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Asher “Fuuuuck,” I groan, not a damn inch of me that doesn’t ache. My eyelids are heavy, refusing to open. My muddled brain is still offline and the message that I need to wake up gets short-circuited somewhere before reaching the rest of me. Unfortunately, it’s broadcasting the fact that I’m freezing and in pain loud and clear. I manage to press my palms to the ground, alerting me to the fact that I am indeed lying on a cold slab of concrete. That would explain the kink in my neck and the fact that I’m shivering, but not much else. Where the fuck am I and how did I get here? The penetrating chill is bone deep, making my joints stiff. I suck in a ragged breath as I attempt to bend my knees and get my feet beneath me. The pain of that simple movement is enough to jolt my brain cells back into action, reminding me I have a way to warm up. But when I try to call on my fire, all I get is a weak pulse of heat that fades as quickly as it came. “Blaze?” I reach for my wolf instead.
Aspen “Aspen, nice to see you again.” Mason’s dads, Finn and Zayne, shake my hand. “Hello, sweetheart!” They move on to Elena, enveloping her in a group hug before I have a chance to respond. “Uncle Finn, Uncle Zayne, thanks for coming so quickly.” She hugs them back just as enthusiastically. “Of course we came. We’re happy to help our son and his new Luna,” Zayne winks at her when he mentions her title, “any way we can. I just wish there hadn’t been so much misunderstanding between us for so many years. We would have been here in a heartbeat if we’d known he needed us.” “That’s all water under the bridge, Odie.” Mason tells him and I grin at his weird nickname for Zayne. “I’m just happy you’re here now.” Mason pulls them aside to bring them up to speed. He called them after the morning’s ill-fated meeting and they agreed to come right away, along with fifty men to help shore up our defenses. We all breathed a sigh of relief knowing help was on the way. “Hey, you okay,
Elena Guilt sits heavily in my gut as I pack a bag for our trip to find Asher. I’d only just managed to unpack the last of the clothes the guys bought for me on our way here, and now we’re leaving again. Aspen filled Mason in on our plans late last night when he finally came to bed. He insists on coming with us, leaving his pack again when they clearly need his steady leadership. The selfish part of me breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting to be parted from him. But I can’t shake the feeling that his loyalty to me may cost him too much. The sound of paper rustling pulls me out of my reverie and I turn toward the sound. A large yellow envelope sits on the ground by the front door like someone just slid it under. I poke my head out into the hall but it’s empty. I can’t even catch a scent which is odd. Turning the envelope over in my hand, it’s completely blank. I consider leaving it for Mason to deal with but he’s busy because of me, briefing his fathers to take over in his a
Asher My cock is so hard it feels like it will shatter if I don’t get some relief. I wrap my calloused hand around it and pump it in firm, rough strokes. Elena leans over me with that wicked gleam in her eye, the one she always gets when she knows she’s about to do dirty things to me that will make me beg for more. Her tongue flicks out to lap up the heavy drop of pre-cum beading at the tip. Her eyes roll back in her head like she just tasted the most delectable dessert. I love that look, like I’m giving her the best gift by feeding her my cock, and it only makes more cum weep from my slit. I keep one hand tight around the base of my shaft, offering her the rest to do with as she pleases. Her warm mouth envelops the swollen head as she tongues my leaking hole and it feels so good I can’t hold back, bucking my hips and forcing myself deeper. “Your mouth is fucking perfect, gorgeous.” I moan as she bobs on my cock. “Mmm.” She hums, her mouth too full to respond, and the vi
Aspen I hold Elena on my lap while Mason drives us to our next destination, Crimson Moon. My shirt is soaked with tears from holding her to me while she cried and it only fuels the rage burning me from the inside out. My brother better hope we don’t catch up with him or have a very good exclamation if we do. She only just fell asleep in my arms so I keep stroking her hair, hoping she won’t wake. Mason keeps glancing at us in the rearview mirror, worry for his mate creasing his brow. It took a lot of convincing for him not to load her in the car and head straight back to Sacred Moon, lock her away from the world and anything else that could hurt her. In the end he agreed that regardless of Asher’s path, we needed to follow our plan to ensure Elena’s safety. It took even more arguing for him to release our mate to me so he could drive. But time is of the essence and he’s made the trip between Glass Lake and Crimson Moon many times to visit his grandparents, and knows the route in h
Mason After being a virgin for twenty-three years, I never thought I’d ever be one to complain about sex. And don’t get me wrong, I love absolutely every minute I spend buried inside my mate. But ever since reading Asher’s note, she’s constantly needy. I’d do anything to wipe that broken, devastated look off her face but the only time it leaves her face is when Aspen and I have her screaming in pleasure. But the minute we stop touching her, she withdraws again. I’ve even caught her quietly crying a time or two but when I try to comfort her, she pulls away, insisting she’s fine. It’s tearing me up inside that I can’t take her pain away. Currently, we’re all sitting around the kitchen table in my family home, trying to come up with a plan to find Aspen’s mother. Everyone except Ellie, who’s currently curled up in the window seat, studying the yard like it holds all the secrets of the universe. Her nose is red and she has dried tear-tracks on her cheeks. “You remember, don’t you
Elena “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Mason snarls at Aspen “You might have mentioned that when someone started picking off your ex-girlfriends by strangling and gutting them with tree limbs!” “Mason,” I tug at his arm, trying to pull him away from an unintimidated Aspen before their argument comes to blows. “No, Elena!” He shakes me off, his use of my full name more telling than his tone of how pissed he is. “Don’t you dare take his side. What he did is inexcusable!” “No, you’re being fucking ridiculous! There are dozens, if not hundreds of Earth Fae living in the vicinity. Why would I suspect my own mother who wouldn’t hurt a fly?” He blares at him. “By that logic, maybe we should have interrogated Elena’s mom too. She can control earth elements.” “But she, along with the others you referred to, wouldn’t have a clue who you and your brother have been whoring around with for the last few years now would they? No, your mother would be suspect number one on that list!”
Mason I try to zone out while Grey runs but I can't keep the guilt at bay. I hate the tension between Aspen and I. I hate the awful things I said to him and the hurt I saw in his eyes when I said them. Apologizing to him is the least I can do. That and a lot of groveling. Surely he’ll forgive me. If he doesn’t, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m back to square one, racking my brain for ways to make it up to him. There has to be something I can do to show him that I trust him implicitly, that I didn’t really mean the things I said. “We should bite him.” Grey’s idea startles me. “What? You would want to mate him too, like a chosen mate?” I ask incredulously. Since the day he came to me, Grey has never wanted anyone but his fated mate. It never crossed my mind that he might want to mate Aspen. “We have our little one but he is part of her too. So in a way, he’s already ours.” He comments. “Using that logic would mean Asher is ours too.” I cringe at the thought but he just