Ashton’s POVHer powers were truly incredible. I could no longer feel the sting of the dagger and the wound was completely healed. It was as if it was never there, to begin with. Sheryl used her powers so casually as if she’s done it a thousand times before, but I’m beginning to realizethat maybe she hasn’t. She didn’t say anything after I told her that she could use my portrait for her project; she trailed after me silently, keeping her head down. But I could sense that she was pleased. Max praised me for my generosity toward her. A small smile was tugging at her lips, but she was stifling it. She was afraid to show me any kind of emotion.I suppose I haven’t been making it very easy for her. Encountering the wolf who attacked my mother was only proof that Sheryl wasn’t safe, and I needed to do whatever I could to keep her safe. Even if it means rejecting her. “Funny how you haven’t rejected her yet,” Max teased. “Why is that?”“I’m just waiting for the right time,” I say to him in
Ashton’s POVWhat the hell was I doing? She just smelled so good, and she was standing so close to me. It was either this or my wolf lost control completely and I wasn’t going to let that happen. She did a beautiful job on my portrait; it was even better than the last one. Watching her hard at work was hypnotizing. The way she bit her bottom lip when she concentrated and stuck her tongue out alittle to lick the top of her lip whenever she was pleased about something. The sparkle in her eyes showed just how much passion she felt for what she was doing. I couldn’t helpbut ask her about it. I wanted to know what made her want to be an artist.I was more than impressed with her answer and it made me want to talk to her more about it. I knewshe was good at combat, but her intelligence is beyond me.It made me want to bend her over the canvas and have my way with her. But I couldn’t. But she was so close to me, and she was so proud of the work she had done. When she asked why I haven’t r
Sheryl’s POVAshton and Connie demonstrated a move together and it made me want to vomit on the spot. She had her back turned toward him and he wrapped an arm around her waist to spin her around toface him where he kept her in a headlock. She swung her leg around and did a spin to get free. They were so close to one another, and they worked so effortlessly. She was incredibly beautiful.I wondered how long they have known each other. “Sheryl?” Becca said from beside me; I realized everybody was already performing this move and I wasstanding in the center of the arena, staring at Connie with a grimace. “Are you ready to try the move?”“Oh, yes,” I said, pulling my eyes away from Connie. However, I could still hear her laughing loudly as she placed an arm on Ashton’s bicep; he was sayingsomething to her that was funny. Though he wasn’t laughing with her, she didn’t seem to mind it. She stood close to him; her perfect figure was only inches from him, and she continued to speak andlau
Sheryl’s POVI took a step away from the door. I wasn’t surprised by what I had just heard. But I suppose I was a little disappointed.I’m sure Ashton was probably thinking the same thing; that I didn’t belong at this school. That I causednothing but pain and destruction wherever I went.I hurt my combat partner and friend.I wouldn’t blame her for never forgiving me.I could hear the murmurs continuing in the arena, but I didn’t stick around to listen to the rest. …Ashton’s POV“How could you say that when you know what my mother is, Connie?” I asked in disbelief. Her face fell slightly. “Your mother is different… she’s—”“Sheryl is top in her class,” I said, interrupting her words. “She’s incredibly intelligent and great at what she does. I don’t think she meant to hurt anybody. Just like my mother would never hurt anybody.”“Why are you protecting her, Ashton?” Connie asked, peering up at me with large and worried eyes. “As many years as I’ve known you, you’ve never once stood up
Sheryl’s POVToday was the big day; my art piece was going to be shown to hundreds of people and I had never been more nervous in my entire life. My heart was racing rapidly in my chest as I stared myself over in the mirror that hung in my dormroom.I wore a casual evening gown and kept my hair down and slightly curled at the bottoms. I wanted a more business casual look. Rachel wore her usual ripped jeans and black gaming blouse with her pixie- style hair dyed purple.I liked her style; it was the opposite of my style and I think that’s why we got along so well.I pressed the palm of my hands to my stomach, feeling a wave of nausea forming in my throat. “Are you excited?” Rachel asked with a wide grin. “I’m terrified,” I admitted. “And also, a little guilty… I just wish Becca could be here too.”“Don’t feel guilty. What happened to her wasn’t your fault. Plus, she’s going to be fine. She woke upyesterday, remember?” Rachel reminded me.It was true that Becca was going to be okay, a
Sheryl’s POVEverything happened so fast; my heart was racing at lightning speed as Ashton lifted me onto the sink. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around him; mainly to keep myself from falling off the sink, but also because it just felt right.I felt him between my legs, pressing himself against me and growing through his pants. I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and felt his lips closing in around mine.I closed my eyes as he kissed me. His lips were so soft and inviting; everything about him was just so good. The way he smelled, the way he felt, the way my heart raced whenever I was around him, and I can’t forget about the sweet bliss Val felt.I could feel her running laps in my mind’s eye and howling in delight as Ashton continued the embrace. He bit onto my bottom lip and brought it into his mouth hungrily. At this moment, he wanted me as much as I wanted him. Nothing was in my mind; I didn’t think about Connie or what she had said previously, and I wasn’tthinking
