guest room he was sharing with Nic.
“I miss you, my angel. Life here seems so bleak without you next to me.”
“I miss you too. I wish you were here,” Ashby said, snuggling down under the covers.
“I belong by your side, but it seems that the safest place for you is as far away from me as possible,”
Gabriel said. Ashby could hear the frustration in his voice.
“My place is next to you. As soon as we find the vampires responsible I can come home,” Ashby said
and he heard Gabriel’s swift intake of breath.
“Do you mean that, mon ange? Do you consider the club your home?” he asked.
“No. You’re my home. I realized that today when I was scared and feeling lost. The only place I wanted
to be was in your arms. Wherever you are is my home,” Ashby said, meaning every word.
“Mon dieu, the things you say to me. I swear, once this is behind us I will spoil you the way I have been
dying to,” Gabriel murmured seductively into the phone. Ashby shivered.
“Spoil me how?” he asked.
“Well first I would…” Gabriel started.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I love you, Ashers, really I do. But I draw the line at phone sex while sharing a
room. It would be weird, like kissing my brother or something,” Nic said from the bathroom door and
shuddered. Ashby made a face at Nic and heard Gabriel laugh.
“That gives me even more motivation to find the ones responsible,” Gabriel whispered softly.
“I love you,” Ashby said, closing his eyes tight and wishing his prince was with him.
“And I love you too my angel, sleep well and for my sanity stay safe.”
“I will,” Ashby said before ending the call. He stared down at the phone for a long time. When he
looked up Nic was in the opposite bed staring at him.
“I can’t wait until you’re mated so I can torture you,” Ashby said, throwing a pillow at his best friend.
“Never happening,” Nic said, catching the pillow and putting it under his head.
“Night Nic,” Ashby said, turning off the light.
“Night, Ashers,” Nic responded.
Ashby lay awake long after Nic’s breathing evened out. His last thoughts were of his prince before he
finally drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
The three sentries watched the light go out in the room assigned to their charge and continued their
patrol within the boundaries of the Arkadion ranch. It was the first time the bears had ever let other groups
on their land, which spoke volumes. It wasn’t only the importance of keeping Ashby safe but a testament to
how much the town had grown in such a short time. The wolf turned to the two lions.
“Did you hear what Alpha Kate wants to do to the one who trashed Ashby’s shop?” he asked. Both
lions nodded.
“Did you hear what the Alpha Mother wanted to do?” the taller of the two lions asked. The wolf
snorted.
“It’s not even physically possible. They would die long before it was done,” he said. The smaller of the
two lions shook his head slowly.
“That’s why she said she would skin them first, she planned it that way to determine how fast they
would heal, so that when she did the other bit it would go on for years, slowly healing and then…” All
three gulped.
“She’s so tiny and cute. But to tell you the truth, she’s scary as fuck too,” the taller lion said.
The wolf grinned.
“And we wouldn’t want it any other way.” The other two lions grinned in return and they resumed their
patrol.
Chapter 16
“Don’t pick up any glass. And don’t lift anything heavy. Don’t breathe in any cleaning fumes, in fact
don’t help. Just sit there,” Aleks said as he paced in front of the table where Rebecca, Ashby and Nic sat
waiting on their to-go order of breakfast muffins at the diner.
“Aleks, don’t worry, we won’t let her do anything. She is strictly going for moral support. Right
Ashby?” Nic said and Ashby nodded.
“And to tell us what to do and point and laugh when we do it wrong,” Ashby added.
“Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side, just for that, I am adding snarky comments to my agenda.
Muwhahaha.” She sniffed dramatically and sipped her tea.
“OK, baby, I gotta run. If you see anything suspicious let me know immediately. Ashby, we did a
walkthrough of the shop and apartment yesterday and have everything we need. Luckily all of the damage
was to the shop, the upstairs looked untouched. Still be careful with the glass. If the smells get
overwhelming take breaks. The smell of candy, cake and sour ice cream was too much yesterday so we
weren’t able to pick up the intruder’s scent.” Aleks crinkled his nose, leaned down and kissed his mate