My Miracle Luna
Their Gemini Wolves Chapter 65

{Chad's P.O.V.}

My mind has been going in circles since the day we agreed to Wyatt's unorthodox plan. It was a lot to digest, and I wondered if a clone could really replace me within the pack without anyone noticing. Would the people aware of my clone be able to keep up the charade? And don't get me started on Lanie's troubling glimpse of the future. I had so many reservations about it all. My nerves were shot after dealing with so many things one after the other since assuming the position of Alpha.

So imagine my surprise when I found out that Richard and Elder Jonah both decided to submit their DNA samples to the witch as well. A part of me was still against this plan, mostly because we were going to work with that dark witch. I couldn't get past the fact that, at one point, she wanted Killian because she was under the impression he was Keaton's son.

When I got word that Svetlana was coming to Golden Moon to collect our samples, I had expected an older woman to show up. I was completely floored when someone, who looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties, appeared out of thin air in my office. "Hello," she said in a heavy Russian accent.

"Who the f**k are you!?" I growled.

"Calm down, my name is Svetlana. I was sent by Alpha Wyatt," she answered.

"You're Svetlana!?"

"Da. Is there a problem?"

"No, I ... I expected someone ... well... older."

"I'm over one thousand years old. How much older do I need to be?"

"What?"

"Has anyone ever told you that talking about a woman's age is disrespectful?" I c****d an eyebrow at her. "Where is the Alpha?"

"You're looking at him," I replied.

"Oh, so you are Chad?" she noted with a sly smile. "You are the mate that Terrine rejected?" she mocked. I honestly hated hearing her name, especially now that I have Lanie. "I know that you are not fond of me, Alpha Chad; however, if it makes you feel any better, I never planned on taking her first-born child, even if he were born of Beta blood," she admitted while walking around my office as if she owned it. I snapped my eyes towards her.

"What?"

"Terrine. She had no money when she came to me for the poison she wanted to kill her target with, so she offered her first-born child to me, promising that it would be of Beta blood. I took her payment, but I wasn't going to actually cash it in." This was news to me. Even Wyatt and his pack were still under the impression that Svetlana would have taken Killian had he been Keaton's son and not mine.

"I don't understand," I replied, not knowing what else to say. She stopped dead in her tracks to look at me and gave me a serious expression.

"I may be a dark witch, but I am not a monster. I draw the line at children and babies," she explained with the utmost sincerity. "Terrine was, how you say, a troubled soul."

"Tell me something that I don't know," I retorted while averting my eyes towards the ground.

"She loved you." I jerked my head up to look her in the eye and furrowed my brows.

"What the hell are you talking about? She rejected me after one night together-via hotel notepad and pen. I don't know where you get 'love' out of that!"

"I know, I heard about what she did to you. But, what you and everyone else do not know is that Terrine came to me again after she had killed Lizzy and asked for the potion that would suppress the mate bond." "Why?"

"Why else? She wanted to stop loving you. She wanted to suppress the bond but not break it while she seduced the young Beta of Wyatt's pack. She loved you both but for different reasons. She loved him because of his blood rank and, of course, because she was obsessed with him from the moment she laid eyes on him. Her words, not mine. And then you came along. Her destined mate, the one man she never thought she would ever meet or, at least, was hoping to never meet. She knew that if she ever met her destined mate, her decision to be with Keaton would falter, and she would choose you. However, her thirst for rank and power clouded her judgment, and she did the unthinkable. Yet, no matter what, she didn't want to fully let you go. Which is why she rejected you through paper and pen. You and I both know that is not the right way to reject the werewolf mate bond." I flicked my eyebrows, knowing that she was right. Even though it wasn't verbal, rejection is still rejection. But, unless she were to say it to my face, and I accepted it, we were still tied together partially.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked Svetlana.

"Because I can sense the reserve that you have when it comes to me and the fact that I played a part in Terrine's schemes that got an innocent woman killed and almost cost you your son," she replied. "But for what it's worth, I would have taken him solely to return him to you." "Huh?"

"When Terrine came to me for the potion to forget you, she was already pregnant, and I could already tell that the fetus was not of ranked blood. If I had taken him as payment, I would have tracked you down to return him to his father since his mother obviously didn't care enough about him that she would gamble his life away before ever giving birth to him."

"Are you sure you're a dark witch?"

"Ugh, what is with Alphas doubting my dark craft!?" she huffed. "Anyway, that's all I needed to say. Do you have the DNA samples?" she asked, quickly changing the subject. I stared off into space for a moment before reaching into the drawer of my desk to get the three samples. "Here you. One for me, Richard, and an Elder."

"An Elder? Well, this is even more serious than I would have imagined," she smiled, examining the vials of blood. Before I could say anything, my door swung open, and there stood Lanie. Her eyes widened as she looked between Svetlana and me. "And who is this lovely young woman?" Svetlana asked.

"Uh, Chad, who is this?" Lanie questioned in return. I came around my desk and went straight to Lanie, bringing her into my arms.

"Lanie, this is the witch that Wyatt sent," I answered.

"Oh, you're Svetlana?"

"Da."

"Funny, I pictured you older," Lanie blurted out, making me cough while trying to suppress my laughter as Svetlana scowled. "What? What did I say?" Svetlana eyed Lanie up and down and circled around us a few times while sniffing her. "What? What are you doing?" Lanie demanded.

"You smell like her."

"Like whom?" I asked.

"Rylee."

"I do?" Lanie asked.

"Same DNA," Svetlana stated matter-of-factly.

