No arguments…
The days passed in a mixture of anxiety and quiet moments of hope. George remained steadfast by my side, always attentive to my needs, but the uncertainty of what lay ahead weighed heavily on both of us. Every time I thought about the future, the looming presence of Simon and Lucas cast a shadow over my thoughts.
One evening, as George and I sat together on the porch, watching the sun dip below the horizon, I voiced the concern that had been gnawing at me for days.
“George,” I began hesitantly, “what if they come back? What if Simon or Lucas finds out about the baby? What will we do then?”
George turned to me, his expression serious yet calm. “Ashley, we’ve talked about this. I’ll do everything in my power to protect you and our child. They won’t find out if we’re careful. And even if they do, I won’t let them hurt you.”
“But how can you be so sure?” I asked, my voice trembling with fear. “They’re powerful, and they have their ways of finding out things. You, of all people, know just how much influence they have as the Kings of the entire lycanthrope.”
George took my hand in his, squeezing it gently. “I know they’re dangerous, but I have connections too. We’re not completely alone in this. I’ve already started making arrangements to ensure our safety. If it comes down to it, we can leave this place, start fresh somewhere new. But for now, let’s take it one step at a time.”
His words were reassuring, but the fear still lingered in the back of my mind. I knew George was doing everything he could, but I also knew that Simon and Lucas were not the type to give up easily, especially when it came to something they wanted.
As the weeks went by, my pregnancy became more apparent. The small bump in my belly grew, and with it, the reality of my situation became harder to ignore. George was right; we couldn’t keep running away from everything. But I also knew that we had to be smarter, more cautious than ever.
One afternoon, as I was resting in bed, George came in with a thoughtful expression on his face. He sat down beside me, his hand gently resting on my growing belly.
“Ashley,” he began softly, “I’ve been thinking. It’s time we start planning for the future more seriously. We need to decide what our next steps will be, where we’re going to go if things don’t go as planned.”
I nodded, understanding the gravity of his words. “Do you have any ideas?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“There’s a place I know,” he said, his voice filled with determination. “It’s far from here, secluded, where no one would think to look for us. We could start over, just the three of us. But we’ll need to be careful, make sure everything is in place before we leave.”
The thought of leaving everything behind, of starting anew in a place where no one knew us, was both terrifying and exhilarating. It could be the fresh start we desperately needed, but it also meant saying goodbye to the life we knew, to the people and places we had grown accustomed to. Come to think of it, why would George even consider leaving his pack for this? After all, he was the alpha of the pack, and they would obviously need him. However, it dawned on me that there were so many things the alpha of a pack would be engaged in and would have to do on a daily basis that George wasn’t doing. He definitely had the respect and honor that is accorded to someone as the leader of a pack, but I was slowly starting to realize that it really wasn’t so much of an ordained pack that he was leading. Rather, it was just a couple of wolves who were mutually united by an agreement, and not so much one that was birthed. But still, regardless of all this, I wasn’t entirely clear as to why he would actually consider leaving the position.
“I trust you, George,” I said, looking into his eyes. “Whatever you think is best, I’ll do it. I just want us to be safe.”
He smiled, his hand still on my belly, and leaned in to kiss my forehead. “We’ll be okay, Ashley. I promise you that. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure you and our child are safe.”
As the days turned into weeks, George and I quietly began making preparations for our possible departure. We kept it all hidden from the outside world, maintaining the appearance of normalcy. But underneath it all, there was a current of urgency, a need to escape before it was too late.
And then, one night, everything changed.
I was jolted awake by the sound of someone pounding on the door. My heart raced as I sat up in bed, glancing over at George, who was already reaching for the gun he kept hidden in the nightstand. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know: it was them. Simon and Lucas had found us.
“Stay here,” George whispered, his voice calm but firm. “Lock the door behind me and don’t come out until I say it’s safe.”
“But George-” I began to protest, but he cut me off with a quick kiss.
“No arguments, Ashley. Protect our child. I’ll handle this.”
With that, he slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. I quickly locked it, my hands trembling as I did so. Then I pressed my ear to the door, trying to hear what was happening outside.
I could hear muffled voices, low and threatening. George’s voice was among them, steady and commanding, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. My heart pounded in my chest, fear gripping me so tightly that it was hard to breathe.
Then, suddenly, there was a loud crash, followed by shouting. My blood ran cold as I realized that things were quickly spiraling out of control. I wanted to rush out, to help George, but I knew that I had to stay hidden, to protect the life growing inside me.
Minutes passed like hours as I waited in terror, praying that George would come back to me, that we would somehow make it through this. And then, finally, the door creaked open, and George stumbled inside, his face pale and covered in blood.
