JaneI don’t know how it happened, but suddenly I’m crying.I’m sprawled out on Ethan’s chest, hot tears sliding down my cheeks. His brow furrows with concern, and he takes my face in his hands, searching my eyes for answers. “Sweetheart, what is it? Was I too rough with you?”I shake my head, not feeling up to speaking at this particular moment. Ethan relaxes slightly, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe away my tears. “Then what’s wrong?”Doesn’t he know what he’s doing to me? Doesn’t he realize how powerful those words are? What they mean to me? Does he even remember that first time? How difficult it was for me to tell him even before I’d had my heart smashed to pieces?Before I can reply the door swings open, and I hear Linda’s shocked voice break the tension-laden air, “Oh my Goddess! Why didn’t you two lock the door.”I whip my head in her direction, hearing Ethan hiss with annoyance when I take my eyes from him. “We assumed anyone entering a bedroom would knock.” I tease my fr
3rd Person“Are we really gonna see Mommy and Daddy?” Paisley whispered excitedly. The pups were hesitant to believe any good news after everything they’d been through, but their walls were down after so much trauma, and the costume mistress had taken their worries very seriously. She promised to take them back and not to trust anyone but their parents.“They says they’re taking us back!” Riley exclaimed, bouncing up and down where she sat. “I can’ waits, I’m gonna hug Mommy and Daddy so tightly I’ll never ever, ever lets go.”“What if Fabian finds us first?” Parker worried aloud. “What if it’s too cloudy to see thems again?”“Don’ be so gwumpy.” Ryder scolded. “If you thinks like that, you’ll jinx us.”“How long ‘afore we get there?” Paisley asked the costume mistress when she returned from the caravan’s kitchen unit with a jug of hot water and a few wash cloths.“It will be a few hours.” She tells them kindly, “And I’m sure your Mommy and Daddy would prefer to have nice clean pups r
EthanI feel like a terrible parent. I shouldn’t be able to find any happiness when my pups are in trouble, but hearing Jane say she loves me fills me with euphoria. I truly never believed I’d hear those words from her again – even if she felt them, I doubted she’d ever trust me enough to voice them. The guilt is almost as powerful as the pleasure, but then again, when everything else is too painful to bear, I suppose we have to find happiness anywhere we can.This settles it. I’d hoped to slowly win Jane over once we got the pups back, but now the only thing between us and our future together is bringing our babies home. As soon as we find the pups we can start fresh, they way things always should have been. I can give her everything I failed to in the past, and we can be a happy family at long last.I’m still kissing her, drinking her in and thinking that I’ll never get enough. She’s still crying too, but her tears don’t worry me so much now. I know they’re cathartic tears, her love
Jane“This is going to work, Jane.” Ethan promises. “We’re going to get to them first.”I’m having a hard time believing it. I want it to be true, but every near miss we experience sends me deeper and deeper into depression. I can’t live without my babies, I can’t survive this constant worry. I’m beginning to associate hope only with pain and disappointment. It doesn’t feel safe to hope anymore – I think it only invites heartbreak. After all, if I don’t hope, at least I won’t be surprised when my worst fears are proven to be real.The depression and woe makes me want to give up. To curl into a little ball and never get out of bed. Of course, I don’t have a bed to languish in, and if we stop moving we risk missing the pups or worse, being caught by the King. We drove through the night to reach the capital, resuming our disguises and trying to locate Eric. There hasn’t been any word from him, and knowing that Anita has the pups in her grasps doesn’t make me optimistic about his chances.
JaneI haven’t spoken to Ethan through the entire car ride to the capital. In fact, I was feeling so petty after he forced me to promise to leave him behind if the worst should happen, that I refused to sit next to him. Instead I climbed into the back seat and cuddled up to Linda, even knowing that I would be more likely to get car sick this way.I’ve felt Ethan’s eyes on me throughout the trip, watching me with the sharp focus of a worried mate, and it’s taken all of my willpower not to cave and speak to him – or perhaps more likely, crawl into his lap and cry. However thus far I’ve been able to hold out – letting him feel the depth of my anger and betrayal over his high-handed demand.After many hours on the road, we’ve finally arrived. Ethan parked the car outside of a small bed and breakfast, and Linda and I waited while he went inside to check for vacancies.“How are you doing?” My friend asks, squeezing my hand.“I don’t know.” I answer honestly. “I’m really beside myself Linda.
