Ethan“Ethan please!” Eve wails, still huddled on the floor and sobbing like an actress in a soap opera.If I’d been angry before, my fight with Jane had pushed me completely over the edge. Her words cut me incredibly deep, mostly because I know they were true. This was all my fault. Yes, Eve is clearly an unforgivably cruel, borderline heartless woman, but I’m the one who let her stick around even after I knew what she was. The law enforcement officers had agreed it was for the best, but now I can see only to clearly that what was best for their case and what was best for my child were two very different things. “Stop your sniveling this instant.” I command, my booming voice echoing around the room. “I want you out of my house within the half hour, anything that’s still here after that is going to be thrown out on the street.”“No!” She keens, “You can’t, you don’t understand. I don’t have anywhere else to go!”“Then you should have thought of that before you abused my pup!” I bark.
JaneI slap my hand over my mouth, shocked and horrified that Ethan tricked me into admitting the truth. He’s staring at me with an expression of pure triumph, his wolf glowing in his eyes as he heaves in ragged breaths of air. Shaking my head, I begin to back away. “I didn’t - that isn’t…” I stutter, trying to think of any excuse for my admission. Ethan is already after me, prowling forward with predatory grace and baring his fangs, “Oh no, Baby. Don’t even think about it.” He lashes out and catches my wrist, his huge hand dwarfing my small limb as he drags my body against his. “There are some things you can’t take back.”The next thing I know his mouth slams into mine, claiming my lips in a ruthless kiss and holding me flush to his chest. His hand slides into the long tresses of my hair as he growls possessively against my lips. His skillful moves overpower every shred of logic in my mind. I never even stood a chance. I’m melting against him out of instinct, immediately giving in t
Jane“I agree.” Ethan answers promptly, completely stunning me. “She does belong with you and you should have custody.”“What?” I ask uncertainly, not believing my ears. “I will gladly give you custody.” Ethan vows, prowling closer. “If you come home where you belong.”Realizing he wants me to come back and live with him again, I ball my hands into fists, “I don’t belong with you.” “You do.” He proclaims, “You and the other pups. I don’t want our family to be divided.” “No.” I counter instantly. “I want Paisley, I want to take her back to the Dark Moon pack so I can finally move forward with my life. It’s been on hold for too long as it is.”“You want to take her from me?” Ethan demands, understanding clicking in his mind. “From the only home she’s ever known?”“My life is in the Dark Moon territory.” I answer with a shrug.Watching me closely, his dark eyes widen. “This was your plan from the beginning wasn’t it?”“You didn’t really think I’d give her up for good did you?” I scof
EthanI don’t care what Jane says, I know the pups are mine. She can lie until she’s blue in the face, but she won’t convince me that she cheated on me with Eric. I know my ex-wife better than anyone else in the world and no matter how miserable she may have been, she wouldn’t have broken her vows. “Fine.” Jane snaps, not even pausing to think about my request. Shocked, I narrow my eyes at her. She sounds completely confident and unconcerned at the prospect of having a paternity test conducted. In fact, she seems actually eager to get it done. “When do you want to do it?”For the first time, a seed of doubt settles in my stomach, making my insides churn and roil with unease. “You’ll do it?” I ask dumbly. “Yes.” Jane confirms simply. “I’ll gladly give you a paternity test and when it comes back negative, I’m taking my daughter.”Two things occur to me at once, first that she’s already forged one DNA test, so she might simply be bluffing and assuming she can pull the same trick here.
3rd PersonJane couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She never imagined that Ethan would concede defeat at all, let alone without a lengthy battle. Now he was offering to just give her Paisley, but the idea of living with Ethan again was too overwhelming to contemplate – if she could even trust that he would keep his word. “Why should I believe you’d actually let her go?” Jane asked suspiciously. “Because I want what’s best for her.” He stated gently, “And I’m man enough to admit when I’ve made a mistake.”Jane eyed him skeptically. Ethan had changed course so suddenly she felt as if she had emotional whiplash. This day had been a complete roller coaster from start to finish, and she didn’t know how to deal with the alpha’s sudden about-face. At the same time, she’d never dreamed he would apologize for what happened between them. He actually looked truly remorseful, as if he was finally realizing just how badly he hurt her. It didn’t excuse his actions in any way shape or form, b
JaneI don’t know what I’m going to do about Ethan. The idea of finally having my family together is incredible, but the idea of living with him again is only too daunting. Eric is completely against the idea, and spent most of the night trying to talk me out of it, however Linda seemed unusually supportive of the scheme. Of course there are three opinions I don’t need to bother asking. I know my pups would be beyond thrilled to live as one big family with Paisley and Ethan. That’s actually what worries me most – I can easily see the logic in helping Paisley adjust to the change in circumstances, but what happens when my other pups become attached to Ethan? How are they going to handle losing their father after only just finding him?I don’t even know if his offer is real. I want to believe he really feels guilty for the terrible wrongs he committed in the past, but would that remorse be enough to make him let go of his only daughter? What if he’s having a paternity test conducted at
9 Years Earlier“I don’t care, I don’t care if they approve or not!” Ethan was pacing back and forth through Jane’s tiny bedroom like a tiger in a cage, his huge hands balled into fists. “It’s okay, Ethan.” Jane assured him in a soft voice, looking on from her seat on the edge of the bed. “I always knew it would turn out this way.”Ethan pulled up short, looking at her in surprise and disbelief, “What are you talking about?”She shrugged, squirming slightly under his dominant gaze, “I mean, you’re next in line to be Alpha, and I’m… well, me!” She gestured to their meager surroundings. She and her mother were poor as church mice, while Ethan’s family lived in the most expensive mansion in the territory. “Omegas don’t marry alphas, and they certainly don’t marry the Alpha.”Ethan stormed across the small space, kneeling down in front of her. They’d never spoken about marriage, and now that he thought about it, he realized they’d never spoken about the future at all. Every time he tried
JaneStaring down at the altar where Ethan and I were married fills me with both joy and pain. It looks exactly the same as it had that night, and if I close my eyes I can almost imagine that I’m eighteen again: full of love and hope, my biggest worry in the entire world being that I wouldn’t be accepted at Ethan’s chosen mate. I was so foolish – so naive. Our honeymoon didn’t even last a day. When we returned to the city the next morning, we were expecting a blowout fight with Ethan’s parents, but it turned out that the best night of our lives was followed by one of the hardest days we’d ever experience. Ethan’s father had died of a sudden heart attack in the night, and suddenly my eighteen-year-old husband was forced to defend his right to become Alpha. He fought and defeated more than a dozen wolves before he could bury his father or announce our marriage.However when the dust finally did settle, there was no one left to object to his choice of mate. Ethan Blackwell was Alpha onc