“George!” I cried, rushing to his side. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
He shook his head, wincing as he sank down onto the bed. “I’m fine, just a few scratches. Come here, have a seat now,” he said, urging me even further as he saw the fear clearly written in my eyes. “Look, I know you are scared, but it’s all over now, Ashley. I have handled everything, okay?”
Tears filled my eyes as I still couldn’t get myself together from the situation. “But who are these people, why are we sitting here when things are obviously so tense? George, please, let’s get out of here. I’m scared,” I cried, burying my face in my palms this time.
“Hey, come on Ashley, stop crying,” he said, standing up and coming close to give me a comforting hug. “You really don’t need to worry; it was just another one of the rogue wolves coming to attack again.”
“What? Rogue wolves?”
“Yes, we sometimes have these confrontations and attacks from different rogue packs looking to claim and take over our pack.”
“But why?”
“Well, the political system is a bit hitched, and so us rogue packs have to fight and struggle to have a well-standing pack, else things can go really bad in times of crisis or war.”
“Wait, wait a minute, I don’t quite get it. Are you trying to say that we are one of the rogue packs as well?”
“Well, yes actually. And basically, we are also supposed to be making attempts to claim other packs for ourselves, but I really don’t think I am ready for that.” I sighed, looking down as I took in this newfound information. This now made so much sense why George wasn’t so bothered about us moving far away just in case anything happened. Basically, the Sun Blood Pack members already had the mutual understanding as regards this, and everyone was free to go their own separate ways if they do get overthrown or something.
“Well okay then, but now tell me the truth, are you okay? Were you hurt in any way?” I asked, frantically trying to examine his body, but he shook his head.
“Don’t worry Ashley, I’m really fine, okay?” George said, his voice steady despite the pain he was clearly in.
“I just have to go take care of a couple things. Just stay here and don’t worry your pretty little head in any way, please,” he said with a sense of urgency hidden in his voice, one he had tried so hard to cover up, but it was obviously too glaring for me not to notice.
“You know what, come sit here,” he led me to sit on the bed and then kissed my forehead before making his way towards the door to leave. “I’ll be back, Ashley. Don’t go anywhere, please. And most importantly, stop worrying, at least for the sake of the baby.”
“I won’t,” I responded, and he left the room while I just sat down in silence. I could hear the sound of bodies being dragged on the floor, and this straight up made me so anxious. Obviously, this wasn’t something that had started before George left the room, and so it was either he had gotten a couple of the guards to do it, or even worse, he was doing it himself.
I tried to close my ears to avoid hearing the sound because it was giving me so much anxiety, but not hearing anything to tell what was happening made things even worse, so I just kept listening. I endured the emotional torture for as long as it lasted before it finally stopped, and I could breathe properly again.
I got up from the bed where I was seated, suddenly feeling suffocated in the room, and without thinking much about it, I left to go outside. The hallway was uncomfortably silent and warm, but I didn’t think much of it until I reached the top of the stairs, where the sight of blood was the first thing that greeted me. I froze on the spot, staring at it as the realization of harm being so close yet so far away hit me. Walking past it and proceeding down, I could faintly hear George as he gave instructions to the workers. I halted in my steps as soon as I reached the point where I could hear him properly without being seen.
“… and no one is to mention this again in this house because I don’t want Ashley hearing about it again. She is pregnant and very vulnerable right now, so anything can trigger her. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir!” they all chorused, and he nodded his head before continuing.
“Also, I need the entire house cleaned and inspected. I don’t want to see even a single drop of blood on the floor. You all better make sure everywhere is spotless so Ashley doesn’t see it and get triggered.”
“Okay, sir,” they chorused again, and then he dismissed them all. I contemplated going down at that moment, but after thinking for a short while, I decided to go for it. I made my way downstairs, and George was taken by surprise the moment he saw me.
“What? Ashley, what are you doing here? You should be resting upstairs in your room.”
“No! I got really tired of staying there; I need some fresh air, please.”
“Oh, alright then.”
“Wait, so I can go?”
“Sure,” he responded, and as I was about to leave, he instantly called for a guard who appeared by my side all of a sudden as I continued walking towards the door.
“Wait, there’s no need; I’m just going to the backyard for a little walk. It’s not like I’m leaving the house or something.”
“I know, but he’ll just be there to monitor you in case you need anything, that’s all.” I sighed, not wanting to argue with him as I could tell he was still a bit bothered by what had just happened. I personally was still shaken up from it, to be completely honest, and so even though I was initially refusing the offer, I still wanted it at the same time.
“Alright then, no problem,” I responded, and I made my way out alongside the guard.