Over the next few days Joseph became Jane’s shadow. Most times she didn’t notice him until she was actively looking for him and he would just appear. It freaked Jane out and Joseph seemed a natural Gamma. Reid had withdrawn completely and Ryan spent more and more time with Kyle or at the border. Jane spent more time with her mother and learning about Luna duties. Britney always seemed to hover wherever Reid was. “So what does a Luna actually do?” Jane asked her mother as they sat in her office, adjacent to Kyle’s. “Essentially you’ll be the pack’s mother. You organize every important event. You make sure your Alpha knows about births and ceremonies and outside events that you’re invited to. You will always be the one to pick out gifts when other Alpha’s take over and retire. It’s important to know which packs you have treaties with and which ones you don’t. The only times you’ll invite neutral packs to functions is if it’s to do with the Alpha committee and your pack hosts it, other
A week went by and Jane hadn’t spoken one word to Reid. He seemed to avoid her and he’d stopped attending school. Joseph had told her that Reid had switched to homeschooling for the last few months.It hurt more than she thought it would hurt. She saw Ryan at dinner and most nights he was so exhausted he was asleep before she was. He saw Reid every day though for their Alpha training and she couldn’t help but feel that it was just her Reid was avoiding.Jane walked softly down the stairs in the dark. It was past midnight and she couldn’t sleep. She found Reid in the kitchen and her shock was so great that she’d faltered in the doorway as he looked up at her.“Hey,” he said softly.Jane just stood there looking at him. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just his flannel pajama bottoms and he seemed so foreign to her. She looked at the tattoo on his chest and she could feel the sting of it on her own chest.“Jane …”“Reid!” Britney’s voice came from the stairs and Reid rushed out of the kitchen
Jane had showered and dressed all before seven am. She couldn’t see any of them going to school today and she had no idea where Ryan was. Her phone was still on the bedside table and there wasn’t even a text from him.Her head snapped up as the bedroom door opened and Ryan walked inside looking pissed off. She frowned slightly and stood up from the bed. The anger was rolling off of him and it made her feel uneasy.“Is everything okay?”Ryan’s eyes had darkened as he turned to look at her. “I don’t get you, Jane. I’m here every single day. I give you everything you ask of me but at the first hiccup, you run. I get you’re feeling sensitive but I can’t have a Luna that runs every time something is difficult.”“I’m sorry …”“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Jane. I have to wake up in the middle of the night to find you gone! Then when I get to the hospital I have to hear that you’ve run, again! I’m getting sick of this bullshit!”“Ryan …”“Do you have any idea what it felt like to stand there with B
Jane cried herself to sleep that night and by the morning she could wiggle her toes. She’d snapped her spine in the fall and it taken her a full day to regain some motion. The doctor wanted to keep her there until she could walk.“Hi, sweetheart,” Sarah said as Jane opened her eyes and kissed her forehead.“Hi, mom,” she whispered.“The doctor says you’ve made amazing progress. He predicted that it would be a full week before you could move your toes.”Jane couldn’t even muster a smile as her mother sat down on a chair next to the bed. “He said I could go home when I could walk.”“Just concentrate on getting better. Ryan’s in a hearing right now with Kyle and Sebastian and his father.”“Why?” Jane asked perplexed.“You’re in the hospital, sweetheart, that constitutes an attack on a future Luna. Someone has to answer for that,” Sarah said.“It was an accident, Mom. Sebastian and Ryan were fighting and Joseph took the brunt of our first fall. He tried to save me.”Sarah smiled then and
After dinner Jane followed Britney back to her old room. It had been changed into a nursery since it was across from Reid’s room and right next to Britney’s room. Nobody had even asked her but she knew she was being childish. She had a whole wing on the other side or had.The room was very basic. It had a crib, a changing table and a rocking chair. A dresser stood on one side that held the baby’s diapers and toiletries. A nightlight was on and the lighting in the room was dim but Jane could still see that barely any money had been spent on this room.“It’s about time for her next feeding. You can stay if you like,” Britney said softly. Jane could tell she was nervous.“I’d like to if you don’t mind.”Britney smiled and her eyes lit up as she walked to the crib and lifted the pink bundle from it. She took her over to the changing table and gently unwrapped the blanket from around her. Jane was mesmerized at how different Britney seemed.“Her name’s Rein, R-E-I-N,” Britney said with a s
She continued her game with Ryan for the rest of that week, dressing in a way she knew would make him notice her and he went out of his way to ignore her. The attention from guys at school lessened and she knew it was Ryan's doing.It was Friday afternoon and she was packing an overnight bag. She was going to spend the night with Jenna and Claire and they were going out. There was a club they swore turned a blind eye if you were at least eighteen.Her dilemma though was Joseph. He’d follow her to Jenna’s house and then keep watch and if she dared to go out clubbing, he’d tell Ryan. She wasn’t sure how this Luna Gamma thing worked but there had to be a loophole.Her eyes sparkled suddenly and she pulled her phone from her handbag. Her bag was ready to go and she sat down on her bed and dialed a number. She felt hope blossom in her chest as it rang twice and was answered.“Hello.”“Hey, Connor …”“Jane! Man, I miss you around here. Jenner’s in love and Freya’s not as clued in to the who
Jane woke up feeling groggy, her head pounded and her eyes felt like a whole desert wind had blown sand in them. Her throat was dry and she felt nauseous. The previous night’s events had her eyes snap open and only then did she register Ryan’s scent. Lavender infused chocolate surrounded her and she inhaled sharply.“We should talk,” Ryan said from her window. He stood with his back to her and his arms were crossed over his chest.Jane shifted on the bed and she clutched her head as the room spun. She gulped greedily from the glass of water on her nightstand and looked at Ryan as he turned to look at her and leaned down on the window sill.“I’ve placed you under house arrest. You won’t set foot outside this house without Joseph by your side. Your shopping trip has been confiscated as has your car. Your credit card has been revoked and is in my possession. The guards have been notified that you’re not to set foot out of pack territory unless you’re accompanied by me.”At first her bloo
Jane smiled as she walked to the parking lot that afternoon, trailed by Joseph. She’d aced her test, she was sure of it. The wind was nipping at her through her hoodie and Ryan already stood next to his truck, leaning against it.She'd chosen every other open seat in class, as far away from him as she could get. The doors unlocked and Jane slid into the backseat once again and stuck her earphones in her ear and turned the volume up on her phone.She jumped from his truck the moment he parked it in the garage and headed inside the house. She took the stairs two at a time and practically ran down the hallway and into her room. She locked her door behind her and slid down against it.“Jane.” The knock on her door startled her and she stood up and unlocked the door before opening yet.“Yes, Joseph?”“Are you okay? Do you want me to bring you something?”“I’m fine. I have homework to get to.”She started to close the door but Joseph’s hand blocked it. “You keep saying you’re fine but I can