Chapter 19

Asher's point of view

What the hell was she doing here?

I froze momentarily, sizing her up in her sticky wet clothes, looking so perfect on my bed like she belonged there.

Fuck! I felt myself go hard, and Ryker had awoken.

She looked surprised at first; she didn't know this room was mine. But then her eyes traveled down my body, taking in every detail.

Suddenly, the air around us charged with current, and I smelled her arousal. It was almost as if there was a magnetic string pulling us together. Curse the matebond. Curse these strings of fate.

I had intentionally been avoiding her the whole night. It was dangerous to have her close to me, especially with the full moon two nights away. But then I was forced to save her in the pool, and here she was, a seductive temptress, enticing me.

I can't. Any wrong move and Ryker would take advantage and mark her. Mark her against her will right before the full moon. That would be unfair to her.

I took a step back. Something in her eyes fell. Was she disappointed?

"You shouldn't be here." My demeanor was neutral, but my voice held my frustration.

"If I knew this was your room, I would never have entered. I thought it was Lyra's." Her voice got sharper after every word. I could see the outline of her breasts and the curves of her wet tank top sticking to her skin as she yanked herself from the bed.

She hurled to her feet, unintentionally, running a finger through her hair.

"Sorry, I thought this was Lyra's" She grabbed her towel from the bed and ambled to the door.

She stopped instantly when Stefan's voice flowed in from outside. He was calling out to me since I had blocked everyone out through the mind-link.

Cirilla was obviously in a panic. She didn't allow it to show, but I could hear the loud thudding of her heart. I couldn't blame her if she didn't want anyone to find her in my room. I took a few strides to the door before it was pushed wide open by Stefan.

"What do you want, Stef?" I asked, with the door slightly open and Cirilla behind it. He tried to walk in, but I blocked him. His nose was stuck in the air, sniffing. He could smell her.

"What is it, Stef?" I spoke through the mind link. He simply narrowed his eyes on me but didn't say anything about it.

"There was a message from the Crescent Moon's Pack. It's from the Alpha King" I raised an eyebrow, surprised. Something must have happened.

I told him, "I'll be in the office in five." He nodded with a smile before leaving. I shut the door. Cirilla was behind me.

"I guess I should leave now too."

"No. Stay. Tell her to stay human!" Ryker growled in my head, but I ignored him.

I nodded quietly.

She jerked the door open. Instantly, her eyes fell on Wren, who already had his hand on the doorknob with his eyes on her, and then it moved on to me. I could feel the heat that flushed her tender cheeks, even as she walked back to Lyra's room.

"Don't ask me anything," I warned.

"I wasn't going to anyway. Stefan told me the Crescent Moon Pack sent word. " Wren plopped on the bed. I moved to the closet and began to dress.

I nodded. I don't know what it is yet, but I doubt it will be good. When I was done dressing, Wren and I left my room for my dad's office. I had partially moved in there since he and Beta Hendrick went on a trip to Mom's hometown. Despite his deteriorating state, he still insisted he go on that trip. Though no one likes to talk about it, the stern truth was that without Dad's wolf and with his deteriorating condition being an Alpha, it's unlikely he would be able to survive the coming full moon.

I sighed, reminded of the full moon. It's only two nights away. And since the last couple of days, I've been a total wreck. I had never felt this way before, but this time it was different, maybe because I had found my mate and hadn't claimed her yet.

Ryker, on the other hand, was driving me insane. He was worse off than I was being an Alpha wolf. But there was nothing I could do about it. He was frustrated and wanted to mark Cirilla, but I couldn't have that. Having her close to me, especially these last few days was extremely dangerous for her.

I walked into the office. Stefan was already there. He handed me a brown-folded piece of paper with the Crescent Moon symbol on it.

"I don't understand why they didn't just call." Stefan and Wren took their seats opposite to me.

"This means it's official and very important." I opened the paper. It had the name of the Elite team of warriors boldly written on it. I read through it, dropping it on the table as soon as I was done.

"What does it say?" Wren asked.

"They need our help. It's regarding the Alpha King's lost daughter," I began.

"What about the princess?" Stefan shuffled in his seat.

"It seems there have been some new findings. The Elite are looking for her across various countries again. The Alpha King wants our help as well, to sweep through Oregon." iI said.

"The witches with the Luna Queen have searched for the princess in Oregon before. Even if we try, there's no way we'll know she's the one if we come across her," Wren said. Good point.

"You are right, but Aunt Davina has a plan. The princess will be eighteen soon. We don't know how soon it'll be, but she'll have to claim her wolf then. They're hoping they'll be able to locate her when her wolf emerges. But for now, we should be discreet about this." I turned to Stefan and said, "Only those who will be part of the search will be aware." I made a team of a few warriors, including Julia. I can't deny it; she's a great warrior and the best tracker we have.

After the meeting, Stefan and Wren left the office. I retired to my room instead. I couldn't sleep throughout the night, and dawn was slowly invading. It was worse knowing my mate was in the room at the end of the hallway.

