Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.
You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.
Click here
She sipped at her coffee and tried to think of a way to get past her vampire's barriers so they could take their relationship to the next level. She supposed she could keep turning up naked in his bed. He had liked that even if he had tried to hide the fact of how much he had. But as usual he kept her at arms length.
Did he somehow sense that she wanted him? Was he appalled at the thought and that was why he kept retreating from her if she got to close to him? She frowned down into her coffee mug. She'd never really given much thought to mating until she met Nors, figuring it would be decades, possibly centuries before she met her mate.
Was there any history of a chosen mate refusing the mating? Maybe she would take a moment to go through the Hanlon library the next time she went to the compound, or ask one of the older Weres, maybe Cedar or Loretta because they were over a century old. She sipped at her coffee and closed her eyes as she waited for Nors to arrive.
Ashleigh was framed in her usual position at the bay window when Nors pulled up outside the bookstore. His heart picked up at the mere sight of her. Every day she took his breath away more and more. All day today he had a mental image of her in his bed, the feel of her soft curves pressing against his hardness. He was quite literally going out of his mind with need for her.
His earlier worry that she may decide to return to the pack resurfaced and he had to consider the possibility that maybe he should send her back. If she tempted him much more he was going to do something that would betray the trust she had in him and he didn't ever want to disappoint her.
The turn of events at the Council ceremony had rocked him to the core. Caleb had been furious at the Romanovs for dallying with wolves from the Hanlon pack. Nors had toyed with the idea of speaking to Caleb about his own feelings for Ashleigh, had actually decided to speak with him after the ceremony. Then he had scented Alexei Romanov and all thoughts of anything else had left his mind.
Alexei carried the wolf gene within him! He had allowed his wolf to mate with him. It should have been impossible, yet somehow the other vampire had managed it.
The immediate implication for their people had not been lost on Nors. He was an Ancient and could see the impending war looming when it came out that Weres and vampires could mate. Their people would not allow it, ever. Which made sending Ashleigh home to her pack the prudent thing to do, even though it was the very last thing he wanted.
The thought of her leaving filled him with such dread. He couldn't imagine coming home and not scenting her sweet scent of honeysuckle, not hearing her soft footsteps or the patter of her paws as she wandered around the house doing whatever it was she did when she was in her own private world. It felt right coming home to her, as if she belonged with him.
She suddenly opened her eyes and smiled at him through the window and his heart turned over at the joy on her face as she spotted him. For a moment he forgot how to breathe and then he returned her smile and reached over to open the passenger door slightly as she locked up the bookstore and all but bounded across the pavement to get into the car.
"How was your day?" he asked lightly, taking a deep breath to inhale her sweet scent before he headed out into the late evening traffic.
"Busy," she sighed resting her head against the seat with a tired smile. "It's amazing how so many people avoid the big retail bookstores to come to Annie's little one. I think they find it charming in an old fashioned way." She closed her eyes and sighed softly, feeling content to be in his presence and happy that he appeared to be in a good mood.
"Annie's back. She arrived home today," he told her, "I dare say she'll call tonight or turn up at the store tomorrow. Which is a good thing because you can ask for some time off. You've been working six days out of seven straight for months now. You look tired." He didn't like to see the tiredness in her eyes. She was still recovering from her ordeal, working so much wasn't such a good idea.
"It's not work that's making me tired," Ashleigh answered without opening her eyes. "I'm not sleeping too well at the moment."
Nors frowned, sparing a moment to glance at her before turning back to the road. "I thought last night was the first time you've had the nightmare in almost a month," he said quietly, annoyed with himself because he had been away from the house a lot lately, particularly at night time when his self control seemed to be at its lowest ebb. If she was still having the nightmares and he wasn't home to help her he would be furious with himself.
She opened her eyes to look at him, hearing a faint edge to his voice. He was looking straight ahead, his profile hard and angular and so incredibly beautiful. His long red hair was tied back at the nape of his neck as he had just returned from work. He seemed annoyed and that made her frown.
