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He nodded. “I was so shocked when she got up in my face after I almost tackled her. For a few days, I was pissed off that she was so arrogant, and then...then it was kind of revelatory. My mom never fought for me like that.”
“Marley told me a bit about your story, but if you feel comfortable sharing it, I’d like to hear it from you,” I said.
Ashton snorted a laugh. “You got a few hours?” he asked sarcastically.
I could tell that this moment, this choice, was a fork in the road for me as a pack leader. The truth was, I wanted to get upstairs with my wife and cuddle with her and go to sleep. But I had a much larger family to think about now, and this was a pivotal moment for Ashton. This was either going to be a change from his status quo or the same business as usual. This was either going to be proof that the pack would give him the support he needed in becoming the kind of man he wanted to be, or another person brushing him off.
“You’re old enough to drink, right?” I asked him.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m twenty-three.”
“Let’s go grab some beers, and you can tell me the whole thing from start to finish,” I said, forcing my tired bones up from the enormous couch. “Sound good?”
He blinked, his mouth dropping open with quiet shock. “Y-yeah. I mean, yes, sir. A-alpha.” he stammered.
“Just call me Cole,” I said. “I never liked those titles, anyway.”
“Right,” he said, following me out of the room like a young pup. “Cole.”
Chapter 10
Marley
I lay in the bed, staring up at the ceiling, like I’d done almost all week long. I was doing my best not to disturb Cole. To let him get some much-needed rest, considering he had the weight of everything on his shoulders. I was doing everything I could to keep the mental load on him as light as I could.
I was so tired, but it had been like this since I’d talked to Cole about determining an actual date and time to start the gene therapy. I was lucky most nights if I got an hour or two of sleep, and those couple of hours were usually fraught with nightmares about the transition. They covered everything from the normal to the absurd. In some of them, I tore my clothes off to shift, only to find that I couldn’t and just stood naked in front of our entire pack. Other nights, they were horrific visions of my skin melting off my bones while all I could do was watch.
I knew neither of these things could happen, of course. Clothing vanished when you did a full shift, and to my knowledge, the complications from gene therapy didn’t include spontaneous flesh melting. But it didn’t change the complicated feelings I had over the change.
I wanted to talk to Cole about it. To tell him how nervous and scared I was, even though I was still certain I wanted to be a shifter. But I worried he would use it to try and change my mind about it.
I didn’t want to change my mind. I wanted to be strong and free like the rest of them were.
I watched the shadow of a pine tree wobble across the vaulted ceilings and thought about Ashton and Cole. They were still talking downstairs, as far as I could tell. I hoped it was a good sign, that the two of them were burying the hatchet and smoothing things over for good. Even so, I missed him. I wanted Cole’s arms around me and his breath in my hair as he pressed kisses on the top of my head.
As if I’d summoned him, he arrived a few moments later.
When I heard the wiggle of the doorknob, I closed my eyes, feigning sleep to avoid worrying him. As I lay there, I heard the quiet ruffle of him undressing and felt the slight displacement of weight as he climbed under the covers with me. Then, he put his arms around me and pulled me into a warm embrace with him.
“You know you can’t pretend to sleep around me, right?” he teased. “I know what your breathing sounds like when you’re actually asleep.”
I opened one eye and looked over at him. “Are you implying that I snore?”
“Oh, like a chainsaw,” he joked, kissing my temple. “Not actually, though. Penny for your thoughts, sweetheart?”
“I don’t know if they’re worth that much,” I said. “Just worrying.”
“About me and Ashton?”
“No. I figured you guys were just having a chat about everything.”
“About what, then?”
I pressed my lips together, breaking my gaze from his. “I plead the fifth,” I said.
“Huh?” he asked, frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to tell you what I’ve been worrying about.”
