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.”

sighs, looking as though he might truly possess some empathy for my plight – assuming such a thing was

plan.” I murmur uselessly. I will never regret the 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 minds of their own, it’s me.” I flinch, not because

best, but the sign of being a good mother or father is raising independent, free thinking pups. We can’t be angry

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 barest

mine! I think bitterly,

have Parker, Ryder and Riley.” Ethan promises. “And

I’ll make sure P aisley can visit you

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

that’s a good idea.” Ethan hedges, still patting my back as if I’m a stranger, and not the woman he was vowing to love to the ends of the earth

stepping away from him. “I need a few minutes…

worriedly. “I’m not sure you

I just want to pull myself together, I’m not going to do anything desperate.” I counter, roling my eyes and wondering how he manages to be so impossible. It seems like everytime I want him he pushes me away, but the moment I desire time to

what I meant.” Ethan admonishes, raking his

very steady on

pushing him 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 that there’s no way to prepare myself for losing my daughter

my shoulders set and a

I’ll ever me.”I mutter – as if anything could be ready for

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

time

have something we want to

begins, sounding almost as nervous as

want you all to be safe and happy, but at the same time, we understand that the right thing for some of you, might

all my pups, Parker has been the wariest of Ethan since