“I see… so that’s what happened…” Asher mumbled.
Rita sighed as she concluded her story. Looking at Asher rationally analyze things gave her a brief sense of comfort.
They were both seating opposite each other, divided by nothing but the small lacquer table that seemed to have two cups of tea that none of them seemed interested in.
Still, Asher’s presence alone reassured Rita and lifted the dreary feeling she was having. It was nice to have another one of hers nearby, at least she wasn’t alone in the affairs of things.
“So? What happened to you? Why did you leave the pack? Why are you here?” Rita questioned.
It was her turn to receive answers.
“Clearly it’s for the same reason you’re here… Roxanne.” He answered.
Asher didn’t know where to start from. Klaus’ challenge to him, as well as the fact that nearly every member of the council, of not all, wanted him to accept full responsibility over Camilla.
Everything seemed too planned an organized, clearly there was a twist to this.
“I only have a few days left to retrieve Roxanne. If I don’t, I’ll be faced with either taking Camilla to be my mate, or leaving my Grand Alpha status…” He finally revealed.
Rita was shocked to hear this. She knew things with Camilla were complicated, but not to this extent. Even If the Council wanted him to, Asher was powerful enough to resist. For him to have taken action over such a matter, it meant there was someone more powerful backing the decision.
“Was it Klaus?” She asked.
Asher nodded while giving a sigh. The man whom he had defeated so long ago had now resurfaced, threatening his position.
“D-does Dax know?”
“What do you think?” He answered with another question.
Rita was certain Dax was just as confused as she was concerning Asher’s disappearance, so it was most likely the truth that he wasn’t in the know.
“I finally found her, you know? I talked to her too… but it appears she has made up her mind to stay.” Asher said.
“I suppose she told you about her plan to leave Oregon…” Rita mumbled, shrugging as she spoke in order to feign nonchalance.
As soon as he heard this, Asher’s eyes widened. This was the first time he would be knowing this.
“What… did you just say?” He asked.
“What? She didn’t say anything? She said she got a deal and was leaving for New York… sigh, that girl.”
Asher’s expression, the bulging of his eyes, they told Rita that he truly was not aware of her intentions.
“That’s… she would do that?!”
“I tried to reason with her, but she didn’t budge. After you said you guys met, I thought she would have told you the same. I’m sorry, Asher… I couldn’t convince her.” Rita mumbled, closing the distance between the two of them as she placed her hands on Asher’s shoulder.
It wasn’t much, but a light tap from his caring sister had to provide some comfort at the very least.
“No… I thought she would still be around… that’s why I let her go that time. I didn’t think she would be leaving forever!” He said, snapping out of his daze.
He quickly got up, squeezing his hands. His eyes darted toward the entrance of the house, as though intending to rush away from the cottage and chase after Roxanne.
“I have to go, Rita!”
Rita sighed and held his arms. The thick muscles were too large for her to fully clasp, but she nonetheless tried.
“Let go of me…” He said, his voice trailing.
“Asher, she made her choice. Believe me, I tried my best to convince her too…”
Asher stubbornly refused to look in Rita’s direction, his eyes unflinchingly kept staring at the door.
“You have a people to lead, Asher. Dax is at his limits, the pack needs you. You have to come back now!” Rita continued her protest.
Roxanne was her friend, but she was the one who left them and refused to return, even after listening to reason. Asher had a responsibility to the people he was born to lead. If Roxanne was able to abandon him for her life, he was supposed to do the same and leave her to herself.
“The pack is more important!” Rita let out, refusing to budge from her grip, even when Asher kept moving.
Suddenly, he stopped dead on his tracks. Rita felt relieved for a moment, perhaps he had finally seen reason. Despite his imposing nature, Asher was one to see reason, after all.
“Rita… I have known the pack all my life. I grew up there, I have always been among them…” He whispered.
Those were all true words. Even from a young age, Asher was dedicated to the pack more than anyone else. Yet, for some reason, Rita felt a bad foreboding as to what Asher would say next.
“…But, I’ve never for once felt entirely at home there…”
The bombshell landed on Rita’s heart as she heard this. Her hands began to grow weak.
“… At first I didn’t understand it. I questioned whether my love for the pack had dwindled, but that wasn’t the case. But, after observing for so long, I realized it.” Asher said, looking at Rita straight in the eye.
“You had Dax, your mate. Your heart has always been in the pack, same with every other member… except Damien. It was after observing him that I finally knew what was happening to me…”
Rita’s eyes widened as she saw the look within Asher’s crimson eyes. It nearly moved her to tears.
“… My head was no longer in the pack… because it sought for something outside it. My mate, Roxanne… as long as she remains out of our pack… Rockwood will never be home to me!”
This statement, coupled with the emotions that accompanied it, proved the sincerity of his words.
At first, he thought it was merely the move of fate, and not his personal inclination. However, as Asher grew closer to Roxanne, he felt the hole in his heart slowly close. She completed him, and the mere thought of her leaving, not just the pack, but the entire state, was enough to drive him nearly insane.
Rita’s weary hands let go of Asher, unable to fight against the emotions he displayed.
“Rita, return to the Pack. I’ll be back soon… and I’ll bring Roxanne with me!”
Rita didn’t speak, she could only nod her head slightly at the sound of his voice.
“Please do, Asher… and I’m sorry. I should have noticed what you were going through.” She sobbed slightly.
The solitude he must have endured, both as a leader, and as a man… Rita, perhaps even Dax had not fully understood it.
If Roxanne was the cure to his loneliness, then Rita already knew that Asher was not going to give her up.