The Defiant Luna

Ch 11

Jay-la Pov

She’d not been able to tell Tim the truth of the situation, not over the phone he deserved better than that. So Jay-la had told him what she’d told Eric, that she had to rush off to see her mother after she’d been badly injured. There had been a shocked silence, obviously he’d not talked to Eric yet. Probably been in court all day, could well still be, just on a recess with the time difference between here and there.

She had never once mentioned her family around him, not in all the time anyone out there had known her; had she talked of a mother or father, never even mentioned she had a brother for that matter. Everyone around her believed she had no family. He was no different.

After the shock of her revelation had passed, Tim had asked her outright if Nathan Browning was the father of her children. She had answered him honestly, there was nothing else she could do. He deserved the truth from her. Jay-la had told him to ask any questions he wanted. It would be the simplest way of giving him what he wanted to know. She had to start somewhere.

She told Tim just like she had Eric, she was currently snowed in, it was the truth, and they could check that for themselves, probably would, she thought to herself. And when he asked her exactly where she was, she had just sighed softly. Then told him that her parents lived there, within the confines of the Browning Corporation Headquarters, in the state of New York. So yes, that was currently where she was too.

Had told him that yes Nathan himself was here as well, that he wanted time to get to know the children, now that he knew about them, and that they were here with her as well. That her children were also going to get to know their grandparents; they had met both his and her parents now, and did like them, got along well with her father while they had stayed with him. That currently everything was fine, and that she was safe and unharmed.

Jay-la had to decline his offer, to come out and be with her and the children. That was not going to happen. Not a good idea and she did know he was on a case right now. So she'd told him that he couldn’t just up and leave, being the lead prosecutor in his case, because she was here in New York. He’d been quiet for a long moment and then actually agreed with her. She knew that he would. Took his job seriously, liked his job.

She had to tell him that she wasn’t really sure when she would be coming back. That it would likely be a couple of days in the least, that she would try and get on a flight when the weather permitted her to get out to the Rochester airport, and she could book a flight back to L.A.

Tim had once again been quiet for a long moment, then he’d stated flatly “I don’t like it. You never once mentioned this man, not even once did you admit he was the children’s father, and I asked you many times over the course of the beginning of our relationship, who he was. Now your what? Living inside his corporate grounds once more. Are you in his house?”

“He owns everything here, Tim. So yes, I guess you could say I am in his house.”

The line had clicked closed after that, he was not a stupid man, and though her answer had been diplomatic, he knew what it meant, and hadn’t like hearing it. He’d not actually asked the question she thought he wanted to know. If she and Nathan were going to try and work it out. Be together. He'd just hung up on her. Tim was mad at her, and she could not blame him for it. He had been so supportive, as had Eric for that matter.

Now here she was inside the Browning Corporation, a place she’d told them she did not want to be, wasn’t going to go back to. She didn’t want anything to do with Nathan Browning, and she didn’t want him to have anything to do with her children. Now she’d done the exact opposite of her words.

Jay-la put the phone on the counter in front of her and stared across the room, didn’t exactly know what to do, or how to go about all of this. Couldn’t call Eric and Tim and state, "I’m sorry I’m a werewolf and Nathan has turned out to be my Mate, and now I have to be here as we’re mated to each other." No human would understand that. Another wolf would, but not a human.

All Jay-la knew was that deep down it felt wrong to end everything over the phone, she couldn’t do it that way. It didn’t feel right, and it wasn’t sitting well with her, but she likely couldn’t go back right away, to do what needed to be done either.

She did understand that now she was marked and mated, and had accepted Nathan, she had to close out her human life. There was no way he was going to let her continue on with it. She wondered briefly if he would have if she’d not been on the other side of the country, but only an hour away. No real point in that line of thought. It was not the situation; pushed that thought away.

Jay-la also knew that now she was marked and mated by him, she would go into heat quickly, a week or two in all likelihood. If she wasn’t here for that, when it happened all hell could break, lose. Not only would it be painful to go through on her own. Any and all un-mated wolves that were in the area of where she was, who could scent her heat, would be hunting her down to mate her.

She’d only be able to resist the pull of it for so long, before she was unable to say no and let some wolf mate her. Her heat would drive her to mate anything, regardless of if it was her Mate or not.

She knew this, so she also knew that she had to stay put here inside the pack, close to Nathan until then, so when it came, he was right there, and only he would mate her. She didn’t want another to do that. Did not want Havoc or Nathan to have to go through what they did with their last Mate. So here she had to stay for now.

Sometimes being a werewolf wasn’t fun, for either the male wolf or the female, being a she-wolf wasn’t always as cracked up as people thought it to be. Some wolves lived happy, peaceful lives, had the love of the Mate Bond right from their eighteenth birthday and others never found their mate at all.

Some had long sad, painful lives due to losing a loved one in pack wars or rogue attacks. Others were banished and forced to live alone, not something good for any wolf, they were social creatures. Liked to be with their own kind, inside a pack, it created comfort within their wolves and even a sense of purpose.

She saw Nathan step over to her, and she listened to his explanation of Havoc’s temper. She hadn’t liked that he’d gone and smashed a mirror in their ensuite, all because Tim had called her, or at least that was how it looked to her. He hadn’t explained why he’d done it. She could only presume it from the fact he’d seen Tim’s name on the caller ID and then gone away; smashed a mirror.

