Authors Note:
I apologize for the late update. There's so much on my mind, but its been hard to put in words. So here you go, vote, comment, follow. Hope you enjoy ! :)
- Allie
Ashley :
Ash's words rang through my head as I ran out of my room, away from the guy who has been haunting my dreams ever since that first night.
I could understand why Ash was angry, he had always been overprotective of me. But he had to understand that this was my chance at happiness, even if it lasted only for a little while.
Which is what bothered me the most, why had Damian changed his mind ?
Was it because Lindsey had found her mate in Lance, and he realized he could no longer have her ?
My chest tightened at the thought that Lindsey might be the girl he was talking about on the phone that one time I had eavesdropped.
Maybe he was in love with her ? I thought as I didn't bother to undress before shifting. I watched as my clothes fluttered around me, in irreparable dismay.
''Maybe he really does want to be with us ?'' My wolf chipped into my inner dialogue, not wanting to believe for a second that Damian was heartbroken over Lindsey and using us as a rebound.
''But how does that explain his sudden change of mind?" I demanded to know.
She didn't have an answer to that, and that's what bothered me even more. She was supposed to be the one I go to when I needed an answer. She was supposed to have this sixth sense that would leave me feeling as if my issue would vanish with just her advice.
Although we were basically one, Lee had a mind of her own. She wouldn't hesitate to tell me what she really thought and for that I knew I could count on my wolf.
But right now I could only count on myself.
I knew the instant Damian had so those words that the issue wouldn't be whether I could resist him but whether my wolf had the strength to resist his wolf.
Just as I was attracted to Damian , my wolf was equally attracted to Damian's wolf. But since our wolves were a lot stronger than our human bodies that meant that their bond was stronger as well. In a blink of an eye my wolf could take over and have Damian against a wall with our lips interlocked In a heated make out session.
That was something that I seriously wanted to avoid.
I wanted so desperately to let my guard down with Damian but what he said stopped me. He wasn't sure if he wanted to accept me as his mate, he only wanted to try being mates. What did that mean exactly ?
Were we gonna act like a couple ? Would he still fool around with all those sluts from school ? Would we kiss, hold hands, cuddle like normal couples ? What exactly were we ?
My head hurt from all this thinking and all I wanted to do right now was just forget. I let my wolf take over as I enjoyed the feel of the wind whipping against my white fur. It had been a while since I had gone for a run, least of all let her take over and just run wild and free.
Just as I was beginning to relax a delicious aroma filled my nostrils , and my wolf instantly perked its ears in recognition.
Oh no, I thought as I tried to regain control of my wolf but she wouldn't budge. Not again!
Before I knew it my wolf jumped over some bushed before landing gracefully in a clearing filled with dandelions.
As white fluff surrounded me, a sight I would have been mesmerized by in my human form, all I could focus on was on the wolf not so far away.
I recognized the clearing immediately, my father and mother would take me and Ash out here as young pups.
His thick white fur rustled with the wind, the snow white strands gleaming in the sun light.
I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he gracefully walked up to me, his power radiated off of him in waves causing my wolf to whimper .
I realized then that Damian no longer had control over his wolf either, as his pitch black eyes stared down at me.
My wolf reached his shoulder, the Alpha blood coursing through his veins making him much bigger than ordinary civilian wolves.
My wolf began to walk around Damian's wolf, rubbing her tail suggestively against him.
Oh you've got to be kidding me, I thought as I tried once more to regain control but my wolf was adamant .
She wanted her mate, and she wanted him now.
I wouldn't allow her to do this again!
You're wolves will mate, just as you will mate, Uncle Dons voice popped in my head.
Oh no, oh hell no!
Damian's wolf let out a low growl as he nipped our backside.
My wolf purred.
This slut! I fumed, as Damian's wolf rubbed his snout in our fur.
" Its been a while beautiful. " A voice invaded my thoughts "Where have you been ?"
The voice of Damian's voice.
It was much deeper than Damian's, his voice like silk as he licked where our mark would have been sending a shiver down our spine.
Unlike my wolf, I wasn't enjoying this one bit. She was just angry that I wouldn't allow us to fall so easily into Damian's scheme, and was extracting revenge .
"Your human is quite difficult." My wolf huffed. "Just as he's been avoiding us, Ashley's avoiding you."
His black eyes stared at us intently as if begging for her patience " Damian... well something happened to him and let's just say that he isn't quite over it."
Lee surprised me by growling lowly.
"Well he's been causing Ashley pain and I don't appreciate it. He needs to man up and accept us already ."
