19. Asher

ASHER

I returned to the shed after bathing in the nearby pond. The water was cold but refreshing after another day of prepping wood for Den City. After what happened the last time I was in town, Connor wasn't letting me deliver the wood. It didn't matter that I hadn't caused the incident or that I saved one of his guards. All that mattered was how it had unsettled the town.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, Asher," he'd growled at me after his guards had beat me. I still felt each bruise, but at least they were healing. "Whatever you have planned to undermine me or my authority "—he punctuated that by shoving me into the wall of his quarters—"won't work. My rule is absolute, as is my control over you."

Blood coated my mouth, and my side ached where the guard had kicked me, so my answering smile was probably more of a grimace. "Are you convincing me of that? Or yourself?"

The retort earned me another punch in the face before the guards dragged me out and back to my shed. That was yesterday. I was still sore and aching from both the beating and chopping wood, but I was feeling better.

Honestly, it surprised me that Connor let me spend time with my pack at all. I'd expected him to keep me as his personal servant. But since he'd brought Kestrel in, I was doing the same tasks my pack was. Not being near him was nice, although it meant I couldn't keep tabs on him as easily—I'd take it as a win, though.

The sore joints in my neck cracked as I turned my head from side to side. I rolled my shoulders next, my gaze wandering to the corner of the shed. I'd used Ian's dagger to pry a floorboard loose, then wedged it in there. It would be annoying to get to it, but at least I had a weapon in case something went down.

Having it made me feel a bit safer, even though I was used to fighting with my hands or my teeth. Weapons weren't allowed when someone challenged me for my position, so my hand-to-hand fighting skills were well honed. Although, being under Connor's control put an end to the constant challenges.

It was more than the fact that Connor was exhausting us to the point that doing those challenges was inconvenient. Our proximity to our feral side had made everyone more violent and jumpy. It wasn't that I didn't deserve to be alpha—we were just under a lot of pressure, and it was more difficult to regulate that desire to challenge me.

I would rather my pack be free, but they looked healthier than they had before I went to dissolve the mate bond with Phaedra.

As I thought her name, I heard quick footsteps headed my way. Tensing, I waited to see if the running would pass my shed, but then a rapid knock came at my door. A guard wouldn't waste their time knocking. Could it be one of Phaedra's friends, or maybe?—

"Asher, it's me," Phaedra whispered. "Let me in before someone sees."

I flung open the door, and she hustled inside. My thoughts began to turn to mush, a mixture of my wolf's excitement, my exhaustion, and her sweet scent. That was a dangerous state to be in around her. My filter wasn't in place. What if I said or did something we both regretted?

"What—" Her sudden presence made my throat dry, so I cleared it and started again. "What are you doing here?"

She turned to me, holding out a bundle of… linens? "There's nothing comfortable about this place," she said. "I thought you might like a blanket and a pillow."

My racing heart skipped yet another beat. My wolf purred. Phaedra had been thinking about my comfort, but should I encourage this? She was risking a lot being here.

"You came here just to bring me this?" I asked. "What if you'd been seen?"

"I wasn't seen," she replied, as if that was enough to shut me up.

I shook my head. "You shouldn't have done this, Phaedra. It's unnecessary, risky, and?—"

She rolled those gorgeous eyes and pushed the bundle into my arms. "Just take this. It's the least I can do."

I accepted them automatically, despite my protests. The feeling of the clean sheets in my arms was almost an immediate comfort after spending so many days sleeping on cold wood.

"The guards will probably take these away when they find them."

She put her hands on her hips. "Then, I'll find a way to bring you more, and we'll find a way to hide them."

"Just like that, huh?"

"Just like that."

I didn't have the energy to fight the smile that spread across my face. This was my Phaedra. "You can be such a brat."

"Excuse me? I bring you blankets, and you insult me?" The corners of her plump lips quirked, and there was a glint of amusement in her gaze and in the way her eyebrow rose.

"Once a brat, always a brat," I replied, emboldened by her willingness to play along.

She pushed past me to the door. "Well, if you're not even going to thank me, I may as well head back inside."

"Before you do, I have something else to say."

She stopped and turned toward me. "About the mission?"

That wasn't what I wanted to talk about, but it should have been. I swallowed the words I was going to say—that she looked beautiful, that I missed her, that I wanted her to stay a little longer—and nodded.

"I think your plan is going to work well," I said. "When we went to deliver the wood, things were already so tense."

"Right?" Her eyes widened. "I was in Den City earlier today with Theo. I've never seen it like that."

