The Luna and her Quadruplet Pups by Jane Above Story

Jane

“I.. what?” I stutter, wondering if this is another fever dream, or if Ethan actually just suggested splitting our children up again.

“We have to accept the reality of our situation, Jane.” Ethan continues, pursing his lips. I barely contain the impulse to scoff – he has some nerve saying this to me, as if I haven’t been coping with the fallout of his reckless decisions for months now. “Paisley isn’t going to stop running away, so the only thing I know to do is to keep her with me so she won’t have anywhere to run.”

“But everything is different now!” I insist, my lip trembling at the very thought of giving up my daughter. “We can’t just pretend like we never met. She’s unhappy being away from you at the moment, but what happens when she starts missing me and the other pups. You want to keep them apart for the rest of their lives?”

“No, of course not.” Ethan sighs. “I think we give her the choice. And whoever she picks, she can always see the other for visits, even full holidays.’

“You know perfectly well shell choose you!” I accuse, wondering what bothers me more knowing she likes Ethan better, or knowing it’s my own fault.

“But I just got her back.” I argue weakly, knowing this isn’t really a good excuse to make my child miserable. “We hardly had any time together before the kidnapping, and half of that was spent in hospitals or playing games with you. I’ve been waiting for her for years.”

“I know that.” Ethan frowns, looking very severe.

And I hate to say it, but I think this is the price of that decision. She wants me, because she doesn’t know you.”

I want to scream that this isn’t fair. He knows I never felt like I had a choice in leaving her. He knows that he’s forbidden me to stay in the NightFang pack.”So you’ll change your mind about keeping her, but you won’t change your mind about letting me stay – about the other pups?”

Ethan’s features harden, and I know his answer before he ever opens his mouth. “I’m only putting this on the table because she’ll kill herself trying to get back to me otherwise. This isn’t what I wanted.”

“Leaving her wasn’t what I wanted either.” I hiss. “I was trying to ensure she survived too, I was trying to protect them all the best way I knew how.”

“Paisley knows that. But it doesn’t change the fact that she spent all those years without a mother.”

he might truly possess some empathy for my plight

choice I made to leave Paisley in Ethan’s care, if I hadn’t she never would have survived. But this isn’t the way it was supposed to work out Ethan laughs humorlessly. ” Jane, if anyone understands what it’s like to make plans for your children, only to have everything backfire because kids have

a good mother or father is raising independent, free thinking pups. We can’t be angry with Paisley for

I want her.”I say in a small voice, feeling very silly now. Tears are spilling from my eyes, and I’m shocked to feel one of Ethan’s strong arms come around me. I try to lean into him, to bury my face in his neck and cry myself out in his comforting embrace – the way I used to. Instead he holds me at arms’ length, offering only the

mine! I think bitterly, I

Ryder and Riley.” Ethan promises. “And you’ll have the new

aisley can visit you and the other

pups. At present, the other pups don’t want anything to do with Ethan, though that might change. My wolf on the other hand, she’s still praying he’ll wake up and realize what a fool he’s been to reject us and that’s far more

a good idea.” Ethan hedges, still patting my back as if I’m a stranger, and not the woman he was

briskly, stepping away from him. “I need a few minutes… before we

not sure you should be on your own

and wondering how he manages to be

isn’t what I meant.” Ethan admonishes, raking his

steady

away. I stalk into the women’s room, bending over the sink and fighting the urge to scream out all my overflowing emotions. The last thing I need is for Ethan to think I’m even more unstable than he already does. I count to ten, then I count to twenty, taking deep breaths all the time. At a certain point I decide

with my shoulders set and a

mutter – as if

and they approach us hesitantly. Paisley immediately asks to be picked up, lifting her arms to me in silent request

this is the last time I ever get to

we want to

almost as nervous as

understand that the

asks me, eyeing Ethan suspiciously. Of all my pups,