She put her new clothing away, deciding not to store it in the closest because her arrangement with Cade was only temporary. Instead, she put it into the duffel bag with the rest of the clothes Sara gave her, then got some steaks marinating for dinner.
When that was done, Ashley headed back upstairs to use the vanity to retouch her make up with the samples from the salon, smiling at herself in the mirror.
“Now we're gettin' somewhere.”
Ashley didn't typically wear a lot of makeup, but covering the marks on her face was worth it, and she was glad to look a little more normal now.
So far, her day had been nicely pleasing. The lupines she’d met were good people, and the fact that they had a pack didn't seem so strange anymore. The community it provided was necessary. After all, they had a secret to keep, and worked together to keep it quiet. She could appreciate that.
Especially after where she'd been before.
It was giving her the sense that with a little effort, she'd be able to fit in as a lupine. There were still things she didn't know, and she'd have to get used to some of their practices, but she felt positive about her future.
Considering spending it in Arkin City really didn't seem so bad.
The only real worry was the lupines who'd taken her captive. She had no idea if they would attempt to come after her or not, but if they did, she hoped she'd be better able to handle it than she was now.
Only time would tell.
~*~*~*~
Taking in a Newborn Chef wasn't such a bad thing.
Cade walked into the house about twenty minutes after Ashley came home, and the moment he stepped inside, the smell of something marinating in the kitchen hit his nose. He smiled, thinking he'd have to keep Ashley around just for her cooking while wondering if she’d enjoyed her day so far.
For that matter, he wondered what she looked like now.
Curiously, he headed up the steps to see.
Cade knocked at Ashley's door and asked her name, getting an invite. He stepped inside to see that she was folding towels, and his brows lifted over what his sister had done to her.
“Damn.”
Hearing the word, Ashley looked up with slightly wide eyes, asking, “What?”
Realizing he’d said the word aloud, Cade shook his head. “Nothing. Just wasn’t expecting to see you with a full make over.”
That was a lie, of course, but he didn’t expect her to look so damned good when she'd gotten one.
Her auburn hair was cut more neatly, layered to frame her face, hanging just past her shoulders, the texture like silk from the looks of it. Light blue eyeshadow made her hazel eyes stand out, and she'd concealed her bruises.
Her lips were fuller with some pink gloss that covered the split, allowing their shape to show better, and her clothing was simple, a pair of blue jeans and a baby doll top of light blue with white lace edging the hem, which fit her demeanor.
“Oh,” Ashley smiled shyly, settling a towel onto the stack she'd folded before leaning over to grab another one. “Well, I had a good time with Sara today. I'm really glad I went.”
“I believe it,” he replied, distracted when she bent forward because her collar was cut into a V, showing some of her more nicely rounded assets that he found himself staring at before looking away abruptly.
Cade was liking what he saw more and more, which only made his instinct more difficult to ignore. He caught her scent again too, realizing that on top of being someone he got the feeling he could get along with, she was right up his alley in a physical sense. She looked soft, shapely, and feminine.
In other words, trouble.
Ashley stood up straight again when she finished her folding, and he took in the way she carried herself down to the fact that she’d painted her nails a shade of blue which matched the top she wore. When she walked around to the edge of the bed and sat down to tug her shoes off, he also noticed that for her height, she seemed to have legs long enough to last to Sunday.
Cade suddenly wanted them wrapped around him until then.
Big trouble.
He pushed the lustful thought out of his head. Lupines were lascivious when their interests started to fixate, so he wasn’t shocked or ashamed of himself for having the thought. But the situation wasn't accommodating whatsoever.
Conner’s earlier explosion made Cade consider a lot of things, and one of his conclusions was that if he started seeing anyone, he would be looking for his mate, not just a fling that he knew deep down was only a distraction from his inner turmoil.
Not to mention, when Cade thought about it, he figured he was starting to get too old for just playing the game as it were. It wasn't fulfilling, and even though he hadn't done it much over the past year, he still regretted it.
So he was swearing off relationships unless he found someone suitable for the real deal. Maybe Ashley was, as his instincts kept annoyingly insisting, but until her own situation improved, he wasn’t going to act on his urges.
She needed time to adjust to what she was now, otherwise nothing would work out for anyone.
Ashley distracted him from his thoughts when she asked, “By the way, didn't you say this house belonged to your father?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I was curious because you said you had more room than you need, and I realized while you were gone that it seems kind of lonely here for only one person. But I guess you wouldn't wanna sell it, huh?”
He found it a little odd that she would mention such a thing when his brother had berated him earlier for consistently isolating himself. But Ashley's suggestion was completely accurate. He had been lonely.
In fact, having her here now was even a little strange. Nice, but strange after so long without someone around to talk to. Furthermore, Cade was realizing he wanted her there to talk to, and not just because of his curiosity about her.
“Yeah, I've thought about selling, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it,” he admitted.
