed!” She bursts out, turning red as she remembers the way she begged me to make love to her. “l mean I did, but not that way – not permanently.”
“Then why did you claim me too?” I question her, pulling open the front of my shirt to expose all her little bite marks, and especially the small circle her fangs carved into the dense muscle of my pec. “Or have you forgotten how desperate you were to leave your mark on me the other day.”
Even as l say it, visions of Jane – gloriously n*ked and lowering herself onto my hard c**k, undulating her h!ps as she nibbled and scratched every inch of my skin she could reach- burst across my vision. I’ll never forget the way I rose up beneath her, catching her h**s and guiding her movements, helping her ride me. She’d looped her slender arms around my neck”updated by jobnib.com” and thrown her head back in ecstasy, but the closer she came to cl!max, the more desperate she became to feel our bond in its entirety. She lowered her swollen l!ps to my ch3st, to the faint scars she first gave me on our wedding night, and possessively sunk her teeth into my flesh, making me explode inside her as my wolf went completely wild.
Her cheeks, neck and chest blushing scarlet, present-day Jane stammers weakly as she stares at her handy work.
That… I… It was just the heat.” She explains.
“Plenty of omegas go through heats without claiming their partner as a mate.” I tell her, “you know how rare that is.
In fact, because so many omegas were doomed to become pleasure slaves to alphas in want of a breeding b***h rather than a true lover, an omega claim was almost unheard of. It was only in love matches like Jane’s and my own that it happened.
“Then it was nostalgia, or my damned wolf losing her head!” Jane deflects. “I want to go home, Ethan. I was never planning on staying here and I never pretended otherwise.”
“I know that.” I reply, frustrated to no end that she was still denying our connection. “But I thought…”‘ I stop myself just in time, just before admitting that l’d arranged this entire scheme of living together to change her mind.
Unfortunately for me, Jane got my drift without hearing the words. Her hands ball into fists at her sides, “You just thought that if I lived here with you and saw the family we could be, I wouldn’t actually leave, when the time came. Is that it? You never actually planned on letting me take Paisley? You thought you could manipulate me into doing what you wanted?”
“Jane,” l exhale, raising my hands in supplication, “what other choice did I have? You backed me into a corner with this.”
“What is with the men in my life?” Jane rages, not the least bit soothed by my low voice and even tone. “Are any of you capable of being honest? Are you all just possessive, scheming cavemen playing tug of war with my life? With my children’s lives?”
“Eric and I aren’t the only ones who have been playing tug of war with the kids, Jane.” I assert. “l understand why you left, I truly do. But you kept three of my pups from me and didn’t even tell them I existed. You left Paisley with me, then expected to waltz in and take her away from the only parent she’s ever known without ever asking her what she wants. You let the kids into my life, gave them a father for the first time, and now expect me to what? Abandon them?
I’m working extremely hard to keep my voice down, but I’m failing with every new word. I didn’t realize how angry I was with Jane about everything that’s happened until now.
I’ve been so focused on being near her, convincing her to stay, that I haven’t let myself feel the rest of these things.
Tears are shining in Jane’s eyes now, and as guilty as l feel for making her cry, I can’t back down now. “They’re all a part of me, but especially Paisley.” I forge on. “How would you feel if someone asked you to give up Ryder, Parker or Riley? You’ve been loving Paisley from afar all this time, but I’m the one who’s been here day in and day out. I’m not just going to walk away from her:”
“What am I supposed to do, Ethan?” Jane hiccups, “I’ve been planning this from day one. I’ve been dreaming about this for years.’
“So make a new plan! Find a new dream!”I suggest, don’t punish your pups for the sake of following through with a plan you don’t even believe in anymore.”
“I do believe in it.” She argues, sounding more confused than I think she realizes.
