Chapter 290 He Quietly Left

They didn’t say much after Fiona and Galen left.

Caleb offered to carry her back to their room, but Ashleigh refused. Saying that it would draw too much attention to them.

He held her hand as they walked, running his thumb along the soft skin at the back of her hand. Ashleigh focused on the warmth of his hand and the tenderness he was showing her.

Each time her mind began to wander back to the memory of what she had done, Caleb would bring her hand to his mouth and gently kiss her.

When they reached their room, she sat on the bed, and he sat beside her.

Caleb took a deep breath and gently took her hand in his.

“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked.

Ashleigh swallowed and exhaled slowly as she tried to keep herself calm.

“I went to check on Nessa’s progress. I wanted to know if any more tests could be run,” she began. “Nessa didn’t agree that it was necessary. She said she had already run all the tests, and the system was safe and clean, better than ever before.”

Ashleigh licked her lips.

“We had a disagreement about Alice,” she said hesitantly.

“Ash…”.

“I know,” she said quickly. “I know. You and Galen both told me to let it go. But I just can’t. I don’t understand how any of you can trust her. What has she done to prove that she is trustworthy?”

“I already told you I don’t trust her, but I don’t think she is trying to hurt us either,” Caleb said.

“That’s easy for you to say. She didn’t lead you into a trap with a monster,” Ashleigh sighed.

“I understand, Ash, I do. And if I ever see her again, I will definitely need an answer on how that happened,” he said.

“I already told you how it happened, Caleb,” Ashleigh growled. “She planted a bug, and then she led me outside the border for Granger to capture!”

Caleb sighed.

Ashleigh looked at him. She furrowed her brows in disbelief.

“Do you not believe me?”

“You know I believe you, Ashleigh,” he said. “But, you told me that she told you to turn back.”

“Yea, to distract me from seeing the darts flying at my chest!” Ashleigh scoffed.

“Ashleigh, you have every reason to be upset and not trust her. But, on the other hand, it just seems like there might be more to the story than what you saw,” he said, kissing her hand. “Granger was a manipulative bastard. We don’t know what reason she might have had for helping him.”

Ashleigh pulled her hand away as she remembered Nessa’s words.

‘Do you think the children of Whiteridge and Shadowcrest will care to know the reason you killed their parents?’

She swallowed and turned away.

But Caleb felt the sorrow and the guilt in her heart. He knew what she was thinking.

“Ashleigh,” he whispered, pulling her close to him. “What happened to the wolves of Whiteridge and Shadowcrest was not–”

“Please…” she interrupted. “I don’t want to talk about this….”

Caleb sighed and nodded.

“So…” he said. “After you got angry at Nessa, what do you remember?”

She took a deep breath.

“I remember jumping at Nessa and then hitting the ground. Fiona was holding me down, and I just remember feeling so angry and… disrespected. So I threw her off me… and the rest is like a different person. Like I was just watching as someone else controlled my body. Until I heard you, felt you… Then it was like I woke up.”

Ashleigh lay her head on his shoulder as the memory stirred her frustrations and concerns. She nuzzled against his throat, breathing him in.

“I never meant to do that to Fiona…” she whispered sadly. “I wouldn’t…”

Caleb kissed her head softly.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know you would never hurt my mother intentionally. She already told us what happened. And with what Lian told you, it makes sense that your abilities are coming in sooner than expected. Remember Axel’s party? The way you handled Holden?”

Ashleigh had forgotten about that night. Her entire focus had been on making sure that Caleb was alright. She hadn’t even realized that she had held power over Holden until Caleb told her.

She nodded.

Caleb lifted her chin to look up at him.

“Why don’t we focus on something else. Get your mind off of all of this,” he smiled.

“Like what?” she asked.

He licked his lips and leaned forward, kissing her gently.

It didn’t matter how slow, gentle, or sweet his actions were. The fire in her roared to life at his intimate touch.

He slipped his fingers into her hair, gently massaging her scalp as their kiss grew passionate.

Ashleigh gasped against his mouth as his other hand made its way down along her body.

Caleb made sure to keep her mind and focus entirely on him as he made her scream his name again and again.

A few hours later, when he was sure that Ashleigh was in a deep sleep and wouldn’t wake up easily, Caleb slipped out of bed.

Putting on a shirt and pants, he quietly left their room.

***

Galen sighed as he looked over the stack of documents on his desk. Due to the system testing, every request for the past three days had been submitted on paper. Without the automated approvals for the mundane requests, he needed to check every single one personally.

The wolves of Summer were used to a certain approval speed for their requests, which meant he was also receiving a lot of calls or visits from angry wolves.

If not for his chats each night with Bell, he was sure he would have already lost his mind.

His thoughts moved back to the events of the early evening.

Seeing Fiona down on her knees, clawing her throat as she gasped for air… his mind, body, his entire being had been overwhelmed by a panic he had never known.

Even thinking of it now made it hard for him to breathe. He took a deep breath and exhaled, slowly swallowing down the rising sense of dread and returning to his paperwork.

A knock at his door drew his attention.

“It’s too late for any more approval requests. Come back tomorrow, or better yet, don’t!” he called at the door.

Another knock.

He sighed.

“Seriously, go away.”

Another knock.

Galen let out a frustrated growl.

He pushed away from his desk and walked to the door, yanking it open as he grumbled.

“This better be really damn important. I’ve had a shit day, and I am not in the mood for any bull–”

Galen’s words were lost as a heavy fist flew against his jaw.

He fell back against the desk, barely registering what had happened before he was pulled up by his collar. He was quickly turned and pinned against the opposite wall. A thick arm pressed under his chin and he found himself staring into the furious eyes of his alpha.

“Had I not arrived and commanded you to stop,” Caleb growled quietly through gritted teeth. “What the fuck were you planning to do to my wife?”