Asher
“What are you doing?” Mac snapped, startling me. “Go after her! Find her! She doesn’t know her way around here. It’s dark!”
“She made her choice. Why would I go after her?” I scowled. “I don’t have to deal with her bullshit just because she is my mate. I have better things to do with my life than babysit a grown-ass woman,”
“So you are fine with her wandering around in the dark with some untraceable intruder in the loose?” he demanded.
“She is a warrior. I am sure she can defend herself if needed,” I said.
“Fine, if you don’t go after her, then I will,” he hissed.
“What do…” I couldn’t complete the rest as a startling pain erupted through my body. It hurt so bad that I had to bend over to hold myself together.
“Mac, stop it!” I wailed. “Stop trying to phase! Stopppp!”
“Somebody needs to be the man,” my wolf roared. “I am not letting her wander around in this darkness on her own!”
“Fine! Fine…I’ll go!” I exclaimed, panting with pain. “I’ll go look for her!” The pain slowly subsided, leaving me weak for a few seconds. Once it completely disappeared, I straightened myself and gritted my teeth with annoyance. Mac has never been a very forthcoming wolf. But this time, he was taking it a bit too far. Where in hell was I supposed to find Ivy, and why should I bother? I offered to drop her home first, didn’t I?
“Shift so I can sniff her out!” Mac commanded. .
“Do I have a choice?” I hissed and begrudgingly shifted back again. My wolf picked up my clothes between his teeth and darted off in the direction Ivy did.
“You don’t have to go so fast!” I exclaimed as he sprinted at the speed of a damn tornado through the darkness, following the trail her scent left like a pro. Somehow, it was very potent and scattered through the forest prompting me to assume that she probably shifted halfway through. And gone round and round, suggesting she was probably. It was annoying trying to trace her scent.
Why she was so difficult was beyond me. It was tiring, to be honest.
“This is why she has gone so deep into the woods,” Mac muttered. “Smell that?” I sniffed and mixed with her scent, I could smell the metallic tinge of blood and then the scent of raw flesh. There were traces of blood leading to a small clearing and as Mac emerged through the bushes, we both were surprised to find a dead, bloodied elk lying there, blood gushing through its fresh wounds. Since her scent was all around the dead animal, it wasn’t hard to assume that this was Ivy’s doing.
"So she was hunting,” Mac murmured, sounding impressed. “She has to be fast with very sharp instincts to hunt so smoothly in the dark. It’s been barely fifteen minutes since she left,” I inspected the dead elk and have to admit, this was a very clean, strategic hunt. From the deep gouge in the elk’s neck and the marks of her canines, I could see that she didn’t let the elk suffer. She didn’t give her any time at all. It almost seemed like the poor thing had to bear the brunt of her rage.
“Well, I don’t think we need to worry anymore. Let’s just get back now,” I said flatly.
“No, we still don’t know where she is. This is too deep in the forest,” Mac said and against my will, scampered off to follow Ivy’s scent again. I don’t know how long we had been going around but finally, I reached the end of my patience as we neared the lake house.
“The scent disappears here,” Mac muttered, his entire focus on Ivy’s scent.
“This is close to the packhouse so I am assuming she went home. Now can we please just shift back? I’m tired. I was supposed to go on patrol with Eli but you wasted too much of my time looking for that stubborn woman. Enough is enough now. I need a drink and then we are heading back to track the fucker who dared to cross the boundaries,”
“But…” Mac protested but I was not having it anymore.
“No, Mac…we are done! She is not a child who needs to be babysat. I am sure she is safely back home and if not, I trust her enough to know she will be. I am not wasting any more time, that’s it,” Before he could try to convince me, I quickly shifted back and haphazardly started pulling on my clothes. Just as I was throwing the T-shirt over my head, a splashing sound near the lake echoed through the silence of the night, startling me.
“What the fuck,” I grimaced, heading towards the lake.
Was someone taking a dip at this hour? The water must be freezing. I cautiously walked out from behind the giant oak tree, but before I could take another step, I froze. Her blue eyes peered back at me and I almost expected her to shout or scream or throw a bunch of profanities my way. But not a word left her mouth as she stood there, gazing into my eyes.
I fought it. I fought it with every bit of strength in me to not let my eyes move beyond her oceanic gaze. It was the worst kind of temptation I have ever faced and, regardless of my extreme control, as she took a step towards me, I just couldn’t help it. How could I when every muscle in my neck clenched, my jaw tightened and blood rushed through my veins like dam gates flooding open?
"Oh fuck.” Mac hissed.
I have seen uncountable women naked in the last twenty-six years of my life. And never have I ever felt the way I was feeling at the moment as my eyes feasted on her naked body, glistening with droplets of water that seemed like pearls scattered across her skin as the moonlight fell on her.
“Am I dreaming or is she really naked?” Mac whispered.
She was really naked and I was…mesmerized. Ivy had the most luscious curves I have ever seen, her pink nipples erect and almost begging for my attention. I could devour them without ever getting tired. As my eyes traveled down her body, my breath hitched in my throat when they settled between her legs, the small sprinkling of hair probably the sexiest thing I have ever seen.
I would love to bury my face in there and just imagining the scent I would be greeted with has me not only struggling to breathe, but has my cock getting painfully hard too. My jeans felt so tight, like I had put on Theo’s pants, not mine. Just being around her was a struggle of no small means, but this…this would take ages before I can get this image out of my mind. The need felt blinding, the desire to touch her yet unable to make a move was the worst kind of torture imaginable.
The Moon Goddess must really, really hate me.
