Iesha woke up before her sister, and she jumped up on the bed where Alisha and Asher were lying wrapped up in each other’s arms, with the reading book Cheryl had given her, eager to show Alisha what she was learning. Having not been to school for over three years, she was more than a little behind other pups of her age. However, she was eager to learn, and having the opportunity was something Iesha would never take for granted. Alisha woke with a little bit of a start, as Asher groaned softly. She was covered in a blanket of sparks, and although the chest she was laid on was a wall of rock-hard muscle, she was more comfortable than if she had slept on the softest mattress.
“Can I read to you?” Iesha excitedly asked, her eyes wide in her unicorn nightdress.
“Humm, erm yes, of course,” Alisha blinked as she moved along the bed away from Asher, suddenly aware that she had been clinging to him as much as he was clinging to her when asleep. She sighed, feeling a little annoyed with herself that she was clearly being affected by the mate bond, which seemed to be increasing between them with each passing day.
Asher groaned again and grabbed hold of her a little tighter so that she couldn’t go too far.
“Asher, Iesha wants to read,” Alisha rebuked him.
“Okay, okay, I am up!” Asher yawned and then sat up in bed, strategically positioning himself to cover his morning glory from Iesha.
“Are you going to get up then?” Alisha asked with a frown.
“Erm, not quite yet,” Asher gave her a meaningful look, as Alisha frowned, then realisation hit her and her mouth shaped like a perfect O.
“Iesha, why don’t you go to the bathroom, clean your teeth, give us time to fully wake up, and then you can read to me,” Alisha quickly instructed her sister.
“Okay,” Iesha said, jumping down off the bed and skidding to the bathroom.
Asher chuckled, and got out of bed, sitting in the chair next to Alisha, but pulling one of the extra blankets over himself to hide his lower half.
“You really need to learn how to control that thing, it has a mind of its own!” Alisha sighed.
“Hum, say’s you mate!” Asher chuckled, looking directly at her breasts, the nipples poking through the fabric of the hospital gown.
“It’s cold!” Alisha huffed, as Asher raised an eyebrow in question, chuckling at her.
“So, I have a plan for today. My sister’s beta female, Liane, is a transporter wolf. She is going to pop over after breakfast from Montseny. How do you feel about visiting Edensor, just the two of us, maybe take some of your protein shakes with us, and spend a couple of hours there whilst Iesha is having her lessons with Cheryl?” Asher smiled at her. chuckled
“Really?” Alisha’s eyes grew wide, glistening with joy.
“Really,” Asher nodded at her.
“Wow, thank you!” Alisha grinned, biting her bottom lip and blushing slightly, as Mia decided to tell her all the pleasurable ways they could thank him for doing this for her, causing the scent of her arousal to fill the room.
“Erm, I think you need to control yourself because you smell amazing and you are making this hard situation even harder! ” Asher chuckled.
“Shut up! It’s not me, it's Mia,” Alisha shook her head but had a small upturn of her lips.
Iesha bounded out of the bathroom, picked up her reading book, then climbed into the bed beside Alisha and proceeded to read through her book with pride.
“Well done, Iesha, you did great!” Asher praised the little girl who grinned at him with pride.
Alisha smiled down at her sister, knowing that she needed to get into a school, and also knowing as an Alpha the only school she should go to would be Crescent Moon Academy, the realisation that they would be separated whilst she ran her pack hit her like a ton of bricks, and she swallowed down the lump of emotion that formed in her throat.
“Breakfast!” Eve said happily, carrying two protein shakes in her hand, one chocolate flavoured and the other strawberry.
“Chocolate!” Iesha shouted happily, as Eve laughed, passing her the shake, and Alisha the other.
“You get some soup later, Iesha, just a little bit,” Eve smiled.
“Will it hurt?” Iesha asked, her eyes wide, making Asher’s heart clench in his chest, hating what this little girl had been through.
“It may give you a little few windy pains, but not bad,” Eve answered honestly.
“Oh,” Iesha bowed her head sadly.
“Don’t worry, it will not be really bad, and if it is we will give you some painkillers to help,” Eve smiled, attempting to reassure the little girl.
“It will not give you major cramps Iesha, I promise,” Alisha said, to calm her sister, knowing that they both had to get used to solid food again, and the sooner the better if they were going to be able to move on to the next phase of their lives.
“Are you not eating?” Alisha asked Asher.
“Yes, but after training. I will be back in around an hour or so, Brenda is coming with some clothes for you for our morning out,” Asher smiled, then instinctively, he bent over and softly kissed the top of Alisha’s head, turning and doing the same to Iesha, before heading out the door.
“Oh, so you are leaving?” Alisha asked, not quite masking the disappointment in her voice.
Hearing Alisha’s tone, Asher began to second guess his resolve to give her space each day, but, he needed to be strong, she had to realise that he had heard her, and was going to stop crowding her so much. Plus, sparing with his mam or dad was good for him to get rid of a lot of the frustration he was going through.
