Chapter 7

—Sienna’s POV—

There was a brief flicker of what looked to be panic that moved over Asher’s face before he nodded, clearing his throat.

“I have no problem with that,” he said smoothly, glancing around the clutter of his place.

“It would be strange if we didn’t live together,” I replied, following his eyes around the room. “Hopefully you can be a little….neater with me?”

His place was a total mess. Clothes strewn everywhere, even dirty dishes left out on the table.

I’d assumed he’d be a lot cleaner of a person.

“Yes, well, when you live alone, it’s different,” he muttered, clearly embarrassed by my call out.

“Gather what you’d like, and plan to be at mine by this evening?” I asked, my nerves spiking. I’d become so accustomed to my own space that he would feel like some kind of alien presence.

“I’ll be there,” Asher nodded, and I slipped out the front of his place before it could get any more awkward.

The next morning, I woke in my own bed, Asher having taken the second bedroom. It was almost like I was still by myself, so I plodded out of my room to the shower, taking my time to freshen up.

I’d forgotten my clean clothes in my room, so I wrapped my towel around myself, slipping out the bathroom door without thinking.

I immediately ran into Asher’s chiseled chest, gasping, the towel loosening around me. In a moment of slow motion panic, I see the towel sliding off of me to the ground.

But Asher caught it, his fingers brushing against my bare skin.

Oh my god this is the most embarrassing moment of my entire life.

My fingers scrambled to tighten the towel again, pushing back from him. I knew my cheeks were scarlet red, and I’d never wanted to be invisible more than I did right then.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out, forgetting that he was my husband who lived here with me.

“Well, if you recall, we got married, signed a contract, and you requested I move in, so, I was just here to use the bathroom,” Asher smirked, his hair pressed down on one side, giving him a really sexy bedhead look.

“Sorry - I - yeah, I know.” I had to force the words out, struggling to meet his playful look. “I’m just not used to the company.”

“You act like I haven’t seen what’s underneath there,” Asher chuckled, irritatingly calm about this whole thing.

“Hush,” I snapped, feeling my cheeks flush even further. “I’m a private person.”

He was driving me mad.

“You certainly weren’t private - or shy - a few nights ago.” There was a twinkle in his eye - he knew he was traumatizing me right now.

He liked it.

Well you liked his hands all over you, I thought to myself, shivering beneath the towel. Maybe I had been drugged, but the heat I felt for Asher was very real.

“I’m going to go get dressed. Please just…give me some space,” I sighed, pushing past him and into my room.

When the door closed behind me, I let out a strangled exhale. This was not going to be easy.

Whatever attraction I felt towards Asher was muted by my hesitation to trust him. Clearly there was something reputable about him, but it’d become so painfully obvious that he was hiding things from me.

He wasn’t obligated to tell me everything about himself. This secret, though, it did feel personal, only because of my parents involvement.

Pushing him on his secrets meant he could push me on mine, and I couldn’t do that.

No one could know about the loss of my wolf. That was my battle, and mine alone.

All of that aside, I had to focus on pack matters. Asher could help me with that, at least.

Nightwind was a complete and total mess.

Mail and papers had piled up on my front table, weighing me down further into a pit of despair. How was I ever going to deal with all of these problems?

Problems that had arisen mostly after my parents’ death.

So many members had migrated to other packs after they were gone, leading to a huge loss of population in Nightwind. It hurt the pack to lose so many, especially partners we’d collaborated with to provide their services for us, and us alone.

But those connections were because of my parents - and without them, members no longer felt connection to the pack.

Especially with me in charge.

It made sense that people didn’t trust me. I was young, thrown into this so suddenly. I hadn’t even been given a chance to prove myself, though, and that hurt.

Those members that had left were now wanted to ask for a breach of contract fee from her. They didn’t care that her parents were gone - now that they were, those people just wanted their money back.

So now, the pack was in a colossal debt. One I had no way of paying back anytime soon.

And I refused to ask for charity.

But…if all of these problems continued, I’d be evicted from my position, possibly even facing punishment for the lack of duty to my pack. Maybe the Elder’s would go easy on me because of everything that had happened, though they’d only wait for so long.

If I was pushed from my pack, I’d be forced to go rogue, living outside the protected lands in solitude. Fighting for a single scrap of food with nowhere warm and safe to sleep.

Defeat ate away at me. I was tumbling towards a dark fate, even with Asher at my side. Our marriage only solved one tiny problem - the tip of the iceberg.

A knock at the front door pulled me from my thoughts, and I found Beta Simon waiting patiently on the stoop.

“Alpha,” he nodded to me. “I have a message from the Alpha Julian. He’d like to meet you - alone - at the boundary of the packs.”

Julian was back? Lovely.

“Great,” I muttered, glancing back to see the house quiet. Asher must be tucked away somewhere, or even out.

The papers on the desk held my eye for a moment longer before I broke the trance, stepping outside with Simon.

“I’ll go now,” I sighed, shutting the door behind me. “Thank you Simon.”

“I won’t be far off. If I don’t see you back within an hour…” he trailed off, and I knew what he was implying.

“Julian wouldn’t dare lay a finger on me after the mess with the witnesses. But thank you. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

I nodded, slipping down the path to my left that led to the boundary of Julian’s pack. I knew exactly where he would be - at the rocky riverside we’d always met at over the years.

The rush of the river greeted me a few minutes later, and there lounged Julian, up on the ledge of rocks overlooking the water.

“Julian,” I greeted cooly, my eyes narrowing. What could he possibly want now?

“I know of the packs debt, Sienna.” No hello, no nothing. Just straight to the point.

Okay then, that’s how it’s going to be.

“It’s not your business,” I growled. “Because it’s not your pack.”

“I can fix the debt. If you merge with my pack as my bride.”

“All you want is the power - the command of my land, my people. I told you already: no.” I bared my teeth at him, urging him to back off.

“You would be the Luna to my Alpha, Sea,” Julian pressed, staying on his side of the river. The water separating us left me feeling just a bit safer.

“I’m the Nightwind Alpha. That is where I belong,” I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest.

In the blink of an eye, Julian had crossed the river, taking my face in his hands. “I know you love me, Sea.” He brushed a strand of my hair delicately behind my ear.

I hated that I liked his touch.

“We’re fated mates,” he whispered, leaning in closer to me as if I never rejected him. “And I’m sorry for what I did - I never meant to break your trust.”

No, he wasn’t. That was a lame attempt at an apology.

“I’m not doing this,” I said sharply, turning on my heel. “Let it go.”

As I turned, my eyes found Asher’s. He lingered behind us at the tree line, his hands tucked in his pockets.

“I was worried about you,” he said, shrugging nonchalantly. “But it looks like you’re busy. I won’t interrupt.”

“I was just leaving,” I said quickly, hurrying over to his side. “This was a waste of time.”

“Sea - ” Julian called out in annoyance. “You’re setting yourself up to fail.”

“Stop calling me that. Goodbye, Julian,” I snapped, ducking into the tree line with Asher close behind.

Asher had saved the day once again.