The Council

Heart pounding, blood rushing through her veins, the little she wolf ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Panic infused her very soul as she flew through the trees, the scent of blood heavy in the air, loud screams echoing all around her. One thought dominated her mind. She had to save them. She had to find someone who would listen to her among the madness surrounding her.

Beautiful angels flew all around her, great hulking men with long flowing hair moving almost gracefully as they crashed together in a macabre dance of death. Blood flew through the air as if in slow motion, limbs detached to a symphony of agonised screams. She was screaming inside her head, low whimpers issuing from her throat as she tried to find a way through them.

Beautiful angels; terrifying deadly beings who filled her soul with dread. Eyes shining with glee, smiles of pleasure on each face as they ripped each other apart. She saw a break, whimpered in relief as she darted into the space where the angels were suspiciously absent.

He was grabbing her before she had time to react. Whimpering loudly, she felt his large hand wrap around her throat, long pointed talons clacking together as he easily circled her slender neck and raised her high from the forest floor. She whimpered again as she stared into the face of the most beautiful angel of them all.

Long red hair billowed around his head; icy green eyes regarded her with cold contempt. Her heart faltered, her mouth so dry she couldn't whimper again. She was going to die. The vampires had gotten to her first before she could find someone to save the children. Total desolation invaded her soul and she gave one last tiny whimper before his strong hand closed around her throat tightly, ready to snap her neck.

A voice cracked loudly among the carnage!

She woke up with a muffled whimper, her hand pressed tightly over her mouth, her nightshirt clinging damply to her skin. Disoriented, her deep brown eyes searched the room in terror, looking for the deadly angels, scenting the air quickly. No blood, no screams, no death.

The girl doubled over, pressing her hands tighter against her mouth as she began to shiver in tiny little aftershocks from the nightmare. Had he heard her? Would he come as he had so many times before? It had been almost a whole month since the last nightmare, almost thirty days of perfect, blissful sleep.

She waited for her fear to lessen, for her heart to stop pounding so loudly in her chest. The house was silent, no sound of him approaching her room. She should have felt relieved that she had managed to hide this relapse from him but instead she felt alone. A sob threatened to burst out her throat. Where was he? Why hadn't he come?

She pulled her nightshirt off, shifting immediately, her body shimmering in the darkness as the girl vanished and a golden wolf remained on the tousled bed. The sleek animal moved instantly, jumping down and nudging at the open door. Blindly she hurtled along the dark hallway, up the flight of stairs, where she suddenly paused in fear. Did he still leave his door open? Had he stopped doing so when the nightmares appeared to stop?

She started running again, praying silently that he was at the end of the long, dark hallway, that he was where he always was when the nights became too unbearable.

A soft whimper escaped her as she saw the crack in the door before her. It was his welcome, his silent permission to enter his domain whenever she wished to. She nudged the door open almost fearfully, staring at the huge bed with the man lying sleeping on the right hand side. It was testament to his trust in her that he didn't awaken when she entered the room. He had when she had first come to his home, when he wasn't automatically coming to her room in the dead of night when he heard her tortured cries.

But after a few months, he remained asleep if she came to him and for that she was thankful. She knew he hated to see her so distressed. He never said anything but she would see the slight pinch of his lips, a tightening around his eyes as he comforted her until her weeping and shivering stopped. The instances of her needing him had decreased as time passed. This last period of days, weeks, had been the longest so far without the nightmares.

The little wolf bounded lightly onto the bed beside the flame haired vampire, approaching cautiously in case he woke and she surprised him. He could react so quickly, accidentally hurt her without realising it was she who was there. With another, almost inaudible, whimper, she curled up beside him, pressing against his body heat on top of the covers. She was safe now. She was always safe when she was with him.

A low growl sounded from his chest as her silky fur brushed against his naked skin. He shifted slightly in his sleep, one thick muscled arm coming around her shaking body to pull her more tightly against him. His face buried in the fur at the side of her neck, rubbing gently as a soft, contented sigh escaped his lips.