3rd Person“Can I see her photo again?” Linda asked Ethan, feeling more anxious the closer they drew to King Aimon’s palace.He offered her his phone, where Anita’s photo was plastered across the screen. “Text it to yourself. We have no idea how she’s going to try and smuggle them in, so keep your eyes sharp. They might not be visible at all.”“Just look for a bitch in leather.” Jane suggested fiercely. She’d memorized every inch of Anita’s photo on their journey, but she had a feeling the woman’s clothing would call more attention than anything else.“Okay.” Linda nodded, sending off a message so that her own phone binged in notification. “And if I see her?”“Call us, and don’t let her out of your sight.” Ethan instructed.“What if she goes past the palace gates, we can’t exactly walk inside.” Linda murmured.“We have to play it by ear.” Ethan frowned. “If we can catch her before she gets that close, we will.”“And if not?” Jane asked, wringing her hands.“Then we’ll find a way to sn
EthanI think I’m going crazy.This waiting is interminable. I’m worried about my pups, worried about my mate – furious at the Goddess for doing this to us. I might understand if I was the only one who was suffering – I’ve certainly been no saint in the past. But Jane and the children don’t deserve this.I’ve been staring at my phone, waiting for Jane to respond to my last message, when I hear the first explosions.The fireworks! I thought, knowing this could only mean one thing. They were coming from Jane’s gate, which means she must have sight of the pups. I jump up from the table where I’ve been losing at chess for the last few hours, forgetting my pretense of being an old man as I take off in her direction.The elderly man scattered throughout the little park look up at me in shock, but I don’t have time for excuses or explanations. If Jane has eyes on the pup, she needs me. I’m painfully aware of how desperate she’s become, not that I blame her. I was praying that Anita would com
JaneI dream of Ethan.I dream of our last night together, before he made me promise him anything – when we were just two people in love, sharing our passion in the most natural way. The vision is surreal and wonderful at once, and my hazy thoughts are reluctant to return to reality. I keep myself trapped in the dream, only for it to change, transforming into a nightmare where I’m all alone, and running towards a finish line I won’t ever reach.No, I think, fighting the visions assailing my slumbering mind. Go back, don’t take Ethan from me now, I only just got him back.I’m still tossing and turning, fighting the twists and turns of my mind, when a new sound reaches my ears. “Why hasn’ she woked up yets?” A little voice asks.“I dunno, maybe she just really needs a nap.” Another replies.“But what if ‘Nita really hurted her?” The third voice is barely more than a whisper, and the next thing I know, I’m hurtling back into consciousness.My pups! I surge up into a sitting position, sca
JaneFour Months LaterEthan ushers the pups into my hospital room with a finger pressed to his lips. “Quietly now, Mommy’s very tired.”I’d gone into labor in the early hours of the morning, and the experience couldn’t have been more different than it had been with the quadruplets. Instead of suffering through the first contractions alone and afraid, I’d had my mate by my side, rubbing my back and crooning sympathetically as I gritted my teeth against the pain. After a few hours of pacing and fruitlessly trying to find a comfortable position, my water broke and we left for the hospital, leaving the pups with a sitter.I made it through fifteen hours of labor before caving and asking for an epidural, taking Ethan’s encouragement to save my strength for pushing when the time came. He never left my side the entire time, only stepping out of the room a couple of times to check in on the pups at my request. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthing partner – he lavished me with praise a
JaneWhen Ethan and I arrive back at the penthouse we find Devon and Nina sitting on the sofa while the pups zoom around the living room in front of them. Devon has an arm slung over Nina’s shoulder, which surprises me, but I can’t focus on them because the moment we walk through the door four little bodies come hurtling at our legs. “Mommy! Daddy!” The pups cry excitedly.Parker is the tallest and fastest, so he reaches us first, leaping up into Ethan’s waiting arms while I intercept Riley, whose small size lets her bound weightlessly across the room. “Hello my love puddles.” I greet them happily, kneeling so I can also hug Ryder, while Ethan effortlessly scoops up Paisley, even though his arms are already full with her brother. “What have you been up to? Were you good for Devon and Nina?” I ask, marveling at Ethan’s strength despite his recent recovery.“We were sooo good.” Riley confirms. “Nina was sad so we cuddled her.”“And then Devon told us we could get ice cream if we promi
