I chuckle and hold back tears.
“I love you, Ellie. You are the daughter I always wanted. I’m so sorry I couldn’t continue raising you and that you had to suffer at the hands of an awful man. We foolishly thought that making lycans unaware of you would protect you, but it seems to have backfired on us.” Her chin wobbles, but she straightens. “Despite our mistakes, you turned out to be strong and beautiful, inside and out. I’m proud to call you mine.”
“Oh, Mom.” I give her a watery smile as I pull her into a hug. I close my eyes and soak in the peace and comfort I get from her embrace. I never thought I’d ever be able to hug her again, and after Marcus, I never thought I’d ever be able to hug again in general.
We break apart, but she takes hold of my hands one more time and looks over my shoulder. I follow her gaze to Ash leaning against the doorframe. Noticing my attention, he straightens. His ebony locks are slicked back, and his glacier-blue eyes pierce mine, sucking all the air out of my lungs. He’s in a black, tailored suit that shows off his lean, muscular form.
He strides over to me but looks over my shoulder. “Thank you, Addison, for letting me take care of your daughter.”
“Welcome to the family, Ash.” She turns to me. “I’ll be outside, waiting with everyone else. Take as long as you need.” She kisses me on the cheek then walks out the door.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. I thought I’d be meeting him under the arch we have set up outside.
Instead of answering, he gives me a light peck. “You look beautiful, Ellie.”
My cheeks heat. “Thank you, so do you.”
He grins and takes one of my hands, and I let him lead me out of the room.
“Ash?” I ask as we begin going up the stairs.
He pauses on the steps and turns to me. “I thought we should have our own private ceremony away from everyone.”
A knot forms in my throat.
He hesitates, conflict swirling in his gaze. “Or did I read you wrong? Would you rather—”
“No,” I interrupt with a shake of my head. “I much rather do it in private. We can say something simple in front of them.”
A grin grows on his face. “It’s good to know that I know my mate.”
Heat creeps across my face again as I nudge him forward.
Instead of moving up the stairs, he hums. “I actually have a better idea.” He tugs me forward before sweeping an arm under my legs. He lifts me up, cradling me against his chest. “Much better. I prefer to have you in my arms,” he says as he continues up the stairs, carrying me.
“Ash!”
“I always said I liked you better in my arms.”
I shake my head, but there’s a smile on my face.
We walk past his office and the guest bedrooms until we reach the far end of the hall. There’s another set of stairs leading up.
“I didn’t know you had a third floor.”
He quirks a brow. “How long have you lived here? Haven’t you explored?”
“I only like to explore outside.”
“Huh,” he says as he goes up the steps. “I guess your loss is my gain.” He sets me down on the landing and opens the only door that’s up here. “I had the house designed similarly to my parents’ house and during construction, at the last minute, I added this space. If it seems random, it’s because it was.” He winks, grabs my hand, and turns the handle.
My heels click against the wood flooring as we enter the room, and I’m struck speechless. “What is this place?”
“It’s yours. I thought you’d like a space to call your own.”
I turn around in a circle, taking in all the details. The room is lit with candles. One of the walls is lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. They’re mostly empty except for a few shelves.
The opposite wall has a row of cabinets and counters with a sink, like what you would find in an art room. There’s a round table with four chairs, followed by a couch that faces a large window where we can see the setting sun. There’s an easel on each side of the window. “When did you get this done?”
“After we defeated Morbal and Marcus, I called in a favor. I debated whether I should fill the bookshelves or not, but I decided to add a few of my own collection that I thought you might like. I figured you’d want to do the rest to yourself. I know I enjoyed doing mine, in my office.” I grin at his ramblings and turn to him. He has his hands in his pockets and is looking at me with a sheepish expression. “Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
His smile grows. “Yeah?”
I nod and walk over to him with tears in my eyes. “I have a gift for you, too. Although, not as grand as this.”
“You do?”
I laugh. “Don’t look so surprised.”
He schools his face and offers a smile. “Sorry.”
I had a pocket sewn into the dress just for this. I had planned on giving it to him after our vows, but it feels more appropriate to do it now. Digging into that pocket, I thank Sophie for her meddling as I take out the slightly heavy bag.
