The Luna and her Quadruplet Pups by Jane Above Story

I go upstairs, keeping up my breathing exercises in the elevator. When I arrive, the babysitter has

already left and Devon is alone with the pups. I can hear their laughter before I even walk through the

door. I push inside, finding Devon on the floor beneath a wriggling puppy pile.

Three dark heads pop up when I enter, and suddenly the excited pups are charging me, Mommy”

Three beloved voices cry in unison.

“Hello my babies!” I exclaim, pulling them into my arms and kissing their sweet faces. As soon as I see

them my spirits lift, even though the traitor lurks in the background. It’s amazing how they can make my

heart swell with a single word, a single touch. I feel so much lighter, even when Parker looks up at me

with an impish grin and declares, “Mommy, your tummy gets rounder every day!”

“I know.” I chuckle, “And just you wait, by the time I’m ready to bring this baby into the world ‘Il be so

big and fat I’ll have to waddle like a penguin. I won’t even be able to stand up by myself, you three will

have to buy a crane just to lift me.”

The pups giggle. “Mommy we don’t have money for a crane.” Ryder objects.

“Don’t worry.” Riley interjects, “we’ll take cares of you and then you’ll never have to get up ‘gain.”

“Really?” I inquire. “You’ll wait on me hand and foot?” I lower my voice to a scandalized whisper.

But what if I have to pee?”

“That’s true.” Parker muses, “She pees all the time now.”

“Maybe you can learn to sleep standing ups?”

Ryder proposes, “then you won’t have to worry bout getting up again.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Devon cuts in, coming to stand behind them. “if you pups can wait on your

Mommy while she’s resting, I’ll handle getting her up and đown.”

“How chivalrous.” I remark, the humor gone from my voice. “Pups, can you give me and Devon a

moment alone please?”

“Why?” Riley narrows her eyes, her young voice rising in a familiar lilt. “Are you gonna tell secrets?”

“No sweetheart, we just need to talk.” I lie, hating that this man is making me mislead my children.

The children scamper off to their bedroom, and I wait until the door closes behind them to turn on

Devon. “I say I can’t do this’ and run out, and your response is to chase me down?” I demand.

“Jane, please, just hear me out?” Devon pleads, keeping his voice low and glancing to the pups door. “I

haven’t been actively lying to you, I’ve just been withholding something- something personal about

myself that I was too afraid to share – surely you can understand what that’s like – of all people.”

Despite myself, my heart softens towards the man.

At the same time, I know better than to let my guard down just yet. “If I can understand it so well, why

didn’t you tell me before now?”

“Because I didn’t want to scare you.” To my amazement, Devon’s voice is thick with emotions.”

I didn’t want you to hate me… before I even got a chance to prove to you that I’m not… that I’m not a

monster”

“I. why would I think you’re a monster?” I ask, uncertain that I heard him correctly. Devon is many

things, but I have a hard time imagining anything that could make him think so poorly of himself.

“Just promise you’ll listen,” He begs. “If you listen, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Okay” I agree, “Come sit down.”

We go into the living room, and I settle on the couch. Devon takes a seat beside me, and takes a deep

breath. “When I left the Nightfang pack, I didn’t really have a plan.” He begins, looking at me with wide,

sad eyes. “I just knew that I had to go, I needed to find a new pack and try to start over. So I went

searching, I traveled around looking for any place that felt like home. I approached different Alphas

inquiring if they might have a place in their leadership structures – not even as a Beta, just in any

position where I might be able to make something of myself”

“About six months in, I was up north, visiting this pack called the Night Walkers. I was young and naive,

I didn’t know anything about most of the territories I was visiting -I walked in blindly, and in most cases

it turned out okay. But the Night Walkers… it wasn’t until after I arrived that I realized they weren’t

called that because of their wolves’ qualities or habits, it was because they were cross-bred with

another species.”

“Another species?” I repeat, not believing my ears.

What do you mean, like another kind of shifter?”

“No,” Devon gulps. “Like.. vampires.”

“Vampires?” I parrot dumbly. “But they were outlawed centuries ago. No one has even heard of a

vampire being in shifter territories in living memory.”

“That’s what I thought too.” Devon nods, “but I was wrong. They’re kept it a secret by necessity,

because if other wolves knew about them, the entire pack would be at risk.”

“So what happened?” I press, fascinated now.

“I walked in like a fool, and I survived two weeks before.. before they turned me” Devon confesses, not

able to look me in the eyes now. “It took me two years to get the bloodlust under enough control to

finally get out, and ever since I’ve been doing everything in my power to keep the secret under wraps. I

made a career for myself despite everythíng, I’ve put it behind me, but it’s still a part of who I am.. it

always will be.”

“Are you saying… Devon are you trying to tell me that you’re a vampire?” I gape.

When he looks at me, his eyes are no longer the dark pools I’ve come to know. Instead they’re glowing

crimson – unlike any wolf I’ve ever seen.

Yes “

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter