Chapte 35 Jane Pulls a Vanishing A

Jane

Spinning to face Paisley, I find her sitting up in bed, her green eyes wide but still glazed with the remnants of sleep. This is the first time since the surgery that she’s seemed truly lucid, and I have to fight every protective instinct in my body to immediately begin interrogating her about who visited her before she went under.

“Hello my love.” | greet her, crossing the room to sit at the edge of her bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Funny.” Paisley answers with a yawn. “Why were you swearing, Mommy?”

Brushing her hair back from her face, I offer her a lopsided smile. “I was just feeling a little out of sorts.” I confess, “But I shouldn’t have said those things.”

Paisley leans forward, raising her hand to her mouth and secretively whispering “I’s heard Daddy say some of dose words too sometimes.” She grins sheepishly, “but he says dey’ re bad words and only bad Daddies say dem in front of pups.”

“And what do you think?” I ask her, overjoyed that she’s up and talking,

She thinks for a moment before deciding, “I tink he’s a good Daddy.”

“I think so too.” I share, unable to stop myself from kissing her little hands. “And I’m so glad you’re alright Paisley, you really scared me for a while there.”

“How’d I do that?” She asks, looking worried.

“It’s not anything you did, little one.” I assure her, “I just get nervous about surgeries. You’re such a brave girl.”

“I’s my last one, you know?” Paisley tells me with excitement. “I never have to have ‘nother.”

“I know.” I beam, “and you know, that means my game of hide and seek with Daddy can end soon too.”

“Really?” She exclaims, “you mean you can be my Mommy?”

gently, holding a finger to my lips. “It’s not over yet, so we have to

agrees, looking unusually somber for such a young

what’s the first thing you want to do when you get out of the hospital?”” | ask, changing the subject before she can think about it too hard. I’ve long past given up on keeping her completely in the dark, but I can’t tell her too much either. She still has weeks of physical therapy to get through before she’ll be well enough to consider moving, and that’s a very long time

the moment she’s decided on an answer, because her precious little face lights up like the sun itself, “get some

| exclaim, “We can get you ice

up and

“let’s you and I take a

———

Ethan

my tense muscles, but all my stress remains. I’m still overwhelmed by everything that happened at the hospital. I’m so relieved Paisley’s surgery

pack has caused more problems for me than the she-wolf dwelling under my own roof. Jane’s words from earlier ring in my head: whoever poisoned Paisley is someone you know, someone with the motive to

reason someone could want her out of the way, is if Paisley was somehow keeping us apart. Eve obviously wants

my mother’s reflection in the mirror, “I suppose you’ve come to tell me what an

came

not.” I admit bleakly, “things are

her voice so I can hear her as I retreat into my closet to get changed. “You know it might be easier to carry the weight of your responsibilities if you had

going to suggest I marry Eve again-”

family to us for years now. She’s lived here, helped raise Paisley and she adores you. She

reinforce my concerns. If she’s willing to give anything, she might be willing to do anything too, including kill. “I

cries, “she saved my

to take that step unless it’s absolutely necessary. At this point Eve is Mom’s only friend, and if she knew what I’m beginning to suspect… well, let’s just say it would crush her.

the best for her.” I remind Mom. “We know I’m not her mate. It would be better for everyone

either.” Mom argues, a bitter note entering her voice. “You certainly

not leaving her afterwards. In fact, it’s so rare for her to bring up my

“You know,

clarifies, studying her fingernails as if they

I ask, wondering if Eve has figured out the truth

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