Ashton’s POV“Hey, Ashton!” Bastien called me over from across the exhibit. He was with a few other Alphas.I wondered if they saw me leaving the bathroom area with Sheryl trailing behind me. But when I turned to glance in Sheryl’s direction, she wasn’t there. She was smart; she must have been waiting a couple of minutes before she walked out of the bathroom. “I was just telling the guys of your efforts to find the person who poisoned my daughter,” Bastien said with a proud smile as I approached.It oddly enough made me feel good that he was praising me for something I would have done without him asking me to. It shouldn’t have mattered what Bastien thought, but for some reason, I was finding myself almost wanting his approval. Perhaps because he was the head of the committee and if I get in good with him, I can secure myfuture. “If that’s what you want to tell yourself,” Max teased. “I can’t thank you enough,” Bastien continued, patting me on the back of my shoulder.I nodded to him
Ashton’s POV“You know, Ashton. You aren’t a bad drinking partner,” Alpha John said with a drunken slur as he slapped me on the back of my shoulder. I could smell the whisky on his breath, and it made me cringe.I’ve only had a couple of beers, so I was far from drunk. But I couldn’t say the same for the other Alphas. The only other one that had his shit together was Bastien. He didn’t want to return to Selene completely wasted and I respected that about him. He loved his family, and he loved his work; he didn’t let the other Alpha convince him to drink more than he wanted, and I did the same, despite them trying. “Ashton, when are you finally going to meet your mate and get married?” Alpha John murmured while peering over at me. “You know it’s hard to run a pack without a proper luna.” There was no way in hell I would tell them about Sheryl. I wasn’t even sure if there was anything to say. We only kissed; nothing more happened between us. Besides, getting close to her would only put
“Earlier today,” I answered with a shrug, trying to seem nonchalant. “But you were busy taking Connie tolunch.”“When did you find out about this little vacation?”“It’s not a little vacation,” I said in return. “It’s a huge opportunity. Plus, I’ll be working as Cassie-Ann’s assistant the entire time. Plus, I could get into that school and really take my career to the next level.”“You can take it to the next level here too,” he said, still trying to process my words. “Why do you needto go across the world to do that?”“Because there’s no better school than the one in Monro,” I said, furrowing my own brows together as I stared over at his amazing side profile. He was so handsome no matter what the view. “Don’t you want me to succeed?”I said that last part using a small voice. I was afraid of his answer because it looked like he had beenthinking about it for a long while. However, he didn’t respond. “I was going to tell you about it…” I said in a softer tone. “I just didn’t think y
Sheryl’s POV My heart was racing in my chest because of the amount of adrenaline rushing through my veins. I hadnever done anything like this before but here I was, breaking somebody out of the hospital. “I can’t leave without knowing if Ryan is going to make it or not,” Rachel said, sliding out of bed. I couldhear the hurt in her voice, and it made me feel sad for her. “I’ll keep you updated,” I promised her. “But for right now, I need to get you out of here. I’m going tocall my dad when we are on the road. I won’t let them take you away to that awful place. You almost died the last time you were there. They should be investigated and shut down.”I still couldn’t believe a facility in a place that I love could be so cruel to other species. I had no ideathose with dark hearts could linger in Elysium. It was always such a loving place. Or maybe I have just been too blind to see what was in front of my face the whole time.I zipped her back and threw it over my shoulder as I made my
Sheryl’s POV“So, you are going to go away all summer?” Becca asked with large eyes as we sat in the studentlounge. “Yes, I think so,” I answered with a head nod. “It’ll be a good opportunity for me. Plus, my parent’s thinkit’ll be a good idea.”“What am I going to do all summer without you?” Becca pouted. “Rachel will probably spend thesummer at the hospital with Ryan.”“I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” I chuckled, but then I frowned once I thought about Rachel. “Any word on how Ryan is?” I asked, peering over at her. She frowned as well and shook her head. “None yet,” she said. “But they are thinking about getting Rachel admitted into a rehab facility. They want to bring her back to the one she was in a few years ago.”“What?” I gasped, my heart falling into my stomach. “I had no idea she was even in rehab before. But they say she went to some place in Elysium,” Beccasaid, thinking more about it. “They want to send her back. I don’t think the doctors talked to her aboutit
