Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Keep Quiet

Rose

“Cadmus, stop!” I order, using the most intimidating voice I can muster, my eyes blood red and canines fully extended. I easily caught up to him despite his vast head start. I could force him to stop, physically knocking him down, but I want to give him the chance to do it on his own.

Which he does.

“What’re you doing with a wolf, Rose?” He cries, his eyes wild and confused. “Was he forcing himself on you?”

“No!” I cry. “Of course not!”

“Th-Then-” He stutters, utterly confused. “That doesn’t even make sense! They have mates! Why is he getting with you? Why’re you letting him? Their kind is the mortal enemy of ours!”

“I don’t behold myself to ancient rivalries that mean nothing anymore despite to those who are too old to let go of old habits,” I fire back. “And, for what it’s worth, I am his fated mate.”

“That makes no sense!”

I hear the loud steps of paws on the ground, a large, greyish-black wolf trampling toward us with sky-blue eyes. The wolf tackles Cadmus to the ground, roaring in his face, bearing his vast row of sharp teeth, saliva dripping onto Cadmus’ face.

“Asher!” I scold. “Stop! We’re talking.”

Asher growls, his eyes narrow as he steps back from Cadmus, nipping at the air in front of his nose for good measure before shifting back to his human form, standing tall and naked over Cadmus, who seems like a trembling boy beneath the mountain of a man.

Asher’s fists are tightly clenched, his nostrils flared. “Why did you run?”

“Asher, please, leave him be,” I beg, grabbing his bicep and yanking him to my side.

“He-He’s-” Cadmus starts, stuttering, pointing at Asher with wide eyes as he rises. “He’s the Alpha of Black Opal! I-I’ve seen photos! His mate is Luna Genevieve.”

“Don’t speak that vile woman’s name in my presence,” Asher hisses. “The only bit of information about me that concerns you is that I am an Alpha. And Rose is mine.”

“Rose, what the fuck is going on?” Cadmus asks, running his hands through his hair as he staggers back. “Get your fucking rabid dog under control before he tries to dismember me!”

“Tries?” Asher questions menacingly. “I would have no trouble.”

“Stop,” I tell Asher, rubbing his back gently. “Please, let him and I talk.”

Asher stays quiet, crossing his arms as his jaw clenches.

“Listen, Cadmus. It’s a lot to explain, but Asher is my mate. As your leader, I’m commanding you to keep what you saw to yourself. But also, as your friend, I’m asking you not to tell. This is a delicate situation that I can’t explain right now, but it’s vital that you don’t say anything. It could very well lead to my death. Do you want that?”

“Of course not. You gave me a place to live when nobody else would. I am indebted to you for that, but-”

“No buts!” I argue. “Please, Cadmus. I don’t want to force you to be quiet, and you know I have the power to do that. But because we are friends, I’m asking you to promise me. Please.”

“Are you sure he’s not hurting you?” He asks, his brows furrowed.

Asher growls, stepping forward as he’s about to say something, but I stop him.

“No, my relationship with him is perfectly consensual and safe. I promise you that.”

Cadmus sighs. “A-Alright. I’ll keep the secret for you because we’re friends. I won’t tell anyone what I saw.”

I let out the breath I was holding, relieved. “Thank you, Cadmus. I appreciate your discretion.”

“Is it okay if I leave now?” Cadmus asks, looking at Asher warily.

“Yes,” I reply. “You’re free to go. We’ll talk later.”

Without another word, he speeds off.

“Fuck,” I hiss, pinching the bridge of my nose. “That was so close, Ash. We need to return to my office quickly before someone else sees us together. We’re lucky it was him and not somebody else, or I might’ve had to throw them in prison.”

He stays silent by my side, stewing over something.

“You okay, Ash?” I ask, confused.

“You’re right. We need to get back before we’re spotted,” he replies, his tone stoic as he shifts into his wolf form and starts running back.

I sigh, using my speed to race past him easily, waiting at the door for him to catch up as I mull over the events to try to find a reason he might be acting his way.

What could he be angry at me for?

I open the door as he approaches, shifting back into his human form. Once we’re inside, I take care to close all my blinds.

“Your wolf looks incredible, by the way,” I tell him, thinking back on the image of his wolf. I couldn’t appreciate as much in the moment, but he is a gorgeous creature.

His coat is black with a silvery-iridescent quality. It shines in the moon's light as if he’s glowing or glittering. It had almost a magical quality, an unnatural sort of beauty. I’ve never seen a wolf form so gorgeous.

“Cato says thank you,” Asher replies, wrapping himself in the blanket again. “I haven’t shifted in a long time. It was nice to let him out.”

“Do you want to check on the cabin?” I ask. “Is that why you’re acting strange?”

“There’s nothing I can do about the cabin but grieve it,” he replies. “I’m sad about it. I’m sure it’ll hit me when I’m alone, honestly. That’s usually when I feel the brunt of my emotions.”