"No nightmares," she answered quietly. "I've just been having a bit of a problem dropping off to sleep. Once I get to sleep it's been fine, until last night that is."
"Why can't you get to sleep?" he growled softly turning to glance quickly at her before he turned away again.
It probably wasn't the best time to bring it up but he'd asked so Ashleigh opened her mouth and said what she'd wanted to say for months now.
"I keep thinking I've done something to upset you, Nors." Her voice was soft, a hint of sadness creeping in though she tried to keep it out. "You're out a lot these days and when you're home, you don't spend as much time with me as you used to. Did I do something wrong?"
His breath hissed out loudly as he looked for a spot he could pull over safely, finally finding a narrow dirt track road off to the right. He pulled in and switched the engine off, taking off his seatbelt and turning slightly to face her.
"Where would you come up with something as ridiculous as that?" The words came out sharper than he intended them to and she wilted slightly under his gaze. He dampened down a curse as he took a deep breath. Her unexpected question had caught him off guard and he was reacting instinctively which wasn't necessarily a good thing for a vampire with his temper.
"I must have done something wrong because you're always so annoyed with me these days," she said miserably. "Even this morning when you woke up. It was as if I wasn't welcome in your room anymore. Just tell me what it is I've done wrong so I can fix it."
Nors groaned closing his eyes and taking a few more deep breaths as he tried to calm down. He couldn't believe she thought she'd done something wrong, that she was worrying so much about it she couldn't sleep. He felt like a complete bastard and didn't know how to make this right for her. His heart told him one thing and his head told him something completely different.
"Ashleigh, you haven't done anything wrong," he finally said as gently as he could. "I'm sorry I've made you feel that way. I definitely didn't intend to. It's just you're so much better now, almost ready to return to the pack. I thought it would be easier for you to return if you didn't feel some kind of obligation to me." It wasn't a total lie, there was some truth in his words, enough that he didn't feel uncomfortable saying them.
She swallowed hard, releasing her own seatbelt and getting out of the car. Nors wanted her to leave so he was distancing himself from her? Less than half an hour ago she had been thinking up ways to seduce him and he was thinking of when she would be leaving? She heard him get out of the car too and approach her coming to stand behind her without touching her.
"You want me to leave?" she asked quietly, her wolf howling furiously at the thought, a deep pain starting to pulse inside her. She swallowed hard feeling her wolf push forward to give her some added strength as she waited for his reply.
"No," he answered, his hand rising against his will to lightly brush the back of her hair. It was so silky soft, so shiny in the late evening sunlight. "I don't want you to go, Ashleigh. I've become accustomed to having you around. But that's not a good enough reason for you to stay. You belong with your pack, little wolf. You've healed now, it is time to go home."
He fought down his own pain, his need to take the words back. If they could contain the matings at just Alexei and Andrei then maybe they could stave off a civil war among his people. If he took what he wanted, if his people found out an Ancient had allowed a wolf to mate with him, the civil war would happen and the Weres would suffer for it. Denying himself was the safest thing to do for Ashleigh even though it broke his heart.
She turned around to look up at him, her expression turning obstinate. "What if I don't want to go back, Nors? Did you even think about asking me what I wanted before you made this decision? I am not a child. I may be young compared to you and I may just have come through a very tough moment in my life but I am a grown woman who is perfectly capable of making her own decisions. I don't need you to make them for me anymore."
Her sudden vehemence was so out of character that for a moment he could only stare at her in surprise before he noticed her wolf close to the surface. Did she really think he wasn't completely aware of how much of a grown woman she really was? It was that very fact which was pushing him to make her return home. Before he took advantage of the fact that she was a grown woman, before he kissed her the way he longed to and showed her just how much of a woman she was in his eyes.
Nors frowned and looked away from her, staring across the open farmland in front of him. The internal war within him raged on. He wanted her to stay and yet he had to make her leave. He hardened his expression as he turned back to her.
