The Council Ch. 16

Freya hovered in the bedroom doorway, watching Nors gently lower his sleeping wolf onto their bed. He covered her and then stared down at her with a deep frown on his face.

"Tell me," he said quietly and she knew what he wanted to hear but she didn't think it was necessarily a good thing for him to hear it.

"Nors, she's going to be fine..." she started to say but his head whipped around and his deep green eyes bored into hers. She sighed and entered the room, moving to sit on the bottom of the bed.

"She was fatally wounded by the time I got there," she said quietly. "The vampires knew the other wolf was with child. They went to kill it and Ashleigh protected her friend. I did everything I could to keep her alive until you could come and heal her."

Nors was stiff, fury rolling off him in waves, but his tone was cold and hard when he next spoke. "Why didn't your blood heal her?"

Freya swallowed hard and bit her lip, not wanting to answer him but knowing her brother would not stop until he knew everything. "From everything Loretta told me, the vampires beat Ashleigh numerous times to try and get them to talk. They saw her as the weaker of the two and the one most likely to break. They also saw Loretta's protectiveness towards her and thought she would break eventually if she watched her friend's suffering. When Ashleigh became too damaged they healed her with their blood and started again. By the time the fatal blow happened your wolf probably had sustained so much previous damage that even my blood wasn't strong enough to heal her."

A deep shudder went through Nors' big body and he sank to the bed beside his Ashleigh and stared at her with tortured eyes. She should have talked. They both should have. They should have told the vampires everything and then neither of them would have suffered the brutality of what his kind had done to them.

A little voice inside his head whispered that they would have died as soon as they did talk. He tried to ignore it, tried to be furious with Ashleigh and Loretta for holding their silence but deep in his heart he knew they would have been killed if they had. It didn't dull the ache in his heart at the thought of his wolf being beaten endlessly by the vampires. He had failed her. He should have ignored everything else and gone to her immediately.

"Nors, this isn't your fault," Freya said fiercely, knowing her brother so well. She just knew he would find some way to blame himself for what had happened to his wolf. She may not understand how he could love a Were but she could clearly see how much he adored Ashleigh and how much the little wolf loved him too.

"It is," he hissed through clenched teeth. "If I had left her with her pack last year, if I had never brought her home in the first place then she would never have been a target for Daniel. She would never have had to endure what she's just been through." His voice was raw with pain, his eyes moist as he tried not to think about what she'd suffered. He knew his kind well, and just how cruel they could be.

"She would be dead if you hadn't brought her home and you know it," Freya answered in a hard tone, striving to break through the wall of misery Nors was building up against the world. "You told me she was going Rogue after the death of her family."

Nors didn't answer her, couldn't take his eyes from his precious woman lying sleeping in his large bed. He couldn't deny his sister's words but he couldn't reconcile them either with the deep well of guilt that invaded his body to battle with the fury and the pain rushing through him.

Freya moved then, wrapping her arms around Nors from behind and holding him tightly as she felt his big body shake and heard the pain in each distraught breath he took.

"Don't do this to yourself, Nors," she whispered softly. "Don't torture yourself like this. I know you. You'll do something crazy like send her away when she's healed and tell yourself that it's for her own good. You'll only hurt both of you by doing so. Don't overreact."

He stiffened in his sister's embrace, wondering if she was inside his head reading his mind or if she really did just know him that well. He was under no illusions that everything would be okay with his people despite what had happened tonight. If protecting Ashleigh meant sending her away he would do so. He never wanted her to experience what she had just been through again. He never again wanted to know the agony of seeing her lying in a pool of blood, her life slipping away .

Freya could see she wasn't getting through to him so she twisted around until she blocked his view of his wolf and took his face in her hands. Her deep green eyes met his and she hissed fiercely at him, anger and concern warring for dominance within her.

"Don't you dare do this to her," she said harshly. "She was so brave and strong tonight. She knew she was dying and all she could think of was you. She begged me to keep you safe, Nors. To keep you alive. Don't you dare disrespect her like this. She's been through so much to protect you, to protect the baby. Don't make it all for nothing. If you truly love her then respect who she is as a person and allow her to make her own decisions."

