Chapter Twenty-Two

ASH

He held her until she fell asleep, her body completely relaxed against him. He stroked her hair and reflected on their day together.

He had learned so much about her. She was incredibly easy to talk to, and he had shared much of his life as well, more than he had ever divulged to anyone.

It felt like they had known each other their whole lives. He could not have been more pleased knowing she was his mate.

When she was deeply asleep, he slipped out of the bed, careful not to jostle her. He took the tray and the stew bowls to the kitchen in the common room, washing them and putting them neatly away.

He saw Emily had been by to deliver the spare clothes as promised. Two simple dresses and what looked like a sleeping shift were draped over an armchair.

He carried the clothes back into the room where Key was still sleeping soundly. He placed them on the end of the bed for her to try on when she woke.

He looked around the room for something to do, strangely energized but not wanting to venture too far from her side lest he trigger another reaction.

He went to the back of the room and opened the window, bailing out the cold water from her earlier bath with a bucket. When he was finished, he dried out the tub with a towel.

Bailing water had tired him out enough that he thought he might be able to sleep. He removed his shirt, crawling into bed next to her.

She made a small, satisfied sound in her sleep and turned toward him, pressing herself to his side. He kissed her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. He fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

KEYARA

They barely left the room for the next three days. Ash had been correct that being marked would take a while to recover from. She mostly just wanted to sleep, a feeling of exhaustion deep within her.

Ash told her this was normal, and in between her naps, they made love gently, relishing each other’s bodies and the new sensations the mating bond gave them.

After, they would hold each other and talk, and she had learned much about the lives of the werewolves.

He had explained the hierarchy of the pack and what her role would be as the mate to the alpha. She learned that the Kodia Pack was the strongest of the werewolf packs, owing mainly to their alliance with the humans.

Once, as he moved above her in passion, she raised a hand to his strange eyes, gone black as they occasionally did, gently brushing one of his eyebrows.

“What causes that?” she asked him, curious.

He groaned playfully at the interruption, burying his face in her shoulder before rolling beside her and taking her hand in his.

“Normally my wolf is deep down within my consciousness,” he explained. “I am able to control my more animal instincts.”

“When the two sides of myself are close to one another, and my mind is in a more…feral state, it clouds my eyes. It happens in moments of high emotion, be it anger or passion.” He kissed her hand as he finished explaining.

“So that’s why they were the very darkest when you attacked King Pershing?” she asked.

She felt him tense beside her, clearly still angry about what had happened, before he rolled on his side, gazing at her.

“Yes,” he said. “I had so recently sensed you as my mate it made keeping control difficult. When the mate bond is in the beginning stages, instinct tries to take over.

“To mark the mate as both a claim and as a means of protection. When I saw him attack you, it was all I could do to keep from shifting right there.”

He raised a hand and gently stroked her cheek, where the last signs of the mark Pershing had left behind were barely visible.

“I think I may have given myself away anyway.” He laughed.

She laughed with him. “Yes, you certainly sounded ferocious.”

His eyes suddenly grew very serious, staring intently at her. She felt a fluttering in her heart with the way he looked at her.

“I will always protect you, Key, I promise,” he assured her.

She smiled and kissed him, and they soon picked up where they had left off.

ASH

When the last of the bruising around her mark was healed, he started teaching her how to mind-link with him. The first time he reached her, her eyes widened, and she threw a hand over her mouth with a gasp.

“And that will work no matter where we are?!” she exclaimed.

“It will work over very far distances,” he replied, “but there is a range. It is different for everyone, based on the strength of the bond. I can reach Luca back home from here, and he me, as he is my beta.

“I would be hard-pressed to reach any other member of the pack, however,” he explained. “I suspect you and I will be able to reach farther, but we will have to test it.”

“Speaking of,” he continued, “we need to continue to find out how far I am able to venture from you.”

She frowned in concern at the suggestion. The last time he had tested it, two days ago when he had briefly gone to check the snares just inside the woods, she was dizzy and on the verge of losing her lunch by the time he returned.

He squeezed her hand in reassurance. “It will just continue to improve, my love.”

“All right,” she said, still hesitant. “But can we keep practicing before we try that? I’d like to be able to link you in return in case I need to call you back.”

He nodded and returned to their lesson.