"What am I supposed to feel?" I inquired, not sure what they meant.
Darren and Danny exchanged odd glances, before turning to me. "Anything? No tingling, no electricity, no sparks?"
I shook my head. "Nope, nothing?"
"Strange."
"Why?"
Danny shrugged, throwing her red hair over her shoulder. "Just surprised."
"So what's the secret?" I asked, noticing how the whole group suddenly exchanged more awkward glances. "What? You didn't think I forgot about it, right? I'm already letting you keep the secret of your shift, even though I seriously think you should be telling me. But at least tell me what this amulet thingy is about?"
"Oh-oooh..." Danny let out a loud gasp, before clamping her hands over her own mouth and hiding behind Regan and Darren. JP suddenly seemed very busy studying the rotten tree mush he had made and Ashleigh, well, Ashleigh was looking everywhere but me.
"What?" I asked, studying the group. Why did they become so twitchy all of a sudden? Was it something I said? All I did, was ask about the secret of the necklace and mention their shifting. Wait... "Does the amulet have anything to do with why you all can shift?"
Danny's loud gasp gave it away more than anything. Bingo.
"So it has something to do with your shapeshifting!" I exclaimed. And judging by their faces, I had hit the nail on the head. "Tell me more."
"We... can't," Ashleigh muttered, a pained look on her face. "I would, but... It's better if you don't know."
"Why?"
JP gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "B-Believe me. It's better if you d-don't know."
I sighed. Putting aside their murderous alter egos, I did trust them. If they both insisted it was better that I didn't know, I'd let it slide.
"Alright then," I sang, hiding the necklace underneath my shirt. "It's not like this amulet allows you to shift, anyway," I bluffed, watching all their faces.
"Ooooooh," Danny loudly gasped, earning foul looks from all her men.
"Oops..." she blurted out, clamping her hands over her mouth. Too late.
"Wait, what?"
"Nothing!" the whole group yelled, all suddenly looking very awkward. I pulled the necklace from underneath my shirt and stared at it. Was this really it? The secret to their shift? A simple amulet? Would it let me shift?
"Hnnnnggggg," I grunted, glaring at the necklace and tensing all my muscles. Almost disappointed that nothing happened, I turned towards the group. They were all staring at me, eyes big like saucers. "Nothing is happening, guys."
Darren nudged Danny, who in her turn nudged Ashleigh. "Should we tell her?" the redhead whispered, staring at me with spooked eyes.
"Yes, tell me! I want to know how to use the necklace so I can shift!" I demanded, stomping my feet on the ground like a little child. Ashleigh was my mate, wasn't she? Why wouldn't she trust me with the secret? Didn't she want us to run together like wolves?
Ashleigh awkwardly shifted her feet. "Is it my secret to tell?"
Regan scratched his head. "We're all here, aren't we?"
"Oooh, that is a good one," Danny gasped, jumping in. "This could stand as a council of our four houses."
I tilted my head. "Wait, what. What four houses? What are you guys talking about now?"
Ashleigh gingerly touched my face, immediately silencing me. Well, if I couldn't get the secret, I'd settle for having my mate look at me this tenderly.
"All in good time, I promise... We need to discuss this in private. I'm sorry, but I'll explain everything later. Okay?"
I nodded. I'd agree to anything with her being so close to me. Damn, I really was a sucker.
"Hand me the necklace, please."
With the necklace in my hand, I felt my lips curl up. "If you want it, take it," I grinned, dropping the amulet back down my shirt, making her blue eyes light up in amusement.
"Don't tempt me," Ashleigh warned me, the lower tone of her voice sending a chill down my spine.
"Or?" I dared ask, sounding braver than I felt. I wasn't exactly sure if this was the so called "flirting" everyone talked about, but Ashleigh seemed to like it.
"Or I'll take you up on that offer," my dark-haired mate growled, her lips all of a sudden dangerously close. I felt another thrill run down my spine, remembering how right and perfect it had felt when she had kissed me a couple of days ago. How soft and warm her lips were, how perfect her body fitted against mine, how gingerly she made me feel.
"Maybe I want..."
