Ash POV
I close my eyes tightly as I realize I have to ask for his help; either that or I will have to pick a chair by the kitchen table, I know I don’t have any energy for that. I take a deep breath as I summon the courage to ask him.I am slightly ticked off that he isn’t offering to help me when it is pretty obvious I can’t reach the inside of the cupboard. I turn my head in his direction and I see him leaning on the refrigerator with his arms folded.I pray for strength as I open my mouth. I clear my throat and say, “I need help getting the cereal out of the cupboard. I can’t reach it.”He makes no attempt to move from the fridge but his eyes on me don't waver. I glare at him and sigh.“Please,” I add.He pushes himself from the refrigerator without a word. He doesn’t allow me to move out of the way, instead, he reaches over my head and pulls out the box. How he knows the exact one I want is a little baffling but that is not what I am thinking about right now. I am pissed that he did something so disrespectful. I know I am on the shorter side but he did not have to show off like that.He drops the box on the counter and I say my thanks through closed lips. I grab the cereal and pick up a bowl and spoon as I head for the kitchen table. I take a seat before I realize I did not get milk from the refrigerator.I frown and I stand to my feet when I see him open the fridge and close it. He walks toward me holding the milk. He drops it on the table and I drop back to my seat. I look at the jug of milk and then at him, “Thank you,” I mumble.He doesn’t respond, just takes a seat on the other side of the table. He keeps his gaze on me and at this point, it is starting to get uncomfortable. I glare at him and pick up the jug of milk, I pour it into the bowl, and some spills onto the table.I take out the cereal from the box and pour it into the bowl of milk. I stir it and take a spoonful toward my lip. I pause halfway to my mouth and return the spoon to the bowl.“You don’t have to watch me eat,” I say stiffly.He doesn’t respond, just walks away. He walks out of the kitchen and back to the living room before I can protest. I sigh, I did not expect him to leave, I just found his stare uncomfortable. I groan, I am truly giving villain behavior considering he is staying behind to protect me even after I said such a mean thing about his pack. I take a spoon out of the soggy cereals.I sigh, I really need to join a pack but according to Conall and my brother, joining the Rogue Pack is similar to going rogue, the only difference is you have company. I don’t think I have it that bad to join a pack my brother doesn’t approve of.I finish the cereal, I know it is not nearly enough but I do not have the appetite to eat more. This way I won’t sleep on an empty stomach. I wash the bowl and head to the living room.I open my mouth to apologize for what I said in the kitchen but the look on his face chases me to the bedroom. I leave without saying a word. I close the door to the bedroom with a bang, I rest on the door and as an afterthought, I turn the lock. It echoes in my room. I cringe at the thought that he can hear it but I am not taking any chances. Just because he saved me did not mean he is a good person.Besides, nobody went out of their way without ulterior motives. He saves me and now he is staying the night out of the goodness of his heart. Yeah right. He doesn’t look like the type that will attack helpless ladies but better safe than sorry.I should have said no when he offered to stay but I know I would rather it be him than Tyler. I remember Tyler's hands on my skin and I feel my stomach churn. I need to take a shower.I push myself off the door as I wonder if I should take my bath before or after I lay on the bed. I end up choosing to lay the bed before I take a bath. I open the wardrobe and sure enough, there are bed sheets I can choose from.I select a flower pattern sheet, I move quickly as I am very tired. I just want to lie down and sleep, forget everything. I lay the bed haphazardly, I have no energy to make it properly.I jump into the shower and let the cold water run down my body from the top of my head. I shiver as the water touches my body but I don't make any attempt to turn on the heater. I hope that if I get cold enough, I will stop feeling anything. I would rather be numb than have to face the sadness in my heart.I stand in the shower until my legs begin to fail me and I have to hold the wall for support. Even then, I don't leave as the tears stream down my face, mixing with the water.I grab my chest and squat, the cold water doesn't work. I can feel everything and it hurts. It hurts so bad. I stay in the position, sobbing until I can't cry anymore.I slowly step out of the shower, dripping water everywhere. I take a towel and wipe myself clean. I walk out of the bathroom with the towel tied around my chest. My hair is still dripping water and I feel the drops on my shoulders and my back.I know my eyes are puffy from crying and I can feel a headache coming on. I'll