“You believe in keeping the pups together, but there are a hundred different ways you can make that happen, Jane.” I reason. “But you haven’t considered anything else, have you? You haven’t let yourself imagine any other solution because you’re determined to have things the way you wanted them four years ago.” l can see the gears turning in her head, and press on. “l’m not the same person I was four years ago, and I know you aren’t either. So why are you letting someone who doesn’t even exist anymore dictate your life?”
“Because!” Jane cries, raising her voice so loudly I nowthere’s no hope of keeping this from the pups. “l don’t know what I want anymore!”
“Yes you do.” I reply, “your wolf has been trying to tell you all along, but you won’t listen to her, because you’re too afraid!” My own pitch is rising now, but I can feel my control slipping too fast to stop now. “But she made it very clear the other night.” l continue, gesturing to her bite. “So I’m not giving up, Jane. It’s my fault you’re scared, so the way I see it, it’s also my responsibility to take that fear away. I won’t stop you if you want to leave, but I won’t let you go either. I will follow you, wherever you go lI’l be on your tail.”
“You can’t leave the pack.” Jane objects weakly.
“Did you think I was lying to Paisley?” I demand. “l will choose my family over the pack every time. I don’t need to be Alpha, but I do need you. All of you.”
“So that’s it, those are my options?” She sniffles. “Stay or let you stalk me forever?”
“That’s right.” I answer ruthlessly.
Jane stares at me for a long moment, and then she turns on her heel, and stalks out the door, slamming it behind her and disappearing into the night.
“Where’d Mommy go?” Turning, I find all four pups huddled behind me, staring up at me in confusion. While we were fighting, they were waiting to announce their happy news. They expected joy and celebration, and instead they were getting a soap opera they couldn’t even begin to wrap their young minds around.
“She’ll be back before you know it.” I tell them, hoping to the Goddess I’m right. “You’ll see.”
The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 98
Jane
I’ve always thought l was a good mother, but right now I feel like absolute garbage. Ethan’s words are ringing in my mind like some relentless bell. I can’t stop hearing the way he described my efforts to reunite the pups. He was right – about everything. He was right about how thoughtless I was regarding the pups feelings, right about my determination to carry out my plan without ever stopping to consider if it still made sense, and right that I was letting fear rule me.
Of course, the problem with recognizing your fear, is that it doesn’t just disappear once you know it’s there. It’s not like in a dream, where once you realize nothing that’s happening is real you can change the course of events or wake yourself up. The fear is only too real, and as badly as I want to cure it, that’s not the way humans work. I can’t just wish it away.
This is why psychiatrists always blame the parents. think to myself. Because this is what happens. We impose all our own damage and neuroses onto our pups. We manage to screw them up simply by trying to avoid reliving our own pain. All at once, I miss my own mother so powerfully my knees go weak. I wish I could talk to her, to ask her if she ever felt like a terrible mother.
I can imagine she might have, not because it was true, but because I understand the constant pressure and anxiety of being a parent now. I’ve always been lucky to be able to feed my own pups, while my mother constantly struggled to keep food on the table. I know how guilty I felt when I couldn’t give Paisley the care she needed, and I can’t imagine coping with that every day. Even so, it wasn’t her fault we were poor, just like it wasn’t my fault Paisley was born with a heart defect. But this? Dividing my pups, keeping them from Ethan, treating their lives like pieces on a chessboard – that is my fault, pure and simple.
When I get downstairs. I try to figure out where to go. My instinct is to turn to Linda. I know l’d be welcome even though this would be the second night in the row, and I know she’d listen and pat my hand and tell me l’m being too hard on myself. She’d give me some sort of cliched platitude about just trying to survive or make the best with what I had – but that isn’t what I want right now.
I don’t deserve to be comforted, and II don’t want to sweep these feelings under the rug. I need to face this head on, I need to wallow in my guilt for a while, to accept that good intentions aside, I’ve been a pretty shitty Mom these past few months – maybe from the very beginning.
Instead of turning right towards Linda’s, I turn left, towards the park. It’s dark out, but the moon is full and the sidewalks glitter in the ribbon of its light, still damp from the afternoon’s rain shower. I follow the path until i reach a bench beneath an old willow tree. I try to wipe the water from the metal seat, but in the end I just decide to get wet.
