CHAPTER 32

Asher watched her sleep, adjusting the sheets around her shoulders.
He had shifted and raced them back to the house and had tucked her in his bed. Shana had gone to sleep right away, giving only a soft moaning sound without opening her eyes when he laid beside her.
She was his, he thought as he watched the healing red spot on her neck. She had taken of his blood and that was helping her heal fast; one of the advantages of a human being a wolf's mate. Henceforth, she was going to heal faster, if not as fast as a normal wolf and her senses were going to be sharper than normal but the best part of it all was that they could now share their thoughts; if and when she decides to let him in.
After the healing, the bite was going to leave a mark; his mark. He touched the light scar that already formed on his own neck, smiling.
He had to put preparations in motion to make her his according to the customs of the pack and he knew he was going to meet with a few resistance but no one was actually going to be bold enough to stand in his way, not after he mated her already. Everything else that needed to be done were just unavoidable formalities, one he could not wait to go through after which the whole world would know the sleeping beauty by his side was permanently his and the male populace would forever back off. He smiled satisfactorily at that last thought.
Besides, all they had to see was the mating marks. No one could stop them after that but his pack was going to hate him more. He had already been rejected by them all his life and in a way, he noticed he no longer cared as he used to. Probably because he just had the only acceptance and the biggest that really mattered. His only problem was that the pack might project their rejection and the hate a great number of them had for him to his mate. And knowing Shana, it was not going to be too hard on her.
Asher realized he had rushed her. After his mighty revelation, he should have given her time to adjust to the new discovery, he should have given her time to ask the questions and he should have taken the time to explain to her about what it meant to be mated. But no, he did none of that. He had rushed headlong and made her his forever without even giving her a choice but there was no regret. If he could go back in time, he was certain he would do the same thing over again. She was his mate and there were definitely only one option for her; staying with him forever and all he had done was making the decision for her faster than she would have on her own. Moreover, she had been more than willing through it all, like she expected and anticipated all that was happening and that had been his conviction that she had felt the bond as much as he did.
If anyone in the pack as much as thought of doing her any harm because of the way they have always felt about him, he was going o kill that person. He spooned around her, his erection pressing hard against her butt but she continued to sleep. He was as high as someone who had gone without sex for years instead of a man who had just had the best love making of his life about an hour ago but he did not wake her. She needed time to heal after their rough bout of love making.
He had tried so hard to be gentle but had lost the fight at her urging and eagerness. But man, his mate was freaking passionate, more than he thought and he was so happy about that.
When the day break, he was going to inform the oldest member of the pack Council; Thompson of his decision. He happened to be a kind of priest for marriage rites in the pack. But before that, he needed the two most important women in his life to meet and get to know each other. Rose was going to love Shana, of that he was certain. And with her help, all the necessary preparations for their joining was taken care of.
He was smiling as he drifted off to sleep.
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Shana felt hot and restless in her sleep. She trashed around, trying to find a more comfortable position to sleep but she could not. So she gave up entirely on sleeping and woke up disoriented to find herself in the forest. She was right at the very center of the clearing; naked and sweating, the sweat dripping off her continuously.
Then she remembered the events that had led her there and she smiled smugly, stretching her deliciously aching muscles and wincing slightly.
Finally, she was one with Asher. She touched the bumpy mark on her neck and everything from that moment flooded her memory. It had been heavenly for her and she could no wait to relive the experience with him. The man was everything she wanted and more, and she loved him so much. She felt around for Asher in the dark, wanting to hold him and maybe relive that experience as soon as possible, ignoring all her aching joints and muscles. But he was not there with her in the dark, cold night. She reared up in panic, finally realizing something was off. The night was cold but she continued to sweat and the man she just had the best experience of her life with was nowhere in sight.
"Asher?," she called out gently, trying not to disturb the night or call any attention to herself. Maybe he was lurking around somewhere, doing some wolf thing, she thought as she tried to control the full fledged panic rising in her. She stood up from the clearing, wrapping her shaking hands around her but not daring to move from the spot. She did not want him coming back and having to look for her.
"Asher?," she called out again, the fear making her voice crack. If this was some sort of trick, it had to stop. Why would he abandon her in the wood. It did not feel right. Why was she sweating despite the cold?
As her panic began to rise, she saw him walk out of the shadows;naked. She sighed in relieve and rushed into his arms. "Where have you been? My God, I was so scared. For a moment there, I thought you left me out here all alone," she said as she hugged him tight.
"I did," a voice that was not Asher's answered her with a dry chuckle. She released him and backed up in fear and then she looked up to see the cold, translucent face of Dead Adam looming over her.
"Nooo," she choked as he moved and snatched her in his hands. "Let me go please," she pleaded weakly.
"You crazy bitch. You can't love him. He's not yours. You are here because of me, not him," he said coldly as he gripped her hard enough to leave bruises but the cold look in his eyes scared her more. She needed help. Maybe this time, if she screamed loud enough, Asher would run to her rescue.
Then with everything she's got, Shana screamed, the forest reverberate and the stillness of the air was disturbed.
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Asher had been in his own dreamland, were he had been roughly taking his mate against one of the trees in the forest while she cried out her pleasure to the moon over and over again. And he had been howling and bucking like an animal in and out of her, wishing time could stand still as she urged him to go harder and faster. Then he had been jolted back to reality with her trashing and and crying in distress beside him.
For a moment, he had been disoriented. It had been a while since he dreamt and his dream had been so vivid that he was surprised he had not come on the bed. His arms went around her, trying to shake her awake and out of her nightmare.
"Shana!!!," asher called her name gently.
His heart bled as he watched her screaming in fear, trying to extricate herself from his hold. He could not bear to watch her suffer even the slightest danger and he wished there was something he could do for her but all he could do was try to wake her.
"I do not want to do it!," she screamed in her sleep and he watched tears slip from behind her closed eyes. "Please just let me go. You need to let me go."
It was more than he could take. She sounded as sad as she was scared. "I'm here for you Kitty. You don't have to do it. I just need you open your eyes and look at me," he crooned to her.