Jane

“Then he rejected me.” I explain, sharing our story with the child psychologist I hired to speak with the pups. They’re out in the play area of her office’s waiting room while I brief the doctor on our situation. “He told me to take the pups and go, but I didn’t want them to think he didn’t want them..”

My voice is shaking now, thick with emotion as tears well on my lashes. “So I said it was me. And now they hate me.” I sob, trying to pull myself together enough to finish. “They hate me, they won’t talk to me, and I know they’re traumatized. They have nightmares every night and they jump at every loud noise. They’re not the same pups they were before they were taken.”

I’m very sorry, Jane.” The doctor consoles me, offering me a box of tissues. “I have little ones too, and I completely understand the desire to protect them from the truth.”

Do you thínk I was wrong? Would it have been better to tell them the truth? I squeak, blowing my nose.

“Look, I’m a big believer of being honest with your kids, even when they’re quite small, but abandonment by a parent is one of the most traumatic things a child can experience. After everything they’ve been through, I don’t think you were wrong to try and shield them from this – but you need to be prepared for the fact that they might figure it out on their own much sooner than you’re prepared for.” The doctor warns. “If he’s cut off contact completely, it won’t be long before they start to ask why he isn’t trying to see them, why he doesn’t call… and you can take the blame for that too, but it will only work for so long. Pups are very intuitive that way.

I know, and mine are smarter than most.” I sigh. I just wish I could protect them without making them despise me.

“Of course you do.” She soothes, “Listen Jane, are you in therapy yourself?”

confess, but I don’t know where I’d find the

colleague down the hall who works with adults, we could schedule your sessions at the same time as the pups so you don’t have to carve out more time, and we’re in the same practice, so we could consult on your cases and ensure we’re all on the same page with the family. Of course there are times that I’ll likely request you to join the pups for a family session, but I think it’s a good idea for you to

“that sounds

bring in

my eyes and moving for

and assess where we are,

a television playing some sort of soap opera, and I retrieve the remote, switching through

wasn’t expecting to find a NightFang news station completely by among the offerings, and it takes me surprise to see the local channel Ethan and I used to watch on the big screen. However if I was taken aback to see the familiar news anchors and cityscapes, it’s nothing compared to when Ethan appears on the monitor a moment

so émpty that I’d lost the ability to care or be hurt by Ethan, I’m quickly proved wrong seeing this announcement. I turn up the volume, my heart hammering in my ch3st as I

leadership. As for Jane and I, we decided it would be best for her to raise the pups in the safety of the Dark Moon pack. Now that Paisley is well enough to join her mother and siblings, they will continue to be raised as they were before

the man, giving his permission to speak. “Do you believe the threats here in the NightFang territory are a

the NightFang territory are a reflection of jealous and power hungry factions seeking to steal the power I have accumulated leading this pack. The fact that I am a target shows just how valuable our pack’s resources and influence have become, but I have protected our people for many years, and I neutralized these most recent threats as well. Our city is perfectly safe to most NightFang wolves, my family is a special

reporter called, “have you and Jane split up? There was no mention of

members of the media to respect our privacy at this time. Obviously we and our pups have been through a great deal, we need peace, quiet and time

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