EthanIt takes almost an hour to get Paisley down for a nap, she’s so distraught by the idea of losing one of her parents. I feel like an absolute monster: as if it wasn’t bad enough that the other pups now think I’m a villain, my daughter’s obvious pain is ripping me to pieces.When I finally get Paisley down, I join Jane in the kitchen. She’s standing over the stove stirring vegetables in a pan, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. “Hey,” I murmur, reaching for her arm, “what is it?”Jane jumps three feet in the air, turning towards me in surprise and hastily swiping at her tears. “Hi,” she hiccups, “I’m sorry, I’m fine.”“You don’t have to apologize for crying.” I tell her softly. “And you’re clearly not fine.”“I am.” She insists stubbornly, sliding out of my reach, “this is just harder than I thought it would be. That’s all.” She admits.“I know.” I sigh, scrubbing my hand over my face. “This really isn’t how I thought this evening would go.”“I just want one day, one day that i
Jane“I swear he’s losing it.” The man in question is back home with our pups, while I try to wrap my head around what just happened with the help of Linda and Eric. I’m seated on my friend’s plush sofa, with Eric beside me and Linda looking on from the kitchen while she brews a pot of tea. “He threatened to blackmail me tonight.”“I warned you he wasn’t really going to let the pups go.” Eric frowns, “what on earth did he try to blackmail you with?”My face flushes with color as I stare at my lap, fidgeting nervously. “Well…” I begin, trying to find the courage to speak the words aloud.“Oh I know that look!” Linda chimes in, a note of humor in her voice. “What did you do, you bad girl?”“I sort of slept with him.” I confess, burying my face in my hands rather than face their scrutiny. “So he threatened to tell Eric so he’d call of our wedding.”“I knew it!” Linda exclaims, “How did it happen, when did it happen – I want details!”“You slept with him?!” Eric adds, sounding appalled.“
JaneAs I stare at the knife in my hands, I have to smother a shiver. I’m not sure I could actually go through with stabbing someone – and it occurs to me that any thief or burglar might just as easily take the weapon from my hands and use it against me.Maybe I should just call the police? I think nervously. Or Ethan, he might be a pain in my ass but if he thought we were in danger he’d be here faster than any cop. Still my protective maternal instincts are in high gear, and I know I’m willing to risk my own life to defend my pups.I’m almost to the peephole, still uncertain if investigating is the most sensible choice, when I hear a familiar growl. “Janey?” Ethan’s muddled voice rises on the other side of the door, and I immediately relax. “I know you’re there,” he slurs in a sing-song voice, “I can smell you!”Oh goddess, he’s drunk. I realize, lowering the knife. I set it down on the hall table, striding forward without hesitation. So drunk he can’t open the damned door.Wrenchin
EthanI don’t remember leaving the bar last night, but somehow I managed to get home and into bed. Of course, I don’t need to remember to feel the horrible after effects of my foolish behavior. My beta, Matthew, tried to convince me to leave when I started feeling the effects of pouring half a bottle of scotch into an oversized tumbler and calling it a ‘little drink’, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen. One little drink became three, and before long I succeeded in reaching blissful oblivion – though it doesn’t feel even a little bit blissful now. Part of me feels ashamed of setting such a horrible example for my pups, but the other part simply reminds me that I’m not going to have pups for much longer.Glancing at the clock, I can see it’s already 9am, which means I’m officially late for work. Sitting up in bed, the room begins to spin violently, and all of a sudden working from home seems like the only way I’m going to get anything done today.When I finally emerge from my bedroom,
EthanIt takes all my strength not to wrench the door open and charge after him as he retreats down the hall, pouring lies into Jane’s receptive ears. I can hear her shocked voice on the other end of the line, but I can also see the pups confused faces in front of me now. They need me more than Jane does in this moment, and I certainly don’t plan on giving Eric that satisfaction.“Ethan, have you lost your mind?” Jane exclaims, throwing her hands up in exasperation.“No.” I answer evenly, leaning against the kitchen counter with my arms crossed over my chest. The pups are finally in bed, and Jane didn’t waste a single moment before turning on me. “Of course, I doubt I’d realize it if I had.”“You know Eric didn’t kidnap the pups!” She continues, as if I didn’t even speak. She’s got herself worked up into such a lather that I find it’s better to just let her get it out of her system, rather than interrupt. “Were you threatening to have him arrested because you meant it, or just to scar
JaneThis can’t be happening. I can’t be going into heat – not now!“No I’m not!” I tell Ethan frantically, denying what he can obviously see and smell. He’s hovering much too close, driving my wolf over the edge and sending waves of panic through my body. He starts to reach for me, but I back away, flinching.“Don’t, stay back!” I urge, thrusting my palm towards him defiantly. “I’m not going into heat, this is just… period cramps!” I declare stubbornly, “you don’t want to be around me when I’m like this.”“Janey, you’re being ridiculous – it’s perfectly natural.” Ethan sighs, dropping his outstretched hands nonetheless. “And you’re in pain, you should let me help.”“No, you’re the last person I want right now.” I lie, even as my wolf begs me to let him take away the spasms of agony clutching my insides. I’m not sure how long he can be around my scent before he goes into rut, but I know from experience that once he does, any chance I have at resisting him will disappear. “I need to ge
JaneAs I zoom back across town, retracing the steps I took mere hours ago when I first ran to Linda’s, my mind drifts to the past. The clenching pain in my pelvis is blinding now, and the only refuge left to me is the world in my head. My memories swirl around me in a familiar fog, but one day stands out from the rest.I was eighteen, newly married and supporting Ethan at one of the most difficult times in his life. The day after his father’s funeral I truly believed I was coming down with my period, and though Ethan offered to stay home with me, I told him to go to work anyway. It was too important, he was the new Alpha and he had to seem like he was up for the job from day one. “Are you sure?” He asked me, leaning over my prone body on the bed, his brow furrowed in concern. “Go on, I’ll be fine.” I promised, leaning up on my elbow to kiss him goodbye, “I just need to take some painkillers and try to rest.”“Only if you’re sure.” He frowned, kissing me again, then bending his head
Jane Paisley is curled up against her father’s side, her small head resting on his chest, rising and falling with his low, steady breaths. I must not have been very attentive when I poked my head into the nursery, but then again it can be hard to make out one pup from another when they sleep in a cuddle pile. Not to mention my entire being is currently consumed by flames.Backing away, I pull the door shut with a gentle click. There is only one power on earth that could overpower the base animal instincts of my heat, and that is the maternal drive to put my pup’s needs above my own. Slinking away down the hall, I try to figure out what to do with myself. I’ve never gone through a heat alone. It’s only ever come on around Ethan, and even after I became his slave, only he could give me comfort.My wolf needed to be bred – by him and no one else. If there was another Alpha alive whom my wolf would accept, I’ve never met him. Maybe I can make it through to the morning if I take a sleepin
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