Ashley nodded as if to say she understood how he felt. “I wouldn't be able to either.” She got quiet, then seemed to remember something, adding, “Oh, before I forget, I folded your laundry and put it on your bed. These towels go in that linen closet in the hall, right?”
“They do. Thanks, but you didn’t have to do it.”
“I wanted to,” she replied certainly. “It’s getting back to normal for me. Besides, you're letting me stay here for free, so the least I can do is help keep things clean.”
He smiled over her thoughtfulness, and though he was trying to deny his instincts for now, Cade did want to learn more about her. So he stepped into the room and pulled the stool of the vanity out to sit on.
“Sorry you got left here by the way. I didn’t mean to be so late, but my brother wasn’t having a good day earlier. I took my time getting home, stopped at a few places.”
Ashley nodded, asking, “Which brother?”
“The youngest, Conner. Our dad's memorial is next week and it’s got us out of sorts.”
“Sara mentioned that,” she replied, her expression even. “I’m sorry too. But I have an idea for tonight that might help.”
“What’s that?” Cade asked, curious over what she'd say.
“When I explained to Sara what you said about waiting until I was a little more settled in before working, she told me that you could get Conner to bring his wife over and stay with me because she has a date this evening. So I could cook something for them and—what?”
Ashley stopped when she noticed Cade’s head dipping forward. Groaning, he muttered, “I could call Conner, but I don’t know how well he’d take to coming over. When I say he was having a bad day, I mean that he exploded on me and told me all of the reasons why I’m a failure as our father’s son.”
Ashley cringed and made no effort to hide it. Seeing the look, Cade agreed, “Yeah, and Conner doesn’t explode all that often, he’s pretty mild mannered compared to most of us. So it’d be hit or miss if I called him. Depends on how much
better he feels now. But he’d probably tell me to handle it my own goddamned self.”
Cade stared at the floor, thinking it over, then shoved his fingers through his hair in agitation. “Shit. It completely slipped my mind to ask Sara this morning if she’d like to stay over with you when I’m at work, otherwise she would've reminded me about her date.”
“What about the other one? Um, Caleb, right? Think he could do it?”
Cade started chuckling while shaking his head, but decided against saying anything more descriptive than, “Nah, Caleb wouldn't be a good choice.”
After all, the line no, my brother's too much of a hound dog just didn't sit right. Caleb would behave himself for certain—he wasn't an ass. He was just oblivious and could end up bothering Ashley without even realizing it.
Cade didn't want to come home to find out that a wolf fight had taken place in his living room if Ashley snapped at him.
He was glad that she didn't ask him why either. She only pursed her lips and looked to the side in thought, then suggested, “So take me with you to Blue Moon and start me tonight if you don’t wanna leave me alone. I can handle it. I was fine today with Sara, and I did get irritated a few times.”
Cade looked her over in consideration. She wasn’t acting out, leaving him to believe she’d probably just needed a good bit of sleep the night before. But he had to make sure that was the case instead of just giving in.
“No,” he started, “it’s too risky. I can take the night off and let Martin handle the closing.”
Ashley’s brows narrowed in response, her lips pursing to the side, a look that said he was being paranoid.
“Cade, there’s a fine line between too risky and just taking things a step at a time. I’ll be all right if I pace myself. Besides, I don’t want you to miss work just because I suddenly showed up without a place to go. That's just rude.”
“Ashley, you’ve gotta consider that–”
“Cade,” Ashley interrupted, but her tone was soft. “Sara said it wouldn’t be real busy tonight. Honestly, that’ll help me integrate into the job more easily, learn what to expect, both from people around me and from myself. I know I just got here last night too, but really, giving me the work to focus on would be helpful.”
He liked her answer. She hadn’t just stood up and started yelling at him about how she'd be perfectly fine, and instead, calmly told him the way she felt—in a logical sense even.
Cade gave her a smile that seemed to confuse her.
“What?” she asked uncertainly.
“I think you're right,” he started, “and I lied. I only said no to see if you’d snap at me. But since you didn’t, I think you'll be able to handle it. In fact, it seems like you’ve been pretty collected today altogether. So I think you're on the right path.”
Ashley tried to hide her smile by biting her lip, but it came through anyway. “Thanks, that does make me feel better.”
Somehow, he got the feeling he might have embarrassed her when she tapped her fingers against her knee in uncertainty and asked the question, “But, you’re not just saying that because your brother made you feel bad, are you?”
“No,” he shook his head. “I know it seems like it, and I did a lot of thinking earlier, but I meant what I said. Last night we were both on edge for different reasons.”
“Okay, I’ll trust you, for now,” she told him playfully. “It’s nice to talk to you for five minutes without arguing too. I guess we’re coming right along.”
Cade couldn't help but grin. “If that's the case, you won’t mind telling me what’s marinating in the kitchen that smells so good, and what you and Sara did today.”
Ashley was smiling until he mentioned the food. Then she went a little wide eyed. “Oh crap, if I’m gonna work tonight, I need to put that stuff up.”
