Chapter 21

Asher's POV

"I can go to the kitchen myself I don't need you to follow me" I say to Elias.

"Nuh-uh, no way" he replies.

Ever since I pulled my disappearing trick like Elias likes to call it. They, I mean Elias and Sally haven't let me out of their sight. Sally expressed how mad she was to me for a whole hour. She threatened me never to pull that kind of stunt again.

I couldn't say anything all I could do was nod to all she was saying like a puppy.

Elias on the other hand has been sticking to me like nail on wood. He follows me everywhere well except the toilet, he even suggested sleepovers but I declined telling him that I wasn't going anywhere and that he could even put a CCTV camera in my room but I wasn't going to do a sleepover.

After spending my Christmas weekend in the woods. Monday morning I had to attend the swearing of the new pack members. We received about 100 new members due to the fact that all of them found their mates in our pack. It was a long event that I tell you.

Dominic didn't say anything after I magically appeared after my getaway all he did was toss me a tiny bottle with a clear liquid and when I finished drinking it he walked away.

He's been awfully quiet actually it is kind of unnerving but what can I say I don't want him to bother me but that doesn't stop me from feeling uneasy. I know that his plan to eliminate the rest of the Lycans is still ongoing I just pray that I will be able to do something about it.

"You walk like a girl" Elias says from behind me.

I pause in my step to turn around and look at him one of my eyebrows raised up quizzically

"Excuse me"

"You heard me" he says walking past me

"Oh no you didn't" I say starting to chase him. We run all the way to the kitchen. When we get there he abruptly stops making me to crash into him and we both stumble to the floor. I stand up on my feet to lend him a hand up. He takes it and I effortlessly raise him. He bends over, keeping his hands on his knees like as if he ran around the world.

"You are so out of shape" I remark. He does not reply due to his wheezing so I walk into the kitchen to look for something to munch on.

He walks in to take a seat opposite me on the kitchen marble top.

"We didn't even run that long" I say passing some chips to him. "When was the last time you even trained?" I ask

"A week before Christmas" I shot him a look at his reply. "Winnie said she didn't want me training so hard"

"So you stopped completely" I comment. He just shrugs in response.

"How about we train tomorrow?" I suggest

"Yeah sure, I wanted to train you know but procrastination beat me to it"

I just chuckle at his response.

"7am bright and early I want you on that field"

"Sir yes sir Alpha" he jokes.

Alpha; such a powerful word, a word that commands respect wherever it is mentioned. I was supposed to be Alpha now I wonder when that will happen. It doesn't look like Dominic is stepping down for me anytime. With a sigh I dismiss that thought.

"What did Sally say she wants?" I ask him standing up to rummage through the cupboards.

"She mentioned something about oatmeal cookies and OJ" he replies. I get to work and find oatmeal cookies and orange juice.

"Found them" I say putting the items in a small tray. I add some fruits to the tray and a few pieces of snacks including cupcakes.

We walk out of the kitchen back to my office. Being Elias he jokes about something to which I laugh heartily about.

"Took both of you long enough" Sally says as we enter my office.

"You should have seen this slow poke run" I retort dropping the tray on the coffee table.

"Hey I wasn't that slow" Elias tries to defend himself as he grabs an apple from the tray plopping down in one of the plush seats in the office.

"You should have seen him after he finished, he was wheezing like a fish out of water." Sally chuckles

"No way" she says

"Always the exaggerator" Elias huffs as Sally and I laugh at him.

"Alpha Dominic came by to drop this" Sally says throwing me the tiny bottle that I've become accustomed to. I'm surprised he came to drop this.

I catch it in the grasp of my right palm "Did he say anything?" I ask her.

"No, he just said to give this to you and to tell you that you should take it before the day runs out" Sally explains.

"Oh"

"Is it some kind of drug or something? Are you sick and you decided not to tell us?" Sally asks

"No it is not a drug and I'm not sick"

"Then what is it?" Elias butts in snatching it from my hand to examine it.