Ashton’s POV“Today, I’ll be teaching you how to shift in the air,” I announced to the class of students. “It’s all in thelegs. We kick off from the ground and then begin the shift right when the legs are being pushed off the ground.”I demonstrated with ease, and I was met with applause. “This is used mainly for sneak attacks. I want you to try and sneak attack your partners. Trade-off eachround.” Everyone went with their partners to a different section of the arena for some space. Sheryl stood in the distance, waiting for me because I’m her partner. We hadn’t spoken since my confession at the art show, and I was hoping we wouldn’t have to talk aboutthis again. It was a moment of weakness on my part, and it wasn’t something I was going to allow tohappen again. Connie was right the other day when she said I needed to stay away from Sheryl. It was for her own good. But her tight yoga pants and a tank top that she wore, hugged her body and fit around her every curveso perfectly tha
Sheryl’s POV“An election? This student committee was my idea,” I said, staring between all the school board’s faces until my eyes landed on Sarah who stared at me with a smug grin.I could tell that her intentions weren’t pure, and my stomach was forming into a tight knot. “Yes, but it’s a student committee. Meaning we need to give all students a chance to—”“Take my role as the leader?” I interrupted; they all looked startled by my stubbornness. I wasn’ttypically a stubborn person like this, but I was honestly hurt that it was this easy for them to just replace me. Sarah folded her arms across her chest. “I’ve done a lot of wrongs while I’ve been at this school. This gives me the chance to do somethinggood for once,” she said, eyeing me carefully. That smug look was still in her eyes though. She was pulling their strings. She didn’t care about this committee; she just didn’t want me to have it. “If I lose, where does that leave me?”“Worried you’ll lose?” Sarah asked, a grin appea
Ashton’s POV“You went to the art show, Ashton?” Connie nearly hissed, stepping in front of me as I sat on the couch in my living room. “What are you even still doing here, Connie?” I muttered, kicking off my shoes. “Didn’t your contract end a week ago?” She pouted, folding her arms across her chest. “Yes,” she answered. “But I don’t have anywhere else to go. I’m in between jobs and my next contract doesn’t start for another couple of weeks.”“So, why can’t you stay elsewhere?”“I don’t know anyone on this part of the continent,” Connie said, shaking her head. “You are my onlyfriend in town, and I’d like to stay close to you. Is that such a crime?”“Are you going to be a pest the entire time?” I asked, but I meant it almost teasingly despite how dry my tone was. Connie could see through my humor right away though and rolled her eyes as she sat beside me. “You are trying to avoid the conversation,” Connie pointed out, reminding me just how well she knew me. “You went to the art show.”
Sheryl’s POV What did he just say?I stared up at him with wide and shocked eyes. I could hardly breathe standing in front of him. We were outside and the air was starting to get brisk.It was growing late in the evening and only the faint lighting of the moon, hidden behind a few clouds, lit up the ground around us. “I can’t seem to get you out of my head,” Ashton repeated, keeping his eyes locked on mine. “And that’s a problem.”I wanted to say something to him, anything, but no words were coming into my head. I couldn’t believe he was saying such a thing. “Ashton, I—” Before I could utter a single word more, he stepped closer to me, closing the small gap that sat between us. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck to hold my head in place as he paced hisforehead against mine. His breathing slowed down to match mine and his eyes shut for a brief moment before he openedthem and gazed down at my lips.I wanted to stand on my toes and kiss him; I didn’t know what else to say o
Sheryl’s POVThere was a part of me that was hoping that Ashton wouldn’t show up. Emily and Kate were especially happy to meet him when I told them he agreed to come. We spent most of the morning setting up the gallery for the show. The caterers arrived just in time toset up their stations for food and drinks and per request, Brody arrived with his guitar. After talking with Brody over time, I discovered that he was huge into music and that it was a passion of his. I heard him playing in the student lounge and I knew he would be perfect entertainment for the art show. “Where should I set up?” He asked, holding up his red velvet guitar case. “I’ll show you,” I said, walking toward a secluded area where a few paintings were set up. “You can set up your station however you want,” I told him with a kind smile. “Hey, Sheryl! Can you help me place napkins around the tables?” Cassidy-Ann asked from across the room.I nodded to her and went to grab the napkins in the back room. As I was in t
Sheryl’s POV“Absolutely not!!!” Val growled with fury boiling through her. I had to clutch the desk to keep her tameand not lose control. “We will not be introducing these whores to our mate!!”“Maybe he would finally reject us if we did though,” I said, trying to reason with her. Yes, it was painful to think about, but this might be a blessing in disguise. Perhaps this was the pushAshton needed to finally reject us and let us live our lives without the burden of being his mate. My stomach was in a complete knot as I stared around at the eager faces that stared back at me. They were waiting for an answer and Val wasn’t letting me say anything to them. “We know he’s unmated because he hasn’t found his mate yet. We heard through a grapevine that he’s on the market for a chosen mate,” one of the chuckled. “Yeah, that famous singer Bethany is staying with him, trying to get him to choose her. She has a better chance than anybody, but we would also like a shot.”I couldn’t believe what