Note: Mature Content AheadI dragged my eyes back to hers and yet, there was no reaction from her. Her expression was impassive as she watched me…and I watched her. There was no possible way to hide the animalistic desire and raw need I felt. I was pretty sure it was written all over my face. But I just can’t help it. She was my mate and she was …gorgeous. I am sure even if there was no matebond between us, my reaction would still be the same.Ivy was the kind of beautiful that words can’t do justice. She was her own kind of beautiful. A beauty that transcends words or colors or anyone’s imagination. The kind of beauty I have never had the privilege to experience until now. My heart was a frantic tempo as she slowly walked over to me, no prominent expression on her face but stunning blue eyes holding me in invisible shackles.“I…I didn’t mean to…I wa…” I was stuttering, my mind refusing to cooperate as she gazed up at me. “I…am so sorry, Ivy. I just…I was looking for you and didn’t kn
AsherMy head throbbed violently as I dragged myself downstairs for breakfast the next morning. I couldn’t sleep, nor could I go back to patrolling after what happened, because my mind was reeling. So I spent the majority of it emptying the bar and trying to figure out what happened at the lakehouse and if I dreamed all of it. But the marks on my back from her nails were confirmation that I didn’t. It all happened between us, none of it was a dream and the worse part…she initiated it.And then left me feeling like a fucking villain. Like I was the one forcing myself on her when in fact, she was the one who used and manipulated me. The fucking matebond stripped me of all m
“What are you guys waiting for?” I snapped, making everyone jump. “Off to training.” They all nodded and, murmuring to themselves, started with the daily routine.“Meeting in ten,” I muttered to Eli and started to head back inside, but I knew my delta had something to say as he trailed behind me.“What’s going on? Why are you treating Ivy like that?” Eli demanded. “She is your mate.”“Exactly! She is my mate…” I said, turning around and shooting him an icy look. “So let me deal with her, Delta,”“Two hundred laps? That’s insane, Asher,” he protested again. “And almost impossible to complete in the time you gave her,”“Again, that’s none of your concern. I know a warrior when I see one and I have my doubts about her. If she indeed is a true warrior, then this will be a piece of cake for her. If
IvyMy lungs were just a brink away from bursting out of my chest and at this point, my feet hurt too. The afternoon sun shone brightly even though the air already hinted at the winter standing right at the door. Sweat trickled down my forehead and my camisole was drenched. The dry leaves scrunched beneath my feet as I kept counting in my head. It’s been hours since I started jogging around the perimeter yet I was nowhere close to reaching two hundred.Time was running out and I had only until sunset which after a glance at my watch I realized was a mere four hours away. If I failed, I would have to leave. The hardness in Asher’s voice was an indication enough that he meant what he said.“He is angry,” Silver muttered. “And he has every right to be,” “And whose fault was it?” I grimaced. “You started it, Silver! How could you?”“Don’t completely blame me,” Silver snapped back. “Yes, maybe I started it but you we
“Ki…Kilian,” I croaked. “How do…do you? How did you even get my number?” This was an old cellphone of Naya’s. I had no use of it but just because she insisted, I agreed to keep it.“Ivyanka, always the same question sweetheart,” he tsked. “I know everything, every breath you take. Now, I am happy that you are trying to lure Asher in. Good job indeed…”“I am not trying to lure anyone in!” I snapped.“Hmm, well, if not then you better get on with it, sweetheart. Do you think I have that much time to waste? I had given you three months to get cozy now it’s time to work. Have you thought about what I said last night? When are you going to tell Asher that you are ready to marry him?”“Killian please…” I begged. “Please…just let me go. I cannot betray Asher or this pack…it’s wrong, please…”“Oh, well yes, that’s sad, isn’t it?” he murmured. “ Even more so because you have nothing to do with any of this. It’s really not fair,”“Exactly…” I nodded, hoping he would understand. “I will do anyth
Asher“Bowling alley?” I grimaced as my brothers pulled outside our usual place. We had VIP access here so we didn’t need to wait in line.“Let’s get some heat off you,” Logan smirked, striding inside.“Yeah you seem to be burning,” Noah chuckled, nudging me with his elbow. I scowled, but regardless, followed my brothers.“Mr. Gray, welcome,” the young woman at the reception smiled. She fluttered her lashes, giving all three of us doe-eyed looks and making me roll my eyes inwardly. All three of us were committed…well, kind of. Immediately, the memories of those uncanny blue eyes erupted through my mind, and I scowled harder. I wished she would fail to complete the task so I could punish her more.“Are you sure?” Mac prompted. “Not even a teeny bit worried?” “No,” I snapped, trailing behind Logan and Noah as a young guy ushered us to the private alley.“Enjoy your time,” the guy smiled, even though I could sense he was
AsherWhat did she just say?“What?” I questioned. Ivy took another step towards me, but it wasn’t like last night. She maintained a distance even if she was standing close.“I will marry you, Alpha,” she replied. “I agree to your proposal.”“And why this change of heart? May I know?” I narrowed my eyes at her.“Because I wanted to…to make up for last night. That was wrong and I am sorry. I…I can’t explain what happened because, frankly, I don’t know, but I did realize that I have insulted you and what happened shouldn’t have. Apart from that, your brothers have given me shelter and care when I needed it the most. Showed me immense respect and kindness. Take this as a
AsherAfter the second condition, I should have seen this one coming. Yet the shock I felt kind of surprised me too. Mac let out a growl, more pissed than shocked, and I understood his point because marking Ivy was his right as her Alpha, and denying him that would be…cruel. The mate mark is the source of communication between the wolves of both mates. And if Ivy doesn’t let me mark her, then Mac won’t ever have any form of communication to her wolf. The mate mark was also a symbol of an Alpha’s protection and possession, letting other male wolves know this one was taken.“You aren’t saying anything?” Ivy mumbled when I continued to stare at