Everything was going as planned, he thanked Olek for coming up with the alibi on such short notice. He did take slight notice that Deborah seemed bothered by his behavior, hopefully his beautiful wife's paranoia wouldn't take over but he knew there was a good chance it had. A few of his coworkers and even a couple students had volunteered to help him out with this. He wanted this to be absolutely perfect, Debbie was a cunning woman and if he wasn't careful she'd figure him out far too soon.

As he arrived at the restaurant, he began to make arrangements with the staff. They were a fancy five-star restaurant and quite expensive but this was their anniversary and he needed it to be special. The necklace the volunteers had helped him pick out was a beautiful finely crafted gold brooch with an inlaid emerald, the color of her eyes, and a bottle of expensive perfume.

"So far so good, Deb is gonna' flip when I finally reveal all of this…" he chuckled to himself.

His phone went off, he hoped it was one of his cohorts with some good news. No such luck, a text from Alexander. He'd always been on good terms with his brother-in-law but he could tell by the "we need to talk", that Alex meant business.

"Where?" he asked.

"My grandfather's studio," Alex replied.

"Be there in a bit," the wolf answered.

He sighed, he was afraid of this. Alex must've heard about all of this from Deborah, or at least her side. And that meant that her paranoia was acting up. He hoped he could avoid getting into a hostile confrontation with any of her brothers and somehow set her mind at ease without giving himself away. He set out towards the studio, it was a well-known place to him by now.

Maybe it was out of respect for the cranky old fox, but Philip Wilde's studio was mostly untouched by time. There was some dispute within the Wilde family about who would inherit the place, as Philip had left no will behind. On to business, though, Jack got out of his car and headed inside. It was the same as the last time he'd seen it a large practice boxing ring in the center of the room, a grey old punching bag that had been patched with duct tape many times, some half-rusted dumbbells, a patched bench press along with its own half-rusted bench weight. These were the shadows of Philip Wilde's life and as his "grandson-in-law" Jack recognized it. He saw Alex over by the punching bag and headed over to the fox, preparing himself mentally for the worst. Though he could never be fully prepared, Alex wasn't a fighter but he was adept at the ability to speak with a passive-aggressive tone.

"Hello Jack," the older fox greeted.

"Alex, how have you been?' Jack greeted back.

"Well enough, I suppose… I didn't call you here to chitchat though… I don't like getting involved in matters that hardly concern me but Debbie is quite upset and I managed to piece together why. So start explaining yourself," he stated, suppressing a growl.

"It's not what you think… I had a feeling her paranoia was getting the better of her, I had planned to alleviate those concerns when I got home tonight. Alex, I'll tell you why I'm doing all of this but I need you to promise you won't breathe a word of it to Deborah," he began to explain.

"Fine, I promise… On the condition that what you're doing isn't something that violates her trust in you," Alex relented.

"Quite the opposite actually… I'm planning an incredible evening for my darling wife for our anniversary. A five-star restaurant, a fine golden necklace gift, a bottle of champagne, dancing… I'll admit, I want to tell her all about what I have planned but I've made all of these arrangements as a surprise… You should know, I love Deborah, I can't stand the thought of us parting," Jack explained.

Alex seemed to visibly relax with a sigh and that famous easygoing Wilde smile crossed his face. To make him look even more like his younger brother, Alex's eyes took that half-lidded devil-may-care expression.

"Shifty wolf," he laughed before leaving, "I'll try to square things with Deborah without giving away what you're planning with her but I make no promises."

As Alex left he muttered about needing to stop getting involved in others' troubles. Jack in the meantime, set about finalizing his plans. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too upset with him when the truth came out. For now, though, he needed to head home and try to set her mind at ease. It shouldn't be too hard, all the prep work was complete. He decided to stop and get some roses for her on his way home.

He got home just as Deborah was finishing her dinner alone.

"Hey sweetheart," he greeted lovingly.

"Jack," she greeted coldly.

"Don't be like that honey, I know I've been busy but I got you something to show that I still love you," he told her, offering her the roses.

There was a time when such a sweet gesture would have won her over but the time since he had left, her sorrow had become cold wrath.

"Flowers, Jack? Do they work on your mistress?" she asked accusingly.

"Mistress? What are you talking about? There's only one woman in the world I could ever love," he replied.

"Save it!" she huffed.

"Deborah, honey… Please, if you really don't trust me right now, at least give me the benefit of the doubt," he asked.

She opened her mouth to reply, a growl coming out, but she couldn't deny that she did at least owe him that much.

"If you're not feeling well tomorrow, I'll call in for both of us and spend the day taking care of you. If you do feel better, I'll come home early and we'll spend the day together. Anything you want to do," he offered.

It was a tempting offer, considering the long period of absence. As cunning a beast as Jack was, she'd learned his tells a long time ago, she could tell he wasn't lying.

"Jack Howlings, before I agree to anything, look me in the eyes and tell me you haven't been cheating on me!" she demanded.

He cupped a hand under her muzzle and stared her directly in the eyes, a warm, loving smile spread across his face.

"You're my one and only, Deb… I could never even think about cheating on you… I love you, Deborah Howlings, and I always will…" he stated.

Looking into his eyes, she could see the truth in them. All the paranoia vanished within a few moments.

"So, you haven't been seeing some mistress… What have you been up to then?" she asked.

"That, my love, is a surprise…" he told her with a chuckle.

He was quick about taking a shower and they spent the night watching a few movies they'd missed out on since he had started working on his surprise.

-Apologies for the short chapter, more to come soon…-