Plopping down onto the bench, I gaze across the great grassy lawn. What do I do, Mom?” l ask aloud, “how am I supposed to make this right without putting myself at risk again?
“You’re asking the wrong question, pup.” A familiar voice sound on my left.
My head j*rks around, I could have sworn I was alone a second ago. And I could have sworn that voice belonged to –
“Mom?” I gape, staring in shock at the woman standing next to me. She’s wearing one of her favorite dresses from my childhood, and looks years younger than she did when we parted. I have to blink half a dozen times before I accept that I’m actually seeing her – not that this is comforting. “Oh Goddess! First I figure out l’m a horrible parent, and now l’m losing my actual mind? Can this night get any worse?” I exclaim, throwing my hands up in defeat.
“You’re not losing your mind, Jane. My mother says, in her soft, even voice.
“I beg to differ.” T bite back, gesturing towards her. “You know, because you’re dead.”
“Then why were you talking to me?” She asks primly, sitting beside me and folding her hands in her la*p.
“I wasn’t, I mean I was… but just in a thinking out loud sort of way.” I reply. “l didn’t think you could actually hear!”
“Well l could”‘ She replied simply, as if that explains everything
“I don’t believe in ghosts.” I mutter stubbornly.
“So what, all of the Goddess’s other magic is fine, but you draw the line at this?” She chirps in response, “you can turn into a wolf at will, but the soul living on after death is just too much?”
She sounds so much like my mother, that l decide either this is real, or my psychosis is even farther along than I feared. Although, I ponder, if’m already crazy, I might as well lean into the skid. “I really miss you.” I tell her, on the verge of breaking down into sobs. “There are so many things I’ve wanted to tell you since had the pups, so much I’ve wanted to thank you for”
I know.” She smiles, stroking my cheek. Though I can feel a slight tingle as her ghostly fingers connect with my skin, it’s not the same as a true touch, and that alone makes me cry harder. I could really use my mother’s touch right now.
“You do?” I ask.
“We all go through it.” She explains with a little nod. “1 felt all the same things you did when I finally understood the true meaning of a parent’s love… I felt the fear too, and the guilt.”
“But you were a great Mom.” I tell her. “lt was hard sometimes, but you did everything for me. You struggled every day so my life would be better, and you never taught me to ask for or expect less just because I was an omega. You raised me to be independent and strong so that I could make a future for myself.. even if l ended up letting you down.
“Why didn’t you tell me how bad it had gotten with Ethan?” She asks, reading my thoughts. She was so sick by the time things went wrong in my marriage that I was able to shield her from what happened to me.
“1 didn’t want to worry you.” l replying, only giving her half the truth.
“And?” She presses, reading me like a book.
“And I think I was ashamed for letting it happen when you taught me to be so much stronger than that.” I confess.
Mom nods. “You figure out a lot about the world after you die.” She muses, “And I can tell you this much. You never let me down, Jane. And you didn’t “let anything happen. In fact, I think it’s partly my fault that you’re in this situation now. I was so afraid that you would end up like other omegas that I warned you every day – from much too young an age – about alphas and pleasure slaves.”
“And then I became one.” | finish for her.
“And then you thought Ethan was trying to make you one, when he really just wanted to keep you out of jail.” She corrects me gently.
“So what, l just imagined it?” I gape, not believing my ears.
“No angel, he handled it horribly.” Mom assures me. “He didn’t communicate, he believed that horrible woman, let his mother trick him.. and more than anything else, he forsook you -reduced a loving marriage to nothing but s*x. But he didn’t want to enslave you, Jane.”
“Does that matter, when I still became one?”I argue.
“That depends,” my mother reasons, “did you feel like a slave because of how he treated you, or did you feel like one because it’s what you expected? Because you accepted it when he put you on house arrest and closed in on yourself, instead of fighting, trying to find some other way to prove your innocence when you couldn’t defend yourself?”
