Ashly cups her son's face and looks him dead in the eyes. "Don't you dare ever run off on me like that again." She reprimands, wishing she could sound more authoritative, but her voice betrays her and quivers against her will. "I wouldn't have to if you hadn't lied to me for 14 years." Ray bites back, then pulls roughly out of his mother's hold. "Ray..." Ashly pleads in a small voice. "No, you kept me from my own father." Ray snaps angrily, pointing vaguely behind him while keeping his eyes trained on Ashly. "You have no right to make me feel bad." "I know, and if you would just let me..." Ashly tries, but Ray shakes his head and cuts her off, refusing to listen. "Explain?" he mocks, then snorts, "Yeah, no, I'm done listening to your lies." "I'm still your mother; you cannot speak to me like that." Ashly reprimands again, this time managing to be more steady. "Whatever, I'm getting my things and going to stay with Alex." Ray throws at her, then tries to bypass her and walk towar
Flashback:- Everything aches, and she feels so heavy as she wobbles through town, shopping for all the last things she needs to execute her plan. For the past hour or so, Ashly had been to the supermarket to get some snacks and food to last her for the next couple of days; at the baby shop to get her son newborn outfits; then she went to the pharmacy to get some basic painkillers and vitamins; and after that, she went to the bank to withdraw any money she had. It wasn't much, but it was at least enough to get her started. Of course, due to her very pregnant state, she had to sit and rest a lot in between, all the while trying to ignore the endless, shameless stares she was receiving. Rumors about her have been running wild since people started to realize that she was pregnant, and she hated every moment of it. Ashly couldn't wait to get as far away as she could from that god-forsaken town and all the stuck-up snobs that lived there. Once she was done at his last stop, Ashly began
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Alex questions, and Ashly is glad that at least he sounds just as nervous as Ashly feels. Ashly turns to look at him again and shakes her head. "No, thank you." She declines, then looks around herself in discomfort as a tense silence falls between them. "Is Ray home?" she finally asks, then bites her bottom lip in anticipation. This time Alex shakes his head. "No, but he should be soon," he says, scratching the back of his neck, looking hesitant before he goes on. "He's on the way home; the school bus is dropping him off here." "Okay." Ashly responds shortly, because there's not much more she can say, and really, there's not much more she wants to say. "Look, while we wait, I want to talk to you about something." Ashly looks back at Alex at the sound of his voice, the words sinking in slowly and causing her insides to burn, already sensing this will lead nowhere good. "Okay," the omega manages in a small voice. "Why don't we sit?" Alex gestures
Flashback:- It wasn't until she was parked outside the huge Moonlight Pack house that Ashly finally realized where she was going. Ashly remained seated for a long moment, her seatbelt still buckled and her hands still on the steering wheel. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Ashly looked up at the house, unaware of the time passing by. Then, before she could overthink it or talk herself out of it, Ashly turned off the engine, unbuckled the seatbelt, and stepped out of the car, struggling to stand with her 7-month pregnant belly. Taking small, hesitant steps, Ashly made her way up to the front door, all the while praying to hell that she's doing the right thing. She had no idea what she was going to say or what would even happen, but she knew she at least had to try. Unfortunately, she could no longer climb up the tree to the Alex window, so she had no choice but to knock on the front door and pray that it was Alex or one of his parents that opened it, not one of his girlfriends or
"I was hoping, however, we could start discussing the matter of Ray custody." At the sound of the words Ashly dreads most, a cold shiver runs through her body as a wave of dizziness washes over her. "What?" Ashly manages to choke out. "Look, I don't want to fight or make it ugly," Alex goes on quickly, gesturing with his hands. "I just want a chance to get to know my son, and I want to talk about shared custody." "No." Ashly quickly blurts out in a panic, shaking her head frantically, "No, you can't have him." "Ashly, I don't want to take him away from you." Alex tells him, but it does nothing to calm Alex. "I just want..." "I don't care what you want." Ashly snaps angrily, slamming her hand down on the table, causing it and everything on it to rattle, and earning some strange looks from the people around them. Alex jolts slightly at the sound and outburst, and Ashly can't help but get a bit of satisfaction out of that. As the people around them seem to settle back into their own
Flashback:- The large pendulum mahogany behind his father is ticking; the sound, which is usually drowned out by the other noises that fill the mansion, is now echoing loudly in the eerily silent room. Trying to comprehend the words his parents had just spoken, Alex just sat there at the table as he slowly let the information sink in. But the more he thought about it, the sicker it made him feel, the harder his heart pounded, and the hotter his blood boiled. "I won't do it." Alex finally decided, looking up at his parents with fire in his eyes, "You can cut me off if you'd like, but I am going to forget about Ashly; I am not going to marry someone else. Ashly is the only love of my life." "Don't be so foolish." His mother hissed, rolling her eyes dramatically, "You will not give up your whole pack for that Omega, who ran away; God knows where." "Ashly will be coming back. She is my future," Alex retorted angrily. "This pack is your future; May is your future; and taking over her
Alex just frowns in confusion, "what do you mean?" He asks, sounding a bit hurt, "Of course it matters." Ashly finally looks up at him with a vulnerable gaze. "I mean, you and May, while no longer married, you still have a family; you have two boys together, and I have hidden the truth from you and Ray for so long," Ashly explains sadly. "There's just so much, too much between us." "Ashly, May, and I... we've never actually been a real family, at least not in the way you think." Alex says slowly, then seeming to make a realization, his eyes grow wide as he goes on, "Shit, Ashly, we never actually wanted to get married, and the boys... they're not biologically ours." For a long moment, Ashly just stares dumbstruck before finally choking out, "What?" "Our parents forced us to marry; otherwise, they would, um, you know my story with May; it's also somehow the same." Alex begins to explain, nerves evident in his shaky voice, "And we went along with it because we were idiots, stupid, an
Flashback:- Over the past few months of her pregnancy, Ashly has compiled an escape plan of sorts. Besides saving up every single penny she could, she searched for the best places she could escape to. The best place to bring her baby is the world, where they have the highest chance of survival. After serving the internet on the local library's computer, Ashly finally found a shelter for pregnant omega's in Big City. Then she used a pay phone to call them and check if they had a place for her, then reserved a spot. Of course, Ashly also had a plan just in case Alex ever came back to find her, but she kept it in the back of her mind, never actually daring to hope that she would be able to use that plan. But also not being able to really prevent herself from hoping. As she drove away from the Moonlight mansion with the check Jasmine bribed her with, sitting beside her, Ashly kept her blurry eyes determinedly trained on the road. When the insistent vibrations of her phone started to e