She stood and hurried to the door, and Cade smirked in amusement at the way she always seemed to dart off like lightning. Apparently, she was a quick little thing when she wanted to be.
It may have been one of the reasons she'd evaded her captors for two days, helped by the wind and rain passing through.
Cade stood to leave the room behind her at a much more casual pace, stopping to grab the forgotten towels so he could put them up on the way downstairs while wondering if this was the more normal Ashley or if anything else had changed about her since she'd been a human.
He just wished he wasn't so eager to find out.
Chapter 13
Ashley put the plate of marinating steaks she'd secured in plastic wrap into the fridge when Cade walked into the kitchen. Standing back from the refrigerator, she closed the door and noticed him leaning on his thick arms at the bar counter. Damn it all, why does he have to be so good looking?
To distract herself, she finally answered his question about her day.
“So anyway, Sara took me to Rene's salon and then to Runway, and she introduced me to a lot of people like Nicole, Diane,” she tried to think of a few more names. “I can't remember them all, actually.”
“We have a lot of ladies around,” Cade confirmed, adding as if amused, “and most like to gossip.”
Ashley knew that was true just from listening when she was out with Sara, but didn't mention anything she'd heard about him in specific. She was curious about something else instead.
“How many are in your pack?”
“About sixty or so. Size of the pack usually depends on the size of the city. Biggest ones I’ve ever heard of are in Ireland, about two hundred.”
“I'd hate to lead them,” Ashley mused aloud. “By the way, when you date someone, or get married, is she the leader too?”
That curiosity had come after hearing the girls fawning over Cade's single status. She couldn't make up her mind if they just wanted him because he was attractive, or if they were after some kind of rank too.
“If it got solid, yeah, she’d take a position just beneath me.”
The double meaning in the line didn't escape either of them. Ashley bit her lips to keep from smiling, then rolled her eyes when Cade realized what he'd said and got another wolfish grin on his face—one she found it hard not to stare at.
But it answered her question anyway. “So what about new members? How do you let them in?”
“Usually on the nights of a full moon. Sometimes it’s contested, depending on the newcomer, but most times it’s nothing more than an overdone introduction during the hunt.”
“Contested?”
“Yeah, if a wolf disagrees, they may challenge the newcomer during the pack hunt in a fight for dominance. If the newcomer loses, they'll get chased off. But that's only if someone has a big issue with their joining.”
Ashley let a long sigh of breath. She was starting to get annoyed with what she still didn’t know about lupines, and she'd learned a lot that day already. Pack Hunt? Grumbling, she stepped over to sit on one of the stools at the counter and put the query to him.
Cade didn't seem to mind though, giving her the answer she wanted without hesitation.
“We start changing for the first time under the full moon at fifteen years old without exception, and can’t stop the change with the moon until we’re older. So parents and older wolves go out with their kids on pack hunts. They learn how to survive as a wolf, how to hunt, and seek out a mate.”
There was another question answered, and another raised. “A mate?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t mean . . .”
When she trailed off, Cade smirked playfully. “Sex?”
Ashley could only manage a nod, and suddenly, he started chuckling. She blushed, giving a look that said stop it, but that just made him laugh even more.
“Stop laughing! It’s a legitimate question!”
“Sorry, not trying to make fun of you. It’s legitimate, but you're cute when you're shy.”
“Hush!” Ashley grumbled.
Still grinning even though he was making an effort to stop chuckling, Cade finally eased her curiosit
y—without teasing her.
“No, I don’t mean sex. I just mean that the wolves sometimes find a possible match through scent, and spend most of the night hunting things to offer one another while they protect each other.”
Because he wasn't making a joke out of her timidity toward the subject anymore, she felt better about asking her questions. “And by hunting things, you mean like animals, as in food.”
He nodded that time. “It’s sort of symbolic, a way of showing the other wolf how worthy they are by being good providers.”
Ashley, despite the slight oddness of the revelation, found herself completely interested. “Do the two stay together after that?”
“A lot of us do, like Leo. He met Rene when he was only fifteen.”
She couldn't help but smile. To be together like that at such a young age and spend your life with someone you loved sounded nice. Looking back up from her thoughts, she inquired, “What about you, have you ever won a girl like that?”
“My first girlfriend,” he confirmed. “We dated for three years in high school, but didn't bond well enough to keep it going, so we called it off mutually. She moved on and found someone else later that she was better suited to.”
Ashley looked surprised. Maybe these hunts really were important to lupine-kind.
“When’s the next full moon? Are you having a pack hunt then?”
“It’s Sunday night, and there’s always a pack hunt,” Cade replied. “But not everyone always attends, like the older wolves who don't have kids.”
Sunday, five days away. That wasn’t very much time to prepare herself, and Ashley wondered how she'd be able to cope. She may have been a wolf before, but she'd been ignorant of it.
This time, she knew exactly what was coming, and it was a frightening prospect.
With a worried gaze, she asked, “You'll have to go, won't you?”
Cade eyed her curiously. “How do you figure?”
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