“1 don’t know.!” I remark, trying to go back into my memories and view things from another perspective. Had trapped myself in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Had I failed Ethan as badly as he failed me? Assuming he intended the worst and never actually talking to him about it? “What do you think?”
Shaking her head, she refuses to answer. “What I think doesn’t matter. This is about you, whether you can bring yourself to trust Ethan enough to give him another chance, or at least to let him share the pups – even if you don’t get involved again.”
“He loves those pups.” I declare, knowing without a doubt it’s true. | don’t believe he’d ever hurt them, even if I can’t be sure about his intentions towards me”
“Do you think he’s good for them?” Mom inquires next, patiently waiting as I turn her question over in my mind.
“Yes, and I want them to have a father,” I share, “I know what it’s like to grow up without one and I don’t want that for them.”
Then what’s the problem?” She presses.
“I think…” l pause, truly coming to terms with just how many of my decisions about the pups have been driven by my own paranoia. “I think I know that if we share the pups, sooner or later ll end up mated to Ethan again, and if l have to leave again… then it will be too late” I shrug. “After what happened in our marriage, I’ve never been able to walk into any situation without an escape plan, but sharing the pups would make that impossible. We’d be tied together for the rest of our lives. I would never be free of him.”
“So” She asks, “what are you going to do?
The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 99
3rd Person
Riley, Ryder, Parker and Paisley figured out that they weren’t going to get to tell their Mommy the good news about their discovery any time soon, right around the time they heard Ethan and Jane raise their voices.
Their parents knew better than to talk loudly enough to be overheard, so the fact that they were all but yelling clearly meant something was up.
One by one, the pups slipped out of their room and tiptoed down the hall, catching the tail end of Ethan and Jane’s argument. They didn’t understand half of it, but there was no mistaking the fraught energy emanating off the pair in waves.
“This doesn’ sound good.” Paisley fretted, leaning into Riley for comfort.
Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, the door slammed shut, and the kids realized Jane had left the apartment. Racing out into the kitchen, they listened as their father explained she would return, but they weren’t so sure. She’d sounded really upset, and he didn’t look like he believed his own words.
They retreated to their room. “We have to do something.” Riley declared. “We need to go after Mommy and make her come back.”
Parker nodded in agreement, he’d noticed in recent weeks that the more time Ethan and Jane spent together, the closer they came to staying together as a family. Every time Mommy ran off on her own or spent time with uncle Eric, however, she started pulling away again.
It was true that they’d all been hurt by what Ethan did to their mother in the past, but he’d been slowly wearing them down. It was impossible for them not to feel how much he cared for them. He was funny and affectionate and they knew he would always be there if they needed him, and that counted for more than anything with pups.
“Daddy won’t let us go out alone though’ Paisley warned, pleased to see her siblings were finally committed to staying with Ethan.
“Then we won’t tell him. Riley declared in a whisper. “We’ll wait ’til he goes to the other room or the bathroom, and sneak out:”
“I like it.” Parker praised, “then we can follow Mommy’s scent wherever she went:”
It took about fifteen minutes for Ethan to finally stop pacing at the door and head for the restroom, and as soon as he closed the door behind him, the pups were out of the apartment and onto the elevator. They rode downstairs overflowing with anticipation, then ran out onto the street.
“Which way do you think she went?” Ryder asked, looking around and sniffing the air. Unfortunately for the pups, the bakery next door was filling the surrounding area with the aromas of fresh bread and cookies. It all smelled delicious, but it certainly didn’t help them track Jane.
“l can’t smell anything.” Ryder complained.
“I bet she went to Auntie Linda’s.” Parker suggests.
“Tha’s a good idea.” Riley agreed, “but Auntie Linda lives really far ‘way. How are we gonna get there?”
“l could give you a ride” A woman says behind them.
They turned in unison, and all four of their little mouths dropped open in shock. Eve was standing in front of their building, with a wide smile on her face – free as a bird.
