Chapter 26
Asher’s POV
Five days to go…
I let out a heavy sigh, my gaze locked on the ceiling. The white paint was peeling in places, a reminder of how long it had been since anyone bothered to touch it up.
+20)
If I had made it this far, I could make it to the full moon without doing anything funny with Gemini. As much as my wolf wanted to be around her, I tried my best to keep my distance, giving myself as much space as needed. Without intimacy, I certainly wouldn’t do anything I’m not supposed to. I just had to keep my head in the game.
After a quick shower, I filled my hands with water for the last time and splashed it on my face, shaking off the lingering fatigue. I stared at my reflection for a moment, adjusting my shirt and running a hand through my tousled hair. The cold expression I wore was like armor; I needed it for the day ahead.
As I stepped out of my room, the air felt heavier than usual. The attack a few days back had kept everyone on the edge. It also opened my eyes to some loopholes in our security system, and I’d been working non–stop to fill those gaps. I couldn’t let anything slip through again, especially not during the full moon.
Just as I was about to make my way out, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, glancing
“The great King Asher!”
at the screen.
The lively voice belonged to Endrick, my only friend ever. A small smile crept onto my face despite the weight on my shoulders.
“Hey, man! You’re still alive.” I replied, trying to keep my tone light.
“It’s been ages since I saw that stone cold face of yours.” He joked, his laughter echoing through the phone.
“Are you coming over?” I asked knowingly. Endrick never called for anything other than to inform me that he was coming over or that he had already arrived at my pack.
“I’m in your living room, man!”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, groaning. “Of course you are.”
Before I could hang up, he added with a chuckle, “Actually, I moved to the dining room. And, uh, there’s this beauty here… dressed in a hoodie. Who is she?”
My heart skipped a beat, and I didn’t even need to ask who he was talking about. My wolf stirred immediately, growling possessively at the idea of Endrick so much as looking at her.
“Don’t you dare!” I barked into the phone, my voice sharp and commanding.
Endrick laughed, clearly amused by my reaction. “Relax, man! I’m just curious.
ho is she? She doesn’t exactly look like a servant.”
I didnt reply. Instead, I ended the call and sped down the hall, my strides long and purposeful.
The dining room came into view, and there she was. She sat at the far end of the table, her mouth filled with more food than she could take,
Sometimes she’s a goddess and sometimes she just decides to act like a weapon fashioned against me. The rest of the family seemed irritated by her actions but Endrick seemed to enjoy the show. I overlooked it, knowing that she was intentionally doing it to avoid speaking to anyone.
*Aty man! It’s really been a while” Endrick started. “I see you’ve changed a lot.” He continued, his eyes darting from Gemini to me,
Focus on your food, or else you want to choke,” I said settling into my seat as well.
Somehow, i fosand myself admiring Gemini’s childish behaviour, my hands on my jaw as I stared intently at her.
I didn’t segin to realise how lost I was until my fork dropped, alerting everyone at the table. I immediately feigned annoyance as I queried her to Cat Trapossidy.
After I was done burying myself in work, I decided to unwind a bit. I stopped by a cosy bar downtown, the kind that had dim lighting and a jukebox playing classic rock tunes. The smell of fried food and the sound of laughter filled the air. I spotted Endrick at the counter, nursing a beer and grinzung like he’d just won the loatery.
Hey, man You made it is called out, waving me over. I stud onto the barstool next to him, the wood cool against my skin.
1/2
10:21 AM M
Chapter 26
“Yeah, I just needed to escape the office for a bit,” I replied, ordering a whiskey neat.
“So, What’s new with you?” he asked. “Other than, you know who?”
I filled him in on what was going on in my life, and so did he. We shared our stories over about three bottles of whiskey.
“And Becca, what do you plan to do with her?”
I shook my head, “I never said I wanted anything to do with Becca, but she’s been trying lately to get back into my life.”
“Hmm…” He sighed.
Endrick, ever the one to get drunk first, began to speak tipsy.
0
He kept asking silly questions about Gemini, provoking me to the guts. Endrick was never one to care about the women I followed cause our types of women differed, but for the first time, he wouldn’t just stop talking about a woman he knew very well was mine. And fuck! It pissed me to know that my woman was lingering in the back of another man’s mind.
I returned home, the familiar scent of our place wrapping around me like a warm blanket. After a long day, I was ready to head to my room, but something tugged at me. I paused outside Gemini’s door, hesitating for a moment.
Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob and pushed the door open. As I stepped inside, I froze. There she was, curled up under the covers, but something was off.
Her body shook slightly, and I realized she was sobbing in her sleep. My heart dropped. I rushed over to her side, my pulse quickening with worry. “Gemini,” I whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. “Hey, wake up.”
She stirred, her eyes fluttering open, but the fear in her expression was unmistakable. Before I could say anything else, she shot up and wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my shirt. “Please, don’t let them take me back,” she sobbed, her voice muffled against my chest.
“What’s going on? What happened?” I asked, my voice thick with concern. I held her tight, feeling her body tremble against mine.
“I don’t want to go back to the dungeon! Please your majesty,” Her words cut through me, my armour fading instantly.
Whether I was ready to admit it or not, it hit me like a blow to my chest. I had caused her trauma, I had given her a reason to cry all night. I couldn’t help but think how many nights she’d had to cry herself to sleep.
My eyes grew watery for the first time in ten years, for the first time
after
my first mate whom I lost to the rogues at the age of eighteen.
I already felt bad for what I had done, but I felt the worst after seeing her cry so uncontrollably.
I exited her room, not wanting her to wake up beside the cause of her nightmare.
My eyes hurt from not being able to sleep, and the mate bond made me feel the worst about myself. The replay of her tears dancing in my head over and over again.
1 skipped breakfast, clearly not in the mood to lift a spoon.
It was soon noon, I promised myself to have a make up lunch with Gemini, hoping that it would help eradicate the restless feeling settling in the pit of my stomach
“Go have lunch,” I ordered.
Alen looked a little surprised because that certainly was not our routine. “Is there a problem, your majesty?” He asked.
“Nodizing is wrong, if you wish to have your food delivered here, fine. But I won’t be joining you today.
He nodded and I stepped out, heading for the dining room.
I hated at the wound of a low grow!— I looked around trying to figure where it had come from.
“If anyone finds parabout any of this, you all should count yourselves dead” An angry voice threatened.
I read see the terror on the faces of the maids as they scurried out of the kitchen
1 continued to the kitchen eager to know what was the cause of this death threat.
“Mon!” I called and she quickly masked the fury on her face with a fake smile
“What is going on?
