Asher
I perceive a sweet, intoxicating scent in the air, making Kaidos purr with pleasure; a sound vibrates through my chest.
I lick my lips, my gaze sharpening, I take a closer look at her. ‘Ally.’ It’s then that I realize I’m not the only one who’s caught the scent.
Liam and the other warriors and guards have noticed it too. They’re all reacting, their nostrils flaring, tongues darting out to wet their lips, eyes darkening with hunger. The unmistakable scent of a she-wolf in heat.
Liam’s eyes shift to a deep black, a sign that his wolf is surfacing, struggling for control. His jaw is clenched tightly, muscles in his arms flexing as his hands curl into fists, nails nearly piercing his palms.
“She’s in heat,” Liam mutters, with a strained voice as he fights to control himself, his wolf close to breaking through.
Then I see Ally clutching her stomach; her face is contorted in pain, and her eyes are wide and filled with a mixture of fear and confusion. She stumbles forward, calling my name. “Alpha Asher!”
But before she can reach me, the guards block her path. Their eyes burn with lust, their wolves barely contained, ready to pounce.
A dangerous growl escapes me, deep and resonant, shaking the ground beneath us. The sight of them lusting after her, thinking they could touch what isn’t theirs, ignites a fierce rage within me.
My wolf roars inside, ready to tear apart anyone who dares stand in her way.
I step forward, my entire body radiating power and dominance, prepared to defend my mate from anyone who thinks otherwise.
“Stay away!” Kayla screams, her breath ragged with panic.
Without thinking, Kayla charges toward the guards, knocking a couple of them off their feet. She scoops Ally into her arms, pulling her close with fierce protectiveness.
“Fuck off!” she growls, with a low voice full of threat. She stands firm, positioning Ally behind her as a shield, and faces down any wolf who dares to challenge her.
I watch from the sidelines, my gaze fixed on Liam. His body is frozen, but I can see the tension in his posture.
He’s fighting the pull of Ally’s scent, just like I am. But before I can make my move to intervene.
Ally leaps at me, and I have no choice but to catch her. Her hand wraps around my neck, her legs clinging to my waist as she presses herself into me.
She begins to nip at my neck, her sharp canines grazing my skin. A rush of heat surges through me, and before I can control it, my body reacts involuntarily.
“Asher,” she coos, her voice dripping with something I can’t name, as she continues to lick my neck, her touch both maddening and intoxicating.
“Fuck!” I growl, my hand gripping her ass as I fight to keep myself under control. If it weren’t for Kayla and Liam holding off the warriors, I might have already given in, sinking my teeth into her neck.
The sound of a growl breaks through my thoughts, someone’s trying to take Ally from me. Kaidos snarls in my mind, furious and ready to unleash, threatening to rip the warrior off his neck.
“Do not fucking touch her!” I snarl. Liam is still battling the warriors, and they won’t relent, desperate to pull Lily from my grasp. I’ll be damned if I let another man lay a hand on what’s mine.
“Mine,” Kaidos growled possessively in my mind as I pulled Ally closer, clutching her tighter. I don’t care if she’s in heat. All I want is to savor this moment with her, to keep her safe, away from the threats.
“Liam, come get her right now!” I command, desperation creeping into my voice.
I can feel the confusion everyone must be wondering why Ally is clinging to me, but right now, it doesn’t matter. I just need her to be safe.
“No, take her away!” Liam growled, with a strained voice with the effort of holding back. “Goddess, help me; if I get any closer to her, I’ll lose control and take her right here, right now.”
My jaw tightens as my grip on Ally increases, her mouth still trailing across my neck, her touch almost driving me mad. Every fiber of my being is screaming to give in, but I can’t. I have to hold it together.
I can’t just stand here any longer, watching this happen. I summon my most powerful alpha aura, pushing my command into the air with every ounce of authority I possess.
“Everyone, stop right there and go home!” I order, with a sharp and commanding voice.
For a moment, everything stills. The warriors freeze, their eyes wide, and they begin to slowly drop whatever they are holding.
One by one, they turn and head back toward their homes, as if my command had sucked the fight out of them.
But my eyes scan the area, and I notice that Liam, Kayla, and the other warriors are still present. They’re watching me, hesitant, unsure of what comes next.
I need someone to help me, someone I can trust to get Ally to safety without breaking me. I focus on Kayla, my voice a growl as I command again.
“Kayla, stay.”
She halts mid-step, her eyes narrowing as she processes my command. After a tense moment, she nods and runs toward us
“Asher…” Ally purrs, her breath warm against my neck. I can feel the heat of her lips, the wetness already spreading where she licked, and now she moves to kiss my lips. I tilt my head to the side just in time, letting her lips land on my cheek instead.
“Kayla, take her home,” I say, my voice strained with the effort of holding myself together. “I don’t think I can control myself any further.”
Kayla looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, almost as if she’s questioning whether she heard me right. She’s always been a mystery to me-sometimes she knows things that others don’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if she already knows what’s going on between Ally and me, but right now, I can’t worry about that.
“No, Asher, you should take her. You know what I mean,” she says, with a calm, firm tone; Ally continues to purr, her lips never leaving my skin.
“Kayla, take her,” I snap, the words sharp as I fight to control the growing hunger inside me. “Out to the guest room in the pack house.”
Just as I finish speaking, Ally tries to lower her lips toward my chest, and my body tenses, my entire being freezing. I can’t let her do this. I can’t give in.
I see the flash of anger in Kayla’s eyes as she steps forward, gripping Ally by the arm and pulling her away from me.
Ally suddenly snaps from her trance. She struggles, wiggling and trying to free herself from Kayla’s grip, her eyes wild with confusion.
“Asher!” Ally screams my name, her hand outstretched toward me, desperation in her eyes as tears stream down her face.
I can’t look at her anymore. I close my eyes, her pain pressing down on me. I turn away, my growl ripping through the air as I shift into my wolf.
In one swift motion, I dart into the woods, putting as much distance between us as I can.
My heart clenches painfully in my chest as I run. I can still see the hurt in her eyes and hear her cry for me.
She feels betrayed, I know it. I left her when she needed me most, and I am the reason for her heat yet I pushed her away, just like I’ve done every time since the moment I first saw her.
The guilt eats at me, but there’s no time to dwell. I need to do something to fix this, to protect her.
“Make sure you stay with Ally in the guest room and tell Liam to spray air freshener in the hallway to hide her scent,” I commanded through the mind link to Kayla, with a barely controlled voice.
“Alright, Alpha,” she responds, with pain in her voice. She hates me right now, I know she does; she’s angry at Ally, angry at me for pushing her away.
I let Kaidos take over completely as we tore through the woods, my mind lost in the swirl of my thoughts.
The only thing I know is that I need to get myself together before I can even think about facing Ally again.