A slow grin builds on his face. “Don’t tell me you got me drugs.”
I smack his arm as a laugh bubbles up and he joins in. “No, I didn’t get you drugs. This bag isn’t even that small,” I say as I hand it to him, our fingers lingering.
I bite my lip, gripping my dress.
He glances at me as he undoes the string. “You didn’t have to get me anything.” He holds it upside down and it clanks as it lands in his palm. He flips the watch over, looking at the engravings. He opens his mouth, but no words come out.
“Maybe this was a bad idea—” I reach to snatch it back, but he holds his hand away.
“No.” He looks up, his eyes rimmed red.
“Ash.” I reach again, but he shakes his head and holds it up higher.
With his free arm, he snakes his hand around my waist and pulls me against him. “It’s perfect,” he says in my hair, wrapping both arms around me. “How did you get this?”
He rests his chin on my head as I relax against him. “Charlie went and grabbed it after saving you from the fire. I was going to give it to you for Christmas, but after everything happened, I wasn’t able to get it in time.”
“But he’s…”
“Alice knew about it.”
“And then you added to the engraving?”
I nod against his chest. “I hope that’s okay.” He leans away and looks at the engraving. Before it was only his parents’ names, but it didn’t feel complete giving him the watch with just their names, so I added an infinity sign and our names.
∞
Bowan & Isla
Ash & Ellie
“I love it.” He puts it around his wrist and clasps it. “Fits perfect,” he says.
He rubs his eyes with one hand, wiping the evidence of his tears. His intense gaze meets mine, eyes shining. “Thank you, Ellie.”
I nod, suddenly self-conscious, when I notice the piece of paper on the table.
I peer over at it. “Y-you got a marriage certificate?”
His brows scrunch together as he touches the edge of the paper. “Should I not have? I thought that’s why we were doing this.”
Tears well in my eyes. “No, it is. It’s just—” I sniffle, overcome with emotions. Who knew such a simple thing would set me off. “I didn’t actually think about doing it legally yet. This is just so thoughtful and I—”
He wraps me in his arms, lifting me to tuck my head into the crook of his neck. Taking advantage, I breathe him in.
“Why wouldn’t we do it legally? Being my wife is just as important as being my mate. I don’t want you to ever have an excuse to leave me.”
I push at him lightly. “I’m not going to leave you.”
He smirks. “Not after you sign it.”
I lean away, shooting him a glare. He chuckles and leans down, brushing his lips against mine. Slowly grazing my bottom lip with his tongue, he nudges my lips to part. I eagerly comply, needing
to taste him. Together our tongues begin a slow dance.
We stand like that for several minutes before he stops and rests his forehead against mine.
He lets out a slow, minty breath and stands straight. He takes my hand and leads me until we’re in front of the window. The sky is growing darker, and the stars are beginning to twinkle in. I can see everyone down below, mingling with each other as they wait for us. Candles are lit everywhere, courtesy of Wylla, and lights are strung above. “It’s beautiful.”
He hums, and I look at him, finding his heated gaze locked on me. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and give him a coy smile.
“I have something else for you.” He reaches inside his jacket pocket and brings out a ring box. “I know, our mating was unconventional. Hell, our whole relationship has been unconventional.” I chuckle. “But I wouldn’t change it for anything because it led us here today, together. I want to be by your side for the rest of our long lives. I love you, Ellie Rose Hollenberg. I don’t want anyone else, only you. And if I had to wait an eternity more for you, I would, because no one else could compare. I want to change the world with you.”
He opens the box, and I gasp as it reveals my mother’s ring—a rose-gold band with three diamonds, two small ones and a large one in the middle. I hadn’t even noticed she wasn’t wearing it. Ash places the box on the windowsill then steps closer and takes my left hand. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, Ellie. You helped me change into the man that I always wanted to be, that I had aspired to be, but that I had lost my way to. You saved me, and”—he looks into my eyes as he slips the ring on my ring finger—“I promise to love and cherish you forever because I know how lucky I am to be able to have you as a mate and as a wife.” A shiver runs through me as he lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles, keeping his piercing eyes locked on mine.