She froze, remaining as still as she could as he settled back into deep sleep, her name a breathless whisper of his lips, "Ashleigh."

Her body relaxed against him, her fear melting away at the soft sound he made, at the way he instinctually knew she was there even in sleep. Her Nors. Her beautiful red haired vampire.

He was her rock, her protector, the reason she woke up every morning and worked so hard to make it through each day. He was everything to her but she wanted more, so much more than he appeared willing to give. One day she would be brave enough to tell him how she felt. She would convince him that she was healed and ready to start the next phase of her life. One day.

She snuggled into him and closed her eyes. She was where she belonged, forever safe with her beloved vampire.

****

Nors groaned softly, his arms tightening around the soft, warm body cuddling into his. The sweet delicate fragrance of honeysuckle filled his nostrils and he instinctually nuzzled against the delicate skin of Ashleigh's neck, his lips grazing her tantalising flesh gently as his body hardened and he pressed against her.

He came awake instantly, his body stiffening. Ashleigh was in his bed again! Only this time she wasn't in wolf form as all the previous times before. At some point she had changed back to her human form and crawled under the sheets to press her tempting naked body against his.

Every instinct screamed at him to get out of the bed immediately. To put some distance between them. But she felt so amazing in his arms, so warm and fragrant and incredibly sexy. For months he had longed to feel her pressed up against him like this. It was hard to let her go.

With another groan and a judicious amount of iron self control, the vampire edged away from the beautiful blonde, trying to slide out of the bed without wakening her. She murmured in her sleep and clutched at his shoulders, halting his movements as she moved closer to him, her lips grazing his bare chest. Sweet Jesus, she was trying to kill him!

For the last year he had carefully striven to keep up a barrier between them, to give her the space and time she needed to heal from her pain. It had been the hardest thing he had ever had to do, denying himself the thing he wanted most in the world, his fragile little wolf. But it had been the right thing to do. She wasn't ready. She needed time. She still needed time otherwise she wouldn't be in his bed once more. She must have had the nightmare again. The one she had had night after long, painful night when she had first come to live with him.

Remembering the early part of their life together always broke his heart. Her heart wrenching cries in her sleep, her beautiful face soaked with tears as she came awake, sobbing for her family. The way she clung to him in utter dejection as she fought so hard to come to terms with her loss.

There had been a few occasions when he had almost been ready to admit defeat, when it had appeared as if not even his care and complete devotion to her would keep her from turning Rogue, but he had persevered because he couldn't bear the thought of failing her, of losing his one chance of being complete.

Nors loved his wolf with a passion he had never known he was capable of feeling for a woman. He had always thought he was too old, too selfish, too much the cold, heartless vampire. But Ashleigh had changed all that in one night. One terrible night that had crushed her spirit and almost destroyed her but had turned out to be his salvation. It seemed so cruel that she had to suffer so greatly for him to realise just what he was capable of.

If he could change things he would gladly spend the rest of his life being cold and heartless if it meant his Ashleigh could be happy with her family once more. He would sacrifice everything for her if he could but there were just some things that he couldn't change. He couldn't bring her family back to life but he could help ease her burden, to be whatever it was she needed him to be. He would love her from afar and just be her friend and protector if that was all she was willing to accept from him.

Her lips grazed his skin again and his heart pounded loudly in his chest. "Ashleigh," he breathed softly, stroking her blonde hair out of her face as he gently eased her lips away from his body before she drove him insane with need and he scared the living daylights out of her. "Wake up, Ash."

He eased back from her gently, thankful he'd kept wearing his silk pyjama bottoms long after she'd stopped coming to his room. It afforded him a little bit of respectability as long as she didn't look too closely at him. Her big brown eyes opened sleepily and she smiled softly, pleasure dancing across her face for an instant before she suddenly sat up with a startled gasp.

