Chapter Forty-Six

KEYARA

She watched as the last members of the pack filed out of the meeting room, letting out a breath that she did not even realize she had been holding.

She knew that what Ash had done for her was very serious, that had been very clear to her, but she had been isolated from the repercussions up to this point.

She had taken for granted the easy acceptance the handful of men had shown them back at the settlement that had been her makeshift home for so many days.

The tension displayed by the crowd by the conclusion of Ash’s address to them had been palpable and seeing the angry and shocked faces before her had filled her with a sense of dread.

Luca and Jill had stayed behind as everyone else left, and she turned to Luca, catching his attention.

“Thank you for your support, Luca,” she told him sincerely. “I didn’t realize you had convinced him to do it.”

Ash wrapped an arm around her shoulders before throwing a playful punch at Luca beside him.

“I shouldn’t have expected you to follow orders and keep your mouth shut,” he said to his beta, a serious edge cutting into his voice despite his seemingly joking demeanor.

“I told you that you would have my support, and I meant it,” Luca replied, looking at Ash seriously, his voice devoid of humor.

Keyara exchanged a glance with Jill, the atmosphere between the two men suddenly tense. Jill cleared her throat and took Key’s hand.

“Come,” she said. “Let’s see if we can snag a taste of the banquet dishes from the kitchen.”

Key let herself be pulled away by Jill, as Ash and Luca began a heated conversation in low voices as they walked away.

“Sorry,” Jill told her, amusement in her voice. “The alpha had asked him to stay out of it, but he insisted on showing his support. Luca sometimes has a hard time following rules.

“Those two have a unique relationship. It’s best to just let them have it out when they get in this kind of mood,” she explained.

Keyara stopped in the hallway, forcing Jill to face her. “Tell me,” she pleaded. “How bad is this going to be for Ash?”

Jill bit her lip nervously before answering in a timid voice. “I’m sorry, Luna, I’m not the one to ask about that. I haven’t been here long enough to really understand. This is the first time I’ll even see the council meet.

“But Luca and I spoke about it before the meeting, and I know the alpha could lose his position for it.”

Keyara nodded, tears filling her eyes. She blinked them back and focused on Jill’s eyes on her face.

“Come on, this way,” Jill said, pulling her down the hall again and not commenting on Keyara’s sudden display of emotion.

They entered the kitchen, and the aroma of spices and other appealing scents greeted them. Everyone in the kitchen turned at her arrival, acknowledging her respectfully, and she blushed in response to their earnest greeting.

She moved between the cooks as they worked, and each excitedly showed her what they were preparing. She praised each one as she tasted their dishes.

One man asked her what she wished to be served that evening, and she hesitated to answer before spotting a bag of apples in the corner.

“Apple pie is my favorite,” she told him, smiling at him as he eagerly assured her he would prepare it for her.

As Keyara and Jill left the kitchen, their bellies satisfied with all the samples they had been given, she felt Jill wrap an arm around hers in a friendly gesture.

“That was nicely done, Luna,” Jill told her. “You made them feel important without putting them out.”

“Please, call me Keyara,” she insisted. She hesitated before responding further, inexplicably feeling embarrassed about her past.

“I was a maid back home,” she finally explained to Jill. “Sometimes I worked in the kitchens.”

Jill nodded and smiled in understanding. “I was a seamstress back in Saphine,” she told Keyara. “Before I met Luca.”

“Do you ever miss it, your life there?” Keyara asked her.

“Not really,” Jill replied. “It was hard back at home. The lady of my estate was rarely pleased and was not pleasant to work for.

“I had very few prospects. I had already lost my parents and was on my own. Finding Luca gave me a reason to exist, and I would never give that up.”

“I understand,” Keyara replied.

They walked through the hall arm in arm, rounding a corner to suddenly come face to face with Ash.

“There you are,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss. “I was coming to drag you out of the kitchen.”

Jill winked at her. “See you later, Keyara,” she said affably before disappearing down the hallway.

***

ASH

His temper calmed when he was back at Keyara’s side, though truth be told, he was having a hard time staying mad at Luca as it was for standing his ground against his alpha’s wishes.

Keyara looked stunning standing in the stone hallway in the deep green dress, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the kitchen.

He took her hand and led her back to their room, seeking some peace and quiet before the banquet that night.