Nors stared into his sister's fierce eyes, pride rippling through him as he listened to her words. They hit him hard, breaking through his guilt and pain. The first time he had met Ashleigh she had been racing through a war zone trying to save the children of the pack. She had been strong and brave that night too and had lost everything she'd held dear at the time.

Now she had sacrificed herself for those she loved again and he was thinking of sending her away. She would lose everything she loved if he did that. Freya was right and he knew it. He would be punishing Ashleigh if he sent away and he'd be ripping out his own heart too.

The pride he felt for his wolf almost overwhelmed him. The same pride rushed through him as he looked at his sister. "You champion her," he said quietly, amazed at Freya's turnaround, how she could go from hating Ashleigh for being a wolf to now fighting so fiercely on her behalf.

Freya swallowed again and turned her head to look briefly at the sleeping woman and then turned back to her brother with a serious expression on her face. "You were all she thought of," she answered softly. "Her love for you shone through her pain and suffering. How can I hate someone who loves you as much, if not even more than I love you, Nors? She was willing to give her life for you. That alone earns my respect."

She frowned slightly, an almost irritated expression crossing her beautiful face. "I feel some affection towards her," she admitted as if it was being dragged out of her. "In time I am sure I will come to love her as fiercely as you do. I accept her as my sister and I accept her as your mate. I admire her strength and courage. I would stand at her side and protect her because I know I would be protecting your heart and she is worthy of being saved. That's the best I can do at the moment, Nors."

Nors stared at his sister in amazement. He'd never heard her speak so warmly of another person before, not even one of their own kind. In Freya's world there was only him , everyone else meant nothing to her. He knew this was a huge step for her and he folded his arms around her tightly and held her close.

"Thank you, Freya," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for keeping her alive for me, for standing up for her when she couldn't do so herself. I know this isn't easy for you and I love you so much for trying so hard to accept this. You will come to love her, I know you will."

She hugged him back just as fiercely. She was surprised at the passion she had felt when she spoke of the little wolf. She hadn't meant to say any of the things she'd said but they had tumbled out and they had felt right at the time. There was more to Ashleigh than just being a wolf. There was something special about the little blonde beauty who had captured her brother's heart. That she had brought such joy to Nors in such a time of sorrow for him filled her with pleasure.

"Ashleigh is my family now, Nors, just as much as you are. I will protect her and I will come to love her. She will not be alone again now that she has both of us to take care of her. We will not let anyone hurt her ever again."

Her words were fierce and she smiled against his neck as they embraced tightly. She was surprised to find that she really meant every one of the words. The wolf had earned her respect and her protection. No one would ever hurt Ashleigh again if she could prevent it.

Ashleigh woke slowly feeling the warm heat of Nors' big body lying beside her in bed. It was still dark and she turned slightly to cuddle into his embrace. She could feel how sluggish her body was, how weak she still felt but the pain was completely gone now and she could move without agony shooting through her body.

"Ash?" Nors whispered sleepily as he gathered her into his protective embrace.

"I'm fine," she whispered back. "I'm home safe with you. Everything will be okay now."

His grip tightened around her, his head burying in the crook of her neck and she felt wetness there as a hard shudder went through his body. "Don't cry, Nors," she whispered softly. "Please, love. I'm fine now. I'm safe. I knew you would come for me and it made me so much stronger knowing that."

"I should have been there sooner," he groaned in despair. "I could have stopped you being hurt so badly. I could have..."

She silenced him with her mouth, stroking his cheek gently as she rubbed her lips softly over his. He trembled and then he kissed her back, desperation warring with the need to be tender with her.

"I learned last year that ifs and maybes and could haves mean nothing, Nors," she said softly as she pulled back from their kiss. She continued to stroke his wet cheeks, staring into his haunted eyes.

