Asher Adams

Violet:

The house was as I expected after being abandoned for three years. Dust lined the shelves, spiders had turned the corners into their perfect homes, and yet… it was all still the same.

It had the same wallpaper on the walls, same paint on the ceilings, and the same pictures littering the walls of a family that no longer existed, of a version of myself that was long since dead.

I couldn’t help but touch the scar on my eye and compare this new version of myself to the girl in the picture, the one who thought her life would be nothing more than being a housewife to a mate that loved her, and a mother to as many beautiful babies as the moon goddess would bless us with.

I threw my fist through that picture, shattering a fantasy I know now was never truly my own. Don’t get me wrong, that vision still sounds amazing. It’s what I have always wanted, it’s what I was raised to be, but now, with these scars, with this rejection… it’ll never be.

I walked through every room in this tomb of a house, letting memories play through my mind like a movie. My busted knuckles left a trail of blood behind me reminding me that this was all real, that I was back in Dark Moon.

I found my old room; everything was left just how it was the night I left the pack with no intensions of returning.

I knocked the dust from the duvet and crashed into my old bed with a sigh.

“Rest. It would appear we get to fight Lycans tomorrow.” Neoma nearly whispered her own sigh as I faded into sleep with an odd sensation of comfort washing over me.

The nightmares came too quickly after that, I woke up panting, couldn’t catch my breath and I forgot where I was. All I could see was the rogues sinking their teeth into me.

After everything came back to me, Neal and my family running, lycan kings, Elroy… I sat up, I crawled out from underneath the sweat soaked sheets and just as I made it to the bathroom, I dry heaved into the toilet, feeling their teeth and claws in my skin again.

A shiver ran down my spine as I gathered myself and stepped into the kitchen, the house was dark, but I knew it like the back of my hand. I gulped in the night air, breathing greedily as I settled against the porch post.

“We’re okay.” Neoma spoke so softly that it sent a chill down my spine.

“I know.” I replied, knowing she was right, knowing we weren’t in that situation and never would be again, but the memories, they never die with the certainty of those things.

I rubbed the goosebumps layering my arms before turning to go back inside. Suddenly, I hated being here, hated being in this house again. I ran back into my room and fumbled through my back until I found a sports bra and some leggings, a pair of socks, and my old ratty sneakers and I dressed, brushed my teeth, tossed a hoodie on, bunned my hair, and ran through the house and out the door into the soon to be sunny morning.

I was thankful for what darkness was left, thankful for the cover it provided me.

I ran down the path I followed so eagerly yesterday, eventually I found myself at the gates of Dark Moon.

I bent over, bracing myself on my knees, trying to catch my breath when a pair of black tactical boots came into view.

I looked up into Marcus’s soft eyes and the bottle of water he was offering.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” I admitted taking the bottle of water, drinking greedily.

“No sweat. I respect a woman on a mission.” He smiled, crossing his arms. His arms were huge now, muscled and broad.

“You’ve changed,” I mumbled around drinks of the icy cool water.

“Yeah… that makes both of us.” He smiled, but I saw how his eyes traced the scar on my eye.

I nodded and thanked him for the water, then I turned to take off running again knowing he was the only thing that kept me from running out of those gates this morning, only when I turned I was met with a different pair of eyes… icy blue, cold as the water I now had a death grip on.

“Violet.” Alpha Gray nodded.

“Alpha,” I bowed low, a show of respect I hadn’t used in five years.

“You’re early for training.” His voice was velvety smooth, deep and dangerous.

“I am.” I agreed, pretending I hadn’t forgotten all about the training and nearly ran through the gates to leave this morning.

“What training?” Marcus asked, his tone casual but his expression was anything but.

“Don’t worry, cadet. You aren’t expected to attend. Asher, Nate, Russ, Anna, and I are holding a training with the other Lycans to tighten up a few things.” His gaze left Marcus and drifted back to me.

“If you would like, there is coffee and breakfast in the pack house. Make yourself at home.” Then he was gone, swallowed by the bruise-colored shadows of dawn.

I hadn’t realized I had been watching Alpha Gray walk away until Marcus grabbed me by the arms, yanking me toward him.

“What the?” I couldn’t finish my sentence before he pulled me into the small guard building.

“You need to leave, Violet. They are going to kill you in that training. I promise we are no match for them.” He shook me softly, jarring the confusion from my mind.

“Kill me?” I asked skeptically.

“Yes, Violet, kill you. No wolf has ever trained with a Lycan and lived, that’s why we train separately.” I shrugged from his grip.

“Leave, Vi. Trust me on this.” He pleaded.

After a long pause, after thinking hard about doing just that and disappearing, searching for my family on my own. I heard the goddess’s words telling me to go back to Dark Moon, and I knew then, I was where I was supposed to be, even if it killed me.