“Then what’s going on?” I ask. “You were super aggressive with Cadmus.”

“Don’t say his name,” he growls.

“Ash,” I chastise. “Is this about what happened between him and me?”

His nose wrinkles, and I can tell that thinking about it makes his skin crawl.

“Baby,” I soothe, running my hands up his bare chest as I allow myself to take him in. “Nothing is going on between him and me. No need to be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” he replies, his voice dark. He wraps his arm around my waist, letting the blanket roll off his shoulders. He yanks me toward him. “Just territorial.”

My breath shakes as he attacks my neck with his affection, the hardness of his cock pressing against my stomach.

“A-Ash!” I whimper, the guttural rumble in his throat sending an incredible shiver through my body.

“Mine,” he growls. “I’m your mate and your Alpha. He shouldn’t have questioned that.”

“H-He didn’t know,” I reply, his lips moving to my shoulder as my eyes flutter closed. “It was confusing to the both of us, too, at first.”

“I should claim you as my own so nobody questions us again.”

“Y-You can’t mark me yet, my love,” I whisper. “I know we both want to, but we can’t.”

“I wasn’t referring to marking,” he answers, pulling away, his eyes heavy with lust.

“A-Ash,” I reply, my voice trembling. “I’m still not ready.”

“Is it because of him?”

“What?” I gasp, pulling away. “Are you serious?”

“Is it?” He asks again, a little more aggressively this time.

“Asher, I don’t like the tone you’re using with me right now,” I condemn, standing my ground. “I also don’t like how you’re trying to pressure me.”

“Pressure you?” Asher asks, his voice cracking. “You know what happened to me, so you should know I would never want to pressure you.”

“You may not be doing it on purpose, but you are,” I tell him. “You’re accusing me of harboring feelings for Cadmus, and that being why I don’t want to have sex yet.”

“I’m only asking because I can tell you’re holding something back from me,” he replies, his tone a lot softer and less intense than before. “I’ve felt it for a long time; ever since you confessed your feelings for me, there’s been this look in your eye. A look of guilt, like you’re hiding something.”

I bite my lip. Has he been catching onto that? Has my body betrayed me by sending signals of my dishonesty without my knowledge? Or is he so in tune with my emotions that he can sense it seamlessly?

“I can tell I’m right by how you’re reacting now. You’re guilty about it. You look this way, like you’re hiding something, every time we’ve been intimate since we’ve been together,” he insists. “I let it go at first, figuring you’d tell me when you were ready. But now? Now, I can’t help but worry. My mind is going places I don’t want it to. Especially after seeing you with him! He called you his friend.”

“He is my friend.”

“Not to him. Not the way he was looking at you.”

“Whether or not he has feelings for me is inconsequential to whether or not I have feelings for him!” I argue.

“Then tell me you don’t!” He cries. “You still haven’t told me, point blank, that my fears aren’t true!”

“I have no feelings for Cadmus! I don’t! I never have, don’t now, and never will. That’s not the reason I’m not ready to have sex yet.”

“Then what’re you hiding?” He asks. “Because there’s something.”

“You said you wanted to give me the grace of letting me come to you about it. Can’t you still do that now that you know it’s not that I’m secretly in love with some random guy?”

“Don’t minimize my worries as if I don’t have a good reason to feel that way,” he argues. “You were with him while you were in love with me.”

“Do you really want to rehash the past right now?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. “Because I don’t think we should go there.”

“But you’re keeping something from me!” He cries. “Something you feel guilty about. I can tell!”

“Stop! Stop it!” I say sternly. “Today has been a lot. You’ve suffered a big loss, and I understand your insecurity around Cadmus. I’ve done all I can to make you feel better about that. I don’t want to fight and add to your concerns. You’ll have to trust me, Ash.” I shrug, my hands slapping against my thighs. “I don’t want to fight, though. I don’t want to fight with you.”

He sighs, his muscles loosening as his facial features soften into guilt. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have accused you of anything. And I’m sorry that I’ve been pushy about sex. I’m just insecure about that because of how Gen treated me. But that’s my problem, not yours. Maybe we should wait until I figure my problems out with that since I don’t want our first time to be from a place of insecurity. I want it to be from love. Either way, I don’t want to fight with you either. I am stressed and hurt by what she did today. You’re right.”

“Then grab your blanket, and let’s sit on the couch and relax,” I tell him. “We can watch a movie and just chill out for the night. Okay?”

“Yes,” he replies, grabbing the blanket for the third time today. “That sounds amazing.”

I sit with him on the couch, finally feeling more relaxed now that the conflict is over, even if it’s a temporary solution.

He can read me too well. Too well for my own good.

I’ll have to be honest with him soon, which is a hard pill to swallow.

But, whether I like it or not, the bitter taste is coming.