"Its not like I haven't tried to convince him myself ." Ian growled as he stood in front of us "if this continues any longer, I'm afraid we'll have to force this mating process."
I saw a mischievous glint enter his dark eyes and I then that I had to stop this.
No way would I allow them to force us together !
I pushed with all my might , Lee fighting me every step of the way, until finally I gained control.
It was starting to get very hard controlling my wolf, these days.
My hind legs pushed me as fast as they could, away from Ian, away from Damian.
"What the hell is wrong with you ?" I demanded to Lee who would not stop whining.
"Its bound to happen sooner or later!" She snapped before shutting me out.
The wheels in my head were turning at a fast pace taking in all the information of today. No matter what I said, Lee wouldn't listen to me and it was damn irritating .
I was beyond aggravated at this point that I didn't even care if she was pissed at me.
Didn't she understand that if she gave in that Damian would instantly lose interest ? I wouldn't take the chance of letting her take control again.
I cursed as I realized I had shredded my clothes and I had nothing to change into.
I looked around but no one was about , probably sleeping last nights hang over off.
''Or they're with their mates, like we should be as well!'' Then she was gone again.
I rolled my eyes, she was really beginning to get on my nerves.
So with no other choice I mindlinked Ash.
''Can you open up the front door ?'' I asked .
''Why don't you get Damian to?'' He replied harshly before shutting me out.
I deserved that, I reminded myself as I gritted my teeth.
I raked my mind trying to figure who could help me out. I instantly crossed out Lance, I definitely didn't need a confrontation with his bitch of a mate.
Not only did I not like her tone of voice towards me, but I also didn't like that she was possibly that girl that Damian was so hung up on.
Dante was probably being all lovey dovey with his new found mate.
I thought of Raven, but I wasn't sure if she had found her mate. And if she hasn't I didn't want to exactly start up her water works. She had been pretty sure she would finally find him last night, seeing as so many had last night.
It didn't seem as if anyone would be about for another few hours, so with a sigh I decided I would spend my Sunday outside enjoying the warm sun on my fur.
I ran a few miles till I reached a nearby river, i could see the silver fish through the clear blue water
I settled myself underneath an overhanging tree limb, the slight breeze lulling me to sleep.
*****
My eyes slid open briefly as I felt something wet touch my face. With a slight growl I turned away, my eyes sliding back closed.
Just as I was falling back asleep yet again came another nudge.
Grudgingly I opened my eyes, a loud yawn escaping as I rolled onto my back.
Blue eyes stared back at me, clothes hanging from a large hairy snout.
With a final nod towards the fallen clothes, he bounded away.
I picked up the clothes before shifting behind a tree.
A sports bra, black tank top and some short shorts.
For a brief moment I was angry at the thought of him going into my room without my permission, but on the other hand I finally had clothes .
Taking a deep breath, I walked out from behind the obscuring tree.
There shirtless with low hanging gym shorts on his hips that left little to the imagination, sat Damian dipping his feet in the river.
His clear eyes met mine as I tentavily walked up to him.
''Sit?" He asked it more like a question, giving me the opportunity to decline and walk away.
I gnawed on my lip in ponderment, before finally sitting down keeping a few feet between us.
We stayed in silence for what felt like forever, an awkwardness between us because of what had happened earlier.
Just as I was about to finally give in, he spoke up.
"I'm sorry about earlier ." my eyes strayed to him, but he was too focused on yanking out grass from the ground "My wolf can be very hard to control sometimes, especially around you."
I nodded my head, but then realized he couldn't see me.
"I understand ."
"I don't think you do." Damian wiped his hands on his shorts before turning to me. I was briefly mesmerized by the emotion in his eyes. "You don't know how hard its been the past few months to resist you. I may not have wanted this in the beginning, and possibly still not, but I am willing to give it a chance. I want to know if I'm made for this, and if I'm not, then we both know how this will end. Its up for you to decide. If you're going to take the risk, or if you'll just leave it as it is. We can part as friends now, or we can try this whole mate thing out."
I let his words sink in. He was giving me a chance to decide now. Was I willing to try this out, knowing that by graduation Damian could possible leave me behind ?
That as I fell more and more for him, he would decide that he wasn't meant for this life ? He would leave without a backwards glance and I would be left behind with a shattered heart.
I couldn't help but let my eyes wander over his features. His lips looked so soft and kissable, his jaw was strong but yet right at this moment he looked vulnerable .