Back in the park, Jane was still talking with her mother’s ghost, and still not convinced that it was truly happening. In the back of her mind she continued to worry that she was losing it, but sane or not, she couldn’t deny that their conversation was helping her gain a new perspective about the past.
“So” Jane’s mother asked, “What are you going to do? Because I hate to break it to you darling, but you’re already tied together for the rest of your lives.”‘ She announces, pointing towards my mark.
“You know what I mean Jane sighed.”With the mark I can still run and live independently. But sharing the pups would mean being forced to interact with him, our lives would always be entwined.”
“It sounds like you keep coming back to the same assumption.” Her mother assessed. “You’re assuming that sooner or later you’re going to need to run away again. You’re still looking for your escape plan.”
“l can’t help it” Jane admitted hoarsely, “my wolf is obsessed with him – to a concerning degree. Honestly Mom, it’s like having a lovesick puppy holed up in my chest.”‘ She explained, pausing to join the spectral woman in a laugh before soberly continuing. “And my heart wants to trust him, but my head is filled with nothing but what ifs. I can’t be a prisoner again, I don’t think l’d survive it.”
“Well l can tell you this much.” Her mother proclaimed, “your heart and your wolf will never get what they want if you let your fears control you. Not with Ethan, not with anyone. Do you want fear to rule you for the rest of your life?”
“Of course not:” Jane sniffed, her voice thick with emotion.
A ghostly arm wrapped around her shoulders, “
And do you want to risk letting your past hurt your pups?”
“No Jane wept openly now, “it kills me that l let it hurt them so much already. I just kept telling myself that l knew what was best and they’d understand one day, like I was forcing them to eat their green veggies instead of keeping them from their father.”
“I know it hurts, Jane” Her mother crooned, “but all parents make mistakes, they’re all just trying their best and learning along the way. The trick is to pay attention to the lessons when they come along- remember this pain and don’t let yourself make the same mistakes again”
Jane nodded, filled with warmth even though she couldn’t truly feel the woman’s embrace. “Thanks Mom.
She beamed in reply. “That’s my girl.” Standing from the bench, Jane’s mother glanced up at the night sky, “And just in time too, I’m afraid I can’t stay much longer.
“Do you have to go?” Jane asked, suddenly alarmed at the idea of regaining her sanity. “We’ve barely had any time. There’s so much I want to ask and tell you.”
“The Goddess’s light only lasts so long, my love.”
Her mother answered gently, gesturing up to the clouds quickly covering the moon.
“Will I see you again?” Jane questioned hopefully.
“Whether you see me or not, I’ll always be here, Jane.” She promised. “I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become, and I love you too much to haunt anyone else.”
“It’s hardly haunting” Jane insisted, “| love knowing that you’re there.”
“A happy haunting then Her mother replied, her shimmering form going thinner by the minute.
“I love you.” Jane whispered as she faded away, blending into the scenery as if she’d never been there at all. However her final words echoed long after her shape dissolved, “I love you more.”
Jane hiccuped a laugh and buried her face in her hands. She stayed seated on the bench for a long time after her mother disappeared, and though she cried, her tears were less aggrieved and pain-filled than they’d been a few hours earlier. Instead they were bittersweet: full of longing, loving memory, and mourning for the young woman she’d once been.
Jane couldn’t go back in time and get all the answers she wanted, but she’d decided she couldn’t let the past control her anymore. She was tired of living like a shell of her old self, and was increasingly realizing that leaving Ethan hadn’t set her free at all. She’d become her own prisoner instead of his, too afraid to take any risks or chances, and too paranoid to let anyone get too close to her. It wasn’t the future she wanted for herself, or her pups.
Eventually she rose from the bench and retraced her steps out of the park, heading back to the penthouse and trying to decide what she wanted to say when she arrived. She was prepared to tell Ethan she was willing to talk and listen, even if she couldn’t make any decisons yet. However when she rounded the corner to the building, she feared her mind had slipped even further than she realized. The street was lined with emergency vehicles, and for a moment she thought she was reliving the night Petra was murdered.
