Unique Mate

~27~

~Ashley's POV~

I can't feel anything. The world around me seems to move in slow motion and my chest tightens, my breath becomes labored and I can't help my eyes from watering. Frustration. My knee's buckle from underneath me and I don't even seem to realize when I fall to the floor. I feel Adrian move closer to me but I growl lowly making it apparent to him to keep his distance. The frustration quickly burns into anger. I tighten my grip on the letter in my hands and Trish snarled in the back of head at the thought of anyone threatening our mate or our pack. Alexis is quite but I can feel her confliction in my heart and I understand her pain. A part of me still missed Conner or at least the person he used to be.

Without hearing him, Adrian came up and took the letter from my hands before I completely set it in flames with my death glare. I don't move from my place on the floor in front of the bed and focus on controlling the rage inside that wanted to run away now and find Conner and his mother and kill them right that moment. I hear Adrian growl loudly behind me and I can tell without even looking at him that he feels the same way I do but I know that if I left to do that I wouldn't have the heart to. Despite me rejecting Conner he never accepted it and I could still feel the mate bond between us, not as strong but it was clear it was still there. My anger turned into confliction and hurt. I sigh and bring myself to my feet, I walk out of the room not bothering to look back at Adrian. I make my way out of the pack house and into the woods, I strip behind a tree and shift into my wolf finally feeling somewhat at ease since well everything. 

It never seems to end, its always one thing after another and honestly it's wearing me down I can't seem to catch a break. I start to think back to my life before any of this happened, before I ever stepped foot on this territory, before I met Adrian, before I found Conner. I take off running as fast as my legs will carry me, dodging trees and other obstacle's in my way trying to... in a way run away from everything. The amount of stress I have been subjected to in the short time that I have been here is almost close to unbearable, and the want to actually run away grows. I come to the edge of the packlands... My pack... I sigh and look back into the forest behind me feeling Adrian's concern for me grow through our mate bond and everything that I had ever wanted was waiting just beyond the trees back of the pack house but I couldn't bring myself to walk back. I shake my fur trying to clear my head, trying to make sense of what I want, and the longer I stand there the more I don't want to go back, but I know deep down I can't just abandon everyone. I sit down and stare at the pack line, I can feel everyone in my head trying to mind link me probably getting more and more worried about my whereabouts and I don't want them to worry about me but I don't know if I'm ready to go back.

The longer I sit there the more pressure builds up in my head from everyone trying to break through and despite the incredible urge to ignore all of them I don't want to be selfish and keep them worrying. I open my mind link and have multiple voices come at me all I once making me wince in pain from the growing headache, I try to single them out so I can answer one at a time and the first person I decide to answer. Adrian. 

"ASHLEY! PLEASE ANSWER! I JUST NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!"  I hear Adrian in my head and the pain in his voice is very evident and I feel a pang of guilt in my chest knowing that I am the one causing the pain. I sigh defeated and exhausted.

" I'm fine, Adrian. I just need some space and time to think this all through."  I can't help the pain that shines through my own voice and I can feel his worry die down into guilt which makes me realize I don't know what I hate more, making him worry or making him feel guilty. I can't help but feel hopeless and for the first time in a long time I don't know what to do and that frustrates me even more.

" We'll figure this out Ash I promise but please come home so I can at least comfort you and myself."  I can't help but be angered at this sentence, I know I shouldn't take it as him being selfish but I can't help but feel he's only thinking about himself right now. This makes me not want to come back even more and deep down I know my hesitation is also because of the lingering feeling of me missing Conner. I hate how everything has turned out and the more I think about it Conner's proposition is becoming more and more favorable to me, but I don't know if I could bring myself to leave Adrian and the pack behind but I know it would save them from the unpredictable pain that Conner and his mother could rain down on this pack.

Night falls quickly and despite having my mind link open, I'm not being overwhelmed by the many voices that are trying to break through and I can tell that they've given up and I think are trying to give me space but either way I appreciate the silence that the woods brings. About an hour later, I'm taken out of my daze by the snapping of branches and sticks that seems to come from ahead. I sniff the air but I can't smell anything but I can tell I'm not alone, I stand to my feet and pace around the pack border trying to pick up any scent but something's blocking it or maybe I'm going crazy and there's nothing there and it's all in my head. After a couple minutes of no sounds I let out a long sigh.  Wow Ash you've really gone crazy after everything. SNAP! The sound comes from my left and I spring into action ready for anything but I still can't smell or see anything.

" You bitch." I hear it in the wind but it seems to have no specific location, it's all around me, I spin around and let out a low warning growl. I'm launched forward after I feel something connect to the back of my head making my vision blurred. The air starts to burn and Trish whimpers in the back of my head before going completely quiet and my body shifts back involuntarily back into my human form. I groan in pain and reach my hand to feel my head which leaves my hand being covered in a warm substance I can only assume is blood. I struggle to pull myself to my knees, my vision still blurred, I try to look  around not seeing much but not anyone I can tell. In the blink of an eye, I hear the jangle of metal and my wrists start to burn. I look down and can barely make out silver cuffs binding my wrists and my head becomes foggy, it's not long before the silver weakens me to the point where I can't keep my eyes open anymore and let the darkness cave in.

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Hey guys! I'm so sorry for my updates taking literally forever life's a pain and getting in the way of my writing and so is adulting. I will do my best to update more frequently. Thank you all for all the support and love.

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