I nodded. "A fight broke out between a wolf and a guard. I broke it up." My wolf had pushed me to tell her that I'd stopped it. He thought it would endear us to Phaedra. I didn't feel like pushing back against him.

"You did?" she asked. "Wait, was it Preston?"

I frowned. "Yes, it was. How did you know?"

"I saw his sister Heather. She looked so… lost, I guess. Her brother is an electrician, but he's known for starting trouble in the marketplace. When you mentioned a fight, I knew it had to be him."

"That doesn't surprise me. He looked like anything could have set him off."

"That sounds like Preston."

"Has he ever harassed you?"

She shook her head. "Not me. He usually ignored or avoided me, but he did accuse Theo of stealing once. He bruised her wrist."

My lips pulled back from my teeth a bit. "Sounds like a piece of work."

"That's putting it mildly. How did Heather get hurt? Did she try to break up the fight?"

I nodded. She was spot-on with these guesses. Then again, she'd lived among these people for five years. Even if they hadn't spoken to her, she would have some understanding of their personalities and quirks. No wonder she was so good with strategy.

"She hopped on Preston's back, and he threw her to the ground. That was when I got involved."

"Good," she said, crossing her arms under breasts. "I know part of the reason he's so aggressive is because of how he's forced to live, but that's no excuse for him to treat people the way he does. Especially women. Especially his poor sister."

I couldn't find adequate words to respond. I agreed with what she was saying, but the way she looked right now… she was more than the forced chosen mate to a tyrant. She was a queen, a warrior. That she could at once have compassion for that man while acknowledging his faults and encouraging his punishment told me she was a leader. Her strength awed me.

I cleared my throat. "The last couple of weeks, you've been so aloof and controlled. I know it's what you have to do to protect yourself from Connor and high-wolf society. I get that. But if I'm being honest, I missed your passion. I missed this side of you."

She was quiet for a few moments, then the tension in her shoulders started to lessen, melting the rest of her. "You did?" she asked gently.

"Yes." My voice was just as gentle.

"I thought I was a brat."

I smiled. "You are."

"You're a jerk." But she said it with such a sweet smile, my chest ached. "I've missed you, too."

My wolf danced on his paws in time with the quick beat of my heart. I let out a sound somewhere between a relieved sigh and a chuckle. "It feels good to hear you say that."

She blushed. "Same here. I… all this time I've been wondering if…"

I stepped toward her. In the small shed, there were only inches between us now. "If what?"

"If you felt the way I do."

I watched her lips shape those words, and the longing and yearning I felt for her reached a fever pitch. I'm not sure who reached for who first, but suddenly Phaedra was in my arms, and her hands were on my face, pulling me eagerly toward her. My brain questioned if this was the right thing, but it was silenced the second our lips touched.

I pressed her into the door, and her mouth opened on a sweet moan. Every dream I'd ever had about feeling her touch, tasting her tongue again paled in comparison to the real thing. Her skin burned against mine, her kiss igniting the blood in my veins. It made me quiver and sent goosebumps down my shoulders and back. I kissed her like it was my last night on Earth.

Her hands slipped down my neck and chest. I growled into her mouth, and my cock hardened against my zipper. Phaedra gripped my waist and pulled me closer—until a pang of pain made me pull back with a grimace.

She looked at me with large eyes, concern already pushing away the haze of desire. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

I let out a breathless laugh. Her concern warmed me even though I wished I could go up to the guard who kicked me and punch him in the kidney. "No, it's not you. It's?—"

At the sound of heavy footsteps outside, we both stiffened. Phaedra turned her head slightly, pressing her ear to the door. We held our breath at the low voices of the guards outside.

"I'll create a distraction," I whispered just above her head. "Then you can head out."

She nodded.

I stepped back from her, pulled off my shirt and pants, careful to keep my erection out of Phaedra's view, and shifted. I heard the guards coming close, so I shook myself out, and pushed open the door.

They were surprised to see me as I shook out my fur and howled. Given their expressions, I probably wasn't supposed to be able to shift right now. I dashed into the forest, and they followed after me. I hid in the trees and counted down from ten. When I reached zero, I dashed back out and let them catch me.

"Is Connor not giving you enough to keep busy?" one of them demanded. "You think you can fuck around with us?" Their threats meant nothing as they hauled me back to the shed.

They shoved me inside and slammed my door shut. Phaedra was nowhere to be seen, which meant she'd gotten away safely. That was all that mattered to me.