"I mean, we are half-sisters," Lanie replied. Svetlana's eyes widened like saucers. She looked at me and then back at Lanie, blinking several times before smiling.

"It is a pleasure," she said and reached for a handshake. Lanie hesitated a second before shaking her hand. "Pertinent information that is needed for the clone's memory that you almost failed to mention, Chad," she scolded me. "What? That my mate was Rylee's sister?"

"Yes. You do understand that these clones have to mimic your everyday lives until whatever it is you all plan to do to Eric Patterson is put into motion, do you not? Having a mate that is also the sister to Rylee is very informative. Anything else I need to know?" "I have a twin that's mated to our Beta," Lanie replied. Svetlana looked at me disapprovingly. I shrugged my shoulders in defense. No one taught me anything about Clones 101.

"Anything else?"

"No," I answered quickly. Even though she was on our side, and she tried to give me peace of mind by telling me that crap about Terrine, I still didn't trust her with some private information. Especially that Lanie and Lexie are also biologically related to Eric. "Very well. These are the set of samples that I needed. Your clones will be completed by the end of tomorrow. I suggest you get ready to go into hiding, but do not tell anyone where you are going. You don't want the wrong people finding out." "Yeah, sure, got it," I replied. With that, Svetlana disappeared from my office.

"What was that all about?" Lanie confronted me.

"What?"

"You just lied to her, that's what."

"Lanie, she's a dark witch."

"Who is trying to help us get the upper hand on my birth father! You know, the man who has ruined so many lives and killed countless others?"

"So, what, you want to just tell her that Eric is your birth father!? What if she turns against us or is working for him behind our backs!?"

"Why are you so paranoid? You heard what Wyatt and Rylee said. She's on Rylee's side. You know more than I do how powerful Rylee is. I don't think even a dark witch such as Svetlana would be able to handle Rylee if she were to get seriously pissed off," Lanie argued. "Why are you defending her?"

"I'm not defending anyone, Chad. I'm simply stating a fact. Rylee is powerful. Svetlana would be stupid to go against her. Ergo, Svetlana isn't working for Eric." I just stared at her. Although her logic made sense, I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of admitting it just yet. "And besides, if she tries to come after Killian, she will have to go through me first."

"What did you say?" Instead of replying, she just smiled and hugged my waist as she leaned into my chest.

"I know at first I was worried that you had a son and that you had him with your first mate, but I've come to accept the fact that you two are a one package deal. I can't have one without the other, and I don't want to either. I don't know how to put it into words, but the last few months I've been able to get to know Killian, even just playing with him, has really shown me what it's like to be a mom in a way. I love the feeling I get from it, and it's been sort of healing for me to experience it. Killian may not be mine, but I want to make him mine."

"He already is. He's my son. As my mate and Luna, he's your son too," I told her and leaned my head on top of hers.

"I already know that, but I meant more of a ... permanent kind of way." I pulled back from her enough to look down at her face.

"What do you mean by permanent, Lanie?"

"I want to adopt Killian," she confirmed with a genuine smile that warmed my heart instantly. "I want to be his mom. I want to be the mom he never got to have. That Lexie and I never got to have." "You're serious?" I asked her to double-check.

"Yes." I stared at her blankly as she smiled and brought her hand to my face. Her thumb swiped under my eye, and it was then I realized that I was crying. I didn't say a word, afraid that I would ruin this beautiful moment between us. I embraced her as tight as I could while burying my face into her neck, letting go of all of my feelings, and sobbed into the crevice of her neck. I didn't realize how much I needed to hear those words to release so much pent-up emotion. I felt her hold me as tight as she could while one hand lightly patted the back of my head. "Thank you, Lanie. I love you so much."

"You don't have to thank me, babe. I love you too, and I love Killian." I nodded my head and tightened my grip. After a few minutes of just holding each other, I finally got my emotions together and gently pulled away. "You good?" she asked me. I nodded my head and sniffled while wiping away the mucus dripping from my nose. "Okay, so, when can we do this?" "You want to do it now?" I asked her, surprised.

"I want to do it as soon as possible. I don't know how adoptions work, so you're going to have to get all this taken care of before you leave, Chad."

"s**t, you're right. Um, okay, let me think," I said and clicked my tongue against my cheek. "Well, Jonah is still in the packhouse which works out perfectly since we need an elder to conduct the adoption. Thomas, my sister's mate, can draw up the papers since he's a lawyer for the pack."

"Perfect! Let's get this show on the road!" she announced with pure enthusiasm. I couldn't believe it. Lanie really wanted to be Killian's mother. I never told her this or anyone for that matter, but Killian has wanted to call her mom for the last few weeks. The other night when I went to put him to bed, he asked, "Where's Mommy?" and I told him the same old story. I told him that she was in a better place and with the moon goddess. I never expected him to cry as hard as he did and ask me why Lanie had left him. It was then I realized that he already associated Lanie as his mom and not Terrine. It was clear he doesn't even remember Terrine. In his eyes, Lanie was his mom, and I felt horrible having to explain to him that Lanie wasn't his mother. That broke his little heart even more, and it nearly killed me to see him so sad. I felt like I had traumatized him all over again. But now, all of that was about to change.

After speaking with Jonah and my brother-in-law, I mind-linked my mom and told her to have everyone come to my office and to bring Killian. She, of course, had to ask a million questions because she was enjoying her day with him. An hour later, my office was filled with my parents, my sister's family, Richard, Jonah, and of course, Lanie and me.

"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."