The nurse entered to administer his pain medication before I could answer.
“Howard was shot in the leg by one of the investigators, and…” I hesitated, then added, “I shot him in the arm when I saw him aiming at you. I was just too slow to prevent him from hurting you.” My voice cracked with regret. “He’s in the hospital but will be transferred tomorrow to the maximum-security prison infirmary.”
I detailed the events following his loss of consciousness, including Howard’s confession and arrest.
“Finally, this nightmare is over,” Draven sighed, relief evident in his tired smile.
“Yes. Leo and Kai revealed everything,” I explained. “Magnus told me they managed to trace all of Howard’s accounts and front operations. He followed us when we went to the Alpha Council when I needed to talk to Marcus, and was already planning to break into our house. I was so terrified…” My eyes welled with tears, and Draven pulled my hand to his lips.
“Hey, it’s over now. Everything’s fine,” he murmured.
By evening, Draven was moved to a regular room where visitors were allowed, as long as he didn’t get too tired. Of course, all our friends came to see him, clearly relieved that he was getting better.
Though I hated leaving his side, I needed to care for our children, pump milk for the babies, and comfort Liam who was distressed without his father. I reluctantly said goodbye, leaving him in Ryan’s capable company.
Over the next ten days while Draven was in the hospital, I got into a routine-mornings and afternoons with him, evenings at home with the kids. Liam was having a hard time without his dad; their daily video calls just weren’t enough.
When Draven finally came home, he still needed physical therapy and had to be careful. What bothered him most was not being able to hold our children. It took a full month before Dr. Wright said he was completely fine.
While he was recovering, we worked hard to get back all the company money that was stolen.
The criminal investigations concluded and were forwarded to the judiciary system. Numerous arrests had been made; Howard’s scheme had been more extensive than anyone imagined. Draven and Ryan had been fortunate to notice the inconsistency in the company’s financial records when they did.
During Howard’s interrogation, according to what Investigator Magnus shared with us, he revealed a deeply disturbed hatred and envy toward Draven’s father-something pathological that became painfully evident during his attack on our home.
The trauma lingered, leaving us cautious and hypervigilant. We decided to maintain our enhanced security measures. The nanny who had been held at gunpoint by Howard continued to express guilt over the incident, but we repeatedly assured her she’d done nothing wrong and had acted appropriately under life-threatening circumstances.
We understood it would take considerable time for our lives to return to any semblance of normalcy.
Caroline’s POV
Because the chaos from Howard’s arrest had just settled down, Liam was still shaken from his earlier kidnapping and the attack on the pack house.
So Draven and I decided Liam would stay home until next year when I’d go back to working at the office.
Even though I was supposed to be on maternity leave, I’d been working from home anyway so Kyle wouldn’t get overwhelmed helping both Ryan and Draven.
Now Draven was also working from home until he received full medical clearance, so we spent our days bouncing ideas back and forth between conference calls and diaper changes.
One morning over breakfast, Draven looked up from his laptop and said, “What if we set up a daycare at Thorne Enterprises?”
I paused mid-sip of my coffee. “At the company?”
“Think about it,” he said, getting excited. “Half our employees are parents juggling work and childcare. Not everyone has nannies or family nearby like we do.”
I loved the idea immediately. “And as Luna, I could extend it to pack members too. Single mothers, working parents who can’t afford private daycare…”
“Exactly.” Draven smiled. “Parents could actually focus on work instead of constantly worrying about their kids.”
Draven’s proposal to establish a daycare at both the company and within the pack made me fall even deeper in love with this man.
I remembered when I first joined the company, everyone said he was strict, meticulous about work, and a complete workaholic. But the truth was, he had a tender heart beneath that tough exterior.
Because he could see the inconveniences and subtle struggles of pack members, he was able to establish non-discriminatory policies in the Storm Valley Pack. Policies that allowed me to come here, to be by his side.
I couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Draven, why did you implement a non-discrimination policy in the pack? You know, many packs are very traditional, strength-based and bloodline hierarchies where bullying the weak is almost instinctual.”
Draven was quiet for a long moment, his fingers absently tracing patterns on my hand. “When I was seven, I got separated from my patrol during a territory dispute,” he began, his voice soft with memory. “I wandered for three days, lost and terrified. By the time rogues found me, I was half-dead from hunger and exhaustion.”
His violet eyes grew distant. “They would have killed me, but an omega from a neighboring pack intervened. She was gathering herbs and heard the commotion. This tiny she-wolf, barely stronger than a human, threw herself between me and three full-grown rogues.” He shook his head in wonder. “She got me to safety, fed me, tended my wounds, and kept me hidden for two weeks until it was safe.”
“She never asked who I was, never expected anything in return. Just saw a scared pup who needed help.” His voice grew tender. “When my father finally found me, he was so grateful that he offered her anything she wanted. You know what she asked for? Better hunting grounds for the omegas in her pack, and schooling for the pups who couldn’t shift properly.”
Draven smiled sadly. “My father was already a soft-hearted Alpha; he wanted marginal pack members to have good lives too. That experience just reinforced what we both learned-strength isn’t always about who can fight the hardest.”
His expression grew more serious. “But you’re right about the instinctual bullying. I’ve implemented these policies, but I can only prevent the obvious discrimination, give these wolves a chance. The deeper prejudices…” He sighed. “Those are harder to root out.”
I sighed and squeezed Draven’s hand. “You’ve done so well already.”
After all, when I came to Storm Valley, old diehards like Howard constantly insulted me as a “scentless wolf.”
“Prejudices of the heart are very difficult to eliminate,” I said gently, trying to comfort him.
Draven leaned over and kissed me softly. “But my dear Luna, you’ll help me make our pack even better, won’t you?”
I kissed his lips, “Yes, as always.”
In the weeks that followed, we worked together to rebuild not just our pack’s policies, but our family’s sense of safety. Liam slowly recovered from the trauma of Howard’s attack, and gradually, our pack house filled with laughter again.
One evening, after putting the quadruplets to bed, we tucked Liam in following an epic tickle fight between father and son and lots of kisses from me. Liam finally fell asleep listening to Draven tell “Jack and the Beanstalk” with all the dramatic voices.
“Finally, everyone’s asleep!” Draven came out of our closet wearing just his boxers, showing off his perfect body.
I couldn’t help but laugh at what he had in mind.
“And the quadruplets aren’t even four months old yet. Imagine when they’re all walking and talking simultaneously,” I said with exaggerated wide eyes.
“You’re terrifying me, my love.” Draven smiled and carefully positioned himself above me, kissing me while his hand explored my body.
He shifted to pull me against him as we lay side by side.
“Daddyyy… Mommyyy…” Liam’s voice preceded him as he raced into our bedroom and climbed onto our bed. Draven stopped kissing me and gave me such a comically frustrated expression that I burst into laughter.
“Ryan is definitely teaching this boy to interrupt us,” Draven whispered against my ear.
“Hey, big guy! Weren’t you sleeping?” he asked, settling our son between us.
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