Page 32 of A Luna's Revenge

"In a nutshell, Xyran has formed a powerful bond with you, Alpha, in a very short time. He probably feels the loss when you leave." Dr. Emily tries to explain. "We don't know enough about this anomaly to adequately diagnose, but it's as if Xyran becomes depressed when you leave, Alpha and his health suffers. Sort of like separation anxiety."

As the words sink in, I begin to cry. "My having left Jenson and stayed away has caused my pup's health to be adversely impacted."

"No!" Jenson interjects. "I'm not letting you take this all on yourself, Charlie. I mishandled things, and you felt you had no choice."

"Let me finish here, and we will leave you all to discuss that further. But blame is unhelpful at this point." Dr. Emilyinterrupts. "It will probably be something he’ll outgrow as he is nurtured. There is no need for medical intervention, but we will schedule regular checkups to monitor his progress.

“In the meantime, Alpha, you must stay close to him. When you need to leave for any reason, tell him where you are going and reassure him that you are returning. This may sound silly to some, but our young pups are more perceptive and intelligent than we give them credit for."

"Okay, Dr. Emily." Jenson agrees.

"Do either of you have any questions?"

"Not at this time, but I am sure I will once I process everything," I say, rubbing my temples in an attempt to clear the ringing in my ears.

"We are going to release you now. When the paperwork is complete, Nurse Reynold will come in for you to sign." Dr. Emily waves breezily as she exits. "You all take care!"

While Nurse Reynold is gone to prepare the releases, Jenson and I stare at each other.

"What now?" I ask Jenson.

"Charlie, I think you know how I feel." I get down on one knee beside her bed. "I’ve always loved you and only you."

"Jenson, I’ve never doubted your love. But love is not enough." I reiterate. "If I didn't make myself clear, I want—no, I NEED open communication. Our relationship can't breathe or survive without honesty. You have broken my trust."

Jenson takes my hand, and I let him. "I promise you, Charlie, that I will earn your trust back. I will never put our marriage in a compromising position again. I will tell you everything that ever happens to me in the future, no matter how humiliating or embarrassing. Just be open to reconciliation, and I won't push for anything else."

"Well, we don't have any choice but to stay together right now anyway. Xyran needs you." I whisper. "I needed you too, but you failed me."

"Never again until my dying breath, I promise. I will be there when you need me." Jenson whispers back. "And, as you may know, I am working with a task force to eliminate outside interference in mate bonds. Mates still have the option to part ways if the relationship is not working, but outside tampering will be illegal. Also, future gatherings, conferences, and meetings will be closely policed to ensure that no one else becomes a victim."

"That's wonderful, Jenson. I don't want anyone else to go through the pain I’ve suffered these last few months. Let's take our son home. Can you get someone to pack up my place?"

"I will have it taken care of now." He taps out a message to someone. "Address?" He asks, handing the phone over to me. I type out my address and hand it back. He nods. "It will be done."

Jenson

I send a few extra texts to some of the wolves in my pack. I have some surprises for Charlie that I hope she’ll like. I’ve instructed Beta Ben to have the pack throw together an impromptu welcome home party. That was already in the works; we were just waiting for confirmation. I did not know if Charlie would come home with me.

After being released, I load Charlie and Xyran in my Escalade SUV and head home. It doesn't take too long to cross into the familiar pack lands. As we pull up into the parking lot of the pack house, I gently shake Charlie awake. "We are here, Love."

Charlie sits up and takes her seatbelt off. Sleepily straightening her clothing, she hops out of the car and moves to the back to remove Xyran from his car seat. I step up and grab the diaper bag.

Charlie

As we walk through the door, we are greeted by nearly the entire pack, who have come out to celebrate my return and Xyran's birth. Reggie is the first to come up and hug me. "So good to see you back, Charlie. Your pup is beautiful."

"Thanks, Reggie."

"I want to apologize on behalf of the pack for what happened before you left. No one understood the situation at that time. But after that other female was arrested for mate bond tampering, word got out." He dropped his eyes.

"It's fine, Reggie. I had no idea what was going on, either. We were all in the dark and shocked. But I am glad to be back."

He played with Xyran's fingers and cooed at him. The one good thing about our wolf immune systems is that we are hardy. It's not only safe for our pups to be exposed to others after birthbut also beneficial. We are pack animals, so we like to bond with each other. Xyran was reveling in the attention.

After Reggie, the ladies that had gathered around Tracy Vincent came up to me next. "Luna, we want you to know we didn't desert you to that other female. We were assigned to covertly guard her and keep her from leaving until after all investigations were completed. We are sorry if our duties at that time hurt you in any way."

"Don't worry about it any longer. The fault isn't with you all." I reassure them. "Jenson should have communicated with me, but he kept me in the dark."

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