Key collapsed on one of the sofas, plucking a grape from the tray on the table before kicking off her shoes and curling her feet underneath her.

“Why were you so angry at Luca?” she asked him, popping the grape into her mouth.

Ash sighed and sat across from her, reaching for the wine and pouring them each a glass. He handed one to her across the table before answering.

“I’m not, really,” he replied carefully, trying to make sense of his own feelings as he answered her.

“I just do not wish for him to put himself in a position he cannot get out of just for my sake. I’d rather him be here to run the pack if he needs to.”

“He’s your friend, Ash,” she chided him softly. “Let him make his own decisions.”

She took a sip of her wine and then made a face, wrinkling her nose and setting the glass back on the table.

Her expression made him laugh, evaporating the last of his anger. She was right, Luca had always been a good friend to him, and he could make his own choices.

“Is the wine not to your liking, my lady?” he asked, trying to stifle his laughter.

“I’ve never had it before,” she rebuked him, but laughed along with him when she failed to keep her face serious. “Sometimes we had ale, but never wine.”

“It is an acquired taste,” he assured her, setting his own glass down and crossing over to her couch, gathering her in his arms.

She settled against him, her head resting on his shoulder, and they sat quietly for a bit, just enjoying being together.

“Do we have to go to the banquet tonight?” she suddenly asked him in a small voice, filled with nervousness.

He tilted her head up to face him, kissing her softly. “I know this has been a lot for you, Keyara, to suddenly be thrust into,” he told her, feeling awful for her apprehensiveness about taking on so much so soon.

“But we must go, at least for a little while. I need to gauge the temperament of the pack.”

She nodded, laying her head on his shoulder again.

“I know,” she told him. “I knew the answer before I asked. It’s just so nice to be here with you, like this. You’re so different when you’re playing alpha.”

He laughed, kissing the top of her head, “Trust me, it has taken some practice to develop, and it is definitely not the real me.”

“So tell me more about what it was like growing up here,” she bid him. “I heard some stories from Luca.”

Ash groaned playfully, knowing Luca would have no qualms about telling her some of the more embarrassing antics from their childhood.

“What did he tell you?” he asked her in mock horror.

She laughed, and the mood between them filled with an ease that he was growing accustomed to. “I heard about how you had to run extra laps for putting a fake mustache on an important painting.”

“I’ll have you know that was Luca’s idea!” Ash responded, laughing at the memory. “The scoundrel didn’t even get punished for it.”

She pulled away from his grasp, turning to face him on the couch. “You didn’t give him away. You’re a good man, Ash. You both are.”

Her sincerity touched him, and he placed a hand on her cheek, overcome with his emotions toward her. “I’m glad you’re here, Key. I can’t imagine my life without you now,” he told her, kissing her softly.

She pressed herself against him, deepening the kiss, and he moaned in pleasure at the feeling of her warm body against him. He swept her into his arms and to the bed, finishing what they had started earlier in the cave.

KEYARA

She lay against his bare chest, tracing patterns on his skin with the tips of her fingers as he hummed in contentment. The sweat on her skin had dried in the cool air, leaving goosebumps behind.

The sun had gone down, and she knew the banquet would begin at any moment, but neither of them had mentioned it, wanting to stay in this moment together.

She glanced up at him through her lashes, admiring his face. His eyes were closed and his demeanor was relaxed, a hint of a smile on his lips.

His hair was loose, splayed out on the pillow. She felt her heart flutter just at the sight of him. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair, almost as white as the linen of the pillow it rested upon.

His eyes opened and his smile widened as he saw her eyes on him. “What are you thinking, love?” he asked her softly.

“How beautiful you are,” she answered honestly, feeling her face flush as she admitted it.

His chest shook with soft laughter, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She could hear his heart beating where her ear pressed against his chest.

“I suppose we should get down to the banquet,” he said regretfully. “It is for us, after all.”

She lifted her face and trailed kisses along his neck, nipping lightly at the skin. He let out a soft growl, pulling away from her.

“Nice try,” he said with amusement, “but I’m afraid your distraction won’t work. We really must go.”

He stood and retrieved her dress from where he had hastily discarded it earlier, and she pulled it on quickly as he dressed himself. Once she pulled on her shoes, she took his hand.

“Let’s get it over with then,” she said.