Chapter Fifty

ASH

He ran a hand over his face, composing his features, heeding her words and taking his seat even though fury burned within him at the insult toward his mate.

This was not the time or the place to address such insolence, especially as the offender had already made his exit, and he hadn’t the slightest clue who it had been.

He wondered if they would have dared insult Keyara that way if he had been present. He highly doubted it, which was a small consolation.

He had known it might take time for the pack to accept an outsider as their luna, but as soon as anyone dared to openly defy him in his role as alpha, their cause could be lost.

He was glad he had called Ethan back when he did. He was well respected among the older members of the pack, and his calm demeanor would be helpful in stifling the worst of the tempers.

They ate their lunch in silence, Keyara trying to keep the hurt off her face, and he trying to keep the fury off of his.

As soon as they finished their meal, he pulled her out of the room. Even though no one else had dared even a curious glance their way, he instinctively needed to keep her away from any more anger.

Her mood visibly improved once they had returned to their room, and he knew she felt comfortable there. He was glad at least part of his home put her at ease.

“Why don’t you take a bath,” he suggested. “I have some work I need to finish up.”

She nodded, stripping off her clothes and looking back at him over her shoulder with a wicked glint to her eye. He growled appreciatively at the sight of her naked body as she disappeared through the door.

He sat at the small desk by the bed, jotting down notes outlining what he would say when he stood before the council in a few days’ time.

He had also received word while greeting Ethan earlier that Rowan would be returning that evening from his tour around the kingdoms Ash had delegated to him.

The shipment of spices was traveling with him, accounting for his delay. Ash needed to pull some of the pack members off of patrols to haul the shipment up from the base of the mountain when the wagon arrived.

He was deep in conversation with Mateo through the mind-link about the pending assignments when Keyara came out of the cave, wrapped tightly in a towel.

She pressed a quick kiss against his shoulder before moving to the large wardrobe in search of clean clothes.

~“Thank you, Mateo. I think we have it settled.”~

He cut off the link and went to join her as she finished lacing up the dress she had chosen, his fingers replacing hers and tying off the corset in the back.

She moved to the bookshelf along the wall, tracing her fingers over the spines before pulling one out that caught her eye.

“I’ll have dinner sent to the room tonight,” he told her as she settled on the couch with her book. “We’ll keep a low profile for now.”

She looked at him frowning, the book open in her lap. “Is that wise?” she asked him.

“I doubt most will think much of it,” he responded. “It is not uncommon for me to miss meals. I am very busy after all.”

She smirked at his display of self-importance before returning her eyes to the book in her lap. Her deep uneasiness at the events of the day was evident to him, and he knew she was relieved at his suggestion.

KEYARA

She lost herself in the novel she had chosen as Ash wrote notes at his desk. She knew not what he was so busy composing and did not want to ask. Feeling his stress was enough.

The afternoon passed in relative silence, though they felt perfectly at ease just existing in the same space together.

He excused himself for brief periods of time during the afternoon to greet additional council representatives as they slowly trickled in, though he had put Ethan in charge of briefing them after the first had gone so awry.

He had explained to her that he felt the details were better received coming from someone other than himself, and she agreed with that assessment.

As the room filled with an orange glow from the setting sun, there was a sharp knock at the door, and she jumped at the sound, having been deeply engrossed in her book.

Ash grinned at her reaction, opening the door and taking the dinner tray from the cook on the other side. The man tipped his head respectfully before departing.

He sat across from her, setting the tray on the table between them. There was a generous serving of roast venison with potatoes and carrots on the side, along with slices of bread and a bottle of wine.

Ash sliced into the roast, placing several cuts on her plate before spooning some of the vegetables and sauce on top. He held up the bottle of wine, silently offering it.

“No, thank you,” she laughed. “I think I had enough last night to last me a while.”

He laughed in return, setting the bottle aside and leaving his own glass empty as well, before serving up his plate of food.

They ate in silence, and though the afternoon had passed comfortably in much the same way, the quiet suddenly felt awkward to her.

The food became dry in her mouth as her nerves flared, and she forced it down with a sip of water.

“How many council members have arrived?” she asked him, though she wasn’t sure she really wanted to discuss the topic.

“Four, now,” he replied. “There are eleven total, including Ethan. So six to go. The others are some distance away. It will be another three days or so before they are all gathered.”

She nodded, forcing herself to take another bite, though she had lost her appetite. She set down her fork after she swallowed, leaning back into the couch.

“What’s worrying you, Key?” he asked her softly, pushing his own plate away.

“Nothing new,” she told him. “You warned me of what we would face. Everything is just becoming real very quickly.”

He nodded in understanding, clasping her hands over the table in a gesture of comfort. He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly his eyes became distant, concentrating on something she could not hear.

“Luca is back,” he said abruptly, rising to his feet. “He has news. I’ll return soon.”

She nodded, not trusting her voice because of the lump that suddenly formed in her throat at his announcement.