Alpha Theo's Unloved Luna - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

~ Gwen ~
"One more time, a different angle, maybe? This one doesn't look perfect," Dunken said while staring at the phone he was using to capture the moment.
"This is probably the eleventh time," Gwen grumbled. She, Theo, and Ian were at the packhouse's living room, having their pictures taken, just as Ian had requested. Yes, Gwen agreed to the picture-taking because she had crumpled the wedding photo, but Dunken took so much time!
"I think I know the problem," Dunken said. "It's not balanced."
Glancing at Ian, he asked, "What do you think Ian? I think your mom and dad should stand closer, right? And you in front of them?"
"This is ridiculous," Gwen's brother groaned from behind them.
Gwen let out a low growl, but Ian responded, "That's a great idea!"
Ian quickly turned to Gwen, ignoring his uncle's complaint. He pulled Gwen's arm and moved her next to Theo. The pup asked, "Smile, Mommy, please."
The pup did not give Gwen a chance to object because he immediately turned to Dunken and said, "Ready!"
Dunken probably took five more pictures. Then he suddenly suggested, "I think it's best if Alpha Theo put an arm around Luna -"
"This is over," Gwen cut in.
However, her son also quickly gave her those sad eyes that pleaded for her cooperation. Ian said, "Just one more, Mommy, please. It's just Daddy's arm."
Gwen gulped. She stared at Theo, who was looking at her with apparent amusement. Whether Theo admitted it or not, he liked every minute of their twenty-minute-long picture-taking.
With a sigh, Gwen said through gritted teeth, "Last one."
Finally, after three more pictures, they were done. Theo asked Gwen if he could take Ian to town to have the images printed. He said, "I don't have photo paper here. Then, after that, we will drive around."
"But, Theo." Gwen expressed, "Your people are going to see him."
"It's bound to happen, Gwen," Theo insisted. "Besides, people have already seen him at the hospital."
"Please, Mommy," Ian begged with both hands together.
Sucking in a deep breath, Gwen agreed unwillingly. She said, "Don't take him out too long."
"Yey! Thank you, Mommy," Ian happily said. He grabbed Theo's hand, suggesting he was ready to leave.
Gwen sensed her brother and Jacob wanting to speak to her, so she turned on her heel, but Theo called.
"Oh, Gwen," Theo said at the packhouse's door. "We aren't done with our talk. We will resume when I return."
Her lips twitched, thinking about their unfinished conversation. She watched as Theo and Ian closed the door behind them. Just then, her brother mindlinked, 'Let's talk in the backyard.'
Minutes later, Gwen joined her brother and Jacob in the backyard, keeping a distance from the walls and, hopefully, from any prying eyes and listening ears. Baron asked, "So, what's the deal with Theo, Gwen? When are we going home?"
Gwen gulped, saying, "He doesn't want Ian and me to leave."
"What?" Jacob asked. "I knew it."
"So you really admitted that Ian is his son," Baron grumbled.
"It's not like I can hide it now. He can smell the parental bond, Baron," Gwen pointed out. "Aside from that, he already had a paternity test with Ian."
"And then," Gwen said.
"What is it?" Jacob asked.
"He asked about the kidnapping. I gave him a vague answer but admitted that my life was threatened." Gwen heaved a sigh, revealing, "So, now, he is all the more determined not to let me leave. He said that he could protect us here."
"Why is he doing this, Gwen?" Baron asked. "Is it just because of Ian?"
Gwen wavered. Her eyes look past the distant trees before staring at her brother again. She shared, "He said he wants me back as... his mate."
"Oh, so now he wants you back? After everything he put you through in the past?" Baron highlighted.
"I know. I know." Gwen shook her head. She narrated her earlier conversation with Theo and said, "But despite my offer to co-parent Ian, he still insisted that I stay."
She paused and revealed, "He asked for three months."
"What three months?" Jacob inquired.
"He said he wanted to prove that he was sincere in wanting me back. He wants me to give him three months as a chance," Gwen revealed.
"No, that's not going to fucking happen," Baron cussed. "Jacob and I worked so hard to get you out of here, get you a new identity, and only for you to be thrown back in this wretched pack who did not want you!"
"I told him I wasn't Lucius' daughter," Gwen said, and her brother's eyes rounded, his fangs elongated in anger.
Additionally, dead air fell upon them, and it lasted for two seconds.
Baron ultimately snapped, "Why did you do that, Gwen? Now you've just made him even curious about your real identity!"
"I don't know why I said that. I guess I truly wanted that out! I hated how they referred to me as that murderer's daughter," Gwen retorted. "But you don't have to worry. I did not give enough details for him to find our family and pack."
"But -"
Baron tried to protest, but Jacob said, "Hey, Baron. I get Gwen. I would not want to be called Lucius' son, too. And we don't have to worry. Alpha George had made ways to protect our pack. What happened in the past won't happen again."
'Yes, the past,' Gwen thought about when the Purple-Eye pack was last attacked, the same time when she was taken as a baby and the incident that forced her people to relocate.
"But you are not going back to him, right Gwen?" Jacob asked.
"No," Gwen firmly answered.
While Jacob and Gwen spoke, Baron had to walk around the backyard to calm his inner wolf. After some time, he returned to their circle and said, "I guess it is what it is. What else did you tell him?"
"That you are my brother," Gwen said. "And that I am a general doctor, and I live in Cada. I swear, I did not give enough that would lead to our pack."
"Besides," Gwen said. "Setting aside our failed relationship, Theo isn't evil."
Baron and Jacob were silenced, and Gwen knew they acknowledged this, too. A groan left Baron's lips. He said, "Well, we're just going to have to deal with our situation."
'We are going to have to try to escape. If we did it the last time, we can do it again.' This time, Baron mindlinked to both Gwen and Jacob.
Gwen frowned. She linked back, 'I don't know about that. Theo had probably tightened up security around the pack.'
'Well, there is only one way to find out,' Jacob suggested.
"You both realized that Dunken will follow me around, right?" Gwen whispered.
"Yes, he will follow you, but he won't follow us," Jacob pointed out. "We are just going to tell the warriors on guard that we need to buy necessities around town, and then, we'll look around."
Gwen thought about it. Then, she realized there was somewhere within Port Leon she wanted to be. She wished to visit Agatha Sanger's grave. If Dunken would permit it, she also wanted to see Helen Bardin, her previous nanny.
"I really don't know about this, but let's give it a shot," Gwen confirmed. "Let's do this."