Ryker had completely gone ballistic, trying to claw his way out. I left my room and went for a run in the woods to release the intense suffocation I felt. I shifted back to my human form, heading to the training tracks. Then I trained for a while with some warriors. The exercises were working quite well. Somehow, I had managed to gain more control over Ryker. But it all shattered so quickly, even from a mile away, I could taste the sweet scent of freshly baked cookies and scented roses.

She was here.

Her scent invaded my nostrils, pushing me off guard and waking up Ryker. Involuntary, my green stones fell on her. Even though she was a long distance away, I could vividly see her. She was with Trish and Lyra, standing at a distance. They were probably showing her around.

I felt her eyes on me. I focused my attention on the warriors aiming at me. After short seconds, they all crashed against the rough earth, defeated. I left the training tracks, leaving the younger wolves to their training.

"I'm surprised you fight so well." Her voice sounded close beside me, forcing me to turn around. God, her beautiful face fell into my eyes. "I'm just curious. If you fight so well, why did you sign up for training at the gym?" Her blue eyes were unmoving.

She had no idea what chaos her mere presence was causing to me.

"I needed more training," I said swiftly, taking my eyes away from her before I really lost it and took her into my arms. Honestly, that idea wasn't that bad.

"As your trainer, I'm proud to say that you could keep up with me for a few minutes before tiring." Her words made me chuckle without warning. I loved her confidence in her fighting skills.

“Are you certain about that? I was barely doing anything when you injured your leg while taking a swing at me." My smile deepened blissfully.

"Don't count on it. You were lucky that I didn't use my full strength on you." She smiled. It was that type of smile that could literally end a life and, at the same time, begin one. I fell into her eyes, and I wanted nothing but to kiss her.

At that point, I was willing to forget everything, even the reason why I wanted her away from me. I saw everything from Rykers' view. He was damn right. We needed her badly. She was like our very own life. I could almost give a double fuck to Azalea. But I would only be selfish, wanting her beside me even though it would cost her life. She didn't deserve this.

My stare at her grew intense as I tried to hold myself back. She may have sensed something because she stared back at me with similar intensity.

"Come on, Cirilla, there's still a lot to see." Lyra jumped in and dragged her away.

I hurriedly rushed to my room, stripping into the bathroom for a cold shower to put a stop to the heat building up in my body. I was done. I changed into fresh clothes, making my way into the office. There were still some pending matters in the pack that needed to be resolved, and it was the perfect excuse to avoid Cirilla.

It was amazing how fast time flew by. By the time I was done, darkness had already made its presence known. I was exhausted. I went to the kitchen for some food.

Surprisingly, it wasn't as crowded as it should have been. I didn't have to ask; loud noises were coming from the gaming parlor. As expected, everyone was there. They were playing games and having fun. Cirilla was there as well. She was seated on the marble floor with the others playing a game. Truth or dare.

Cory spun the bottle and it landed on my mate.

"Truth or dare," Trish said.

"Truth." Her voice sounded confident.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Trish asked, and my eyes darted from Trish to Cirilla.

She smiled, before she could speak Lyra chuckled."Obviously,"

Cirilla smiled, "Yes, I do," She said, nodding. Her answer sent a jolt of emotions charging through me.

I had no idea Cirilla had a boyfriend. There was an unfamiliar pain stroking my chest. I took a seat beside Stefan and Wren, who weren't playing. Cory spun the bottle again, and it landed on Dorian this time.

My eyes were on Cirilla. She probably felt my blazing gaze because she glanced my way briefly before retracting her gaze when the bottle landed on her.

Dorian jumped in on the opportunity. "Have you ever had sex and with whom?" The air in the parlor suddenly became hot. Too hot for my liking.

I felt my heart hammering hard against my chest. I had never felt this anxious and angst in my life. These emotions overwhelmed me. I was curious to know her answer. At the same time, I felt I would really die if I knew the cold truth. It was one thing to know my mate had a boyfriend and another thing to know she had had sex with someone who wasn't me. I know that for someone who was a manwhore, I shouldn't care, but I can't help but to. She was mine. At the back of my head, Ryker was fully present. He wasn't fighting for control as earlier, but we burned with a similar intensity of these emotions.

Her heartbeat was steady and calm. Effortlessly, she replied, "Yeah I have, with a guy from my previous school." Too much information to handle.

My mate had a boyfriend, and she has had sex. It was not a big deal, but my emotions were already heightened, and I couldn't turn it down. I had to clench my fist to control myself. My nails had begun to eat deep into my flesh. I can't seem to shake off the thought of someone else touching her and giving her pleasure.

Fuck, I wanted to be that guy. I wanted to be the only one who had to touch her, give her pleasure, and make her scream my name. I tried to remind myself that it shouldn't bother me; I was going to reject her soon.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself. When I opened it, the bottle stopped in front of Andy. "Pick a girl in this room who you find attractive and kiss her," came Cory's voice.

My brows had already furrowed into a frown, with Andy's eyes directly on my mate, smiling mischievously. Andy was on his feet.

To my surprise, and his soon demise, he stopped in front of Cirilla. That was the last straw I needed.