Ashton’s POV“Are you sure about this?” Bastien asked once I explained what happened with Sarah. “Why would Sheryl want to keep this from me?”“She thinks there’s good in Sarah and doesn’t think that punishing her will do her any good. For whatever reason, she just wants peace.”“Yeah, that sounds like something she would say,” Bastien sighed. “Even so, this is still a punishablecrime, even if Sheryl made a speedy recovery. But I’m afraid without proper proof, I won’t be able to doanything.”“Can’t you speak to the board?” I asked. “Or maybe I can speak to them—”“And then what? It’ll get dismissed if we go to them without proper proof. Not to mention Sarah’sFather basically owns that school. If he gets word that his daughter is being accused of a crime, he won’tstop fighting us. If we want to proceed in punishing her, we need actual proof of the crime.”“What about pictures?” I asked. “Were there any photos taken at the party?”“There were some that took pictures, yes. We alrea
Sheryl’s POV“Remind me again why you have to go to the Calypso pack tonight?” Rachel asked, watching me pack my suitcase from her bed.“Because Professor Ashton is my ride to my pack,” I tell her. “Per my father’s orders…” I add.“So, why go to his pack?”“I guess there’s an issue there he needs to address,” I explain. “The dinner my mom is having isn’t untiltomorrow. So, we are going to the Calypso pack tonight so he can address whatever is happeningthere. Then, we are leaving for Elysium tomorrow.”Before she could say anything more, there was a knock on our door. I went to answer it and saw Ashtonstanding before me, holding his own suitcase.“Are you ready?” He asked, his face remaining expressionless.“Almost,” I answer, I let him inside my dorm as I finish packing my suitcase. Rachel was standing to herfeet quickly, adjusting her closing and giving Ashton a quick bow of respect.“Hello, Professor,” she said quickly.He didn’t respond to her; he looked her over briefly before
Sheryl’s POVIn the picture, my grandmother, Corinne, was sitting in this same vanity, in this room. I frowned andglanced around.Could this have been my grandmothers’ old room?Did she live in this packhouse?My mother never mentioned that my grandparents lived in the packhouse.I couldn’t get over how beautiful my grandmother was; she looked exactly like my mother. It made mesad that she was no longer around. I wished I could have met her. I continued rummaging through theother pictures that occupied the mirror and saw that there was another one with my grandmother,standing beside my grandfather, James.They looked so happy and in love. This was the kind of love story I wanted. Minus the dying and thebeing held captive by the Alpha for years. I wondered how long after this photo was taken mygrandfather was held captive and my grandmother died.It made me feel sick to think about it.I placed the pictures on the vanity; it was strange that they were just sitting there. As if th
Ashton’s POV“Alpha… thank you for coming. I’ve been so frightened. I haven’t opened the shop all day because I wasworried they would just return,” said the Jewelry shop owner, Eliza.She was practically trembling when I entered the shop.“Tell me everything that happened,” I ordered, following her toward the camera room.“They walked in, they were wearing masks and hoods. A couple of them had guns. Said they’d shoot meif I didn’t comply. Then, they took the sapphire necklace and left.”“Only the necklace?”“Yes,” she answered. “It’s the most valuable item in the store.”“Let me see the footage.”She typed something from the keyboard attached to the monitors and soon the image of the thievespopped up on the screen. As I got a better look, I took notice of everything I could see. Their darksweatshirts and worn-out jeans; their dark masks. The cameras are old, so the images were a bitpixelated.They looked to be my height, if not a little shorter.I watched as one of the guys went
Sheryl’s POVMy feet were working in overdrive; as soon as I heard her plead for help, I knew I needed to get there assoon as I could.The town wasn’t far from the beach; I climbed over the fence that separated the beach from the rest ofthe town and made my way through the dark streets only lit by a couple of street lights. It was late, sothere weren’t many cars on the road, but I had to pause for a moment for a car to pass before quicklycrossing the street.I picked up speed as her screaming grew louder.“Please, stop!! I did nothing wrong. You can take what you need, but please leave me alone!!”She was sobbing as she pleaded those words. I couldn’t hear what her attackers were saying, their toneswere deep and mushed into one low sound.I did hear some laughing though.Whatever they were doing to her, they were enjoying themselves.Her pleading was now drowned out by the sounds of her crying.As I rounded one of the corners in the town, leading to a dark alley, I saw about 4 me
Sheryl’s POVI hadn’t even realized I was cut until I saw the look on Ashton’s face when he told me I was hurt. Then I felta small sting on my forehead and the blood trickling down the side of my face.His eyes were dark and fixated on my features.I’ve honestly had worse injuries; this was minor in comparison. But I don’t tell him that. Instead, he doessomething I wasn’t expecting.He wrapped an arm around me and lifted me into his arms, cradling me like a child. My heart leaped in my chest and my eyes widened as I gazed up at him. He was going to walk me back to the packhouse.“I can walk you know,” I tell him.“This will be faster.”Before I could ask him how on earth this would be faster; he starts to run. He wasn’t even in his wolfform; he was just sprinting with me in his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck to steady myself,pressing my face against his chest and breathing in his amazing scent.Val was in complete bliss.I had to keep reminding her that this wasn’t the guy w
Sheryl’s POV“You don’t want a mate…” I continued, keeping my eyes on the back of my head; his entire demeanorhad changed at that moment. “So, why haven’t you rejected me?”“Do you wish for me to do so now?” He asked, turning to glance at me.His face was hard to read; I wasn’t sure how to answer that.“If you don’t wish to be with me then…”“You are my student; it’s more complicated than that,” he said quickly, silencing my words. “If word getsout that I rejected my mate, it will make me look bad as an Alpha.”“So, you are trying to protect your image?” I asked, raising my brows. I was trying to keep the hurt outof my tone, but I knew he could see the disappointment in my eyes. “Is that the only reason?”I thought maybe he would say something else, but his features hardened as he stared around my face.“Something like that,” he muttered, before turning away and leaving the room. Leaving me with only mythoughts and the soft cries of my wolf.…I couldn’t sleep all night.In the mo
Sheryl’s POV My legs were on autopilot.The thought of enjoying a large feast with my friends and family, with Ashton sitting in the guest bedroom, was unsettling in my stomach. I didn’t want to pretend that Ashton wasn’t here.I felt it would have been unfair to him.I knocked on the door to the room he occupied, feeling a wave of nerves surfacing in my chest.“Come in,” he muttered from inside.I opened the door, peering into the room.He sat at the desk across the room with his laptop propped open. I should have known he would be working. He looked engrossed in whatever he was typing out on his computer.I couldn’t help but stare at him, taking in the masculine glow that danced around his features. He was biting on his bottom lip as he concentrated, causing me to bite onto my own.He glanced up from the computer, his eyes narrowed as he stared around my body. He took in my appearance it seemed before his eyes fell upon my gaze.“Are you going to be joining us for dinner?” I asked,