"But you do need my permission to remain in my home, Ashleigh," he said tersely. "You no longer have that permission. Now get in the car and lets go home. You need to pack." He forced the words out, kept his expression neutral as pain flashed in her eyes and his heart broke even more.
Ashleigh stared at his retreating back as he turned and walked back towards the car. Rage filled her at the way he just walked away from her, making her decisions for her. Her wolf howled loudly as their mate rejected them. She burst forward in fury, fighting to take control. Her human half couldn't be subjected to anymore misery, not even from their vampire.
She shifted, her body rippling an instant before she changed from human into her golden wolf. She turned and took off across the field, running as fast as she could. She knew he would catch her if he really wanted to but she ran anyway. He didn't want her so he wouldn't come after her.
Nors watched her leave, his heart heavy as she flew across the muddy field. "Goodbye, Ashleigh," he whispered quietly. He knew she wouldn't return to the house, had seen the hurt and betrayal in her eyes. It was for the best. If she hated him then she wouldn't grieve for him.
He turned away to head back to the car determined to do the right thing for her, for his people. He took two steps and then turned around again a deep rumbling growl coming from his chest as his eyes flashed furiously. Fuck doing the right thing! He couldn't let her go. He couldn't go back to his life before he met her. She belonged to him and there was no getting away from that fact.
He took off at superhuman speed, blurring across the field after his wolf. His heart was hammering wildly in his chest but it wasn't from exertion, it was from fear. Ashleigh had been through so much hurt and pain already. What if she truly believed that he didn't want her in his life? The pain and betrayal in her eyes had been unmistakable. He had hurt her with his rejection. What if she didn't want to come home with him?
He couldn't even begin to contemplate that possibility. His Ashleigh was such a sweet, forgiving soul. She would listen to him when he caught up with her, he knew she would. He followed her scent, tracking her easily. She'd made it quite far into the start of the forest but not anywhere near as close to the Hanlon Compound as she probably thought she was.
He overtook her easily, dropping in front of her and halting her in her tracks. If he thought he'd done the hard part chasing after her he was mistaken. She growled loudly, snarling viciously at him but he remained where he was, crossing his arms over his chest as she bared her teeth furiously. She was hurt, angry even. He could understand that. He waited patiently for her to vent her anger at him.
She continued to snarl at him, maintaining wolf form but not trying to outflank him. She would have known it was a waste of time to try. "This isn't the car, Ashleigh," he said in a quiet tone, his 'no nonsense' tone which usually told her when she was pushing her luck.
She refused to answer, remaining in wolf form as she was prone to do when they had their rare disagreements. She knew it infuriated him when she cut of their lines of communication like this. It also made him more determined to have his own way.
"Move now," he ordered quietly pointing in the direction they had come, trying to get her to at least start back towards the car so they could talk about what had happened. She had shifted wearing her clothes so he wanted her safely ensconced in the car before she took her human form again.
Ashleigh snarled again, a low deep rumble coming from her throat. She had no intention of going anywhere with him. She didn't even know why he wanted her to. She was almost on pack lands. He wanted her to be gone. So why the hell was he stopping her? He should be glad she was returning to the pack as he wanted.
He had hurt her! He was the one person she trusted never to do so and he had told her he wanted her to leave. Well he was getting what he wanted. Just because he'd suddenly decided that he'd changed his mind didn't mean that she had. He wanted her gone so she was gone. She wasn't returning with him, she was going home to the pack.
Nors could see the fury in his wolf's eyes as well as the pain she tried to hide. It ripped through him like a sharp knife. He was responsible for her pain. He'd promised to protect her but he'd done a piss poor job of protecting her from himself. Should he just let her leave? Would it be for the best? If he convinced her to come home with him would that be more dangerous than letting her go?
He stared at his wolf and for the first time since he could remember, he had no idea what to do. He wanted her so badly but it was dangerous to keep her with him. But she would be miserable if she left and so would he. What if the Council found out about the Romanovs mating and decided to eradicate the Hanlon pack and he'd sent her home to them?