She herself had seen the fury on his face once, had heard it over the phone on more than one occasion now. Had also heard his own unit trying to contain him for that matter. She and Kora did not want the children to see that side of him any time soon, it would scare them even more. Likely she and Kora wouldn’t handle it well themselves, not after what they’d learned about themselves before being brought here.

Though she did notice, he said Havoc wouldn’t stand for it, would take control to protect his Mate. Made her wonder yet again if she was only here because Havoc needed a Mate? She looked away from him. It was always Havoc and his need to have his Mate, Havoc, who liked to watch her, Havoc, who had wanted her. Not Nathan himself, where she was concerned.

All she heard from Nathan was, she was his Mate, and she had to do what he told her, that he needed to bond with the children. Though she had felt that he loved her through the marking and mating process, somehow it now felt like he only cared about the children, as she’d thought he would, back in the city.

Kora calmed his beast so it was good for him, and having a Goddess-Gifted Mate would make the pack stronger. So, she knew he would want that for himself. It didn’t mean he had to do anything other than to just accept her. It also got him his children inside his pack, his heirs right here where they should be, under his roof, to be trained-up to run the pack and take over one day.

“Jay-la, we need to go and talk to Nate, try and sort this out.”

There it was, she thought absently, 'of course he does,' she knew he wanted it, knew she even wanted Nate to get along with his father, wondered if he would ever really look at her. See her and actually want her as a person. Instead of just being attached to her as the Goddess saw fit. Giving his beast what he wanted. Love her? It didn’t seem that way to her, he’d not once told her he loved her since marking and mating her, and she was going to have to live with it. She wondered how long it would take for him to betray her with another, one he actually desired himself. Would she be able to handle it? Live with it?

“The girls are still up.” She stated and walked away from him.

“Perhaps Jay-lay we should just tell the three of them, so there are no questions later on.”

“No.” she stated flatly, “it will be just Nate. The girls are fine, and I don’t want to give them a reason not to be. It won’t end well for you.”

“What do you mean by that?” He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

She brushed his hand off her arm. “You don’t know them yet. But my girls, they will do what their brother tells them to. As of right this minute my boy is on the fence. Sitting back and watching, letting his sisters be however they want to be around you. He understands who you are, and is very confused about all of this.

"But if you tell the girls, and they become confused or worried, those two little girls in there, who smile up at you, and already like you. They will turn to Nate, the oldest of the three of them, and do what he does, they'll suddenly go from wanting to be near you to standoffish and act just like he does."

Nathan frowned deeply now, her words weren’t lost on him. “Trust me, my girls, they are gentle souls for the most part, but have them upset and looking to Nate for reassurance, they’ll do whatever he does. You need to understand they are triplets and are connected.

"Usually on the same page about everything, this is new to them, likely the first time they are all not on the same page. Nate is also the dominant one. His sisters will fall into line with him, very quickly, if they become uncertain and think it is best for them to follow his lead.”

“That would be the Alpha leader quality in him.”

“I’m well aware of what it is. I’ve been living with them their whole lives. I do know how to handle my children, you should just sit and be quiet, is my advice.”

“That is not exactly what I think is best here, Jay-la.”

“Of course it isn’t. You want what you want. But this is what I believe needs to happen. I’m going to handle this like work. Mediation I guess you could say. Two parties at odds with each other, to figure out a way to have those two parties get along, have the truth dished out carefully. Or one party, that being you, just so you know. Won’t get what you want. Nate does not want you in that room when I tell him. He voiced it clearly to me. Gives me great concerns.”

“So do I, Jay-la. That’s why I need to be there.”

“No, that’s why you want to be there, not what is needed. Your concern lies in what I’ll tell him, how I’ll phrase what happened. When, what is actually needed here is a crash course for a 5-year-old in wolfen packs and how they work, he doesn’t know any of that. Nothing about Mates or Mate Bonds even.”

“Well, you should have told them about that.”

Jay-la glared up at him “Why? It wasn’t like I was ever going to be allowed to come back here now, was I.” she saw him sigh, “What would have been the point in it…from my perspective, there was no point. They knew what they were, but we were never going to be inside a pack again. I was hoping they’d just marry a nice human to be honest with you.”

“Jay-la!”

“No.” she shook her head “I am not going to apologize to you for how I raised them. Chose to protect them, out there on my own. Don’t ever expect to hear me apologize to you.” She stated flatly, a part of her wanted to, but she knew it was just the Mate Bond and her desire to please her Mate. Not what she really wanted inside, she didn’t actually see a need to apologize to him, when he was the one to banish her out into the human world.

Not when it wasn’t even him who wanted her to come home, but his wolf. She wanted to ask him the hard question, of if he’d ever once thought about her while she was gone? But honestly didn’t think she’d like the answer at all. Turned and walked away from him, before the pain of what she was feeling showed on her face, for him to see. She felt Kora shut them off from him and Havoc when pain touched her chest.

She walked away and sat with the children in the living area. Her words may have been harsh, but she’d left at his order, and was not going to apologize to him for it. For going out there into the human world, and making a life for herself and her children. She found all three of them looking right at her, and realized they knew she was more than annoyed. They were likely sensing it themselves. Checked herself and smiled at them.