Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Sisters meet Where fear consumed me moments before, now anger floods my senses. Linda and I never fight, but I can’t believe her audacity. She knows better than anyone what Ethan put me through, and now it seems like she’s forgetting it, simply because he put on a good show as the grieving widower.

“Linda, if he’s sad I’m gone, it’s for one reason and one reason only.” | snap, “Because he misses having a personal sex toy.. He misses having a mindless omega whose body he can control, who can’t deny him even if they wanted to.”

I open my mouth to continue, but Linda holds up a staying hand. “Please hear me out, Jane. If not for you, then for the other pups.” She beseeches, sounding truly distressed. “You haven’t been here. You haven’t seen him with Paisley. He’s such a good father.”

“So what!” I demand hotly.

“So,” Linda replies, dragging out the word pointedly. “Children need a father. The boys need a male role model and Riley needs a man in her life to help her build healthy expectations for a mate.”

“Linda,” I growl, “I’ve been both mother and father to my pups this far and I’ve done a damned good job. I don’t care if you don’t think I’m enough for them, because I know I am.”

“That isn’t what I meant!” Linda insists. “I know what a good job you’ve done, and I know you’ll provide those kids with everything they need in life. I just think that if there’s a chance for you to be a family again… it’s worth trying.”

“We already are a family.” I remind her coldly.

“I know, I just can’t bear to see you suffer.” She confesses, “you two were so in love when you got married. I want you to be happy again, Jane.”

“I appreciate that.” | sigh, “I know you want the best for me, Linda. But please trust me, I only thought we were in love. Ethan showed his true colors long ago, and there isn’t any chance that I might find happiness with him again. When it comes to Alphas and omegas, there is only pain.”

3rd Person “Ethan please, you can’t let them do this!” Eve begged, her whiney voice grating at Ethan’s nerves. “I didn’t know about the toxins!”

The Alpha had to fight the impulse to roll his eyes. The very last thing he wanted to be doing at this moment is babysitting Eve. He had plenty of sympathy for her when everything went wrong with Jane, but over the years she’d only gotten more entitled and less trustworthy – so much so that he’d begun to doubt what truly happened all those years ago.

Besides, Ethan had much more important things on his mind. Despite Linda’s best efforts, he was certain she wasn’t being completely honest with him. Her anemic explanations for her strange behavior when she brought Paisley home were far from convincing, and she was much too nervous when he brought up Jane. The she-wolf was on edge throughout the rest of their conversation and practically shoved him out the door at the earliest opportunity.

However instead of investigating these events further, Ethan was stuck in Eve’s atelier listening to her complain about accidentally poisoning dozens of women with her fraudulent perfume.

“It’s not just about the aconite, Eve.” He rumbled sternly, “It was fraud whether you knew it would harm your customers or not! As far as I’m concerned, the board is right to be considering your removal.”

After the boutique’s receptionist learned of the counterfeit products and had them removed from the shop, she immediately called the business’s governing board. Within hours, the body held an emergency meeting with its most prominent shareholders, with most members advocating to replace Eve as CEO.

Ethan would have been in attendance himself if Paisley hadn’t gone missing, and now Eve was under the mistaken impression that his presence might have saved her.

“That isn’t fair!” Eve whimpered, “I only did it to help the shop make more money. La Louve is so unbelievably expensive, I thought that if we could come up with a cheaper substitute, we could increase our profit margins.”

“Whose profit margins?” He demanded, “based on the two sets of books you’ve been keeping, you didn’t plan on including the shareholders on the returns of your deceitful little investment.”

“Ethan, no…you can’t believe I would do such a thing!” She cried, “1.”

“Wait a minute,” Ethan interrupted, replaying her previous words in his head. “Did you say La Louve?”

Eve sniffed, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just answer the question, Eve.” The alpha commanded.

“Yes.” She squeaked, “The perfume line is owned by La Louve.”

It was all too much of a coincidence. That was the fragrance brand the woman in the bakery was wearing, the same scent that was in the Atelier where Paisley insisted she saw Jane… Ethan was so caught up thinking about the connection, he almost didn’t realize Eve was talking again.

“You know how much this company means to me! I would never… you’re the one who gave me the start-

up loan.” She moaned, “I love you so much, I would never dishonor you that way.”

“Actions speak louder than words.” He remarked harshly, “and right now, yours seem to be saying quite the opposite. Make no mistake, there will be a full investigation into this matter, and if the board decides to appoint a new CEO, I won’t do a damned thing to stop them.” Turning away from the mewling woman, Ethan left her with one final piece of advice. “You made this mess, Eve. Now you clean it up!”

How could he speak to me that way? Eve thought once the alpha departed. How could he be so cruel? Doesn’t he knowl d do anything to be with him?

She knew she’d lost too much money over the last few years, that’s why she came up with the perfume plan in the first place. It’s true that she pocketed most of the profits, but sales had been up ever since they brought the luxury brand into the store, so what if she skimmed a little off the top?

Eve had to do something. She had to find a way to convince the board to keep her in place as CEO. A niggling thought rose in the back of her mind. Pulling out her phone, Eve dialed Elise Carrington. She still wasn’t convinced the woman was not Jane, but she did offer to let Eve sell her genuine products in the store. Eve needed a win right now, and as much as she hated the idea, a lucrative deal with La Louve was the best option she had.

“Are you happy baby girl?” Ethan asks, grinning down at Paisley.

“Yes Daddy!” Paisley giggles, “Thank you so much for bringing me.” Paisley has been asking Ethan to take her to the mall for ages. Her favorite cartoon series just released a full length movie, and she has been dreaming about seeing it for months.

They’re just about to walk into the theater, when something catches Paisley’s eye.

Across the courtyard she sees a girl in a pretty pink dress, and when she turns towards Paisley, they are feeling like looking in the mirror. They have the same dark hair and green eyes. They even have the same freckle at the corner of the mouth!

| “Daddy, look!” Paisley begs, tugging on his sleeve, “That girl looks just like me!”