He wanted to curse out aloud. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. He wished he could be as selfish as the Romanovs and just think of himself and what he wanted. Hell, he didn't even know if Ashleigh even wanted him the way he wanted her.
He sucked in a deep breath, lowering his arms to his side. He couldn't let her go. There was just something deep within him that refused to do what was right for everyone else. She was his. His Ashleigh. She had been since the first moment he had laid eyes on her.
"Please, Ashleigh," he said softly, his angry expression melting away to be replaced with a slightly sad one. "I'm sorry, little wolf. I promise I won't make you return to the pack if you don't want to. You can stay with me for as long as you need. I promise."
Ashleigh stared at him feeling totally confused. What exactly did he want from her? One minute she could stay, then she had to leave, and now she could stay again? She shifted back to human form, glaring at him with her hands on her hips.
"Are you bipolar, Nors, because you really give off that impression sometimes?" she snapped irritably, her wolf still very much in control.
"You seem incapable of making a decision and sticking to it. One minute you want me to stay and the next you want me to go. I'm not a toy to be played with. I'm a living, breathing person who has thoughts and feelings! Whatever you decide right now had better be the end of this discussion because I am not going to live in limbo like this. I've already spent the best part of a year with no clear direction on where I'm going and I refuse to live like that any longer!"
She waited for him to answer but he just stood there rigidly, his expression completely neutral though his body was so tense it was making her a little nervous. She looked around to see if there was anyone near but she couldn't see or scent anyone.
She turned back to the vampire. "Well, say something!" she demanded irritably, but he still just stood there looking at her blankly and her anger spurred even more as well as her hurt. Why had he even bothered following her and saying what he'd said if he was just going to stand there and say nothing more? Her wolf was growling loudly, clearly unhappy with him and with good reason to be.
Nors quite literally couldn't speak. He was afraid to even move. His wolf was standing stark naked in front of him, her hands balanced on her hips, an irate scowl on her face. She was quite simply breathtaking as she berated him, her brown eyes flashing with anger. Her wolf was so close to the surface still, he could see the wildness of her beast in her eyes.
She was magnificent and it was all he could do not to throw her down on the forest floor and take her where she stood. Where had his quiet, demure little Ashleigh gone to? It was as if she had vanished overnight and now he had a new feisty version of his wolf. One who suddenly wasn't content to be lead but was now challenging everything he said and did.
He wanted to answer whatever it was she had just said to him but he hadn't actually heard a word of it. His eyes had been too busy roaming over her beautiful body, drinking in her soft creamy white skin, the curves of her deliciously rounded breasts with their dark pink tips.
He'd tried not to look any further but he couldn't resist letting his eyes drift lower taking in her flat stomach, the soft curve of her hips, the light dusting of neatly trimmed blonde curls covering her mound but leaving the rest of her body bare to his gaze. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes to try and block out the sight of her incredible body and stop his own body automatically reacting to it. He pulled off his jacket and swiftly unbuttoned his shirt handing it out to her.
He heard a weary sigh leave her lips but she took the shirt from him. "Really, Nors, for a vampire you're the most awful prude," she said her tone making it clear she was still displeased with him. He risked opening his eyes again to see that she was now swallowed up by his shirt which came down to her knees.
"Can we go home now?" he asked bending to pick up his jacket and pull it on.
Ashleigh stared at him silently as she finished buttoning his shirt. The rage that had taken over her had suddenly waned. Her wolf had seized control by the car and she had let her because it was easier being angry with Nors than feeling the deep pain that had rocked through her at the thought that he didn't want her to live with him anymore.
Now he was asking if they could go home. The way he said it implied that it was their home and not just his. He had said that he didn't mean it about sending her back to the pack but she was afraid he would change his mind again like before.
"Is it my home, Nors?" she asked in a small voice. "For how long? Until the next time you decide that it would be better for me to return to pack? I can't live like that. I can't be worrying that you're going to decide that you don't want me anymore, that you're regretting inviting me into your family and want to send me away again." Her voice broke, her eyes filling with tears as the pain spilled over now that the anger was gone.
