Chapter 2

—Third Person POV—

Sienna Hawke, Asher thought to himself as his eyes brushed over her in the crowd on his way to a table in the corner.

There was so much she didn’t know. So much weight sitting on his shoulders that he couldn’t tell her.

He settled into his seat in the far corner, isolating himself as much as he could. The stares were entirely normal - he’d drawn attention his whole life, and not solely for his looks.

The truth was, Asher was in disguise. His real name wasn’t Asher Blake.

It was Alaric Valmor, once a member of the Lycan royal family. To the world, he had died 10 years ago, when he was 13 years old.

Among werewolves, the alphas managed their specific packs, while the Lycan King ruled over all the alphas as one.

The previous Lycan King - Asher’s father - had been betrayed by his brother, who took the throne right out from under him, only after spilling every last drop of his blood.

Once Asher’s father was gone, his brother - Asher’s uncle - had forced Asher to fake his death and hide in the Nightwind pack, sworn to secrecy. The throne was rightfully Asher’s, but his uncle said he would face a wrath worse than death if he tried to secure it.

At 13, Asher was in no place to speak out. He was a scared, fatherless boy, pushed away from his life into another full of lies. He’d gone running with his tail between his legs.

Of course, the town knew nothing of those events. To them, a rogue had killed Asher’s father in a sudden raid, kidnapping the poor little prince and forcing his uncle into this terrible position of ruling.

Oh, how he hadn’t wanted to do it, to be put in such a place because of tragedy.

Asher’s focus turned back to Sienna, another wave of guilt washing over him. If only she knew how much her parent’s had meant to him — how terrible he felt for what happened to them.

Because of him.

He sensed Sienna venturing over, unafraid of the powerful aura he put off. She took a confident breath in before sitting directly across from him.

“I want to ask for your help, Asher.” Her eyes met his, cool yet still somewhat pleading.

“Oh, the future Alpha is here,” he lazily drawled, barely sparing her a glance, as if she were just some decorative ornament. Within a blink, his focus was back on his drink.

He took a deep swig, the liquor rolling down his throat, before he chuckled slightly. “I refuse.”

“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say!” Sienna said in disbelief.

It was quite clear just how much unresolved tension remained between them. They’d clashed a lot in their younger years, a lot of it due to the attention Sienna’s parents gave him and not her.

“You - ” Sienna could only get the one word out before she stopped, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

It wasn’t in shame or embarrassment - this was something else.

Has she been drugged? Asher thought to himself in concern. The way her mouth was hanging open with no words coming out was a telltale sign.

She was sweating, ever so slightly, the scent of it quickly reaching his nostrils.

He needed to get her out of there.

Asher was up and out of his seat in a flash, his warm breath washing over Sienna’s flushed cheeks. It was easy to notice the goosebumps that erupted across her skin the moment he touched her.

The scent of her arousal was also undeniable.

“It appears you’ve been drugged — and you didn’t even notice.” Asher murmured into her ear, grinning slightly at the way Sienna leaned further into him.

Of course, she was still so young and naïve that it would be easy to slip something into her drink unnoticed. One of the sleazy men in the bar must have done it, hoping to bed her.

Asher lifted her into his arms, her body almost entirely limp. He shoved aside a number of other restless male wolves - one of them surely the culprit of the drug in Sienna - their senses honing in on the growing scent of her arousal.

No one dared to defy Asher. They parted to let him through, giving him more than enough space, plus some.

One moment, the two were ducking out of the bar into the cold night, the next, Sienna was on her bed, the scent of arousal wafting in the air around them like a drug.

She’s going to make a move, Asher predicted, knowing what that kind of drug did to you.

“Kiss me,” she rasped, pawing at his shirt, an animal starved for pleasure.

“You’ve been drugged, Sienna,” Asher said softly, pushing her back towards the bed and off of him. “With an aphrodisiac.”

“I don’t care,” Sienna mumbled, pulling Asher towards her again. “Kiss me.”

His lips just barely brushed against hers, sending a frenzy of arousal through him. A soft, gentle growl rumbled in his chest.

Suddenly, their lips were smashed together, consuming one another entirely. Starving for affection, desperate for pleasure.

His body was hard against Sienna’s, his muscles taut, flexing as he moved to undress himself and her.

Those muscles weren’t the only thing that were hard, either.

All of it almost seemed like an out of body experience. Their clothes were off in a flash, skin bare to one another.

Asher’s body pressed over hers, cocooning her, pushing her into the mattress as he guided himself between her legs. The animal in them both had taken over, so hungry for the rawest form of pleasure.

And oh, wow, did they get pleasure.

It exploded in white stars across Asher’s vision, devouring him from the center of his core to the tips of his toes, the top of his head.

Asher growled against her lips, bucking into her, taking her fast and deep.

Neither of them uttered a single word, capable only of grunts and moans. Sweat beaded at Asher’s temples, his upper lip coated with it, making his mouth taste of salt.

That only made Sienna kiss him harder.

The climax built rapidly, his movements quick and aggressive, the bed creaking as it strained against his thrusts. Sienna’s hit first, and she clenched around him, rolling her hips as it shuddered through her.

Asher had never heard a sound from a woman like he did in that moment. A cry of ecstasy burst through Sienna’s lips like an animalistic howl of satisfaction, her nails scraping down his bare back.

Asher barely made a noise as he hit his own peak, though he made a low mewling sound just before he found his release that gave away just how good it felt.

He was quivering ever so slightly, his sandy blond hair matted to his temples with sweat. Those haunting blue eyes of his met Sienna’s as he pulled back from her, their hips still flush against another.

“Wow,” Asher muttered, sliding his fingers through his hair, pushing the sweat soaked strands from his chiseled face.

Wow was right.

“I’m not sure that should have happened, but…” he trailed off, not regretting his decision one bit.

He didn’t think Sienna did either.

When his body finally separated from hers, there was a chilled moment of emptiness. He immediately wanted to do it again, but knew he couldn’t.

Sienna sagged, the drug having reached the pleasure high it wanted, now clearly wearing off, leaving her exhausted.

Asher watched as she drifted into sleep, his body screaming from the pleasure she’d just gifted him.

What on earth am I doing?

The next morning, Asher found himself up before Sienna, cleaning himself up in the bathroom, knowing they needed to talk about what happened.

When he opened the door, he found her staring at him, dazed but fully coherent at the same time.

“Marry me, Asher.”

Well, that wasn’t what he expected to hear.