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.”

idiots, but their leader is not. Anita is as shrewd a criminal as I’ve ever met, and she

press immediately, holding Jane just a little

Jackson shared, “Anita’s intelligence cuts both ways. She knew better than

isn’t it?” Linda interjected, clearly recalling my words from the car. “It will mean they aren’t being

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 power, Alpha. That means

intuitively leaning into my warmth. “How long will it take them to reach the

long ago did the

morning after they

“Anita doesn’t waste any time. I’m afraid they’ll have

around to Eric, “how far is your father’s palace from the coast? What will he do

sure how he’ll treat them, but if you want me to reach out to him before they arrive, I need to do it right

hours before my pups arrive, but also believing we have no other choice. Looking down to the trembling bundle in my arms, I nuzzle

She declares, sitting up slightly. “We know where they’re headed now, there’s no reason for me to stay home

I sigh, all of my reluctance seeping into my voice. “| don’t think that’s

growls, pushing

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

at our audience, I take a steadying breath. “Could we have the room for

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 own good, or that

hisses, anticipating my arguments with more accuracy than l’d

down at my beautiful, stubborn mate. “It’s not that.” l exhale, deciding to focus -not on the fact that 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 on four out of the five

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