The Luna and her Quadruplet Pups by Jane Above Story

Chapter 71 – Outed

Jane

I’ve only just dropped the pups off at pre school and am on my way to the office when my phone rings. Glancing at the touchscreen display in the car’s center console, I see Linda’s name appear, and promptly accept the call over bluetooth.” Hello?”

“Hey,” She greets me, sounding a bit tense. “Have you seen the news?”

“No.” I sigh, already fearing the worst,“ What is it now?”

“You just got outed.” She explains gently, “In a very public way.”

“What do you mean?” I ask nervously, thinking that it’s beyond depressing my life has reached a point where she could

be talking about half a dozen secrets or lies.

“It’s on the front page of the Gazette.” She replied simply, “Elise Carrington exposed – NightFang’s Luna returns from the grave.” Linda pauses,” apparently someone let it slip that your identity is fake and exposed the truth – including the fact that you faked your death.”

I curse under my breath. This is the last thing I needed. “I was worried standing by Ethan’s side at the funeral might draw too much attention to me.” I groan. “I should have known better.”

“I don’t think it was the funeral.” Linda corrects me, “The way this is written, well, let’s just say it’s not a flattering article. There’s a lot of details here that they couldn’t have gotten from the last few days, or even just looking into your

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life in the Dark Moon pack.”

“Great.” I mutter grumpily, “As if this week wasn’t going badly enough already.”

“Sorry babe. Call me if you need anything.” Linda offers.

“Thanks.”

plastered across the front page, right alongside a snapshot from my funeral. As I

the Alpha, just over a year after a mysterious

later she supposedly died birthing the Alpha’s daughter Paisley, who’s young life has been marked by a heart condition and multiple surgeries. However last month La

disturbing fraud allegations regarding her perfume’s sale at Eve Mechant’s exclusive boutique – and citizens couldn’t help notice the striking resemblance the entrepreneur bore to our late Luna. Today we can confirm that the two women are one in the same. Jane Blackwell is very much alive, and has been masquerading as the elusive fragrance magnate ever since – but faking her death and forging a new identity

the police reports Eve and Petra filed against me after the attack six years ago, blaming me for Eve’s injuries and noting my sudden disappearance from public life. It then provides

think she was responsible for this, but given all the details of the current investigation included, I suspect

to take care of it and tell me not to worry, even though I can’t do anything but worry. I’m already so

another layer of complexity to our situation, so I resist the urge to

only lasts as long as the morning, for when I step out of the

looking like a deer in the headlights as the cameras flash around me, my mind incapable of deciphering one question from another as

various microphone wielding correspondents shout

crowd, keeping my sunglasses lowered over my eyes, and muttering “No comment” until I’m blue

in the face.

what do you have to say to NightFang customers who are

is the most prosperous on the continent, which means it has the wealthiest citizens and comprises the largest income revenue for my business. If they boycott me, I could lose an

carefully choose my words. “La Louve is my creation, but its products stand on their own. Our customers do not wear our fragrances because they support our politics or enterprises, they wear La louve because it is the height of elegance and

pack to find a fragrance as enigmatic, luxurious and scintillating as our signature, or as nuanced as some of our other lines. Every woman

which we

saying that CEOs like yourself should have no accountability if their products are good?” The

that corporations

their business ethically, and the accusations against me have nothing to do with my business. They are of a personal nature.” I amend, knowing that while the reporter might have a point and our customers would be well within their rights to boycott, high fashion has a long history of trumping morality. “Five years ago I ran away from a bad marriage, and I did what I felt was necessary to protect

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I

past them, I decide to forgo lunch and head straight for Ethan’s office. I don’t know if my pandering to our wealthy clients’egos or cravings for exclusivity was sufficient to undo the damage this article

me, insisting I can’t go in. When I open the doors, I find Ethan seated behind his desk and his Beta, Matthew, sitting across from him. One of the pack elders is on Matthew’s left,