Stepping out of the shower, Asher slung a towel around his waist, heading to the mirror, he ran his hands through his short dark brown hair, the muscles on his arms bulging as he brought his arm down and gripped the side of the counter, hanging his head. The urge to punch and break stuff around him was strong, but he took a breath to calm his fraught emotions down. He needed his mate to wake up, but more than that, he needed her not to reject him because her plight had slipped through the net. One thing was certain, even if she did utter the heartbreaking and painful words he would not accept them, and he would fight with all he had to prove to her he was worthy of being in her life. He had not even held a conversation with Alisha, but he loved her more than any other person on the planet, the depth of it had no end. From the little information he had gathered, she was a tough cookie, despite the starved state, she had cut down trees, carried out duties, and taken daily lashes to her back without so much as a flinch. He would convince her that she belonged to him if it was the last thing he did. There was not a doubt in his mind she would make a strong Alpha, and an amazing Queen when the time came.
On top of his feelings for his mate, he was also finding he loved Iesha as much as he did his nieces and nephew, and he made an internal vow that no matter what the outcome between him and Alisha he would never turn his back on the little girl and would be there for her whenever and however she needed him.
“Concentrate on the positives,” Asher said to himself in the mirror, at least when he went out there he could finally hold her in his arms. He had missed holding her since handing her over to Andrew’s care. His arms literally ached to hold her, to draw her close to him.
Cleaning his teeth, he spat out the toothpaste into the sink, determined not to have horrid breath when he got close to her. She may be unconscious, but he also knew that hearing and scent were often still functioning when in that state.
“I can do this,” he tried to convince himself.
“We can do this, she is ours, Asher, we will never give up,” Max agreed with his human counterpart.
Drying himself off, he pulled on a pair of black joggers and a white t-shirt and headed back into the hospital room.
His heart skipped a beat as he saw his beautiful mate lying in the larger bed, Iesha sitting beside her on one side, with crayons and paper, drawing.
“Cheryl is having Iesha draw. It works well with the young pup's to help them process what they have been through, and we may well find out more information about what happened from her pictures,” Andrew mind linked with him.
Asher glanced over at the doctor and gave a small nod of his head.
“Hey Iesha, would it be okay with you if I climbed on the bed next to your sister? The doctor thinks it will help her wolf recover quicker,” Asher asked, not wanting to do anything that would make the little girl feel uncomfortable.
"That is okay, you are her mate, mates sleep in the same bed and play horseys. I once saw the Alpha and Luna playing horsey when I went into their room to light the fire. But they were not happy, and punished Alisha because I disturbed their game,” Iesha looked up with a sad smile, at the memory of her sister being punished because of her, then stood up from the bed and ran over to Asher, focusing her mind on something else, just like Alisha had taught her. Spinning around in front of him she smiled.
“I have a princess dress,” Iesha giggled happily.
Asher swallowed the lump that was in his throat because of her words, and forced himself to smile at the little girl who was dressed in a small pink dress that flowed out from the waist. It was probably slightly young for her ten years of age, but she was that small and had not developed as quickly as another werewolf child of her age due to the lack of care and abuse she had suffered, both physically and mentally.
“You look amazing, you know what you need though, to be a real princess." Asher smiled at her.
"No what?" Iesha asked blinking her hazel eyes, which were the image of her sisters.
"A tiara,” Asher grinned at her, picking Iesha up into his arms.
“Oh, I don’t have one of those,” Iesha shrugged.
“Mam, can we get a small tiara for Iesha from the vault please?” Asher immediately linked with his mother.
“Yes, of course, we have one Rebecca had when she was small. Liane is coming over at some point today to see if we need her. I will have her go get it.” Chloe informed him.
Asher smiled, then looked at her. He decided not to tell her that she would have her very own tiara by the end of the day, and let it be a surprise.
“Why don’t we make you one?” Cheryl asked Iesha, who nodded enthusiastically, then jumped down, and ran off to her, in order to make her own tiara and crown.
Looking over at Andrew, Asher sighed.
“Can I hold her now?” he asked,
“Yes, but remember, control, control, control,” Andrew reminded him.
“I know, both Max and I are on the same page,” Asher stated, then climbed onto the bed, remaining on top of the covers, not to push his control or Max's too much, and lay on his side wrapping his arm around Alisha.
Tingles and sparks spread through his body at an intensity he did not expect. Immediately, his joggers began to ‘tent’ as he inhaled her scent, touching her was a pleasure beyond anything he could have believed possible.
