Ashlyn
We are about an hour out of Blue Moon now. I was in a black oversized hoodie, some black sweatpants, and some wool socks. The smallest boots they had were size 12 men and I’m a size 7 men, so too big for me. Derek carried me from the cabin to the truck we were taking. I was riding shotgun while Derek drove, and then Matt, a warrior/ medic, took the back seat.
They didn’t even have a hairbrush or hair ties, so when we passed a gas station, Matt ran in to find them. No brush, but he found a couple of hair ties. We are in the middle of nowhere, after all. I could at least pull my hair back into a messy bun, so I looked a little better.
The closer we got to the pack border, the more anxious I became. My body was shaking, and I was trying hard not to throw up. You would think that after everything I went through, I would be excited to go home and to be free, but I feel even more trapped. Now, I had to explain to my aunt that the woman who helped raise her was alive and evil. And then there’s Mason. I couldn’t figure out what was worse, him being there or him not even bothering to show up.
We were just outside the pack border when my panic turned into an attack. I was gasping and shaking and I couldn’t stop. Derek pulled the truck over to the side of the road and he took my cheeks in his hands so that I would look at him.
“Ashlyn, I need you to breathe. Look at me and breathe with me. In and out. That’s it, babygirl.” He coached me.
“I don’t think I can do this.” I told him through shallow breaths.
“You can. Matt and I will be right beside you and we won’t leave until you ask us to, Okay?” He leaned over and placed his forehead on mine. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing. I gave him a nod. Derek sat back in his seat and buckled back up and after putting the truck in drive, he took my hand in his.
His touch was calming. I could breathe again, and we crossed the border. Derek slammed on the brakes when a big grey wolf came on to the road. It was River, my uncle’s wolf. I rolled down the window and waved my arm out at him. There was no way my body could lean out of the damn window.
River walked over to my side of the truck and placed his paws on the open window frame. I patted him on the head and he howled at the sky. Many more wolves stepped out from the dense forest on either side of the road. River jumped down and walked towards the pack house. This road isn’t really used to enter or exit our pack. There’s not much in the direction that we were coming from. He turned back to look at us.
“He wants us to follow,” I told Derek. He started driving slowly, but soon River picked up his pace. I could see the wolves running parallel to our vehicle.
“Do you know the grey wolf?” Derek asked me.
“That’s my Uncle’s wolf, River.” I told them. “He’s a warrior.”
The pack house came into view and it surprised me at who I saw. I could see the Alpha’s and Alex, but Liam, Brandon and Mason were all standing with them. Donny was also there with a bunch of his warrior buddies, whom I knew, and my aunt was also there.
“Hey Boss, the Alpha King sent his son.” Matt pointed out.
“He’s my mate.” I whispered, and Derek squeezed my hand that he was still holding. Derek pulled the truck up in front of the pack house. The truck’s windows are darkly tinted, so we could see them but they couldn’t see us. Derek put the truck in park, shutting it off, and turned in his seat to look at me.
“You ready, babygirl?” He asked me. I looked into his sea-green eyes and I didn’t want to leave him. I felt safe with him. There was no bullshit, nothing to explain, and he expected nothing. But I took a deep breath, and I nodded to him.
Derek opened his door and hopped out of the truck. Matt also exited the back, but he came out on my side so he could help me out of the lifted truck, which I was thankful for. It’s still going to take a few days or even a week for me to fully heal. The food and rest definitely helped, but I’m still in rough shape.
Matt helped me walk around the truck to where everyone was waiting. I over heard Derek greeting Mason. And Mason addressed Derek as Prince Derek.
“I’m sorry, Prince Derek?” I asked, and before I could even get an answer, my Aunt Grace wrapped me in a hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck and not around my waist, which I was grateful. She was sobbing.
“Ashlyn, thank the goddess! Are you okay? Where the hell have you been?!?” She was asking so many questions at once between her sobs. She finally pulled away, and I led her away from the crowd so I could speak to her. I needed to tell her about Susan McNeal, aka my grandmother. I mindlinked her, so I knew no one could hear our conversation.
“Aunt Grace, I have to tell you something?”
“Oh my goddess, they rapped you?!?”
“No, not that.”
“Oh, thank the goddess.”
“But this isn’t good news either.”
“Ashlyn, just tell me.”
“Susan McNeal is the one responsible.”
*Smack* I felt a hard blow on my cheek, forcing my head to the side. My eyes instinctively closed, and I shut the mindlink with my aunt. Everyone was silent around us except for a loud growl. It would have terrified me if I didn’t know it was Thor.
