Page 207 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

And that was the root of the problem. As he cried and clutched the hat he hadn’t let go since Cade left, Adam let me know just how deep his hurt ran. But what was I supposed to do? Ask Cade to visit the child of the woman who broke his heart? One that he had no relation to? I would do it. For Adam, I would do anything. I would even ask Violet to do the exchange if he didn’t want to see me, but I needed to give him time before I asked Violet to go see him for me. We didn’t leave things in a good place, and I needed him to see past the hurt, and do what was best for my child.

“Cade didn’t leave you, Monkey. He left me, and I’m so sorry you miss him.” I hugged him, feeling a few stray tears leave myeyes. “Maybe Violet can take you to see him once in a while? He’s going to live close by.” So, I was told. I still had no idea where he’d gone. I avoided anything that had to do with him leaving like the plague.

“Promise?”

“I promise to try. But remember, in a few months, you’re going to be a big brother, and Uncle Cory has little cousins for you to play with, and Aunt Violet and Uncle Chris are also going to have a little cousin for you. You’re going to have so many people to hang out with! How about you take a little nap, and then we’ll go down and sneak the last of the ice cream cake before dinner?” I suggested.

Was I bribing my child? Yes. But I felt fucking guilty that I was the reason for his heartbreak.

I tucked him in and turned off the light, hoping he would nap for a couple of hours, and be in a calmer mood when he woke up. I stepped out of the room, intending to take a long shower and have a good cry, but as I turned from the door, I saw Hugh approaching.

“Luna, can I have a quick word?”

“I’m not a Luna anymore, Hugh.”

“You’re always going to be Luna to me.”

“What’s up?” I asked, not having the energy to argue.

“I have nothing to do. I was wondering if I could head out to Crescent Moon early. I want to see where I could fit in there.”

“That’s fine, Hugh. I appreciate you staying behind to help sort everything.”

“It was the least I could do. I think you got the shit end of the stick. You would have made a good alpha.”

“Thanks. Go rest. It’s a long drive to Arizona.”

“Will do. If you need me to take anything with me, let me know.”

I went into my room and laid down on the bed, brooding. I thought I would have made a decent alpha, too. Hell, all I wanted at the start was to be a decent Luna. Now, my stubbornness and trauma from trying to be something I hadn’t been destined for, robbed me of the only man I ever fell in love with. I pulled my phone from my back pocket and looked for Cade’s number. I wanted to call him so badly. At least hear his voice, even if it was to tell me not to call him again.

I placed a hand on my stomach. I was growing his babies. The type of man Cade was, he would take me as his Luna even if he didn’t love me anymore, because that’s the type of man he was. I put the phone down and sobbed into the pillow. I already went through one loveless mating. I wouldn’t survive another one. I wouldn’t survive Cade’s cold attitude toward me when I’d already had his love once. I stood up instead of calling him. A shower was a good idea after all.

I stood under the shower, hoping the hot water would calm my feelings. I had three pups to take care of now. I was starting therapy when I returned to Crescent Moon, and I hoped one day to be able to move on from all of this. I couldn’t change the past. I could only try to be better in the future. After I got out of the shower, I changed and went to see if Adam had managed to fall asleep. I sighed when I saw he wasn’t in bed. His hat wasn’t there, so he must have gone looking for candy, or Violet.

“Are you trying to steal more candy, my little chocolate thief?” I called down as I headed to the kitchen, but frowned when I didn’t find him there.

I walked to the living room, but he wasn’t there. I ran back up to the alpha floor and over to Violet’s room. It was still empty. I dialed her phone, but it went to voicemail shortly after.

My heart was beating out of my chest, so I ran down one floor and knocked on Hugh’s room, still trying to call my sister.

“Is Adam here?” I asked, pushing past him in my panic to look for my pup.

“No. Is he missing?” Hugh asked.

The open suitcases on his bed told me he was in the middle of packing his things.

“I can’t find him. I left him to nap like forty-five minutes ago.”

“I’ll search the bottom two floors. You take the alpha floor. Maybe he thinks he’s playing hide and seek?”

“Okay.” I nodded, trying to calm my racing heart, but unable to. “Fuck!” I screamed.

“We’ll find him. He can’t have gone far.”

I ran up to the alpha floor and straight into Cade’s old room, hoping like me, Adam found comfort in this room. When I didn’t find him there, I went room to room, calling out his name and hoping to hear his giggles. My phone rang suddenly, and I answered with a half sob.

“What’s wrong?” Violet asked.

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