Nors hissed as if he were in pain as the sheet fell from her body, revealing creamy white skin and the beautiful soft curves of her breasts to his rapt gaze. God, she really was trying to kill him! He averted his gaze and swung his legs out of bed, reaching for his robe on the chair and quickly covering his body. He opened his closet and pulled out the first T-shirt that came to hand and tossed it towards the bed without looking back.

Ashleigh shook the last foggy wisps of sleep from her mind, staring at Nors' back as he tossed the T-shirt onto the bed. She couldn't stop the smile that crossed her lips. He really was an old prude, her vampire. He knew she was a Were and that nudity held no taboos to her but he was still a stickler about her covering up when she shifted from human to wolf and back again. It was actually quite sweet and endearing in its own way.

The set of his back told her he wasn't pleased at finding her back in his bed. Or was it because she had shifted back to human while she slept? He didn't usually have an issue with her coming to him in the night if she needed him. "Are you angry with me, Nors?" she asked quietly as she slipped the clothing on to keep him happy.

"You had the nightmare again?" He didn't answer her question but he did turn around now that she was 'decent', his expression carefully neutral.

Ashleigh sighed and ran hand through her hair, nodding as she did so. "I'm sorry if I invaded your privacy," she said tentatively. "I didn't think you would mind even though it's been a while since the last nightmare."

His expression immediately softened and he sat down on the bed beside her. He didn't think it possible for her to look more alluring but somehow the sight of her in his clothes made him want her more than ever. He stifled down his erotic thoughts and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You know you're welcome to come to me if you need to, little wolf," he growled softly. "I was just a little surprised at you shifting during the night. It's the first time that's happened and it caught me a little off guard when I woke up. I don't want you to ever feel you can't come to me, Ashleigh." And he didn't. She may drive him insane if she started shifting back to her human form but he would learn to live with it somehow if she still needed his comfort during the night. There was precious little he could deny his wolf.

"I don't know why I had the dream again," she sighed softly resting her chin on her upturned knees. "It's been almost a month, Nors. I feel so much better now, happier. Why won't it go away?"

Her big brown eyes held a hint of plea in them which made his heart clench painfully. Time was really the only thing that would heal her completely, and maybe even then she would never fully recover from her losses. She was so much stronger though, a smile more readily coming to her exquisite face, a sparkle of joy creeping into her eyes when she didn't even realise it.

Nors couldn't resist reaching out to tuck her soft blonde hair behind her ear, his need to pull her into his arms and hold her close almost overwhelming him. If he did that he didn't think he would be able to control himself. He was still too off balance at the moment from waking to find her naked in his arms. He would be fine if it happened again because he would be prepared for it the next time, but this morning he needed to work on getting his self control back in check.

"You're doing brilliantly, Ash," he smiled softly. "You're more resilient than you give yourself credit for. Don't be disheartened by one little relapse. Think how far you've come already. You are strong, little wolf. You just need to believe that." He had to stifle down a groan when she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

His own arms automatically gathered her close as her scent washed over him and his body started reacting immediately. He had to get her out of his bed or all of his good intentions were going to go out of the window and he was going to strip her naked and make love to her the way he had been longing to do for the last year.

Nors gently disentangled her from his embrace and stood up. "You're also going to be late for work if you don't get your ass out of bed," he remarked dryly, heading into his bathroom and closing the door silently behind him. He leaned against the thick wood and let out a quiet breath. His wolf could tempt the devil himself she was so addictive. How he found the strength to walk away from her he had no idea.

Ashleigh smiled as she clambered out of the bed, feeling a renewed sense of peace within herself as her vampire all but ran from her. The memories of the nightmare receded completely as she headed out of the room and back down to hers.

Poor Nors. He was being so valiant, so stoic and self sacrificing. She had felt his body reacting to her though and it gave her a little hope that maybe her feelings were reciprocated. He had in no way ever intimated that he thought of her as anything other than a friend. She knew he cared about her a great deal because he was always so patient and understanding with her.