“Why the fuck would you say that? Your grandmother is dead. Is this some kind of sick joke?” She screamed at me. I turned my head back to look at her. She was furious. Noticing Mason walking towards us, I put my hand up to stop him. I honestly was speechless. I turned away from her and started walking into the pack house.
“Where the fuck are you going? I want an explanation now, Ashlyn! You can’t accuse a dead woman and then walk away!” She yelled.
I walked through the pack house and into the backyard. I walked until I was far enough away that I wouldn’t hurt anyone. The pressure in my chest was building, and I wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen when I released it.
I had so many emotions running through me, but the most prominent one was anger. When did my aunt become such a bitch? Was she always like this and I never noticed? What the hell is actually happening in my life right now? I felt lost and alone.
“At least mate is here.” Tundra purred in my head.
I forgot all about everyone else. Mason was here, but I still didn’t know if he was here because the Alpha King ordered him or if he was here for me. My life was so complicated and I just have had enough.
I closed my eyes and let my emotions build up in my chest. When it became too much for me to handle, I felt the winds pick up around me. Letting it out with a scream. I fell onto my hands and knees and just let the sobs take me over. I couldn’t even focus on the physical pain I was feeling. My heart was breaking, and I didn’t know how to make it stop.
I could hear movement around me, but I didn’t care. Honestly, if people were here to kill me, I would welcome it. If I were dead, that would solve all these problems. Susan wouldn’t be able to start a war and my aunt would never have had to raise me. Everyone would have been better off without me alive.
Elemental?
Prince Mason
I was anxiously waiting for the dragons to arrive with Ashlyn. I expected them here in the morning, but they didn’t arrive until midafternoon. At the crack of dawn, I had to go for a run around the territory. I had so many built-up emotions I had to work out or I was going to explode.
We still didn’t know if Ashlyn was conscious yet, as we didn’t have a number to contact Prince Derek. Being a Prince myself and future council member, I’ve met all the kings and their heirs. I’ve met Prince Derek a few times over the last couple of years and I wasn’t a fan of his. And I really didn’t want him near my mate. He was a massive player and a prick. I am grateful that he helped her, but he would have started a war if he didn’t, so who knows why he actually helped her?
After I came back from my run, I went up to my room to shower and get dressed. The others were sitting at the front table chatting and eating breakfast as I walked into the dining area. I was being eye fucked by all the unmated female warriors that were also present. I’m not sure why all the she-wolves think that I’ll just magically choose them. If you’re not my fated mate, you’re not ending up in my bed.
I grabbed some breakfast and made my way over to sit with Alpha Ian, Beta Alex, and my guys. I sat between Brandon and Liam. They all greeted me and went back to their conversations while I picked at my food. I was feeling anxious and my stomach was in knots from waiting. This day was going agonizingly slow and what the hell was I going to do to make the time pass by faster?
They pulled me from my thoughts when Brandon patted me on the back. I then noticed that the table was now quiet, and they were all looking at me.
“Mason, you alright?” Brandon asked.
“Yeah, what’s up?” I asked him.
“Alpha King called my father this morning after he received a call from the Dragon King. Ashlyn is awake.” Alpha Ian explained.
“What?!” I exclaimed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see a few missed calls and messages from my father. I must have switched it to silent mode.
“Prince Derek informed his father that Ashlyn is still in rough shape and is healing slowly.” Alpha Ian continued to explain.
“That’s probably what is taking them so long to get here. They probably have to take their time getting Ashlyn ready for transport.” Liam chimed in. I pushed my chair out and stood up from the table.
“Where are you going?” Liam asked me.
“I’m going to my room. Call me when Ashlyn crosses the border.” I told them.
The guilt I was feeling was overwhelming. She’s hurt, and it was all my fault. I didn’t know the extent of her injuries, but it had to be bad if the dragons thought moving her to the nearest pack was necessary.
I was lying in bed, just thinking about what I was going to do and how I was going to make it up to Ashlyn. I must have fallen asleep. It startled me awake when there was pounding on my door.
“Mason, get up! Ashlyn is crossing the border now!” Brandon yelled through the door. I was up, opening the door in seconds. We both ran down the stairs and out the front door. There was a crowd outside waiting for their arrival. I could hear some howls in the distance. My stomach was in knots waiting for the vehicle to make its way to the pack house.
The truck finally pulled up, but the windows were all darkly tinted so I couldn’t see inside. Finally, Prince Derek hopped out. He came over to shake my hand and introduced himself to the others. I heard Ashlyn before I saw her. The other dragon was blocking her from my view.