"Hello? We've got more important issues to discuss?" Danny waved, snapping us out of our little world. Oh right, we weren’t alone. My cheeks heated up in embarrassment, realising that Danny and her men had just witnessed my awful attempt of flirting. Oops. It was just hard to remember other people existed when Ashleigh was standing this close to me.
I let out an awkward chuckle and hid my face in Ashleigh's embrace. Her fingers playfully dancing over my spine as she shot a quick apology toward Danny. Pressed against her, her natural scent of strawberries flooded my senses. Oh the spirits, I was in heaven. I never wanted this to end. I never wanted Ashleigh to end.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but... Could you go check up on Aspen? As much as I hate him right now, I do worry about him. He hasn't been without his amulet for a long time."
With a smile, I nodded. "Of course."
Ashleigh gently pressed her lips against my cheek. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear, making me shiver underneath her touch. If it was up to me, I'd whisk her away from the rest and just spend the rest of my days wrapped in her arms. Preferably naked.
Wait, what? That was a new thought... Where did that come from? First Aspen? Now Ashleigh? What was happening? How did she do this me? Why had I never felt this way around her before? Or Aspen, for that matter? I wondered where all those desires came from, as I had never really looked at either of them in that way. But the longer I stared at her slender figure, the more I realised that I was indeed very attracted to her. How did this happen?
Did the amulet influence my wolf? Or without the necklace, was Aspen's wolf less demanding?
Either way, I didn't mind being so close to Ash.
But hey, if she wanted me to go check up on Aspen, I would. I needed to make sure he was alright, especially after our little ordeal. I didn't want him to feel bad after what went down. I turned on my heels, ready to find Aspen, but was stopped by Ashleigh.
"The necklace, Akira."
"What?"
"You're still wearing it."
I sheepishly grinned. "Oops. Sorry."
She gently swiped her fingers over my cheek and then followed my neckline to fish the necklace out of my shirt. "Thanks."
"Hmmm, while you're there..." I suggested, earning a deep chuckle from her.
"Don't try and sway me with flirting, young lady. I'm still not over what you did with my brother," she semi-scolded, but from her tone, I could tell she wasn't nearly as mad as before. "Now off you go."
I started saluting her, regretted my choice half-way through, and ended it with a facepalm. Idiot.
Ashleigh chuckled and rolled her eyes in amusement. "You're strange."
"I've been called that before."
"I'm not surprised," she whispered, leaning forward and surprisingly enough, capturing my lips with hers. Stunned at first, I froze. Did she really mean to kiss me or did she just miss my cheek? She tenderly cupped my face, pulling me gently towards her. Realising she wasn't mistaken, I melted into her kiss. Her lips plump and warm, soft and fruity.
With a hum, I leant more into her, losing myself in her. Her hand slid from my cheek to the back of my neck and as she tangled her fingers in my hair, a shiver travelled down my spine. Summer made way for strawberries and I couldn't imagine every wanting to taste something else.
"Now off you go," Ashleigh whispered against my lips, her breath tickling my skin.
"Do I have to?" I pouted, not wanting to break away from our embrace. She chuckled softly, her eyes lighting u
p.
"Yes... But I'll see you soon." She pressed another soft kiss on my lips and broke away from me, leaving me just a tad lost.
"I-I'll walk back with you," JP offered, peeling me away from my mate. I felt my wolf softly howl as we split apart from Ashleigh so I could climb out of the valley. Hopefully, she'd join me soon.
"I w-will collect some firewood. You'll find Aspen b-back in our camp, I b-believe," JP spoke, directing me to the campsite, while he disappeared into another part of the forest. Well, okay then. Looks like I was dealing with Aspen on my own.
I stumbled up the hillside to our tents and found Aspen moping on a tree stump, looking rather lost.
"You okay?"
He nodded almost unnoticeably. "Yeah, I think so."
"Listen, what happened..."
"I know. I know it's Ashleigh you really want."
I let my head hang low in shame. How awful was I? Bouncing from one twin to the other, breaking hearts where ever I went, tearing the siblings apart. If only I could stop. If only my wolf could choose. "I'm sorry."
He chuckled bitterly. "Don't be. I don't stand a hell of a chance without my Alpha." I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. "No need to deny it. That's just how it works."