She smiled gently. "Bad things happen but it's how we deal with them that's important. I learned tonight that I'm strong and brave. I learned that I have the capacity to love so deeply that I would gladly give my life for those who deserve my love and loyalty. I'm a wolf, Nors, a strong, courageous wolf who will fight to protect my loved ones and my pack. My family would have been so proud of me."

He groaned deeply and kissed her reverently, amazed at how accepting she was of everything when he was still struggling so hard with it. "I'm proud of you, Ashleigh," he whispered. "You're the strongest, most beautiful wolf in the world. I wish this hadn't happened to you though. You didn't deserve it and you didn't need it to find yourself. You've always had all those wonderful qualities you've just described."

"But I never believe that," she answered gently. "I always felt I was weak because of my grief last year and the way I couldn't deal with it. Tonight showed me just how strong I really am. It was bad, I'm not denying that but I will not dwell on the negativity. I'll take the positives from it and I'll live a good life because of it."

"God, you're amazing," he groaned, holding her even closer, stroking a hand slowly down her back more to settle his own erratic emotions than soothe her. She was so much calmer than he was. "I love you so much, Ashleigh. I thought I was going to lose you tonight and I wanted to die too."

Her heart clenched with fear as his voice broke and she felt more tears against her skin. "Don't you ever say that, Nors," she said fiercely. "I want you to live, no matter what happens to me. Promise me you'll live should anything ever happen. I can't stand the thought of a world without you in it. I want to know that one day you will find happiness again with a new mate who will bring you nothing but love and joy."

He was silent for a long time, merely holding her as his body shook against her. She soothed him with little touches, feeling his anguish and pain, knowing he had to let it out or he would bury it deep inside himself where it would fester and turn into something destructive.

"Do Weres find new mates if they lose theirs?" Nors finally asked when he was once more in control of himself. He felt ashamed that he was going to pieces when she was the one who needed him after all she had been through. He wasn't used to being this vulnerable, to having the roles reversed between them. It felt wrong and yet he couldn't deny the comfort he found in his wolf's strong embrace.

For some reason Dayton Alexander crept into Ashleigh's mind at his question. She felt a stab of sadness deep within her. "That depends," she finally answered with a little sigh. "Sometimes they do, if they're young enough and can survive the agony of losing their mate without going Rogue. Sometimes they just don't want to and close themselves off completely. But some do, Nors. Some have the courage to keep going on and they're rewarded at the end of it by finding happiness again. I know you have that courage deep within you, love."

He doubted that he did but she had such faith in him. He knew he couldn't live without her, that he didn't want anyone else but her. She was everything to him, his very reason for existing. But she asked this of him and he couldn't deny her. If anything happened to Ashleigh he wanted her to know that he would try to fulfil her last wish so she would be at peace.

"I will try, Ashleigh," he breathed softly. "I'll do my very best, my love but I can't promise you just in case I fail. I would hate if the last thing I ever did was break my word to you."

Ashleigh sighed softly kissing him gently on the lips and tangling her fingers in his hair. "It's a start," she whispered against his mouth. "At least you will try, love. At least I have that."

They were silent a long time, Nors cradling his beautiful wolf against his chest, his hands moving restlessly over her body, surreptitiously checking that she was healing properly. He could feel her weakness ebbing by the strength of her arms around him and he felt relief wash over him as he finally accepted that the danger point was past and she would make a full recovery.

"I'm sorry I had to hurt you to heal you," he finally said quietly in the darkness, his fingers running soothingly through her soft hair. "It was the only way to save you."

Ashleigh snorted delicately and brushed her lips against his chest. "And to mate with me," she added onto his last sentence. She felt him stiffen in surprise and laughed softly. "I wasn't so far gone that I didn't hear Loretta and Freya talking, Nors. If your sister had healed me as you did then we would never have been able to mate. I worked it out. Andrei healed Loretta internally and now they can mate and have children. It will be the same for us now, won't it?"

He chuckled loudly, giving her a tight squeeze and kissing the top of her head. She truly did amaze him sometimes. "Yes, my Ashleigh, we can fully mate now," he sighed softly. "But only once you're fully healed and I've checked with Caleb if he knows the length of time required between the healing and me being able to safely join with you."

