Chapter 44: The Travel Home

Harper’s POV



“To kill Harper Cole.”

My blood begins to boil at the mention of someone attempting to take my life again. I’m sick of it. I’m tired of always watching my back and being scared of what, or who, is lurking around the corner trying to take me down. It’s time I stood up for myself.

I limp over to the man lying on the ground, trying my best to ignore the searing pain in my leg. I push past Asher, stepping on the man’s injured leg as hard as I can. I want to smile when I hear another crack and the man screams louder.

I kneel until we’re at eye level, “I have a message for Artemis,” I push down on his leg harder, “You tell him I’m coming after him, so he better be ready.”

I take my foot of him, and he sighs in relief, clutching his leg. I turn to Asher, trying to remain calm.

“I’m leaving tonight,” I say, looking around at the members of the pack who are watching in shock, “This can’t go on any longer. Artemis needs to be stopped.”

Asher reaches for my elbow, but I snatch it away, “End of story, Asher. I’m going, so please don’t try and stop me.”

I march away from the group and the unknown wolf on the ground. Nothing in my life can remain normal for a second without something bad happening. For once it’s not Julius who is trying to murder me.

As I’m walking through the hallways, a soft hand grabs my wrist. I swiftly turn around, ready to push away whoever is behind me. I’m shocked to see Amaris looking sad and confused.

I feel the tension in my body leave at the sight of her, “What’s wrong?”

She lets go of my hand, “What’s going on with you, Harper? Bad things are always happening to you for zero reasons. Is everything okay?”

I sigh, “It’s complicated. I know seeing these situations may be unusual but it’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“Really?” She folds her petite arms across her chest, “I’ve seen you almost die from being poisoned and get attacked by a rogue wolf, among many other things. These aren’t coincidences.”

I had no idea she saw what just happened outside; I didn’t see her anywhere near me, but everything happened so quickly I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me.

“Amaris,” I say, trying to find the right words, “Someone has been after my life, but it’s under control now.”

“Was it Julius?” She asks, watching me carefully in case I try to lie.

There’s no point trying to lie to her, because she knows me too well. I may as well tell her the truth because she is my best friend, and I don’t like keeping secrets from her.

I sigh, nodding my head, “I’m positive he’s been trying to get rid of me to try and regain his control over Asher.”

Amaris gasps, covering her mouth, “Are you serious? He’s trying to murder you?”

I shrug, “Pretty much. But Asher has sorted it out so there’s nothing to worry about anymore.”

Amaris walks towards me and wraps her arms around my neck, burying her face into my shoulder, “I’m so sorry this has happened to you. If I had known sooner, I would’ve tried to help.”

I hug her back, “There’s nothing you could’ve done, but I appreciate it.”

She pulls away, looking at me, “So, what happens now? A rogue wolf just tried to attack you.”

“I’m going home to face my brother. I can’t stand back and watch him ruin my pack.”

“Your pack?” She asks, frowning at me.

How am I going to downplay what I just said? I’m happy for her to know about Julius, but I’m not ready to divulge the truth about why I’m really here.

“I meant I need to go home and make sure Artemis is handling everything okay.” Maybe that will make her less suspicious.

She looks at me for a moment, and then hugs me again, “I’m going to miss you. When will you be back?”

I hug her back, sighing in relief, “I won’t be gone long.”


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I’m in the bedroom packing my suitcase when Asher walks through the door, clearly mad. He slams the door shut behind him, and paces at the end of the bed. He runs his hands through his hair, stopping to look at me. His eyes are fiery, and he looks mad.

“You’re not going,” Asher’s voice is hard.

I stop what I’m doing, “What?”

“I can’t allow you to go home,” he says, putting his hands on his hips.

I want to laugh. Is he really trying to tell me what I can and cannot do?

“Are you serious?” I fold my arms across my chest, “Are you trying to tell me what to do?”

He nods his head, “I am. I think you’re risking your life going there by yourself.”

I scoff, “I know what Artemis is capable of and I know he won’t hurt me. I have a plan for when I get there.”

“What’s the plan? Attack the compound with no back up and get yourself killed?”

I’ve never seen Asher act this way with me before. He sounds irritated and mad at me for wanting to go and help my pack.

“I can’t tell you what my plan is because you’re clearly against me going anyway,” I frown, starting to get mad at him now, “You have to trust me, Asher. I’m not some weakling who needs saving, you know that.”

“I do trust you,” He snaps, “But, I don’t trust Artemis. He’s a loose cannon, you never know when he’s going to explode.”

I move away from my suitcase and stand in front of Asher, looking up at his face, “I can handle this myself. Either you’re with me, or you’re not.”

He shakes his head, “Harper, I can’t,” The pain in his voice is evident, “I can’t keep watching you get hurt, it’s too much for my heart to bear.”

“Please stop worrying about me,” I say, keeping my voice level, “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Asher stares at me, searching every feature on my face. In a swift movement, he’s leaning down to kiss me. I grab his cheeks and kiss him back with as much force as I can. He grips my hips and pulls me down onto the bed with him.

I straddle his lap and let his tongue slip into my mouth. If I don’t make it back from seeing Artemis, this is what I’m going to miss the most.

I feel moisture on my lips, and I realize that tears are mingling with our kiss.


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When Asher begins to snore softly, it’s the perfect opportunity for me to leave. I slip out of bed, wincing in pain. I reach over to touch my right shoulder where Asher marked me. I can feel the indented skin from where his teeth penetrated me.

I smile at the memory. It needed to be done before I left to prove to him that I will do everything in my power to return to him. I think letting him mark me, however, gave the false impression that I won’t return home. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I get dressed in the clothes I had put aside as quietly as I can. Every time Asher stirs in his sleep, it makes me stop what I’m doing until he stops moving. I slip my shoes on and grab my suitcase off the floor.

I stop at the bedroom door, admiring the way Asher is sleeping on his side facing me. I smile at the way his hair is always falling into his eyes, almost acting as curtains. On my way out I grab Asher’s car keys off the desk and close the door behind me with a soft thud.