With my heart aching, I sat down on the stump opposite of him. "I do care for you, you know."
His upper lip twitched. "I know," he muttered gloomily, his eyes glazing over again. I shifted uncomfortable on my stump and it had nothing to do with the twig almost poking my private parts. I thought I'd gotten Aspen to a better place, but now he was completely back to his depressed counterpart. If only I could help him. Without jumping his bones.
"It's been a while," Aspen suddenly sighed, holding his face up in his hands.
"A while since...?"
He grimaced. "Since I took of the necklace."
I tilted my head to the side. "It feels different without?"
Aspen nodded, running his hand through his hair. "It does."
"What is so different?" "It's... Quiet. She's usually always talking to me, you know?" he mumbled, his eyes glazed. He looked utterly defeated.
I let out a hum. "Umm... Who?"
"Em... I can always hear her. She's calling out to me."
I bit my lip, racking my memories. If I remembered correctly, Em was his first mate. The love of his life, the one he lost, the one who died.
"You can hear her?" I asked carefully, hoping I wouldn't step on his toes or push him deeper in the dark pit he didn't seem to be able to crawl out.
He let out a heavy breath. "I can. She's waiting for me up there..." He paused, cracking his neck and stretching his shoulders. "I can't hear her now."
A lump appeared in my throat. Poor Aspen. "You can't?"
He shook his head, sadness painted over his face. "Not without my necklace. It's both... Liberating and lonely."
"What kind of things does she say? If you don't mind me asking..."
He rubbed a spot on his chest, the one where his necklace usually rested. "She usually talks to my wolf."
I waited, wondering if he was going to elaborate or that was all I'd get out of him. Nope. Silence it was. "Does your wolf talk to you when you wear it?"
Aspen nodded slowly. "I guess? Not exactly talk to me, but I can hear his thoughts. In many ways, I am his thoughts."
"Oh..."
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking pained. "Maybe some other time, I'll tell you all about Em and my wolf. But not tonight."
"That's okay. You don't have to tell me."
Aspen smiled sadly. "I should. It's not a story that should be left untold. One day." He pointed towards the lake. "Are they debating who will take the necklace?"
I nodded, hoping the change of topic would lift his mood. Seeing Aspen in pain like this, made me ache deep inside. If only I could cheer him up somehow. But I couldn't. So I just kept the conversation going. "Yes. And they are having a meeting of four houses? I'm not sure what's going on."
"Hmm," he snorted, shaking his head dismissively. "Only they would hold a council meeting in the middle of nowhere."
"What's a council meeting?"
With a small twig, Aspen drew four squares in the trampled snow. "Official clan business. Technically, the four of us are the heirs and direct representatives of the noble houses of our clan," he explained, adding in letters in the boxes. "There's Danny's house, Regan's clan, Darren's line, and then Ash and I. No matter where we are, we can hold an official meeting and whatever is decided, goes."
"You're all nobles?"
"Technically. All our houses are in shambles, so not much to be proud of or boast about. Ashleigh and I are the only survivors of our line. Regan was shunned by his parents, but claimed his rightful place as the heir a bit back. Darren’s story is complicated, but that’s a story for another day. Danny tried to reject her title, but when her parents died last year, she became the next in line by default," he explained, hiding his face in his hands. "Our lineages are a mess."
"So what's the meeting about?"
"The secret of the Wolf. Disclosing the secret behind our shift is a breach of an ancient oath that all our houses have to uphold. We had a ‘meeting’ about this around the time JP got filled in." He chuckled. "Actually, if I remember correctly, Danny had already told him and the meeting was about ‘her treachery’. If our parents were still in charge, it would've ended in war. For us, it was more a shrug and we welcomed JP officially as a representative of House D'Ors. Danny's family name."
I smiled. "That's sweet."
"Danny chose him. He's family."
As if he heard his name, JP appeared from the tree line, carrying a whole bushel of firewood. It wasn't as much as Regan could carry, but I was sure it could easily last us till morning. I moved my stump out of the way, giving the slender man room to get the fire going and started dreaming of what goodness Darren would be making for us later tonight. At least, I hoped he would. I honestly wasn't sure how we were doing ration wise. They just kept producing more and more food from their backpacks. I wasn't sure how, but hey, I wasn't complaining.