"It is a kind of supplement for strength" I say nervously scratching the back of my neck. They didn't seem to notice the way I was fidgeting though.

"You wouldn't mind if I have some right?" he says trying to unscrew the cap of the bottle. I reach over to him to snatch the bottle back from him.

"You can't take it....ah.because it is specially made for me and me only"

"uh.."

"Yeah it does the opposite to you if you take it" I try to convince Elias.

"Alrighty tough guy"

Surprisingly they didn't bother me about it. I know that when it comes to worst I would have to tell them everything.

There wasn't much work to do in the office these days so most of the time we went on pack patrol. After we finished eating our snacks we decided to roam the pack and the border before dinner.

Sally, Elias and I march down the stairs as we take one of the many exits out of the pack house. Even though the festivities had passed everywhere was still bubbly.

The week following the New Year was actually cool for me. I spent it with my friends. We made a lot of memories and they made me take pictures that were absolutely cringe worthy, they didn't delete any of them though despite all my begging.

On new year's Eve I was dragged to a club just outside the pack. It was a pack for werewolves anyways and our packs were very good allies so there was not any call for alarm and the night went peacefully.

Everyone was busy grinding against their mates or boyfriend or girlfriend. I was a freaking sixth wheel that night, it was really weird though even if I had Lizzie to keep me company. She hasn't found her mate yet though but she wasn't shy to dance with someone else. She was a bit loose unlike me.

"Zachary said that we haven't had any encounter with rouges for the past month" Elias breaks me out of my thoughts.

"Thats good" I chirp

"I bet those rouges finally figured out that they could never overpower us. I mean we are the strongest in the whole of North America for a reason" Sally says. I'm pretty sure I detected a hint of pride in her voice.

"Yeah with people like you in this pack those wolves would piss themselves" Elias snickers as we maneuver our way around the street filled with people ranging in ages and sizes. Sally rolls her eyes at him while I put a lazy smirk on my face.

Our pack is pretty strong and we are provided with adequate security so any rogue or pack of rouges trying to harm us will be near to impossible. We make our way down to the forest where our border is all the while randomly greeting pack members.

There's something about the forest; the way the trees grow like as if competing for the tallest, the happy chirping of birds, the way the air seems lighter here and dare say fresher, even the continuous sound of crickets doing whatever they do brings a sense of comfort to me. I find peace here in the midst of nature.

A random question pops up in my head and I decide to ask my partners what their opinions might be.

"Do you guys have anything against Lycans?" I ask doing my best to keep a neutral expression

Elias is the first to answer like he doesn't even need to think about it "I know I don't but it would be so cool if I was one" he muses. We both look over at Sally waiting for her response.

"As far as I'm concerned I don't have anything against them." I let out a breath I didn't realize holding in. At least they wouldn't be too mad that I kept being a lycan away from them. I mean it would be hell to discover that they have some kind of burning hatred for Lycans like my dear uncle.

"Is there any reason why you asked that?' Sally the evercurious one asks. If I don't play my cards right she might just find out something I have no intention of telling her now. I did my best to regulate my breathing and to keep an amused smile on my face as I replied her.

"Just wanted to know" I shrug playing it cool. She looks at me one of her shaped eyebrows up questioning me. She looks at my face for a few seconds more before she drops it.

"Are you one?" Elias asks. Before I can help myself I laugh wholeheartedly at his question.

"Not in this life" I reply a smile painting my face.

We roam around the pack borders making small jokes with the guards on duty. Then we head back for dinner, Sally and I head back to the pack house while Elias heads to his house.

On getting to our normal table I see my group of friends already there huddled over the table and talking.

"Hey guys" I greet taking the empty seat next to Lizzie as Sally seats beside her mate Daniel.

"Where is Elias?" Lizzie asks softly unlike her loud self from beside me.

"He went home to Winnie" I say taking a plate from the centre of the table to pile it with food.

"Oh"

"Are you okay?" I ask worriedly

"Hmm"

"Hey look at me. What's up with you?" I say dropping my fork to turn my body over to her. She was always the loud one among us, she was like a joker a loud one at that. She always had a way on putting a smile on everybody's face.