“You okay?” Andrew asked, noting Asher’s physical reaction to holding his mate.
“Yeah, fine,” Asher sighed, resisting the urge to growl at him, reminding himself that Andrew was just protecting his mate, and he would not have that any other way.
Desperate to calm down his large bulge, Asher once again thought of Honey and her nauseating scent and voice, which thankfully worked to bring his enthusiastic body under control.
The door to the ward opened, and Zander walked in, looking at Asher.
“Son, I need you to keep calm, but we have valid and truthful information from the Matlock Beta and we now know why this began,” Zander gently said.
"Try to keep calm, neither you or your wolf are going to like this, and we have only one side of the story," Zander warned, before giving Asher the information they had received.
Asher listened, as his father explained how Jabez had tried to force Alisha to take a chosen mate at just 15 years old, for his own political and financial gain. Rage began to flow through his body, as Max growled out. “MINE!” repeatedly. He held Alisha closer to him, his body tense as he fought with his wolf to remain in control.
“Asher, calm down, you might hurt her if you hold her too tight!” Andrew shouted,
“MAX STAND DOWN” Zander used his royal tone, to get the wolf to retreat.
“Caesar, talk to Max, get him to calm down, I really don’t want to have to physically remove Asher from his mate,” Zander asked his wolf.
“If it was Chloe, I would be Max. Remember I killed a woman for laying hands on her! But I will try.” Caesar groaned, then retreated to try and reach their son’s wolf.
“Asher, sniff her neck, use her scent to calm you down, you don’t want to accidentally hurt her,” Zander pleaded with him, knowing that if his son did hurt her in any way due to being so protective he would never forgive himself.
Asher took a breath, desperately trying to regain control of an enraged Max.
“I don’t want to hurt her,” he mumbled out loud, and loosened his grip, doing as his father suggested and sniffed her neck, allowing her perfect scent to wash over him, and get him off the ledge.
Noticing Asher was regaining control, Zander continued.
“She refused Asher, she was determined to be faithful to the mate bond, no matter what they tried or did to her,” Zander said, hoping this information would help keep his son calm.
Asher sighed relief flooding him that Alisha had remained faithful, she had endured so much because she believed in the sanctity of a mate bond. She had never wavered, and that gave him renewed hope that she might be angry at how she had all but been forgotten. She would not reject him. The information also helped calm Max, and instantly Asher finally had full control of his wolf.
“What about the Derby pack Alpha? Have we brought him in for questioning?” Asher asked his father, wanting answers from the old wolf, hoping that he had said the wrong thing that would give him the perfect excuse to end his pathetic life for him.
“Not yet, the information has just become available,” Zander said.
Asher bent over and gave Alisha a kiss on the top of her head, then gently lay her against the pillows.
“I will be right back Alisha, sleep well baby,” Asher whispered to her, then looked at his father.
“We need warriors now, I am going to that fucking pack, and one wrong word and I rip him limb from fucking limb!” he shouted so loudly the walls of the room shook.
“No Asher, you cannot leave the pack, remember your mother’s words, NO MATTER WHAT,” Zander stated to his son, needing him to stand down before they ended up in an all-out war without a single plan being put in place.
“Your mother and I will go, you need to be here, you need to stay with Alisha and Iesha, you need to help her heal. We can deal with this for you. If he has done a single thing wrong, then you and Alisha will have justice, but without causing all-out war,” Zander continued, to talk him down.
“She is MY mate dad. You are trying to tell me if this happened with mam, you would let someone else go and deal with it? Caesar would rip them apart,!” Asher argued back, pacing the room, both hands behind his head, frustration and anger oozing out of every pore of his skin.
Suddenly there was a slight movement from the bed, as Asher paced, he felt Max calming and stirring as he looked at where Alisha lay, her eyes blinking open slightly, looking at Asher.
“Mate,” She whispered.
Immediately, all anger left him, as he ran over to her bedside, gently stroking her hair.
“I am here, Alisha, I am here, you are safe, you will always be safe, I promise you,” he whispered.
Blinking her eyes open, for all she had been unconscious she had heard every word over the past two days, and looked at Asher.
“Calm down, this happened to me, not you, I will deal with it myself when I am healthy,” Alisha muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, exhausted by the effort it took to wake and speak. Alisha felt the darkness descend, as she fell back into unconsciousness once more.