dress up and try to sleep, that should definitely help. I am a little thirsty but I don't want to have to leave the room.As I walk to the edge of the bed, almost in the middle of the room, I realize I left my luggage outside the room. I swear. I don't want to go outside but everything I need is in the luggage and eventually, I will have to go out.I touch my forehead and sigh. I slowly approach the door and turn the knob. I see my box immediately, it is a few feet away from the door. I look around but I can't see Caspian.I don't think, I move quickly. I step out fully and there is still no sign of him. I make sure to check. I pull my luggage into the room and close the door in seconds.I open it and I pick out my brother's hoodie. I slip into it and I pick a pair of shorts, I wear them and climb the bed. I pull the duvet over my head and close my eyes.Memories of my brother rush into my head and sniff. I don't have any tears left to cry. Even if I want to, I know I won't be able to shed a single tear.I can't sleep, so I hide in my memories wishing that things haven't changed, hoping that this is all a nasty dream that I will soon wake up from and last about it in the morning. I chuckle sadly as I realize I had this exact thought when I heard my brother was dead. I pinch myself but I am still under the duvet, still sad and alone.A soft knock pulls me out of my thoughts. I throw the duvet off my face but I don't move out of bed just in case I am hearing things. I hear the knock again, it's still not loud as though he doesn't want to wake me if I am asleep. I get out of bed and walk to the door. My barefoot hit the floor and I wiggle my toes."Yes," I say but I don't make any attempt to unlock it."I brought you dinner," Caspian's voice says to me."What?" I ask but I am unlocking the door and turning the knob.I open the door to see his tall figure holding a tray, the contents are covered so I can't see into the bowl but I can see the tall glass of juice. I can smell it though, there is egg and bacon in there. I feel my mouth water.He stretches the tray toward me, "Here," he says with a bland expression.Ash POVI am at a loss for words and I stare at his hands without making any effort to accept it."I promise, I did not poison it," he says.I groan, "I didn't say you did.""Your expression did. I just figured cereal can't be enough for the whole day. Here," he repeats."I-I can't accept this," I hear myself say. I don't even know why I can't."You can," Caspian says. "If you don't, it will go to waste."I stretched out my hands but I am still hesitant."Consider it a peace offering."I sigh and grab the tray, "Thank you but really you didn't have to."He lets go of the tray and starts to walk away. I walk back into my room and close the door with a loud bang. I am pissed off for some reason even though he has done everything right.He is offering to stay with me, I should be nice but it is a little hard to be. However, I know I have to try as I can't afford to chase him. I have nowhere else to go yet, I need his protection.I place the tray on the bedside table and sit on the bed. I
Ash POVI am running through a field, I can't see what is chasing me but I know I can't let it catch me. The ground feels like I am running on glue and I have to pull out my feet with every step.I see Nathan in front of me and I try to reach him. He stretches out his hand and I do the same. As soon as I touch him, he dissipates. Simultaneously, the ground starts falling.I scream as I try to grab anything to hold on to. I see Conall standing over me, he is within reach but he doesn't try to help me. I scream out to him but he just laughs and watches me fall."Hey, hey! Wake up!" I hear Caspian call to me as he shakes me vigorously. "You are having a bad dream," he says.I open my eyes and his face is close to mine, I can see the worry in his expression. I am still on the couch. I must have fallen asleep during the movie."You are crying," he says.Am I? I don't think I am. I raise my hand to my face and it is wet. I am a little confused, I don't know when I started to cry. Suddenly,
Ash POVI feel myself getting pulled in the opposite direction and my face lands on something solid. I immediately realize Caspian pulled me to his chest. I can't comprehend how he got to my side so quickly. Did he jump over the table?"Are you okay?" He asks, still holding me to his chest. I can hear his heartbeat, it spiked but now it was falling back to a regular beat.I nod, I am a little dazed and all that sudden movement just made my headache worse. I need a moment for my head to settle. I lean into him and he holds me."How's your headache?" He asks, his hand softly treads my hair."Significantly worse," I mumble into his chest."Eish… I am so sorry, I didn't have enough time to think.""It is fine," I say and take a step back and he lets me go. "Thank you, I probably would have ended up with a bruise and more headache if I had fallen on my face."I hold on to the table for support. I can instantly tell I shouldn't be moving around. I want to pick up the chair but I know my hea
