Filed to story: Rylee the Orphan Luna Novel
“Hey buddy, come to daddy,” I instructed Killian. I got down on my knees to his level. “I have some good news for you,” I told him clearly so that everyone else could hear too. Lanie was standing to my right, and I could feel her smiling down on us. “Chad, can I tell him?” she interrupted. I looked up at her, and she seemed really eager, so I nodded my head. Lanie got down on her knees too and stared straight into Killian’s eyes. She grabbed both of his tiny little hands. “Killian, I know that you’ve had it rough the two and half years you’ve been living your life, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am that you had to go through so much at such a young age. But I want to tell you that if you let me, I want to make sure that you never feel that pain ever again. If you let me, I want to love you like you’re my own baby and give you all of the unconditional love a mother can give to her pup. If you let me, I promise to protect you with every fiber of my being. I promise to read you bedtime stories, cook your favorite meals, buy your favorite toys, play with you whenever you ask, and even sneak dessert before dinner when grandma isn’t watching,” Lanie joked as she glanced over at my mom who was a blubbering mess and made her laugh a little. “I promise to be the best mother any kid has ever asked for. I can’t promise that I’ll be perfect, but I promise that I will try my best. So, what do you say, Killian? Can I be your mommy?” Lanie asked as tears were threatening to spill.
Killian just stared at her a minute without saying anything or reacting to a word she said. I knew for a fact that he mostly understood what she was saying but it was like he was having trouble processing everything all of a sudden. “Buddy? Did you hear Lanie?” I asked him. He looked at me and then back at Lanie. I half expected him to jump into Lanie’s arms but instead of tackling her into a bear hug, he slowly closed the distance between them and hugged her neck. “Is that a yes?” she asked, and he nodded his head. She closed her arms around him and held him tightly.
“Mommy.”
“Yeah?”
“Mommy.”
“What is it?”
“Mommy.” Lanie looked over at me. I was confused at first too, but he kept saying ‘mommy’ and I realized that he wasn’t calling out to her but more reeling in the fact that his wish came true. I guess our conversation from the other night really stuck with him, and he was overwhelmed that Lanie was his mom after all. I hugged them both and kissed Lanie on the forehead. I couldn’t thank her enough for fulfilling such an empty void in Killian’s life.
“This is all so beautiful, and I’m so ecstatic to be able to witness such a wonderful moment,” Jonah gushed with absolute joy and utmost approval in his tone. “Thomas, may have the papers please?”
“Yes, sir,” Thomas said as he handed over the documents. He quickly signed them and handed the pen and paper to me. I stood up and put my signature in the notated field and handed the pen to Lanie. I tried to take Killian from her so she could sign it, but he wouldn’t let go of her. He shook his head rapidly and tightened his grip around her neck.
“Don’t worry, I got it,” she reassured, and she stood up with Killian in her arms. She turned sideways to look at the paper and balanced Killian with one arm while she with the other.
“It is done. Lanie is now legally the mother to Killian McEvoy,” Jonah announced.
“Hey, I just realized we don’t know your last name, Lanie,” Chelsea pointed out.
“Yeah, it was kind of hard to draw up these papers without a last name for her,” Thomas admitted. We all looked at her and realized that they were right. Lanie and Lexie didn’t have last names because they had no official birth records. “Umm…” Lanie looked at me and all I could do was shrug.
“Why don’t you just take ours?” my father asked.
“Dad, we’re not married yet,” I answered. Everyone pondered a bit until Lanie spoke up.
“I don’t want a random last name, and I obviously don’t want Eric’s last name. I would never want to be associated with him that way.”
“What were you thinking?” I asked her.
“Does anyone know my mother’s last name?”
“You mean the moon goddess!?” Chelsea asked.
“No!” Lanie snapped. “I meant Megan!”
“Oh, my bad,” my sister said, trying not to look like an i***t.
“Wouldn’t it be Duquesne since she was Rylee’s mother as well?” my mom wondered.
“Mom, Duquesne was her married name. She’s asking for her maiden name,” I replied. “Davina,” Richard responded. “Megan’s maiden name was Davina.”