However the closer she drew, the clearer she was able to make out the members of the crowd around the entrance. Ethan was principal among them, towering a head higher than most of the shifters around him. That was enough to get her moving, she ran up to him, the fear she’d so recently vowed to toss aside, suddenly clutching her heart in a fist.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her mind already leaping to horrible conclusions. Did Paisley have a relapse? Was one of the other’s hurt?
However when Ethan answered, it’s worse than she feared. “The pups are gone.”
The Luna And Her Quadruplet Pups Chapter 100
Ethan
Jane is staring at me so blankly, I’m afraid she didn’t actually hear what I said. After a moment she blinks, and when she opens her mouth, her voice is so small l can scarcely hear it. “Gone where?”
My heart cracks open in my chest. “I don’t know what happened” I can’t tell her what I suspect, that they went out looking for her. They were in their room, then I went to the bathroom and when I came out, they were gone.”
Jane starts looking around, as if she expects to find them somewhere amidst all the police cars and investigators. “1… then why are you all standing here?
Why aren’t you looking for them?” Her voice is getting higher with every word, and I can see that she’s quickly beginning to panic. Every moment that passes that she doesn’t see her pups, is another spike of her heart rate.
“Baby, I came down here almost immediately… and when I did” I trail off, trying to figure out any way to soften this blow, but knowing it’s no use. “I smelled Eve.
“But that’s impossible” Jane argues, paling. “She’s locked up.”
The police commander is standing next to me, his face ashen. “Actually she isn’t. I was already on my way here to tell the Alpha when his call came in. She broke out of the hospital earlier this evening.”
“1 checked the security cameras, Jane!” ladd, trying to quiet my own pounding heart. “She was here, and she took them.”
Jane shakes her head, “No,’ she states mulishly, striding back and forth in the middle of the payment.
No, no, no. She can’t have them. If she has them, she’ll kill them!”
“I’m not going to let that happen.” I growl, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her to stand still and listen. “We’re going to find them.”
“How?!” Jane bursts, tears springing to her eyes.
You couldn’t even keep track of them when they were in the same house with you!”
“1 know.” l croak, guilt eating me up from the inside out. “I’m so sorry, Janey.”
Her little fist slams into my chest, and though l’m sure she meant it to hurt, it felt about as powerful as a bee sting. “They were supposed to be safe with you!”
Jane cries, her sweet voice full of bitter pain and accusation. “You were supposed to protect them!” She tries to wallop me again, but I catch her wrists – first one and then the other when she raises it too.
“Stop it, let me go!” She orders, thrashing against me as tears stream down her face. Instead I yank her into my arms, pinning her struggling limbs to her sides and encouraging her to lean her weight against me. She continues fighting, beating her ineffectual fists into my back and calling me every dirty name she can think of.
“Shhh,” l try to soothe her, even though I know nothing can fix this. I can rub her back and k**s her hair all l want, but she won’t be satisfied until the pups are returned. I won’t either, but l can’t stand to see her in this pain.
“Stop trying to comfort me!?” Jane sobs, her shoulders shaking violently as her hands clutch at the fabric of my shirt. “I don’t want to be comforted! I want my babies.”
“I know, baby.” I croon, rocking her gently as she finally surrenders, pressing her face into my ch3st. “
We’ll get them back, I promise.”
“No” She m0ans, the scent of her fear palpable.
She won’t let them live long enough for us to get them back.”
“Listen to me, Jane” l order, giving her a little shake. “l will die before l let her harm them, and I will die before l give up. The police are already tracking them. I discovered they were gone so quickly that Eve is probably still trying to find a safe place to hide.”
“How did she even get all four of them?” Jane whispers.
Exhaling heavily, I explain, “She didn’t, technically.
