Ashton’s POVShe was looking at me like she had seen a ghost. The color in her face was gone and her oddly coloredeyes were wide. Max could sense that she received her wolf and insisted that we go and see her rightnow. But as I stood in the doorway of the infirmary, staring into her eyes, I realized I probably shouldn’thave come here.It was taking everything I had to keep Max at bay; he wanted to rip himself from me and run to our mate. He was saying how beautiful her wolf was and how much he wanted to bask her in a loving scent.She no longer just smelled like honeysuckle; I could almost smell the scent of the ocean too. There wasan odd smell of salt water; it was comforting. It was like standing at the beach without the hassle of thesand or birds.She was at a loss for words; I’m sure she wasn’t expecting that I, her professor, would turn out to be her mate. I probably wasn’t at all how she envisioned her mate. I wouldn’t blame her if she ran in theopposite direction.However
Sheryl ’s POV“Are you out of your mind?” Rachel shouted as I hung up the phone with Scott. I began toward thedoor. “You can’t just go there. He could be dangerous.”“I can’t let him hurt himself,” I say as I grab my coat.“It’s not your problem to fix, Sheryl ,” she told me, following closely behind.I paused to look at her.“He called me; I’m now in his recent phone record. He made it my problem.” She didn’t look convincedso I added, “You didn’t hear him a minute ago… he sounded like he was in pain.”“Fine, but I’m coming with you,” Rachel said with finality, grabbing her own coat.I gave her a thankful smile before leaving the room.I really didn’t like pubs; any kind of bar I tried to stay clear of. I wasn’t much of a drinker, and I certainlyI didn't like hanging around drunk people. But from when I dated Scott, I remembered that he enjoyedgoing to any kind of bar that he could find. He would often drag me to them, and I’d have a miserabletime.By the end of the night, I alwa
Sheryl ’s POVBy the time I could form words out of my mouth, Scott was already snoring. I stood frozen at the door,just staring at him. That’s all I could think to do.Hearing his words caused my heart to ache. She hated me because I was a Volana wolf. I know my kindisn’t accepted by some; they find us dangerous and threatening. But I have never tried to pose a threatto anyone. I stand up for what I believe in and help those in need. I’m far from dangerous but I knownot all in our world see it that way.“What did he just say?” Ashton asked; for a moment, I forgot he was standing near me.I saw the complete confusion on his face.I didn’t want to stay in Scott’s room any longer, so I left. As we got into the empty halls, I turned to him,trying to keep the tears out of my eyes.“Please don’t tell my father,” I managed to utter as I stared up at him.“What did he mean that you are a Volana? Is that true?” His tone seemed cold.“I never want to hurt anybody,” I whispered. “If Sarah
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