“Prince Derek?” She asked, confused. She didn’t even get an answer or to see me before her aunt wrapped her in a hug. When her aunt pulled away, Ashlyn led her away from the crowd. Both their eyes clouded, and I knew they were mindlinking. Ashlyn looked heavily bruised and her face was a little swollen.
Prince Derek handed me a folder with a report on what they found and how they found her. They included photos of her injuries. It was going to be a hard report to get through. Handing the folder to Brandon for safe keeping. I need to worry about Ashlyn right now. I was thanking Prince Derek for bringing her back to us when we all heard a slap. Thor let out a loud growl. I turned to see Ashlyn’s head turned away from me and a handprint mark forming on her cheek. What the actual fuck? I may actually kill this woman.
Grace started yelling at Ashlyn, while Ashlyn was just watching her and you could see the tears forming in her eyes. I tried to walk towards her, but Ashlyn held out her hand to stop me. A few moments later, Ashlyn walked into the pack house without looking back or saying a word.
Brad was now in his mate’s face. He wasn’t happy about what had just happened. No one here was happy about what Gace just did. What the hell was that about?
“Grace, what the hell was that?” He yelled at her.
“She’s trying to accuse my mother of what happened to her! She’s dead Brad. Dead. And she thinks she can just accuse her, throw her name in the fucken mud!” she yelled back to him.
“Ashlyn has been through hell. Maybe she remembered things wrong but maybe she has an explanation but instead of listening, you overreacted again! I know you’re pregnant, but this shit is getting out of hand. You better figure your shit out or we are done!” He yelled back at her. She didn’t say another word. She just turned and walked away from the pack house.
Just then, a rush of wind came over the house, and it was eerily silent until we heard Ashlyn let out a painful scream from the back of the house. I was in and through the house and onto the back porch before I even knew what was happening. Ashlyn was on her hands and knees in a massive circle of cleared snow. The trees and everything around the area had also dumped their snow.
I tried to run up to her, but hit an invisible wall of some sort. I was following it around to get her attention. Blood covered her back as I noticed she was wearing a white dress. Also, she was crying and her tears were causing flowers to grow under where her head was leaning forward.
I was panicking because the blood was soaking further down her dress. I didn’t realize Prince Derek was beside me until he spoke.
“She’s an elemental,” he whispered to himself.
“A what?” I yelled at him.
“Boss, we need to go. There’s an emergency at the cabin!” His warrior yelled to him.
“Go! I’ll catch up!” He yelled back. He then turned to face me.
“We need to shift. That’s the only way we are getting through.” He told me.
“How do you know that?” I asked him, but he was already shifting into a giant golden dragon. Thor forced me to shift without question. He wanted to get to our mate, and he didn’t care about the details.
Prince Derek could walk through the invisible wall as a dragon. He walked right up to Ashlyn and gently nudged her. The action pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked up at him. Thor walked through and around to the other side of her.
She was watching Prince Derek’s dragon in awe, and I had to admit that he was impressive. I watched as she reached out her hand to touch his snout and his dragon leaned into her touch. I think he was talking to her because she was talking, but what she was saying made little sense.
“It’s okay, Derek. I understand, but please be safe.” She whispered to him and he nudged her cheek. His massive dragon took to the sky with a whoosh. Thor moved to sit in front of Ashlyn now.
“Mason, I’m so sorry.” She sobbed while throwing her arms around Thor’s neck. Thor placed a paw on her back in a hug and she hissed in pain. I mindlinked Brandon to bring me some sweatpants so I could shift back. I noticed that, when she was focusing on something else, that the invisible wall surrounding her was gone.
She let go of Thor, but he licked her cheek and she let out a small giggle in between her cries. Thor walked behind her and I shifted back. Brandon threw me some sweatpants and I pulled them on. Liam then threw me a blanket so I could wrap it around Ashlyn.
I turned around to see that she had sat back on her heels. The back of her white dress was now dark red, but where did she get the dress from? I wondered. I walked back to her and wrapped the blanket around her back.
“Are you okay to stand?” She nodded after I whispered to her. I helped her up, but she was hissing and gasping at the movements. I’m not sure what happened or what she did, but I can tell that it only made her condition worse.
“Ashlyn, we need to get you to the hospital.” Alpha Ian told her, but she shook her head.
“I just want to go to my room.” She whispered.
“Ashlyn, you are bleeding.” I told her.
“I don’t care.” She snapped. She started walking by herself back to the pack house. I was looking around at the group and we were all confused by her actions.
“What the hell was that?” Liam gasped.
“I do not know,” I told him.
“This explains her wolf.” Brad said, but I think it was more to himself.
“What does that mean?” I asked him.
“Tundra is white with gold tips.”