She grabbed Paisley as a hostage, so that the others would follow. She held her claws to her throat, and Riley, Parker and Ryder followed her into a taxi.” Jane can only whimper at this news. “They knew they’d be safer together than she’d be on her own. That’s how we’re going to get them back. The pups are smart, and they are way more than Eve can handle. She’ll be so busy trying to wrangle them, she won’t have time to hurt them.”
Jane sniffles, “I hope they make her life f*****g miserable.”
“They will” I promise, “Those four together are a kidnappers worst nightmare.”
“Okay” Jane nods, finally able to pull herself together with this thought in mind. “So what do we do?
She still doesn’t pull away from me, staying snuggled close even as police officers and reporters swarm around us. Before l can answer her, my private investigator runs up to us. “Alpha l just heard, what can I do?”
A spark of hope blazes to life in my chest. If anyone can find Eve, Jackson can. “We need to find Eve yesterday.” I announce, looking over at the police commander. “1 want a red alert put out, and the entire city on lockdown. Have the press cover this and only this until they’re found. Get the entire pack searching for them. Put her photo and their photos up on every TV station, telephone pole and news outlet we have”
A volley of “yes sirs” answer me, and a dozen wolves run off to do my bidding. Looking back to Jane, I say, “I’m going to go after her. I don’t know where she went, but l know the direction the car was going and I have to try. I need you to stay here with the commander, in case she tries to get in contact.”
“Ethan, I’m not just going to sit here and do nothing.” Jane objects, “She’s not going to get in contact – she didn’t do this for a ransom, and besides, we have cell phones now! I don’t need to be at home for her to call.”
Sighing, I squeeze her a little more tightly. “Eve has to know that I’ll never forgive her if she hurts the pups-
“You’re assuming she still cares about your opinion” Jane counters, “how do we know she hasn’t completely lost her mind, that she’s not doing this for revenge? What was she evèn doing waiting outside the apartment? Why…” She pulls aways from me for the first time, “why did the pups go outside in the first place?”
“l don’t know her motives, but we can’t eliminate the possibility that she might try to use them as leverage to get her freedom back” I tell Jane, ignoring her question and hoping I can distract her. I don’t want her to reach the conclusion I have myself: that if she hadn’t walked out, they wouldn’t have either. “And we can’t eliminate the possibility that she might target you next. I need you to be safe, I need to know you’re protected or I won’t be able to focus completely on the pups.”
“You didn’t answer me.” Jane replies with a deep frown.”Ethan, what were they doing leaving the building without you?”
I don’t know;’ l answer, wincing when I see her l!ps begin quivering again.
“It was me.” She says hoarsely, “they were coming after me.”
Shaking my head, I lie right to her beautiful face.
We don’t know that, baby.”
“Yes we do!” Jane insists, “it’s the only explanation. Oh Goddess, this is all my fault.”
“You have to keep it together, Luna.” Jackson interjects, “You can’t help the pups if you fall to pieces.
And asking why it happened won’t do any good either.
We have to focus on finding them, not assigning blame.
“Well said.” I nod approvingly, “‘now, will you stay here with the commander, please?”
I can see that she wants to refuse. Her little chin is already tilting up in defiance, and I can’t blame her. If the tables were turned and she was asking me to stay behind, I would never agree. Still, Eve doesn’t want to harm me, she wants Jane out of the picture any way possible – and that means she’s in danger as long as Eve is out there. “Please Jane. I’m begging you.”
She glares up at me from beneath her long, dark lashes, and slowly agrees. “Fine, but only if you keep me updated.”
“l promise.” l quickly consent, k!ssing her furrowed brow.
“Now” I say to the commander, “Where are you holding the detective, if anyone knows where Eve might go, it’s him.”
The man’s face flushes with color, and my heart sinks into my stomach. “We aren’t holding him, Alpha.”
He stammers, “He made bail. He left the precinct hours ago.
You mean the only man in the entire city, who might have told us how to find her, is out there on the loose, and you have no idea where?” I demand, feeling my b***d begin to boil.
“Yes, sir.” He gulps, “that’s right.”