He starts to unclench my hand, but I won’t let him let go.
I bite my lip. “I was stupid—”
“Ell—”
“No, let me finish.” I take a deep breath. “I was stupid for not seeing how I felt about you sooner and not trusting you enough to want to stay. There’s still a scared little girl hiding in the corner of a basement, afraid of letting anyone in. But you wormed your way in.”
He grimaces. Wormed? he mouths.
A giggle escapes as I lightly slap his arm, and he smirks. “Okay, so, maybe but not the best wording, but you get the point. You’re more of a romantic than I am. I have trouble expressing or saying how I feel, but you never judged me for it. You loved me anyway. There’s no one else that could be better for me than you. You love all of me even though I’m a work in progress, but there’s no one else I would rather spend forever with.” I dig into my pocket once more.
“How many things do you have in this mysterious pocket?”
Smiling, I shoot him a playful glare as I pull out a ring that I had specially made for him out of a pine tree. “I had Wylla enchant it. When you shift into a wolf, it’ll shift with you.”
I slide the wooden ring onto his finger. “Ash, I promise to always love you. I promise to be your best friend, lover, and confidant. You mean more to me than anyone else. You saved me from a life on the run. You saved me from myself by loving me unconditionally. You saved me from a fate worse than death. You saved me from death. I hope I’ll be able to show you for the rest of our long lives just how much you mean to me.”
When I go to kiss his hand like he did to me, he tugs my arm and I stumble into him. My hands are trapped against his chest as his move to my waist. He slightly squeezes while he leans down and touches his lips to the shell of my ear. His warm breath causes goosebumps to erupt across my skin. “I want your lips on mine,” he says softly and nips my ear.
“That can be arranged.”
Leaning back, his smile turns into a smoldering grin. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
Stretching, I reach up and press my mouth to his.
His lips are warm against mine. Our kiss is solid and passionate. He moves his lips expertly, and I arch into him at the first taste of his tongue. A hint of mint and the unique taste of him. I savor him, letting our tongues feel one another. Nothing else compares to the way he tastes and feels against me. I don’t ever want to stop because it feels right.
Because he’s right.
He’s home.
If you made it this far, thank you! Thank you so much for reading Saving Ellie. Ash and Ellie have a special place in my heart, and their book ended being a lot bigger than I intended it to be. I hope you enjoyed it!
Could I ask you to do me a favor and leave a review? It can be short and simple. And if you do, thank you for taking the time to write it.
Acknowledgments
Writing a book takes a lot of time. I couldn’t have done it without my support system. First and foremost, I have to thank my husband for all his love and support. Every day he had off from work, he would watch our three young kids so I could write. Literally, this book would not exist without him.
Another big thank-you to my CP, Mak, who hypes me up whenever I’m feeling down in the dumps. Your comments and suggestions always make my day. You helped more than you know. Thanks for helping me make SE better.
Thank you to my developmental editor, Sydney, who told me to either get rid of Ash’s POV or add more. Since I didn’t have the heart to delete them, I added more. So if you loved his chapters (and the Thanksgiving chapter) you have her to thank.
I also want to thank my editor, Elle. She helped me make SE look professional! Her guidance and suggestions on fine-tuning this story were so helpful.
And thank you to my proofreaders, Elsie and C.M., who were flexible with their schedules for me and made sure they made time for me and my book. Couldn’t have published without them!
Thank you to all my friends and family and the writing community that has supported me since the first edition of SE! I’m truly grateful.
Now, I want to thank my readers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Readers are the lifeblood of a book. Without them, books would end up vanishing. So, thank you for taking a chance on Ash and Ellie. I hope you love them as much as I do. Be sure to watch for the next one.
About the Author
Whitney R.B. has a love for all things romance and fantasy. Her love for writing started in middle school and has blossomed since then. Now she lives in Arizona with her soulmate and their three young kids, who take up most of her time. But in her rare free moments, she reads (a bit too much) and writes.
www.whitneyrbauthor.com
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Saving Ellie (Lycans Book 1) Page 40