“Okay then. Davina it is.”
***Wyatt’s P.O.V.***
“That’s great, Lanie, I’m so happy for you… No, don’t be ridiculous, I’m honored you made that decision … Yes, I promise. Hearing that makes me extremely happy. Thanks for letting me know… Yeah, he’s packing his bag right now… I know, but it will be okay… Alright, we’ll talk soon. Stay positive; everything will work out the way it needs to … You too. Bye.” Rylee hung up the phone as I was coming out of the closet with my bag in hand.
“What was that about?” I asked her, setting down my bag by the door before walking over to her. She was sitting in her favorite bean bag chair watching Sam sleep.
“That was Lanie. She had some good news.”
“Oh?” I sat down next to her, putting my arm around her and bringing her close to me.
“Lanie decided to adopt Killian. They had the adoption a few hours ago,” she said with a smile.
“That’s amazing! Good for them! She’s going to make a great mom to Killian.”
“I know she is. There’s something else. After the adoption, Lanie also decided that she would take my mom’s maiden name. So, Chad’s brother-in-law-who’s a pack lawyer-drew up those papers, and now, both she and Lexie have the surname of Davina.” My eyes widened in surprise. “I mean, I guess that makes sense. Can’t have a random last name, and I’m fairly certain they wouldn’t want the surname of Patterson,” I replied.
“That’s exactly what Lanie had said when she made the decision.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I’m honored. Like I told her. I mean, Duquesne is my last name because I’m my father’s daughter. I was born to a family who loved me unconditionally, but they didn’t have that luxury. I’m positive that my mom loved them; after all, she’s their mother too. So, Lanie deciding to take our mom’s maiden name makes it feel like she’s still with us. At least a part of her,” she responded while instinctively rubbing her stomach. I placed my hand over hers. I hated the fact that I had to leave while Rylee was pregnant, but this time, it was for a good reason.
She glanced down at my hand over hers, and she intertwined our fingers. We gazed into each other’s eyes and shared a passionate kiss. It was only supposed to be a ‘see you later’ kiss, but it soon started to turn into more. Blade was pushing through the service because he wanted to spend more time with Rylee before we had to go, but I had to force him back. If we didn’t leave soon, the clone and I would run into each other, and we couldn’t have that happen. I reluctantly pulled away as I felt my erection strain in my pants.
“I’m sorry, dearest, but I have to get going,” I told her, completely out of breath, as I placed my forehead onto hers.
“I know.” I looked over at Sam, who was passed out in his crib. I got up while pulling Rylee with me and walked over to him. I leaned over and kissed his little forehead.
“I love you, buddy.” I turned to Rylee and hugged her tightly, kissed her neck, and abruptly left before I changed my mind about this whole thing. I grabbed my bag by the door and turned around one last time to look at her. She was standing with her arms crossed but was smiling. She blew me a kiss, and I caught it and held it to my heart.
“I love you, Wyatt.”
“I love you too, baby. See you soon. You be careful.” She nodded her head. I took a deep breath and left our room. As I went downstairs, I made arrangements so that only those who knew of our plans were informed that I was leaving now. The rest of the pack would have no clue because I had no idea if any other moles were working for Eric at this point in time. With the West family murdered, it only made sense that Eric would try to find another patsy for his crew of betrayers.
It was almost two in the morning when I left the packhouse, and I made sure that I set out in wolf form. I also informed all of the Alphas about the designated location of our meeting-in the dungeon where Ash and Emma held all of the human captives two years ago since Halfmoon’s territory was now a barren wasteland. But, before going there, each Alpha had to find another hiding place for 48 hours to ensure someone didn’t follow them. It was ballsy to choose Halfmoon as our rendezvous, but we were out of options. There were also specific instructions to avoid bringing any electronic devices, and everyone was to travel strictly in wolf form to evade being tracked via satellite. We would have to do everything old school if we wanted to maintain the element of surprise. I also made certain all of the clones were given two specific memories-Eric was a threat to all of our packs, and they, too, would have an Alpha’s meeting at Blue Lake.
