Chapter Nine

ASH

He turned and walked out, his men following silently. He grabbed the bag of coins off the table as he passed. ~So much for your trade route~, he thought.

Pershing and his entourage glared at them as they walked out, Lord Jonas most of all.

~“Maybe this will be easier,”~ Ash linked to Luca.

~“I told you so,”~ came the satisfied reply.

~“Yes, yes, good job, Beta.”~

The loss of Levia as an ally barely registered with Ash. It meant almost nothing to him.

They could never hope to beat his pack if it ever came to a fight, and the other human kingdoms would never turn their backs on Kodia for the sake of Pershing.

If this kingdom was not the closest to his land, Ash would never even bother with it in the first place.

His thoughts were focused on his mate. Since she had been hurt, his wolf was barely holding back below the surface.

He needed assurance that she was all right to calm down, or he feared he would lose control again.

As the group of warriors entered the kitchen, three girls looked up from their frantic whispering and froze, eyes wide.

Ash always seemed to forget how much they intimidated the humans when many of his kind were all together. It made their inhuman size and the differences between their kinds even more apparent.

One girl slowly raised a trembling hand and pointed to the back door. They knew who he was here for.

He nodded his thanks, trying to ease her obvious fear, and he and his warriors filed through the kitchen, ducking to avoid the pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. The girls watched them leave, never moving a muscle.

Once they were outside, he saw his mate stopped slightly up the path, deep in a serious conversation with an older woman and the girl he had identified as Keyara’s companion when he first arrived.

~“Stay there,”~ he ordered his men.

They lined up outside the door, standing at attention, hands behind their backs and staring straight ahead. Ash continued up the path alone.

“…King Ash would be a very strong ally,” his overly sensitive hearing picked up from their conversation. ~Ally for what~, he wondered.

He stepped closer and cleared his throat. The three women turned to face him immediately.

Two dropped into a curtsy at the sight of him, dropping their eyes to the ground. His mate did not. She stayed standing straight, staring boldly into his eyes.

His attention went to the mark on her cheek. Her face was starting to swell, and there was a slight trickle of blood running down her delicate cheekbone where the skin had split from the force of the blow.

He growled low in his throat before he could stop himself. The sight of her blood made his fury flare up again, and his hands clenched in rage.

He worked hard to not completely lose control again and go find Pershing to make him pay for harming his mate.

He didn’t want to terrify her now that she had no control over her departure. This was going to be hard enough on her, and he didn’t want her to fear that she was bound to a madman.

He approached her slowly and cupped her uninjured cheek. Lowering his head, he paused right before his nose touched her bruise. He inhaled her scent deeply to help calm himself down.

He desperately wanted to lick her wound, to take away her pain, but he stopped himself just in time.

~What is wrong with me?~ he wondered. He usually had ironclad control around the humans. ~If the rumors weren’t out of control before, they certainly would be now~, he thought wryly.

He awkwardly stepped away from her, knowing he had probably pushed things too far. She must think him a madman after all. The three women were indeed looking at him strangely, clearly confused by his behavior.

Keyara blinked a few times, then said “My lord?”

“Yes, Keyara?” he replied politely, attempting to dispel her suspicion after his odd behavior.

“This is my mother. And my sister. I was just saying goodbye to them. Anne and Jenna,” she told him, gesturing to each in turn.

Their scent betrayed her statement. She was not related to the other two; they smelled nothing alike. But he didn’t care enough about her lineage at the moment to push for the truth.

He just wanted to get her back to his home, where she belonged.

“I’m sorry, Keyara,” he said softly. “This is not how I wanted it to happen.”

“How you wanted what to happen?” she asked curiously.

“I’ll explain everything later, I promise. There is not time now. We have a strict deadline, after all.”

Keyara glared over his shoulder at the castle, as if Pershing could feel her anger through the walls. He smiled at her fierceness.

“For now, say your goodbyes. And I’m sure you have much to gather to bring to your new home. It will be a fine home, Keyara,” he added softly, wanting to comfort her. “My people will welcome you.”

She looked down at herself and shrugged. “Not really,” she said. “I only have what I’m wearing. I don’t own anything else.”

Ash frowned. Her statement made him feel very possessive of her. He wanted to give her anything she wanted, even though she didn’t seem bothered by her lack of possessions.

“Come with me, Key,” said the woman she had introduced as her mother. “I do have something for you.” She took Keyara’s hand and turned to Ash. “Please excuse us, my lord.”

“Of course,” he replied. “My men will prepare for our departure. We will meet you at the gates?”

Keyara nodded, staring at him for a moment, then followed her mother away.