Ashton’s POVThere was a painful expression on Sheryl’s face. She looked between Bethany and me, trying to figure out whether I was serious. I knew there was a part of her that wanted to leave. If she stayed any longer it would only hurt her that much worse, and my wolf wasn’t able to handle feeling her pain. “Okay,” she finally said in a soft tone. Bethany rose her brows at Sheryl as if silently asking her to leave; this irked me. Sheryl turned and left us to be alone. “I knew you would see things from my view,” Bethany said, batting her long lashes at me. “We are goingto make an incredible team. Now, let’s discuss marriage.”“We won’t be discussing anything of the sort,” I said, turning my eyes in her direction. She frowned, seemingly stunned. “Excuse me?” She asked, raising her brows once again. “You can’t just come to my workplace and talk about this nonsense in front of my students. It wasincredibly unprofessional, and my personal business is not to be displayed as it was.”“I
Ashton’s POV“Alpha John is requesting a meeting with you,” Beta Ethan said during a mindlink. “He agreed to meet you somewhere in Higala. Perhaps a coffee shop in the morning.”“Did he say what it’s about?” I asked, curiosity piquing my interest. It was odd that John would request alast-minute meeting like this. It was out of character. “I asked and he said it was a personal matter,” Ethan said in return. “I see,” I said, thinking carefully about this. “All right. We can meet at the coffee shop in the morning. 8:00 am.”“I’ll let him know,” Ethan said as he disconnected the link. …The next morning. The coffee shop was fairly busy in the morning with the college students all scrambling to get their morning coffee before their first rounds of classes.I knew I wasn’t going to see Sheryl this morning because coffee wasn’t something she typically drank. She was a tea drinker.I wasn’t even sure how or why I knew that information. “You think about her often,” Max teased. “It’s like you
Sheryl’s POV“Professor Ashton will be running a little bit late. He got stuck in a meeting. But he should be here soon,” Connie announced once class started. “In the meantime, you can practice the moves we taught you the other day.” Everybody joined their partners and began shifting and attacking. I stood off to the side awkwardly. I didn’t have a partner anymore. Becca was still in the hospital and even so, she didn’t want to be my partner.I couldn’t blame her.I met Connie’s eyes, and she walked over to me. “I’m not really sure what to do with you yet,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and narrowingher eyes at me. “I suppose you can just wait for Professor Ashton to return and then ask him.” The image of her naked in his house surfaced in my mind and formed a tight knot in the pit of mystomach. It was unsettling to look at and my heart ached at the memory. But I nodded to her just the same; hoping that the pain wasn’t evident on my face. She turned away from me and sw
Sheryl’s POV“Why are you spending the weekend at the Calypso pack?” Rachel asked from across our dorm as she watched me pack some of my belongings into my weekend bag. “I told some of the children that I would help them with their combat,” I explained to her. “And Professor Ashton is okay with that?” She asked, raising her brows. “It took a little convincing. But eventually, he came around,” I told her. This much was true. Ashton was against it at first, but I asked him again the other day if I could go to his pack and train some of the local children and he finally agreed. Rachel looked questionably at me for a few moments before shrugging and plopping down on her bed. “Well, I’ll be here. Being bored out of my mind,” she said, grabbing one of her old magazines to flipthrough. “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I chuckled. “I’ll be back in a couple of days.”I gave her a quick hug before leaving. …“I’m so happy that you are here!” Dee said as soon as I walked into the packhouse. She greet
Third Person POVSo, Sheryl is Ashton’s student and his apparent crush.It’s quite obvious that Sheryl has a thing for him as well, but it is simply a thing that can’t ever happen.It’s a scandal that Ashton wouldn’t want to get out and Bethany was planning on eating that up. Whatever kind of crush he had on her, wasn’t going to last with Bethany there. There was nobody like Bethany and she was going to make sure that everybody in this pack, including Ashton, knew that. Soon, they won’t even remember Sheryl’s name. Ashton was in his office when Bethany brought him his food. He’s basically been living in this office since he arrived home. “How about you take a break and have some food,” she said, placing a plate of stir-fry in front of him. He glanced at it briefly, uninterested, before looking back at his computer. “I thought maybe we could eat together,” she finally said after a long pause. “I’ll pass,” he said without hesitation. “I’m a little busy.”“I can see that, but even an Alp
Ashton’s POV“Something is wrong with our mate. She’s feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness. Her wolf is cryingout to me,” Max said with a strained tone.I had anxiety boiling in my chest and I knew he was right. I didn’t stay around the packhouse for long. I knew Sheryl was in the Calypso field with the local children, training them in combat. As I reached the field, I saw exactly what was making Sheryl upset. Or rather, I saw who was making her upset. Bethany stood beside her with a smile on her face as she spoke words to Sheryl that looked wounding. Sheryllowered her gaze and for a moment, I thought she was going to cry.I couldn’t explain the rage I was feeling at that moment. I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth. I knew I had to remain calm; I couldn’t lose my cool in front of everybody.Including these children. The only thing I could think to do was approach them without making a sound. Sheryl, of course, couldsense my presence. She saw me before I reached them, but Be
Third Person POV“You should seriously eat something, Ashton…” Bethany pouted as she stood at his office door. Ashton glared at her from his desk; there was no trace of amusement on his face. Getting him to love her was going to be more difficult than she thought, but she certainly wasn’t going to give up. “I’m not hungry,” he said, standing to his feet. “I ate a late lunch.” Bethany knew for a fact that he wasn’t being truthful. She doesn’t recall him eating at all today. “I’m going to bed. Please, don’t disturb me,” he said as he brushed past her and left his office. Bethany placed the plates of food on his desk and folded her arms across her chest. This wasn’t fair. Heclearly cares way too deeply for that lowly student of his. Even his packhouse staff seems to care for the girl for whatever reason. What made her so special? She wanted to find out everything she could about Sheryl, but until then, she was determined to get Ashtonto want her. Perhaps if he saw what he could have, t
Sheryl’s POVI woke up feeling an overwhelming sense of comfort and warmth.I had never felt this relaxed before and it took me a minute to figure out why. As I opened my eyes, I wiggled against something, and his arms tightened around my body as his face nuzzled in my hair.I froze completely when I realized that it was a man. “Not just a man…” Val breathed lovingly. “Our mate.” Ashton?I nearly gasped when I realized she was right. Ashton was lying in bed beside me with his arms tightly around me and he was snuggling against me. Or rather, I was snuggling against him.I turned my body to face him and saw that he was still asleep. He looked so peaceful that it put my entire heart at ease knowing that he was right beside me. But my question was, “Why?”“Because he could feel our pain,” Val explained. “He wanted to provide us with comfort.” My heart felt like a bolder had been lifted off it. Could that be true? Could he feel our pain and want to make it better?I didn’t understand why