JaneWhen I open my eyes, Ethan and I are still in the thermal pool. I can feel the water lapping and bubbling around me, but he’s no longer inside me, and when I look up it’s to find his dark gaze watching me intently. Gradually I realize he’s moved to the shallow end of the spring so he can sit on the submerged ledge and hold me in his lap. He rests one hand on my round belly, and our baby flutters inside me as if the tiny bean knows its father is near.“How long was I out?” I inquire softly, stretching and reveling in the delicious ache of my muscles. I’m filled with the lazy contentment of a well-loved mate, utterly drugged with pleasure that is only deepened by the sting of my claiming mark. I can feel the evidence of Ethan’s dominance in the swollen flesh between my legs, the bite marks on my breasts and faint bruises on my back and thighs. And right now I can’t imagine anything better than this… exc
3rd PersonNina’s heart sunk as she watched Ethan and Jane race out the door as their wolves, and she stepped forward to close the door out of mere reflex. When the panel clicked shut she found herself staring blankly at the dark wood, momentarily frozen in time. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t feel, she could only stand there and exist as this latest slight reverberated through her body.Only the sound of a small voice saying her name woke her from her miserable reverie, “Nina?”Slowly, as if in a trance, she turned. Blinking, her expression detached, she saw the pups watching her. Tiny feet padded over the floor in a miniature stampede, and then the four children were gathered around her, looking up at her with wrinkled brows. “Hmm?” She finally responded, unsure if they’d asked her a question or simply stopped at her name.“Are you okay?” Paisley inquired softly, genuine concern in h
Jane“Not want you?” Ethan snarls furiously, seeming angrier about that suggestion than my words about Devon. “Not want you? That has never been the problem!”His hands are so fierce on my body, and I can see a wild sort of desperation in his handsome features. His eyes are glowing and his fangs extended – I know his wolf is right on the edge.“Then show me.” I demand. Sliding my hand down between our flush bodies. “Let me feel your desire, Ethan.”“Why are you doing this?” He groans, burying his head in my neck.“Because you’re punishing yourself for something that isn’t your fault.” I murmur in reply, my lips brushing against his ear as I speak. “And it’s gone on long enough.”“But it is my fault, Janey. Everything I do backfires, every time I try to do the right thing for you, I fuck up.” He confesses, sounding so vulnerable I ache.“Then maybe you should stop trying to figure out the answer for me, and start working with me. Ask me what I want and give it to me, don’t try to do it
JaneEthan and I run through the quiet streets of the city as our wolves, not minding one bit that we’re on pavement and not in the forest. We bound around shopkeepers and early morning commuters without a care in the world, oblivious to the curious looks we’re drawing.I’ve always preferred running at night, but I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to convince Ethan to stop being so stubborn. When I saw him in his wolf form with our pups climbing all over him this morning, pure joy washed over me. I might not have known how Ethan has been
Ethan“You’re letting them stay?” Nina demands, glaring at me as she wears a hole in the floor, pacing back and forth with the indignant energy of a she-wolf scorned. Unsurprisingly, she was less than amused to learn I decided to allow Jane and the pups to stay with us – though in truth it hadn’t been much of a choice. My mischievous mate forced me between a rock and a hard place, and I wasn’t about to drag her out of the penthouse kicking and screaming.“I can’t just throw them out.&
JaneMy plan to sneak-move into the penthouse is working better than I imagined. Granted, I keep catching my pups practicing their maniacal laughs in the mirror, but in the grand scheme of things, encouraging their talents for mastermining dastardly plots isn’t the worst idea. After all, I want to encourage their ambition in whatever they do… even if it is taking over the world.Regardless of the burgeoning tricksters under my roof, everything else has gone fairly smoothly. I was able to hire last minute movers to pack up and bring everything from our apartment in the Dark Moon territory and transport it here. The only real challenge was maki
JaneEthan winces, then kisses me again, long and deep. When he pulls away, I feel tears in my eyes. I already know he hasn’t been swayed by my pleading. “I know it hurts right now, Jane.” He acknowledges, looking truly aggrieved. “It hurts me too. But one day you’ll see that I’m right.” His thumb brushes a stray tear from my cheek. “You were so much better off without me. You built a fragrance empire and raised three amazing pups all by yourself. But a few months with me and you were on my floor, begging to be a slave again.”“That wasn’t because I was with you, it was because I wasn&rsquo