He felt her start to squirm slightly in protest but he held her securely until she ceased her movements. "I won't be swayed on this, Ashleigh," he said firmly. "We have to be sure before we try this. If we move too soon then the outcome just doesn't bear thinking about."

"But we will be able to mate, Nors," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "We'll be able to have babies. I never thought I would be able to being mated to a vampire."

The thought of becoming a father should have shocked Nors but he actually found himself looking forward to the prospect. Of course he had no idea what being a father meant and would probably mess it all up but the hope he could hear in his wolf's voice was enough to make him smile at the thought.

She would be a wonderful mother. She had so much love to give. Any child they had would be blessed to have her and if he could give her the family she so desperately needed to fill her life then she could have as many babies as she wanted. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his Ashleigh.

"We'll need to talk to your doctor," he smiled against her hair. "I want to give you all the babies you want, Ash, but you've been through so much recently. Maybe it would be best to wait a little while, just until you're fully recovered and some time has passed. Loretta fell pregnant instantly once she fully mated with Andrei. I think we need a little time together first, love, just the two of us."

Ashleigh bit her bottom lip, denial immediately rocking through her. She wanted to have Nors' babies and she didn't want to wait to have them. But his words made sense and she couldn't argue with them. Her whole world had changed in just over a year. Her relationship with Nors was new and still growing. They had both been through a very traumatic experience and they did need a little time together to get over it.

She suddenly started to laugh softly and then she laughed harder. "I can just imagine Luke's face," she giggled. "A vampire and a Were turning up at his door asking for contraception advice. How he's going to answer that one I have no idea!"

Nors laughed too, relieved she wasn't going to press the issue. It made sense to wait a little while until everything had calmed down. He was glad she was seeing the wisdom of it. "I'm sure he'll cope," he laughed softly. "I guess he's going to have to now that there are vampires in his pack."

He held Ashleigh as she continued to laugh and then she abruptly stopped laughing and pushed herself up on his chest to look down at him. Her eyes were dancing with silent laughter.

"Oh my God! I've just thought of something," she gasped, starting to laugh again.

Nors stared at her in puzzlement. "What?"

"Well, you and Andrei got it easy with me and Loretta," she managed to get out through peals of laughter. "Someone else hurt us and you got to save us. I so want to be a fly on the wall in Cedar's house when she demands that Alexei does the necessary to allow them to fully mate! That will be absolutely priceless!"

He stared at her puzzled for a moment longer and then her meaning sank in. Cedar would insist that Alexei hurt her so he could heal her! He could only imagine the denial the other vampire would go through at just the thought of hurting his mate. Cedar was one determined lady when she wanted something badly. The ensuing eruption between those two would be of epic proportions.

"Ashleigh, that's mean!" he said sternly even as he tried to hold back his own laughter. It would be priceless to watch that little drama play out. He had no doubt that Cedar would be the victor in the end and it would be nice to see Alexei Romanov brought to his knees by his woman.

He started to chuckle as he pulled Ashleigh back down against his body, stroking a hand down her back as they laughed together.

"Sleep, Ash," he finally said softly when they'd settled down. "The more rest you get the quicker you will heal."

Ashleigh stifled down a deep yawn, snuggling against Nors' chest as her eyes fluttered closed. "Where's Freya?" she asked sleepily.

"She went home but she'll be back tomorrow," he whispered quietly. "She's trying hard, Ash. You've already earned her respect with your bravery. Give her time. I'm sure you two will become great friends."

"She's not so bad," Ashleigh sighed softly. "She just needs to find someone to love her as much as you love me. I might need to work on that." Her voice trailed off as she slipped into much needed sleep.

Nors wanted to laugh at the thought of anyone loving his sister the way he loved his Ashleigh. Freya would never let herself become vulnerable to anyone in that way. His love for his wolf overwhelmed him at the thought that she wished that for his sister. She was an amazing woman his beautiful wolf.