Chapter 98 - Here I Am

When Ashleigh demanded that Caleb leave her with Granger, he had listened only because he didn’t want to add to her burden. But he wasn’t willing to leave them alone, not after what he had seen.

He walked away until he could hear their voices but not their words, shifting to make it easier for him to move unseen. Caleb stayed close, listening to her heartbeat as she argued, and then left Granger. He planned to leave her alone when she was safely away from that bastard, but he found himself unable to do so.

He could see the pain on her face, the sadness. He couldn’t bear to leave her alone, even if she believed she was. Caleb followed Ashleigh step for step through the trees. He stared at her from a distance, feeling like they were walking together.

She stopped from time to time, crying, or simply staring off into the sky. Caleb wondered if she called to the Goddess in those moments. What did she say?

As they approached her home, he shifted back. He waited until she went inside, debating if he should go back to his room. She was safely at home after all.

He wanted to see her. He needed to speak with her.

The front door opened, and Luna Corrine stepped out. Caleb opened his senses, listening, sniffing the air. Ashleigh was alone in the house now. He waited until the Luna was out of sight before quickly moving to the door and opening it carefully.

The sound of the running water hit Caleb’s ear as he closed the door. He followed her scent up the stairs and to a room. Based on the sound from the other side of the door, he assumed it was the bathroom. He turned away, following her scent once more. He found her bedroom.

As he entered her room, Caleb felt a warmth envelop him, resting over his skin like a blanket on a cold night. His head felt light, as though he could relax in a way that he hadn’t been able to since long before his father died.

He closed his eyes and basked in her lingering scent. Then, breathing in deeply, he felt her all around him. As though she were standing beside him, holding him.

The humiliating memory of finding her t-shirt in the woods sprang forward in his mind. Caleb quickly shook away his thoughts, focusing on his reason for being here.

To make sure she was alright and clear the air between them.

He looked around, tempted to explore her bookshelf, the desk, the pictures on the walls. So much he could learn about her by simply looking around. But he wasn’t invited here, and he would not take from her what was not freely given.

Caleb stood near her window for a long time, watching, wondering if Granger would try to seek her out. He growled to himself at the thought. He wouldn’t let that happen.

The sound of the water stopped. Caleb looked at the door and quickly moved to the darkest corner of the room. It was a few minutes still before her heartbeat, and her scent became more robust. She was coming.

The doorknob turned, and the door opened. Ashleigh stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Caleb found himself caught off guard. He knew she had been in the shower, but he had never thought that she might walk into her bedroom in a robe, with her hair still wet and down around her face. He swallowed as he tried desperately to control where his blood was flowing.

“Caleb?” she called out, looking in his direction.

‘Pull it together!’ he chided himself.

Caleb clenched his jaw and stepped forward out of the shadows.

“We need to talk.”

Ashleigh furrowed her brow, unsure if she felt angry or just confused.

“What are you doing here? Why are you in my room?” she asked.

“We need to talk.”

“So you said,” she replied with irritation.

“I was worried,” Caleb said, “I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

Ashleigh laughed bitterly.

“You were worried?” she asked angrily, “So you sneak into my bedroom and hide in the corner while I’m in the shower!”

“I can understand your anger,” Caleb replied calmly, “I didn’t think it through. But to be fair, I didn’t even consider that you might come in…like that.”

He reached his hand to rub the back of his head awkwardly and looked away.

Ashleigh pulled the robe tighter and turned her body away as the blush rushed into her cheeks.

“Just trying to sneak into my room then?”

“No! Well, yes… but only because I knew you wouldn’t see me otherwise!”

“That makes it ok?” she demanded, turning back to face him, her voice furious. “You wanted something from me you knew I wasn’t going to give you, so you just take it?!”

Caleb lifted his gaze to her. Her eyes glittered back at him with unshed tears. The expression she wore was a mask of fury, covering her sorrow and fear. He knew she wasn’t really yelling at him. Which only made him angrier at the situation.

“He had no right to do that to you,” Caleb said, holding back the growl that grew in his belly.

Ashleigh pulled back as though she just now heard her own words and regretted them.

“It’s none of your business,” she said quietly, turning away from him once again.

“Do you honestly think I can ignore what I just witnessed?” he growled, incensed by her dismissal.

“Granger is my mate,” Ashleigh replied, keeping her voice even, “soon enough, he will be my husband. What happens between us is between us.”

Caleb snarled, drawing her attention back to him.

“That is not how someone who loves you behaves,” Caleb spat.

“You just don’t understand. Granger didn’t mean to–“

Caleb snarled louder, interrupting her words.

“No lover, no husband, no mate, no one! No excuse!” Caleb shouted ferociously.

Ashleigh stared at the man before her. His nostrils flared as he breathed heavily through his rage. His eyes once more shone with an unnatural glow. She should be afraid of him, his anger, his intensity. Anyone else would have sensed his presence as a threat, but somehow, she felt comforted by it.

‘This is why Granger doesn’t trust me,’ Ashleigh thought to herself honestly.

Caleb’s expression softened. “You decide when and to whom you give yourself, only you.”

‘As hard as I try to fight, I still feel it. This bond, this connection.’

Caleb took a step closer.

‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this….’

“You were right earlier,” he said, his voice gentle, taking another step toward her, “when you said this was between mates.”

Watching him through teary eyes as he got closer and closer to her. ‘I can’t lie to myself anymore….’

He stood directly before her now.

Her heart swelled, and the knot in her stomach had grown to an uncomfortable degree. She swallowed down the hesitation and fear.

Their eyes met. Though no words passed between them, Ashleigh knew he was asking for permission, and she did not refuse.

“And here I am,” Caleb said, reaching his hand to touch her cheek gently.. “Your mate.”