Some magic was better left unexplained. The mystery of their never-ending supplies was one of those things.
From the tree line, the group reappeared. Ashleigh was happily chatting away with Danny and I let out a sigh of relief. No wars were being waged tonight.
I immediately jumped up, anticipation and fear keeping my body singing a nervous song. What did they discuss? Would they tell me the secret? Had they decided I was worthy? Or would they just boot me out?
A stone fell on my stomach. Oh no, what if they decided to leave me behind and travel without me? Surely, Ashleigh wouldn't like to leave my side, but then again, with me jumping her brother, she might not be as big of a voter for me to stick around. Oh fuck, they were going to leave me. Yes, that made sense. Ashleigh was fed up with me and my childish ways. If I could forget about her, she could forget about me, no?
"So..." Danny sighed, apparently initiating the awkward conversation that was to follow. Really? Could my mate not straight up tell me that she was ditching me?
"We've come to a decision," Regan added in, pausing as he left his sentence hanging in the air.
"Yessss?"
"It would only make sense if..." Danny started, cutting off her sentence to turn towards Ashleigh and nudge her. "Maybe it's better if you tell her? After all, she's your mate."
Ashleigh ran her hand through her dark curls and awkwardly chuckled. "Okay, yes, maybe you're right. So..."
Why were they so slow? What's up with all the shiftiness? Were they just playing? Why?
Frustrated, I shoved my hands in my hair and let out a long groan. Couldn't they just be frank with me?
Ashleigh and Danny exchanged more glances, seemingly having another silent conversation. Fine. If they weren't going to tell me, I'd just put them out of their misery and say it myself.
"I get it, you want me gone," I blurted out, exactly at the same time as As
hleigh said: "I want you to marry me."
Crickets chirped as a silence befell us. What? Had I heard that right? "What?!"
Ashleigh gently took my hands in hers. "I want you to marry me. I mean, not now. Not even soon, for that matter. But some day."
I stared at her, my mouth dry and my tongue like sandpaper against the roof of my mouth. "What?" I managed to splutter out again, not sure how we went from her cursing at me to a marriage proposal.
"If you say yes, if you accept, you'll become part of the Ardelean family by extension and are granted access to not just our ancient secrets, but to wearing one of our most valuable possessions." She held up Aspen's necklace, dangling it in the air. "This. Of course, we wouldn't have to get married until we both feel like it, after all..."
I turned to her very silent brother, not sure what he was making of all this. He'd certainly have an opinion on his sister's proposal. Aspen tapped his forehead and whispered: "Aaaah, that's what they did with JP. Now I remember."
I growled. Useless. Men were freaking useless. "A heads up would've been nice," I whispered to him before turning back to his still proposing sister. With a glare, I managed to stop her ramblings.
"No."
Ashleigh's face fell as I probably said the last word she'd wanted to hear. "No?" she swallowed, the usually clear lights in her eyes disappearing. Shit. I didn't mean to be so harsh.
"I meant... No, I won’t marry you for convenience. You can keep your secret. When I marry, I marry for love. Nothing else."
Pain flashed through her eyes. "And you don't think I love you?" she asked quietly, her voice flat and dull. Damn, this was so not how I'd planned my proposal to go.
I hesitated. "Well... We haven't really talked about that kind of thing," I deflected, already cursing myself for how I handled the whole thing. Why couldn't I have been patient and just heard her out?
My mate brushed her soft fingertips over my cheek, asking my full attention. "Let me make one thing very clear, Akira. You're my one and somewhere down the line, I will make you my wife. All I need to know is if you're okay with that?"
I bit my lip as coals far down in my stomach flamed up underneath her touch. A spark had returned in Ashleigh's eyes and as it did, her intense gaze quickly set my heart on fire. Relief hit me as her words' meaning finally started to make sense. She wasn't leaving me. It hadn't even crossed her mind. No, she wanted me to be with her. To stay with her. Not just for now, not just for my journey, but forever.
Shifters Gone Wild: A Shifter Romance Collection Page 52