Asher
Guilt sat like a lead weight in the pit of my stomach as I steered the car straight into the sunlight, feeling torn inside as I left my province behind yet again.
Not to mention, the emotion was fresh in my mind after the memorial for the males, the ones who had been slain while I was gone.
This was one of the hard parts about being an alpha, but I would never give up the privilege it was for me to defend my land and my pack. It was one of the few things I could say I was proud of in my life.
I knew I was doing the right thing by leaving to find the dragon shifters, as difficult as it was for me to do, and I was comforted some by my mate’s presence within the small space.
Switching my hands on the steering wheel, I reached out to grasp Mari’s tiny hand in mine as I attempted to recenter my focus.
I ran over the conversation I’d had with Jax this morning in my head, remembering that I’d forgotten to
Asher Mari was a lot slower than I’d anticipated, but I didn’t complain as I reduced my pace to make sure she didn’t overexert herself. I wasn’t about to rush my true mate, and for once, my wolf and I were on the same page. I had a makeshift bag slung across my back that held a few items, but the insignificant mass barely registered after the initial irritation of it faded. We ran across one lone rogue during the hours we’d been rambling through the forest, but it was simple enough to dispose of him before my soulmate was in any danger. Night had rolled in in a hurry, but I knew we were almost to our destination. I could hear the water lapping against the shore in the distance, and the trees had disappeared a while ago. I indicated Mari should stay hidden where she was behind the small structure as I took in the scents of at least two wolf shifters down by the dock. There was a decent size sailboat moored, and I was hoping it
Marigold My head thumped painfully against the solid surface in front of me with the momentum we’d built up as our section of the hull went down. Agony spiraled out from the point of impact, and then, blackness reigned. I must have lost awareness because the last memory I had was of me plunging into the glacierlike water with my mate holding onto me for dear life, the sea gulping down our mode of transportation into its churning depths. When I awoke, it was to freezing air biting into my exposed skin, whipping against my water-logged clothes and causing my teeth to chatter, but the frigid temperature was forgotten the second that I noticed I was flying through the night sky. Asher still had a firm hold on me, but I was freaking the fuck out as I took in the ocean sailing by below us around the chunk of debris that I observed two scaled talons holding as I damn near did a 360 with my head. Ash clasped me tight to
Zacharias I answered the alpha wolf’s question, knowing better than to test the limits of his jealousy at the moment after catching a glimpse of his claiming bite when I’d moved forward to cover the female in my cloak. The look of disdain on the blonde man’s face was laughable, but he couldn’t protest my action with the frigid temperatures. For that reason, I directed my concentration to the girl, needing to know the name of our soulmate, so I rattled out, “What’s your name, beautiful?” It was obvious that she was skittish, but I could see she had relaxed some as she noted I’d sent Maverick and Finn away. I already knew I would have a shitload of questions to answer later, but they would have to wait until afterward. The male opened his mouth, but I watched as the she-wolf rested her hand on his chest, pacifying his ire before I ensnared her within my gaze de novo. I didn’t have to repeat myself, her pretty li
Zacharias I made it all the way to the small table against the far wall in my room before Maverick’s voice intruded on my one-track mind as he said, “I will wait out here until you’re ready for me, Rias.” Glancing around as my friend shut the door behind him, I noticed Asher was still wearing the same damp clothes that he’d arrived in, and it dawned on me then that I hadn’t had the forethought to provide anything dry for my mate either. Damn, some host I was turning out to be. Remedying that oversight now, I trudged to the closet, tugging a couple of T-shirts from the hangers before I grabbed some sweats from the dresser at the back. I was aware these would be big on Asher, and they would probably swallow Mari entirely with the abundance of fabric, but it was all I had in the moment. Howbeit, my dragon received a thrill at the idea of our mate being totally immersed in my scent. I could see Asher wasn’t happy about the prospec
Marigold My eyes were sealed shut, and I was reveling in the tingles still sparking from my lips and every point of contact that Rias had made with my oversensitive body. My wolf was baying with bliss in my head, but shame crept in as Asher’s lithe body pressed in close, filling the spot the other male had only just vacated. I didn’t know what to think about my warring emotions, but Ash’s voice intruded on my internal battle, reassuring, “Hey, gorgeous. Don’t do that. Don’t second guess how you feel. It’s clear that Rias is also yours, and I’m not going to force you to choose. I can’t promise to be perfect, but I will swear to try my best to put aside any lasting jealousy.” Asher’s mature response shocked the shit out of me, something he seemed to be doing an awful lot of here recently, but I didn’t have the energy to think about anything further than sinking into the inviting bed situated a few feet away. My blood still simme
Marigold I learned I had slept through the night and the better part of the next day, but I obviously needed the rest if I had been out for that long. My mates’ unique fragrances twisting together around me had aided me in sleeping easy, but I could already feel the knots forming in my shoulders as my mind got a head of itself like always, leaving me with a jumbled mess of emotions to sift through. While I had been hesitant to set off by myself with Rias’s mother at first, it didn’t take me long to figure out how blessed I was to cross paths with her. She was refreshingly genuine with her caring nature, and I felt accepted the second that she’d wound her deceptively strong arms around me. I felt more at ease with her during the brief time we conversed than I had with my own mother after damn near my entire life living under the same roof, but any thoughts about my family fled my mind as I reentered the kitchen a few hours later in a s
Asher As I held Mari tight in my arms that night, I was realizing there wasn’t shit I could have done if the male Rias had referred to as Knox had decided that he did want to fly off with our delicate true mate. My heart stopped beating in my chest during the thick of things, and I was relieved that Rias had been there to take the lead, my only thought at the time being about Mari’s wellbeing. I’d lost myself to the green monster riding on my shoulders prior, and I felt like an ass as a result for the entire day as Rias continued to do nothing but prove how devoted he was to making sure Mari had what she needed. I noticed his consideration didn’t just extend to our mate though. Rias had assured me there was nothing romantic between the two of us, and I was pleased we were on the same page in that respect, but I still appreciated the easy relationship he seemed determined to create with me. Despite all the dick moves I’d pulled
Marigold The atmosphere around us had seemed to gain mass as the afternoon dragged on, taking a turn down darker avenues as Rias shared the awful story of his own traumatic past with his family. It had answered the question I’d had about his father, and about Annie’s reaction to the mention of him previously, but I didn’t feel any better knowing the circumstances of his demise. My heart went out to Rias, and I was crawling into his lap before I realized what my body was doing. Yet, it felt right being in his capable arms, and I sensed how my presence helped to calm some of the hurt that would no doubt endure for a very long time. Relaxing into his embrace felt natural, and I didn’t register when Ash had migrated closer at first, casually resting his palm on my thigh without any carnal intention behind the action. For a while, no one broke the tense silence as it continued to encompass the last of our respite from reality befor