Chapter 118

Chapter 118
Ellie settled again, her frown easing as Violet's sounds continued. Ioannis released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding, relief washing through her as the girl who was always on high alert seemed to find peace in something that most children took for granted, even though it really shouldn’t have been, regardless that these toys were designed with these purposes in mind.
Brodie’s face appeared at the door. Who was more brooding of the twins, although he tried hard to mask it, seems to be watching the three children closely before poking his head in and trying to get Ioannis to come towards the door. Stage two, the plan to get these toys onto the open market was their next job, and they both knew it.
Iaonnis rose slowly to make sure that she didn’t make too loud sounds to keep these three in their sleep. Once more, she could already tell that, just because they were asleep with their wolves, waking up would put them on high alert for any noise.
She padded slightly towards the door where Brodie stood as she entered the hallway. She could see the mixture of emotions that Brodie's face had tried hard to hide, although his eyes weren’t cooperating.
Brodie swallowed hard as he continued to watch the three pups as they slept. This was something Iaonnis had yet to see in Brodie; she had noticed that he was most likely the quieter of the twins, even though he could get himself into just as much trouble as Miles did.
Iaonnis watched Brodie’s face, trying to gauge where his mind was at, if he was going to crack a joke before telling her how things were going. Although normally more of a joker himself, especially around his brother Miles or trying to give Jordyn a migraine.
“I know, Brodie, it’s hard for anyone to watch even hard season warriors like yourself, no pup should have had to live like this, these three are more adult than many I know,” Iaonnis said softly as she watched his face carefully.
Brodie nodded, unable to find the words. He was holding his tablet like a shield, as if it might be the answer to solving all these pups’ problems.
“They should have been allowed to run around and just be pups,” Brodie stammered, his voice breaking on the words.
Iaonnis nodded; she might have only recently met the twins, but she could easily see how Nickolas loved these two cousins so much, regardless of how much they must drive him insane, and just as easily how these two are able to pull off the pranks they seem to manage.
“Yes, Brodie, they should have, but we will save them and give their childhood back to them, the best we can. That said, once they're cleared, being around other pups should help with just that. Did you need to see me about something, or were you just coming down here to remind yourself what we were working on stopping and putting an end to for good?”