EthanAs I hang up the phone, I wonder if I’ve just made a terrible mistake. According to Devon, Jane was so out of it that she won’t remember any of our conversation, and I’m praying he’s right. It would complicate things far too much if Jane actually recalled my confession – professing my undying love for her even after everything I’ve done. Still, I couldn’t help myself. My wolf wouldn’t allow me to listen to her suffering in this way and stay silent.I also fear it was a mistake to promise I could be there with Paisley once she wakes. In the moment my thoughts were simply that getting Jane to sleep was more important than anything. Hopefully when she wakes she’ll be lucid and the entire PTSD episode will be a blur, but I don’t want to frighten her more if she does remember and I break my promise. I suppose Devon can keep her asleep until I can arrive, but we can’t keep that up foreve
JaneMy dreams are deep and hazy. When I wake, I can’t remember any of them. They slip through my fingers like water, and I’m left wondering how I fell asleep in the first place. The last thing I remember, I called Ethan to tell him Paisley was missing.Paisley! I jerk up, rising to a sitting position on the rest stop couch where I’ve apparently been napping. I frantically look around the room, searching for my pups, but especially my youngest. When I don’t see them, I push myself to my feet, stumbling out into the brisk daylight. As soon as I walk outside, I see Devon and Ethan standing over a puppy pile. Parker, Riley, and Ryder are on the ground, curled up around their sister - giggling and wrestling.As soon as I see Paisley, I’m crying. Why do I feel like I’ve been crying a lot today? I don’t even remember most of the morning. “Paisley!” I exclaim, rushing to joi
Jane“I.. what?” I stutter, wondering if this is another fever dream, or if Ethan actually just suggested splitting our children up again.“We have to accept the reality of our situation, Jane.” Ethan continues, pursing his lips. I barely contain the impulse to scoff - he has some nerve saying this to me, as if I haven’t been coping with the fallout of his reckless decisions for months now. “Paisley isn’t going to stop running away, so the only thing I know to do is to keep her with me so she won’t have anywhere to run.”“But everything is different now!” I insist, my lip trembling at the very thought of giving up my daughter. “We can’t just pretend like we never met. She’s unhappy being away from you at the moment, but what happens when she starts missing me and the other pups. You want to keep them apart for the rest of their lives?”“No, of course not.
JaneWatching Ethan drive away with Paisley just about destroyed me. When she answered my question, informing us all that she did indeed want to stay with her father, I tried to hide how badly it hurt me. I think I did an admirable job covering my emotions, until of course Parker, Ryder and Riley threw a collective fit. We’d only just gotten them calmed down when Ethan announced it was time to go, and then Paisley was sobbing and clinging to me and the other pups. It seems that however certain she felt about her decision, actually saying goodbye was another matter entirely.Finally Ethan scooped her up and carried her away, apparently deciding that if he waited until we were all done crying – they would never be able to leave. So I watched my youngest, precious daughter disappear into the distance, until Ethan’s car finally passed over the horizon and vanished from sight. Getting my remaining pups back into the car to complete our own journey had been easy after that, and their dramat
Ethan“Ethan, if you’re going to do a bunch of grand gestures for Jane and make us take credit for them, you could at least warn us!” Linda scolds over the phone. “I mean the photo album was one thing, but now you’ve really taken it too far. Honestly, her mortgage?”“I assumed you would just tell her Eric feels so guilty for deceiving her all those years that he’s going overboard.” I reply.“I did, but you have to admit it seems like a bit much – even for him!” Linda replies.“Besides I’m not expecting you to take credit for everything – Devon agreed to say the babysitting service and personal gifts are from him.” I supply, smiling at the she-wolf’s indignation.“And her company’s stock portfolio?” Linda gripes, “how are you going to explain that one?”“Angel investors.” I answer easily. “It’s not like that’s out of the realm of possibilities after all – La Louve is the most profitable fragrance company on the market, any number of hedge funds would be thrilled to invest.”“You know t
EthanI can’t believe this.I haven’t seen Nina in years. We met once when Jane and I were first married. She was traveling through the territory with her family, and though our wolves had recognized each other immediately, I’d never been interested in anyone but Jane. My bond with Nina felt more like encountering a long lost friend or sibling – it wasn’t anything like the overpowering need that consumed me any time I was near Jane.In all honesty I don’t know how Nina had felt about the situation – I never gave her the chance to tell me. I merely explained that I was already mated and I wished her the best. Matthew was there of course, and I even understand him keeping tabs on her in the meantime. It makes sense – if she ended up mated to an Alpha and they found out who I was, they might be a threat to me. I know I would feel compelled to destroy any fated mate of Janes – purely for existing.However the idea that Matthew had called her after all this time, brought her here when I n
JaneThree Months LaterI keep waiting for life to return to normal. But I’m not sure it ever will. In the three months since I gave up Paisley for the second time, a lot has changed. The pup’s 5th birthday came and went, and though my youngest came to celebrate the event with us, Ethan stayed behind in the NightFang pack with his new mate.The news about Nina had taken me by little surprise – I’d always known he would find a she-wolf to replace me, though I admit I hadn’t expected it to happen so fast. I also hadn’t expected it to be his fated mate. When the news broke, I pretended it didn’t hurt, but I think everyone knew I was simply putting on a brave front. The distance between us makes it easier to convince myself Ethan doesn’t still hold power over me, but the truth is not a day goes by that I don’t think of him – that I don’t mourn his loss.Of course, I miss Paisley too, just not in the same way. Longing for my child is a very different matter than longing for my mate, and th
Ethan Unlike most kids, I never hated going to the doctor. I never feared shots or had anxiety visiting the dentist. It wasn’t until Paisley was born that I began dreading the sympathetic smiles of nurses or grim faces of physicians with the unfortunate burden of bearing bad news. Over the years, watching my baby battle her heart condition taught me to absolutely despise hospitals and the sterile scents of testing facilities. I can’t walk into a doctor’s office without my heart sinking into my stomach, even if it’s just for a routine wellness check. Those feelings of dread only grew when it became my turn to battle for my life, though Paisley is still at the heart of it. I wouldn’t care so much about my fate if it weren’t for her. I know Jane and the other pups are safe with Devon, I know they’re healing and well on their way to bright futures. What’s more, over the last three months Matthew and Nina have helped me make plans to ensure the pack’s survival and prosperity if the wors