As he approached the training ground, Chloe met him with a smile.
“Okay?” she questioned.
“Yes, and no. I don’t think that she wanted me to leave her this morning, so I feel shit,” Asher sighed.
“Well, she needs time to adjust, she needs that time alone or with just Iesha, plus you know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Now, let’s do some disarming training, something these guys had never done before. Then I can kick the crap out of you again, whilst your dad stands guard at the hospital,” Chloe smirked.
“Really, I think I held my own mother. You are not the only one with pure royal blood. Bring it.” Asher chuckled, as he stepped onto the training field and began to teach Edensor all about being attacked with human weapons and how to combat them.
Alisha sat playing with Iesha and the new dolls, gifted to her, when Cheryl arrived with some brand new clothes for her.
“Would you like your shower now?” Cheryl asked with a smile.
“Oh, hell yes,” Alisha said, more than a little excited to get back in the hot water.
“Okay, well, Zander is outside, so Iesha can stay with him, or in here with either me or Eve, but one of us has to be in the bathroom with you. I am afraid that you might pass out in the shower,” Cheryl smiled.
“Erm, could Eve come in with me, please? I don’t mean to cause offense, but you are a very loving motherly person, and I mean that as a compliment because in some ways you remind me of my mum and that is just still raw, especially after the other night,” Alisha found herself opening up. Then she gasped as she realised she had inadvertently shown this kindly woman a weakness.
“I understand, I will send Eva straight in. Iesha, sorry sweety, but we are doing the nit comb again, but then… guess what?” Cheryl smiled, as Iesha sighed slightly at having her hair gone through.
“What?” Iesha asked.
“Liane our friend from Spain has brought us a PlayStation with her son Bradley, who wanted to bless you with it. We have Minecraft on there, so we are going to have a fun time building things, Bradley is around your age, and is looking forward to making a new friend.” Cheryl grinned, as Iesha looked in awe. She had seen the kids at the pack playing but never had the opportunity to try herself. To have a friend, that she could play with brought tears to her eyes.
Alisha looked at Cheryl, who smiled warmly at her, reading her anxiousness about Iesha with someone she didn't know, wanting to protect her sister.
"Bradley is the perfect friend for her, he understands her situation more than you can know at the moment," Cheryl reassured her.
Alisha nodded her head, it seemed the more she got to know the Royal family and their pack, the more she realized that her perception of them was greatly fueled by her anger at her situation, and they really were good people.
Eve walked into the bathroom, as Alisha was getting undressed, laying down brand new leggings and a long knitted jumper dress with a V-neck in emerald green, brand new soft laced underwear, big fluffy socks, and fleece lined black boots with low heels. As the young nurse looked up at her Alpha, she resisted the urge to gasp. Down her back was scar after scar the physical evidence, not yet fully healed from the abuse she had suffered for three years. Eve’s eyes began to fill with tears, remembering being forced to stand witness to the punishments and rendered totally helpless, wanting to help to heal her, but unable to.
Alisha stood under the hot water letting it fall over her body, letting out a sigh of relief. As she began to wash her body, she relished the feeling of being clean. A sense of excitement began to bubble in her stomach. Asher was getting her out of there for a few hours, and not only that, he was taking her home. A small smile adorned her lips, as the thought of spending time with him just the two of them began to excite her, as Mia awoke inside of her wagging her tail at the thought. Alisha smiled, it was good that her wolf seemed to be getting stronger every day, much like she was. However, the hot water was beginning to make her feel a little dizzy, so she quickly rinsed herself and stepped out of the shower, and with a little help from Eve got into her new clothes, as she then began to run through her hair with the fine tooth comb to get rid of some more of her visitors in her head.
Heading back into the hospital room, she sat cross-legged on her bed, waiting for her mate to arrive, excitement building with each passing second. Finally, after what felt like forever, Asher walked through the door, a bright smile on his face. Alisha could not help but take him in. He was standing in a tight navy sweater, teamed with black bootcut denim, and a pair of brown hiking boots on his feet. The denims were not skin tight, but not too loose either, showcasing his amazing bum. His muscles strained against the sweater, his hair still glistening from where he had showered after training. Aisha gulped, he was the most stunningly handsome man she had ever seen, and once more the scent of her arousal filled the room, making the bulge in his denim become bigger.
Asher stood motionless, holding himself back from rushing towards his beautiful mate, who looked stunning in her casual clothes, and wrap his arms around her then passionately place his lips on hers and make her moan and beg for more. Clearing his throat, to break the spell between them he took a breath and remembered above all else he had to control his primal desires today, especially as they would be alone.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Alisha breathlessly answered, as Liane appeared from nowhere holding two long thick coats, passing them to Alisha and Asher.
“Hold on, Edensor Pack lands coming up,” Liane smiled as they disappeared into thin air.