This is what I had wanted, for Damian to tell me he wanted to be with me. That he would accept me as his mate. But yet even as he was saying this, he really wasn't. Damian wasn't saying he would accept me , he wasn't even saying that he wanted me. All he was implying was that he wanted to give it a try, why I wasn't sure.
"Are you in love with her ?" I made the words come out before I could convince myself not to.
His face scrunched up in confusion and I almost regretted asking. "With who ?"
I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, but I forced the word out.
"Lindsey."
I picked at the grass as the silence stretched on.
I reminded myself that I couldn't agree to this if I knew he was in love with her.
A shock of pleasure coursed through me as I felt Damian's finger turn my chin to face him.
His blue eyes were filled with confusion.
"What would make you think I was in love with Lindsey ?"
I tried to move my head away but he held firmly.
I couldn't tell him that I had overheard his conversation, so I went another route.
"Well it was pretty obvious you had slept in the same room, and you didn't exactly look happy when you found out she was mates with Lance." The words rushed out "And not to mention she's gorgeous..."
My breath caught in my throat at the electricity between Damian's finger and my lips.
"Lindsey is like a sister to me Ashley." Damian said slowly, his eyes boring into mine. Making me see the truth to his words.
I nodded, feeling the roughness of his fingers rub against my sensitive lips.
I suddenly became very aware of our close proximity, the way his chest rose up and down with each breath he took. His finger dropped slowly, parting my lips. My eyes strayed to his, which were darkening by the second.
Its Lee, I reminded myself, she's determined to make us mate. She's probably sending off all these pheromones to Damian to make him react like this.
I knew what was bound to happen as he started to lean in, his lashes darkening his cheeks as they closed.
But his lips never touched mine, not even close.
"What are we ?" I blurted out.
His eyes snapped open his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
He cleared his throat before leaning away and running a hand through his hair. His eyes averted away as he took a deep breath.
Probably trying to regain control of his hormones.
"What do you want to be ?" He asked.
"I think it's pretty obvious you don't want anyone finding out that we're mates." I said stating the obvious .
It hurt when he nodded his agreement but I let it go.
"So what exactly are we ?"
Damian let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well I guess you could say that we're together ?"
"You guess ?" I couldn't help my eyes from narrowing in annoyance.
He rolled his eyes as he stretched his arms above his head. My eyes trailed over his rippling muscles as of their own accord, taking in the beauty of his specimen.
"Stare all you want, beautiful."
My eyes instantly jumped up to his face. His blue eyes were filled with mirth, a smirk on his face.
Normally I would have blushed at his compliment but I couldn't help but feel angry.
"Are you going to be doing that the whole time ?" I demanded, my voice coming out unusually harsh.
His brows rose in surprise.
"Doing what ?"
"Flirting with every other girl as well as me ?"
Although he was probably used to throwing compliments here and there to make a girl swoon for him, I needed to know that he wouldn't be doing that throughout this- whatever this was.
"Look Ashley, I've never done the relationship thing . Frankly , I never really had much interest."
"So what made that change ?" I raised an eyebrow, honestly curious.
I didn't understand him, I didn't understand what he would get out of it. As far as I'd understood so far was that he wanted to try being mates but that he wasn't too sure. I didn't understand what had prompted this.
" Honestly, my wolves been bugging me a lot." Damian shrugged as he laid down, his crossed arms pillowing his head. "And I've been noticing all these happy couples. I want to see if I was actually meant to be someone's mate, if that makes any sense."
"It doesnt , but I'll take it." I said softly, as my eyes traced over his features.
I couldn't help but feel my resolve dissipitating.
I was used to seeing the asshole that Damian always protrayed, not this honest open Damian.
For a few minutes we stayed in silence , enjoying the sounds of the wilderness and the slight breeze.
"Ashley Wolfe, you're name is ironic you know that ?"
I laughed out loud at his random question.
"If I had a penny for every time someone has said that is be rich... Oh wait I am."
I felt my heart swell as i watched his blue eyes fill will amusement and a deep chuckle escaped.
My cheeks started to heat up as he continued to look upon me, a half smile on his handsome face.
"Be my girlfriend ?"
The breath caught in my throat, his question catching me off guard.
"I'd love to."
A huge smile spread across his face and I knew at that moment that I would do anything to see that smile again.
And so we settled into a comfortable conversation, as if we had been friends for a lifetime .
It was as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I was finally able to truly feel happy.
I didn't care about the possible consequences that may come later, I just cared about now.
It would take some time to adjust to this, but I knew in the end I would be unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Damian Blackwoods.
I just hoped he returned the feelings in the end.