Caspian POVI sit by the table and pick up the cutlery as I prepare to dig into the meal I made. At this point, I am sure all I do is cook but since I don’t have anything else to do in this house and I don’t particularly hate it, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.“Why are you being so nice to me?”I freeze with the food halfway to my mouth. I have to applaud her timing, she never fails to catch me off guard. I bring the cutlery down as I try to find an answer that will make sure she finishes this meal with me.“Irrespective of how I look, I am a gentleman at heart,” I say. This isn’t true at all, I will never do this for anyone. I know I am only doing this to get her to like me and join my pack. It stings a little that she doesn’t trust me even though it is quite understandable why she doesn’t. I can see the disbelief written all over her face and I brace myself for her response. Her hair is tied up but a few strands have escaped, they rested on the sides of her face, and I want to tuck t
Ash POVI scrub the plates, a little too hard. I can’t believe I just spilled my life’s history to a random stranger. He must have put something in the food to get me talking. I can’t believe I told him I was rejected.I can feel my face burning up. However, as soon as I started talking about my parents, I couldn’t stop. It is annoying because I can tell that he was listening, really listening and if I ask, he will probably be able to repeat everything I said word for word. This is so embarrassing.I felt bad earlier that even though he knew nothing about me, he still went out of his way for me. That's why I told him about my parents but then I overshared and now I'm just embarrassed."That's the last of them," he says behind me.I turn to look at him, he is wearing the apron again, it's hard not to look at him and chuckle. He is close enough to touch and I have to raise my head to look at his face."Thanks for letting me help.""I should be telling you, thank you," he says and takes
Caspian POVAll the hair at the back of my head stands just as I hear a crash in the living room. I stand up immediately and so does Ashton. I put my finger to my lip and call to her with my hand, she stands behind me and I make my way to the living room, making sure to cover her with my body.As soon as I stand by the kitchen door I know who it is immediately. Tyler, I can smell. I growl, on the verge of transforming. I feel my fangs grow a little."What are you doing back here, baby boy?" I say as I walk forward, putting some space between me and Ashton. I am glad when she doesn't follow and remains in the kitchen.The first thing I notice is that he isn't alone. There are about five other werewolves with him and I can sense a few more outside the house. I frown. What is his plan?"I am here to take what is mine?" He says as stands in the middle of the living room."Are you joking or perhaps you've got nuts? What part of the last conversation did you not understand?" My breathing i
Caspian POV"Leave Jamie!" She suddenly blurts out.My eyes widen at her outburst but it is nothing compared to the look of hurt that appears on Jamie's face. "I-I…" He starts to say but goes quiet."Thank you for your help. You have done enough. Now leave." She refuses to look at him as she speaks."I see. Caspian, can we have a conversation outside?" He asks, his eyes pleading that I speak with him."No, there is no need for that. I am sure there is nothing useful you can tell him…"I hold her wrist and she looks up at my face. Her eyes are behind a glass screen. I'm surprised the tears haven't fallen down her face. They look on the verge of spilling."Let me hear what he says," I say to her.She sighs and sniffs, "If you insist. Go wait outside," she says without looking back. "He will join you when I am done.""Okay," Jamie says and slowly walks away.The door closes with a soft thud and I feel Ashton shake a little. I want to hug her but I doubt she will appreciate that."Does i
Ash POVI wake up with a jerk, I check the time immediately and see that it is barely past six am. I am a little surprised as I did not fall asleep until past two last night.Well, I think I fell asleep around that time last night because as usual, I fell asleep on the living room couch, and sometime later Caspian brought me to my room.I stretch and get out of bed. My hair is everywhere, I bundle it up and tie it in a tight knot at the top of my head. I am anxious, this is an understatement. I am more than anxious, I am apprehensive, scared, worried, just name it.I still can't believe I am leaving. I didn't ask where his pack is located and to be honest, I would rather not know until I get there. I don't want to know what to expect because I am afraid I won't like it.I brush slowly, taking my time. My things are already packed up so I don’t have to hurry. I stare at my reflection as I try to convince myself that this is a good decision. Joining the Rogue pack could be my best decis