Ashton was running through the woods with as much speed as he could muster. Though his body was still heavy from the pain of infidelity, he still desired to get to his mate, Eva and protect her before anyone else got to her. Explanations could come later. His priority now was her safety. Punishment could come later. No one must hurt her.
"Your Highness, we have no sign of your mate or Helena." One of the warriors Ashton got from his father, Alpha Trojan, reported nervously.
Ashton cursed under his breath as he tried to feel through the mate bond even though his wolf Silo was trembling in pain. He was very sure Helena would hurt his mate as the man Eva had se.x with was indeed Helena's mate, Michael. Before he could even ask Eva anything, Helena took her and vanished.
Suddenly he caught a whiff of Eva's scent - fresh almonds. But this time, it was mixed with the scent of blood. "No!" Ashton tried to increase his pace but the hurt in his heart and body suddenly became overwhelming. Eva had drugged him earlier so he would not sense it when she had se.x with Michael. The issue was though he had slept off, that did not stop him from feeling like a piece of dung when he awoke. When he woke up, he knew it like he knew his name, that his mate had slept with someone else. And the pain had been brewing within him until now when it reached its climax. Ashton struggled to continue as he followed the scent.
That is when he saw them in the plain, where the trees were finally behind them, a beautiful glade lit up by the moonlight. There he saw Helena, she had got to Eva before him. With one strong swipe of Helena's claws, Eva fell to her knees. And in a swift movement, Helena plunged her claws into Eva's chest and pulled out her heart.
"Raarggh!!!" Ashton's cry was more like a roar. He fell to his knees. It felt like it was his own heart that was ripped out. He mustered his last strength and moved closer to his mate. The other warriors grabbed Helena. Helena did not feel any remorse or even pity for him. Instead, she waved Eva's heart in her free hand and released a loud howl to the moon. Ashton looked at his dead mate before him. His beloved. A cheat. His mate. A liar. His gift from the Moon Goddess. A sword that pierced his heart. Ashton fell to his knees beside her, "Eva!!!!" He cried out loudly into the night as the scene greyed out in his mind.
"Eva!! Eva!!!" Ashton growled.
"Alpha. Alpha Ashton," A gentle tap on his shoulder woke him up and brought him back to reality. Ashton heard the voice and his eyes flung open. It was his trusted Beta and best friend, Caleb Blade standing before him.
Ashton rubbed his temple and sighed. The death of his first mate, Eva, he just relived it with the all the many emotions it brought and his heart was wrecked again.
Ashton sat right on the chair and tossed on the center table the file he had been reading before he slept off. He eyed Caleb and mindlinked him, Why did you let me sleep? He rubbed his temples gently.
Caleb responded with a surprised look. Since Eva, Ashton disliked going to sleep. He was always tormented in his sleep. So he worked himself till his eyes closed by themselves, only to wake up from another nightmare.
Caleb responded to Ashton through the mind link, Alpha, whether it is a peaceful or a fitful sleep, I will let you take it because you have been needing it for a long time now. Caleb grinned at him. And for the umpteenth time, Alpha, you have a mouth. It may fall off soon for lack of use. It was only Caleb that could speak to him in this manner.
But Caleb's words were true. Alpha Ashton did not speak much. The only times the people of the pack heard his voice were at pack gatherings when he had to address them. Apart from that, he preferred conversing through the mind link. But this was only since he lost Eva. It was Caleb, who knew the real him before Eva, who kept encouraging him towards normalcy.
"Whatever. I came to tell you the twins have just returned from school and they are coming up to see you." Caleb said.
"Oh good." Ashton sprung to his feet and moved briskly to his small restroom in the corner of his office to wash his face.
Caleb was talking about Ashton's children, Damon and Diamond, adorable five-year-olds. The lights in Ashton's life. The only other pulls towards normalcy and mental stability for Ashton. They were just about three months old when they lost their mother, Eva.
Ashton dried his face with a towel and stepped out. He glanced at Caleb who was hiding behind the black settee and shook his head. Ashton sat on his swivel chair at his desk. Suddenly, his door was thrown open. "Daddy!!!" His kids squealed in the doorway. The sides of Ashton's lips twitched up and he got up to meet them. They ran to him and he met them in the middle of the office. They jumped into his open arms and he lifted them. He nuzzled his nose into his son's neck, and the little boy giggled. He did the same for his daughter. They loved it when he did that. He put them down and crouched to their level. The brown-haired kids looked brilliant in their navy blue and white uniform that was now crumpled from playing. Their silver eyes beamed at him with joy.
"Day, Dia, tell me, how was school today?" This was the routine that never felt like a routine to Ashton. It was always a pleasure to sit and listen to his kids talk. Father and kids moved to the black settee. He listened to them with adoration. They lit up his world. "Daddy, I made a new friend today. Her name is Shanna. She is so dark and pretty." Diamond said with excitement.
"Daddy, Mr. Rollins said I write well. I got a star in my book today." Damon said loudly. The little boy always spoke loudly, that was something they were still working on. "Day, bring your voice down a little. I can hear you." Ashton said to his son gently and the little lookalike of Ashton nodded his head. His son looked exactly like he did when he was the same age. And even now, his kids resembled him so well. It was a surprise to him that his daughter did not even take her mother's features. She looked more like his mother, Luna Freya. Ashton kind of liked it like that. He was not sure how he would have handled things if he always had to be looking into a face that reminded him of his pain.
Suddenly, Caleb jumped on them from behind. He had a very weird-looking mask on. He grabbed Diamond and hoisted her up in the air. The little girl screamed as she tried to wriggle free. "Daddy, save me!" She was horrified. Caleb was roaring in her face. Ashton just looked at them. This was Caleb's custom with his kids. He loved how Caleb played with them.
Damon was suddenly trembling and clinging to his dad's clothes. "Daddy, I should be a big boy and save my sister, right? But I'm scared too. It is the Boogeyman. He will take us away."
Hearing that, Caleb put Diamond down and pulled off the mask. "Boogeyman? Seriously!"
"Uncle Caleb!!!" The kids shouted in surprise. Caleb bent over as he laughed hard at them.
Caleb straightened up, "You kids crack me up every time. Day was like, "I wanna be a big boy but I am scared too." " Caleb mimicked the little boy. "They have new reactions every time."
"Last time was the fish mask." Ashton chipped in. The kids were laughing too.
"Yeah, I was trying to scare Día but she was patting my head." Caleb took her hand and led her back to the settee, where she climbed into her father's lap.
"That's because I like fish." Diamond blurted. Caleb sat in the other chair and the chitchat continued.
This was him and his life. Alpha Ashton Loria, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack. It was formerly the Silver Fur Pack, but when they merged with Blue Moon Pack four years ago, they changed their name. Alpha Ashton moved to Blue Falls which was central to the locations of the two packs and there he set up the Packhouse. Alpha Ashton was a ripped Adonis beauty to behold, the kind of Greek god handsomeness. His silver eyes, dark brown hair, and thin lips were such that caused ladies and even guys to stare in awe. He was so handsome.
Alpha Ashton was a good, wise, and strong Alpha and the pack was prospering under his rule. But that did not heal his brokenness. He was one wolf that had lost his mate twice, his destined mate and even his second chance mate. But he had survived through it. He made sure to fill his mind with concerns about his family and pack. Anything to suppress the sickly pain he felt in his heart. So though he was the strong and formidable Alpha, he was still a broken wolf.
