Ethan

I’m worried about Jane.

She’s out of the car the moment we get to the police headquarters, and it’s all l can do to keep up with her. Her emotions have been all over the place the last few days; she’s so tense and tightly wound that I can no longer predict how she’s going to react to anything – one moment she’s laughing, the next she’s crying. But no matter how she tries to endure, underneath there is always a bottomless well of pain that will never be healed until the pups are home.

While my mate’s anguish is magnified by her manic behavior, my own is only too evident in the numbness consuming me. I refuse to feel anything until I know whether we have to mourn or celebrate. At first my fear and anger had wholly consumed me, but I quickly realized it wouldn’t help anything to give in to those emotions. I pushed them down and threw myself into the search, barely sleeping or eating, but knowing that I wouldn’t be able to distract myself if I stopped moving.

I hate that I can’t fix this for Jane. I hate that’s she’s torturing herself with blame, and l’m beyond concerned by how quickly she seems to be spiraling.

Catching up to her, I loop my arm around her wa!st and pull her into my side, slowing her pace and frustrating her to no end. She instantly yanks against my hold, urging me to speed up. “Ethan, come on.”

“Breaking your neck running up the stairs isn’t going to help the pups, sweetheart.” I remind her, taking comfort in the feel of her small body safe beside me. She starts grumbling mutinously, but this is what I hoped. The more she’s distracted by being annoyed at me, the less she’s fretting about the pups.

A few minutes later we’re standing in front of Jackson and the Commander. Jane is still pouting, but our decreased pace allowed Eric and Linda to catch up, and they now flank us on both sides. After a few somber greetings we’re ushered into a conference room, but Jane refuses to sit down. Our hosts eye her warily, and the Commander invites her to take a seat when she simply stands over the table like a particularly lovely gargoyle.

“This isn’t a tea party” Jane snaps, “Just tell us what you learned.

Sighing, I drag her into my lap, forcing her to settle when she instinctively squirms to escape. ” Just settle, little wolf” L instruct, sensing how desperately she needs me to take control. The more she lashes out, the more obvious it becomes that she’s feeling too overwhelmed to cope on her own.

If the investigators are uncomfortable with our int!macy, they don’t show it, instead they take a pair of identical deep breaths and announce, “We’ve confirmed the pups were taken by traffickers.” Jackson begins, “CCTV caught them at the port, being boarded onto a ship by a local gang.”

“The good news is that l know the culprits well.”

Anita is as shrewd a criminal as I’ve ever met, and she undoubtedly realized the gravity of

the bad news?” I press immediately,

She knew better than to

it?” Linda interjected, clearly recalling my words

for now, but only until they reach King Aimon.’ The commander states grimly, ” once he has them, all bets are off. He wants this territory, he wants your

long will it take them to reach

ago did the ship

the morning

answers simply, “Anita doesn’t waste any time. I’m afraid they’ll have landed

father’s palace from the

few hours by car” Eric explains, “And I’m not sure how he’ll treat them, but if you want me to reach out to him before they arrive, I need

to the trembling bundle in my arms, I nuzzle her sweet smelling hair. “I’m going to go after them.” I proclaim, kissing Jane’s temple. “Eric is going to have to return

nods in agreement. “Then I’m going too.” She declares, sitting up slightly. “We know where they’re headed now, there’s no reason for me to stay home and wait for a

my reluctance seeping into my

She growls, pushing away

it a good idea for you but not for me? You can’t honestly think I would stay behind and twiddle my thumbs while you and

steadying breath. “Could we have the room for

out, and as soon as the door closes behind them Jane is off my lap, towering over me with a lethal glare. “Don’t even think about telling me it’s for my

arguments with more accuracy

she’s unraveling at the seams or on the pack’s need for a leader while l’m away, but on my greatest fear. “Aimon is about to get his hands

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