“I can’t leave.” I placed my hand on his shoulder and forced him to look me in the eye.

“I’ll be fine. Promise. I can handle myself now.” I squeezed his arm once, then ran off into the morning that had gone from blue hues to being alive with orange.

I ran to the pack house, slipped in and grabbed a cup of coffee and an everything bagel, then slipped out the back door and into the training grounds that had me pausing. How odd it was to be here, to be on the training grounds of a place that raised me to be prim and proper.

“She’s long dead you know? That version of you… of us.” Neoma said, reading my thoughts.

“I know, it’s just odd.” I replied, stepping into the training grounds drinking the last of my coffee.

“You must be Violet,” A husky voice came from behind me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“And you are?” I asked sweetly, turning just in time to hide how my body reacted to the shock.

“Asher Adams.” He stuck his hand out and I took it. His handshake was warm and firm.

“Violet Ambrose.” I faked a smile remembering what Marcus had said.

“We can get started if you want. Do you have a weapon of choice?” I licked my lips and straightened my spine.

“Daggers and hand to hand.” I replied quickly, hoping he hadn’t noticed my nerves.

“Cool, lose the hoodie.” He said, turning away and grabbing a handful of what looked like fake daggers.

“I prefer to keep it on.” I knew this was coming. When you train, loose clothes can get someone hurt, but showing my scars… I didn’t want that.

“Sorry, it’s the rules. But whatever you think I am worried about, I’m not.” I nearly choked on my spit when he said that.

“What?” was the only word I could muster.

“I’m a Lycan… I have pathokinesis. I can feel your feelings and sometimes thoughts.” I centered myself trying to control whatever feelings I was projecting to make him pick up on that, and I took my hoodie off, holding my head high as his eyes swept over my body, my scars.

Slowly, he handed me the daggers then took his shirt off revealing sweeping scars down his back and sides.

Relief flooded me and he blinked hard.

“I’m going to have to teach you how to shield your emotions from me. I’ve never had someone feel relieved to see my back.” He chuckled, but I winced.

“Sorry,” I said quickly, knowing he had only seen the front of my body, not my back where I took the most damage in the attack. His was nothing compared to mine, but at least he could wear his proudly, I have mine because I was weak.

“Don’t be, I’m used to it.” He smiled, warm and wide.

“Do all lycans have that power?” I couldn’t help but wonder.

“No, but we all have gifts.” He answered quickly, picking up a wooden sword.

“Ready?” I nodded, sinking my feet into the earth, gripping my rubber daggers and centering my soul.

I had been built for this, built to fight. This is what Elroy and I spent years doing.

Asher charged at me, and with one swift motion, one of my rubber daggers thudded against his forehead, a kill shot if the daggers had been real. The other thunked directly against his heart. Two killing blows with one throw.

Asher froze from where he now sat on the ground, blinking once… twice. He reached up and pressed his fingers to his forehead like he was checking for blood.

“…Okay,” he said slowly, “first of all, that was rude. You didn’t even give me a shot to show off my cool moves.”

I laughed, a real laugh, hearty and warm. It was the first time I had laughed since Elroy had proved just how fragile humans were by taking sick on me.

Asher swiped his shaggy brown hair from his eyes, showing off the small knot forming on his forehead.

“Let’s go again,” he smirked this crooked grin that made my stomach flutter with excitement. I needed this, needed the hand to hand, the weapons, the violence. I thrived here, thrived on the chaos of the hunt, the fight, the death.

We spent what seemed like hours like this, training, fighting, laughing until we were breathless. The last round he got me, we tumbled and fell, and I straddled him. He used his sword to block me, but with one hit, I splintered the wood, breaking through it. My dagger was against his throat, and as I made the swiping motion of slitting his throat, I smiled.

“You’re dead.” I was hot, breathless, my body hummed like a livewire and then I felt it. His hard length pressed between my thighs. I jumped off quickly just as his hands touched my hips tenderly.

“I’m sorry.” I stammered.

“Violet, it’s okay, it just happens when a beautiful woman is on top of me.” He shrugged as I grabbed my hoodie.

“I shouldn’t have, I didn’t mean to, I…” he cut me off, twirling me around.

“Breathe.” He said softly.

“I can feel your panic. I didn’t mean to offend you.” I shook my head.

“I’m not offended, I’m a…” I paused again. I had never felt a man before. I had never held hands with a man or even experienced a kiss. His eyes widened as he realized, and his cheeks blazed red.

“I have to go,” I said quickly and turned to run.

“Thanks for today.” I yelled before I took off, hitting the path that would take me back to my parents’ house.

Hopefully, Alec wouldn’t notice I wasn’t at his little training.