Now she wondered if he felt something more and was just very good at hiding it. Her wolf knew the truth of the matter. He belonged to her. At some point in her stay with him, once the worst of the pain had begun to recede, her wolf had made it more than evident that the red haired vampire was her mate.

She had been startled at first by that realisation and then she had accepted it. She had been drawn to him the night of the war. He had been the only person to get through her misery and find a way to draw her out of herself when she had wanted to curl up and die along with her family. Thinking back it appeared so obvious now, but at the time she had been hurting so badly she hadn't seen it. Nors was her mate. She just had to get through his impressive defences to make him to recognise that too.

Despite the rather awkward start to the day, their morning routine settled back to normal. Nors showered and dressed for work before heading downstairs to fix some coffee and pop some bread in the toaster for Ashleigh. By the time it was ready, she was skipping down the stairs appearing in the kitchen with a bright smile on her face.

He watched her eat as he sipped at his coffee, admiring the way her hair framed her delicate face in a short bob style. She chattered away about her plans for the weekend which appeared to include a trip to the compound.

He smiled as she brought it up with no prompting from him. It had been so hard to get her to return home to her people. He'd had to be quite firm with her to get her to go at first and it had broken his heart to hear her plead with him not to make her go but it had been the right thing to do. Now she was making plans to return on her own and he suddenly felt a little afraid by this new development. Did this mean she was ready to return to her people? Would she be telling him one day soon that she was ready to return to the pack?

His smile faltered and he looked away, frowning down into his coffee mug. He would let her go if that was what she wanted. He would do what was best for her even if it would mean his days would become cold and lonely once more. Whatever Ashleigh needed he would make sure she had no matter what the cost was to him.

"Nors," she said impatiently and he looked back at her to see a quizzical frown on her face. "Wool gathering?" she asked with a little laugh. "I asked what time you were leaving work today. Can you swing past the bookstore and pick me up on the way home?"

Nors smiled gently. "Sure. I'll be there about six. That's not too late for you?"

"No, it'll give me time to relax and have a read while I wait for you," she answered standing up and walking to the sink to quickly wash up her dishes.

He rose too, passing his cup to her when she held out her hand for it. He watched her wash it and place it on the draining board. It was such a normal, mundane thing but the feeling of being a normal couple was highlighted by the gesture and he found that it was something he craved more of as each day passed. There was a feeling of rightness about them sitting having breakfast, washing dishes and heading out to work together. Like they belonged together.

"Come on, I'm going to be late if I don't get you dropped off at the bookstore soon," he said gruffly, grabbing his car keys and heading out of the kitchen before he was tempted to open his mouth and ask her if she was getting ready to leave him. He didn't want to hear the answer to that question.

*****

Ashleigh did one last quick check around the bookstore to make sure everyone had left. She locked the door and turned the sign to Closed. This was her favourite part of the day, when the store was closed and she got to potter around on her own while she waited for her ride home.

Smiling, she tidied up a few books and poured herself a coffee, sinking onto the comfy sofa near the bay window and kicking off her sandals so she could curl her feet underneath herself. She loved working at the bookstore. It had been her refuge for the last six months as she slowly clawed her way out of the deep misery she had been living under for so long.

She could still remember the day Rhianna had appeared at the house and asked her if she was interested in helping out at her bookstore. Ashleigh assumed Nors had told the little redheaded vampire about her love of reading and that was what had prompted the offer. Her love of books had drawn her to the bookstore and she had quickly come to like the other woman whom she vaguely remembered from being at the compound during the war.

So she had agreed to help out and here she was, six months later, running Rhianna's store for her while she was in Europe with Caleb. She had a job she loved and she had Nors to come home to. For the first time in a very long time Ashleigh felt almost happy, content even.

There was only one thing she needed now to make everything perfect and that was getting Nors to start looking at her as a woman instead of someone he needed to protect. He was always so careful around her, so proper and respectful. She dreamed about him suddenly pulling her into his arms and kissing her until she forgot which way was up and which was down. Her wolf dreamed a lot saucier stuff than that which made her face flush scarlet at just the thought.