Chapter 24: Her Fiancé

I pulled away from Zander’s kiss and checked the caller ID. My face fell when I saw Ash’s name.

What was he calling for? I wished he hadn’t interrupted Zander and me, but I felt a lump in my throat thinking that.

I picked up and said, “What do you want Ash?”

Ash’s voice came out bitter and he said, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were staying with my pack. What kind of fiancé are you?!” He continued ranting, “Maybe you didn’t want me to come, so you could spend more time with your mate. My friend told me that Zander came with you."

Why hadn’t I thought of that when I came here? I should’ve known that someone would tell Ash that I had been at his pack. I’d been careless.

I clenched my fists and explained, “I’m helping him with something. Nothing wrong is going on here.”

Well, except for that kiss we briefly shared. I wouldn’t tell Ash that. He would’ve blown up at me.

Ash’s voice got angrier while he stated, “It’s your fault for our lack of communication. I mean, first you went off training at another pack and then visit mine without a word. Do you even care about us?!”

His words felt like he’d slapped me across the face. How could he ask that to me? I wanted to defend myself against his cruel accusation.

“I've been trying to get in touch with you." I paused and asked, "Ash, why haven’t you answered any of my calls and texts? I’ve called you at least a few times within the past couple weeks and got nothing.”

I hoped I had shown him how upset I had been from his neglectful behavior. He needed to know how much he had offended me and wouldn’t get away with acting like that.

Ash paused and explained, “I’ve been doing a lot of Alpha training and looking at venues for our wedding. One of us has to care about our marriage."

He didn’t just say that, did he? If only I could slap him through the phone. That was too far. Ash needed straightened out.

“What did you say? Of course, I care about our wedding.” I angrily told him, “I’ve been just as busy as you. You can’t accuse me of not caring about our future.”

Ash didn’t answer me.

I wondered if he had hung up on me for a second. Maybe he had. I was about done talking to him. Ash was behaving like an insensitive jerk. What had happened to my sweet and serious guy?

Zander was sulking while I waited to see if Ash would answer me. I felt bad he had to overhear my big fight.

I had done nothing wrong while Ash thought everything was my fault. It seemed so unfair that he could accuse me of such things. I blamed him for our recent distance and lack of conversation. He hadn’t been trying to talk to me recently.

Ash finally stated, “Come back to your pack, Cleo. This isn’t a choice.”

Was he seriously ordering me around? He had the nerve to do that. Ash was being an ass.

“No, I’m not finished here." I yelled, "You can’t tell me what to do. You aren't my Alpha.”

Ash answered back, “You should listen to me if you know what’s best for us. Do you want me to come and get you instead? I’m serious. I’ll drive there now.”

Zander snatched the phone from me. I looked at him in horror and tried to take it back. He held it up high from my reach. I jumped up to try to get it, but Zander threw it on the floor.

It went skidding across the floor, and we both scrambled for it. Zander was a little faster than me and picked it up first. I gave up.

What was he going to tell Ash? I was a little terrified at what Zander would say. He didn’t seem to have any kind of filter. Ash would be even more pissed off if he said something insulting.

I held in a breath as Zander started to speak. “Ash, this is Zander. May I have a word with you?”

Zander put the phone on speaker and held it away from his ear.

“How dare you think you can talk to me? You’re trying to steal my fiancé.”

Zander chuckled and said, “I’m not trying to steal her. Besides, you’re the one pushing her away.”

“Put Cleo back on. I don’t have time to play your silly games Zander Underwood,” Ash said in a raised voice I’d never heard before.

Zander looked over at me and saw my pained expression. He sighed and handed the phone back to me.

I knew Ash must’ve been scowling on the other line. It was easy to tell even without seeing him.

Suddenly, it came back to me about kissing Zander. I had a guilty feeling sweep over me. Maybe it was good to resolve this fight and not let it grow into a bigger problem.

He wasn’t hard to calm down usually. But Ash had never been this level of angry with anyone before. He seemed to have lost all of his usual sensible composure. It scared me.

I turned the speaker phone off and decided to fix things. I softly said, “Ash. I don’t want you to be mad at me. I’m sorry for not telling you that I was at your pack. That was wrong.” I pleaded, “Please forgive me. I don’t want to fight with you.”

Zander gave off a disappointed look and walked away from my side. It stung to see him give me that kind of look. We finally had gotten closer, and it made me feel like we’d gone backwards in our relationship.

Ash didn’t answer right away and made me wait. I hoped he was thinking about my apology and would accept it. I didn’t want to lose Ash and what we had, no matter what my feelings were for Zander.

My fiancé would always mean a lot to me, despite our differences. As a couple, we had to make it work through tough times.

I heard Ash sigh and say, “Okay, Cleo. I’ll forgive you, but please come back to see me soon. I miss you and love you so much.”

“I promise and I love you too.”

I hung up and avoided looking at Zander, since I heard him come up behind me. I opened the door and left without another word to him.