Ashlynn sat with her arms crossed, escorted on either side by unshifted wolves broad enough to be defensive line men. In the back of a town car, they left enough room for a twelve year old, and yet her tiny form sat betwixt the two. Ashlynn was slightly more substantial and squished to hell, while Blaise sat smugly in the front seat, driving down the dirt road, already halfway to the compound.
He was practically giddy as, he struggled to shake the smug smile on his face. The conversation with Lilith had gone down with Blaise imparting a silencing order, and her practically fighting to keep anything back. Meanwhile, she repeated her story right down to the name of her grandmother.
Ashlynn crossed her arms. "I don't know what it is you're smiling about, wolf. Nothing has changed. We're still a million miles apart, and the cost for any kind of future between us is still much too high."
"Ash, you left me thinking I'd somehow fractured us. Left me think you'd fallen out of love. Then, when you disappeared again a few weeks ago, I knew there was something going on, but could not figure it out, but this. Love, there are pacts. As my mate, that women would not have the authority to touch you, not if the full council was made aware of our union and her threats. She does not have the authority to keep me from you love, no matter her power."
Shaking her head, Ashlynn glowered, sulking. "Watching you die, is not something I could bear, Blaise."
The car slowed, pulling into a compound in the middle of an Indiana forest. The chill from the evening was evident as the window wound down so that the gate key could be unlocked. Ashlynn knew these woods. Had made a home out of them, and part of her, felt like it was safe and home for the first time in years. Nothing had changed in those trees. The welcoming howls in the distance, and fresh scent of earth and pine.
Ashlynn settled into the back seat, like a homesick runaway.
They wove through the trees, darting past several smaller residence houses, before ending at the main house. A tall old wooden lodge, with a wrap-around deck, and numerous windows. The place was a getaway, and the only nearby sounds were the birds and the breeze. The car emptied, as all the guards slipped away, content she wouldn't make it far. Blaise climbed out, and waited by the open car door.
"Come on, Ash," Blaise teased gently.
Crossing her arms, Ash scooted as far from him as she could get. He just leaned in and grabbed her arm. Half a minute later she was tucked over his shoulder, butt straight up in the air as they walked into the hat. She resigned, inhaling his musky scent as they moved into the Alpha's house. "Blaise," she whined, as he walked through the entry hall and the living room heading straight for the stairs.
"Babe, I'm a wolf who has been short his mate for the past few years, thinking my reality was tearing her apart. I have had a hell of a week. And before we talk about anything, with any semblance of rationality, I need you naked, pleading for mercy while I remind you who this body belongs to," her replied, offering a firm spank to her ass.
Ashlynn bit down on her lower lip, stifling a groan as her own heat rose in agreement. "Blaise, please. Let's just stop and have a glass of wine. Chat. Let's do this rationally before you do something we both regret."
"Little one, you have caused me more than enough trouble. Not to mention, drugging an alpha, let alone your mate stands for quite a few punishments under pack law. Lying, fleeing, and cheating," he began listing her crimes one after the other.
"Hey, I never cheated on you," she snapped back, as they continued bumbling forward.
"Good to know," he said, and she felt his smile, as she rolled her eyes. Of course that was the first thing on his mind. Not that no one had asked, but it was damn hard to replace a wolf with some serious skill and one hell of a . . .
He growled, her thoughts an open book from their bond, and she felt the bruising firmness of his large fingers tightening around her thigh. Moaning she felt the moisture flooding her tight panties, her chest flushing.
"Blaise," she moaned.
"Oh babe, this doesn't end until I hear you begging for it. We're back on my turf, and you are mine. A few things have changed in your absence, and one of them is this."
Reaching the bedroom, she was surprised how little had changed, down to seeing her own books still on the reading table, most of her clothes still occupying half the closet. She'd left in a hurry, and the pack would have noticed a suitcase, so she'd left everything behind. And he'd kept it. Despite how much she'd hurt him, he'd kept it, as if one day she'd just slide back into place.
