I love Asher. He's such a good Papa. Thank you for reading! -JNS <3
Saph POV A soft knock rouses me from my sleep. I lift my head up looking in the direction of the door. Who could it be? I flop my head back down after a few seconds of silence and assume it must have been a mistake. Good. I’m exhausted from waking up throughout the night. I kept having that weird dream about the sexy clown from the other night. Only in this dream, the clown looked somewhat like Alpha Asher. I guess since the clown had bright, pink hair, my brain must have made that association. I woke up feeling grossed out that Alpha Asher had wormed his way into my dreams somehow. I swear, this guy is like a virus. Another knock, slightly firmer than the first, rattles my door again. “Who is it?!” I shout, frustrated that anyone would be so barbaric to wake me up before the sun is up. “Sorry to wake you, Miss Stone. I was instructed to collect you for your morning duties,” a delicate voice calls from the other side of the do
Asher POV Syl has been giving me regular reports on how Saph has been doing the last couple of days. I had a feeling they would get along well. Syl is just about the nicest person on the planet. You’d have to be pure evil and lack any sense of social intelligence to not get along with her. I also had a hunch that Saph would enjoy working in our pack garden. Yea, I was a dick on her first day and made her weed the entire pack. I can’t be a total pushover and not give her a real punishment. It makes me happy to know that Saph is secretly enjoying herself here, even if it’s not with me. I want her to smile and have fun. I want her to know that she can allow herself to be happy after losing Nathan. It took me a long time to figure that out for myself after losing Portia. It took Archie beating the shit out of me and stepping in as Alpha for a year before I finally got my act together. I know it doesn’t seem like Archie can be the take-charge type of person; on a typical day, he’s not. Ho
Saph POV My first day under this punishment was by far the most difficult. Since then, working in the pack gardens, smelling fresh herbs daily, and getting to work with Syl, has been fun. If this is what the rest of the month will be like, I can handle it. And the best part is that I haven’t caught a glimpse of that stupid pink-haired asshole. I’m finishing packing up our booth at the farmer’s market when a tall, broad, man, with perfectly messy, fiery hair approaches. “Oi, is Syl around?” Australian accents are starting to grow on me. I wipe my hands on my pair of borrowed jeans. Syl and I made plans to go to the shops this weekend to get me clothes. I considered ringing my sisters to send me some, but I broke my phone. I’m still hurt that they would just abandon me here. Surprisingly, or maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, they haven’t tried to get in touch with me either- not even Pearl. This just proves that they are happier without me. “She is
Asher POV I smell her the moment I open the doors to U-GET. Ruby and I come here every Friday to spend time with the pack. Plus, the food is awesome. I can sense her disinterest as soon as I sit down. Brickland and Syl are quick to make conversation. “We missed you at the farmer’s market today, Alpha,” Syl says as she takes a sip of her water. “Speak for yourself,” Saph mutters quietly under her breath. Come on, Bunny, did you forget I’m a werewolf? I don’t say anything in response; I’ll give her that one. “Yea, sorry. I went to the hospital to check on a couple of the patrollers. They weren’t feeling well after their morning shift. They came in with fevers, apparently,” I explain, trying to hide my concern. Werewolves don’t get sick unless we ingest some type of poison. “What other symptoms are they showing?” Saph asks, sounding genuinely curious. She looks over at me, her light brown eyes looking so gorgeous. “Not
Saph POV Daya told me that coming to Red Mountain Pack would be good for me. She said it would help me clear my head. I hate admitting that she was right. I was certain that being forced to stay here for a month would be the end of me. It has not even been a week and I already feel like a different person. Syl has been keeping me busy with helping in the pack garden. I have rediscovered the joy of working with my hands and being around plants. I have so many ideas for how I want to rearrange my garden back home. I was truly starting to enjoy myself until he invaded my space. I want to hate him. I do hate him. However, each interaction I have with the smart-mouthed, pink-haired Alpha, makes me question my judgment. He’s a father; the kindest, and gentlest father. I can see the love he has for his daughter, Ruby, whenever he speaks about her. For some reason, I’m starting to want to know more about him. And then I hate myself for even thinking this way.
Saph POV My head rolls to the side, sliding off the oversized fold-out chair in Kent’s room, but I’m able to catch myself before I completely fall off the chair onto the white, linoleum floor. I rub my eyes, blinking the sleep away. I must have fallen asleep in Kent’s room. I look outside and see the sun isn’t up yet and Kent is still sleeping. The rash on his neck has been spreading. I’ve tried different mixtures of herbs, which seems to have soothed the pain, but he’s getting worse- all the patrollers are getting worse. Ten others were brought in over the last week. I apply a fresh layer of the herb mixture to Kent’s rash, trying my best not to wake him. A soft knock startles me, making me snap my attention to the door. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare ya, Bunny. Just wanted to check on him,” Asher- he insists I only call him Asher now- whispers from behind the half-open door. I scrunch my face at the stupid nickname he has given me. His brown eyes and pink
Asher POV I almost kissed her. She almost kissed me. I don’t think she would have stopped it. I was millimeters away from pressing my lips to hers. When Archie hollered at me through the mindlink. Fucking Archie. I’m going to kick his ass later for interrupting that moment between me and Saph. I watch her walk back toward the hospital, her hips swaying in red hospital scrubs. I force myself to look away before I grab her and confess everything to her- that she’s my mate, that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since the full moon last week. ‘Ash, now or never to talk to Yaya. I have to run patrols and continue a search party for Grizz.’ Archie grumbles through the link again. He’s been so on edge the last few days. I can’t blame him. I’ve been enraged since we realized Grizz managed to help Artemis escape. I believe in my gut that those two are the reason why my pack members are sick. I reluctantly walk away from Saph and toward the cells where Yaya is. ‘On my way, Ar
Archie POV “SHE’S MY MATE!” I shove Ash away from Yaya and hurry over to her. I unhook her chains, ignoring the burns on my hands from the silver. I bring her down to the floor, and she collapses into me. All I have wanted this last week was to hold her and have her close to me. She cries uncontrollably, hissing and groaning when my fingertips graze the raw slashes across her back. Her beautiful skin is now marred because of me. I’ve been so concerned about not letting anyone find out about us- about being judged. I rest my chin atop her head, brushing her wild hair away from her face. Ash is stunned, unmoving from his spot outside the cell. “I’ve got ya, Bright Eyes. I’ve got ya,” I promise her. I’ve been a shit mate since our bond snapped into place almost two weeks ago, and I will do everything I can to prove to her that I want this- that I want her. “Arch…” Ash’s voice cracks. He drops to the ground, sliding against the wall opposite Yaya’s cell. I hear the whip thump against