She gave me a smile that was clearly fake "Its nothing Ash I'm fine" she insists. Knowing that she wasn't going to say a word to me here I convinced her to stand up.

"Get up will you" she pouts at me. "Just come on and bring your plate of food along". Our conversation doesn't go unnoticed because we have the attention of the whole table.

"Where do you guys think you're eloping to?" Sally asked as she sat comfortably on Daniel's lap with his arms around her agile body.

I rolled my eyes at her choice of words "We're going to eat our dinner outside"

"Why? Are you sure you aren't going to do something else" Danielle, Daniel's younger sister asks wiggling her eyebrows. Her insinuation causes everyone to chuckle. Lizzie throws a red apple in Danielle's direction but she catches it in her palms still giggling.

"I'm not even going to answer you" I say glaring at her playfully.

"Whatever" she huffs

"Catch you losers later" I say walking away from the table Lizzie in tow.

"Right back at you" Sally yells.

"We have weird set of friends" I say as we make our way out of the dining room

"I know" Lizzie says softly. We make our way to one of the swimming pools in the house.

"Its so unlike you to be this quiet" I say. "I'm kind of freaked out"

She laughs softly as she releases a breathy sigh.

We reach the pool in no time and I'm almost tempted to jump inside but that's for another time. Where we are, is kind of deserted as everyone is busy having dinner.

I make my way to the edge of the concrete pool to sit, my legs dipping inside the cool water but no before I roll up my jeans. Lizzie does the same sitting a few feet away from me. I hand her the plate of food that I carried from the dining hall.

"Thanks" she says softly. It still baffles me that she could speak this way. I don't say anything instead I keep quiet till we both finished eating our meals.

"That was good" I start.

"Yeah" she quietly agrees. Her gaze was directed at the water, her eyes holding a distant thought.

"What's wrong Liz?"

She doesn't respond for a few minutes. We stay in silence until I decide to look at her face. A few tear drops had made their way down her face. I didn't realize she was crying until she started sobbing quietly.

"How does it feel?" she muttered.

I don't get it what is she talking about "What?"

She looks at me with those brown eyes that don't have that glint in them "How Asher?" she asks again. I'm about to ask her to explain but she beats me to it.

"Don't you ever feel lonely?" she asks. Lonely as in what sense I ask myself. Oh that... I have noticed for a long time that Lizzie and I are the only one's in our group who haven't gotten our mates yet. I guess seeing friends that we grew up together and also now have mates of their own has finally gotten to her.

I release a sigh before I start talking

"I do actually" I reply

"Then how come I don't see you crying like the way I am now?" she sniffles

"Well for one I haven't given up yet "

"How can you not?" She asks. "I'm so freaking tired of waiting. I can't take it anymore. Everywhere I go its like I'm being mocked for not having a mate. But my wolf still tells me to be patient because our mate is nearer than we think. Honestly I think I'm just going to blow up if I see anyone around me acting all lovey-dovey and stuff" She rants.

I chuckle as I take in her state. Tears are still coming out of her eyes and I can only guess that they are frustrated tears, her eyes are a little bit puffy and somewhat bloodshot. I must admit she endured for long, not every woman has this type of patience. The ones that didn't find their mates early usually give up and start screwing around.

"You have to listen to your wolf" I tell her. "They know what's best for both of us regarding things like this."

"Honestly I'm tired of waiting too. But every day I wake up with renewed hope believing that one day I will have my mate in my arms. My wolf has told me to be patient also and that's what I'm trying to do."

"Won't you do anything to feel that static electricity running through your veins at the mere touch of your true mate" I ask her looking at her face.

"I will" she murmurs softly.

"But is it really worth the wait?" she asks

"You have no idea"I comment softly giving her a pat on her blonde head.

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Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading this. I can't believe the number of views I have on this book. Y'all are all so amazing. Thanks for your continuous support. Please please please leave me a comment.

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