Second Thoughts After Divorce

Row’s POP

Ashton’s commanding presence loomed over the stage, his eyes ablaze with a fierce determination that sent a surge of hope coursing through my veins.

He hadn’t yet looked at me – keeping his blackened eyes transfixed on Tarrick and his dagger as I continued to shake like a leaf from beneath him knowing that with one single mave I could be done for

Despite the chaos unfolding from around us, with the sounds of children crying and screaming in the distance, I found comfort in Ashtons presence knowing that he had found us before it was too late.

The children have hope now of a better future thanks to him and his packs raid… that’s what mattered most… he found us!

“Ashton don’t be a fool! You know just as well as I do that our organisation is the highest power to ever exist! Join us – before it is too late!” Seraphina bargains, surprising me completely with her arrogant attempt to persuade him.

As if he would ever switch sides… and just because she said so… who does she think she is?!

“I just might take you up on that… if your Mate here will drop his damn fucking knife!” Ashton hisses, unpleased and edging himself closer to

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Tarrick blunders from foot to foot nervously, sweating uncontrollably as he loses his mind over what he should do – proving to be weaker than I had initially thought him to be.

He was nothing without Seraphina, and that was clear to me now…

“Think about it like this Tarrick… If you so much as touch a hair on my mates head, I’ll have Seraphinas limbs in your arms within a matter of seconds!” He growls warningly, as Tarrick glances to his partner wide eyed and concerned.

I would struggle to believe that wolves as sick as them even had feelings for one another… but it seemed that Ashton had managed to strike a nerve by threatening his mate.

My eyes scanned those nearby – standing alert and ready to step in at any moment to protect their Alpha if needed, before my eyes find Sawyers amongst the men.

I stare at him, showing my fear as he mouths the words ‘it’s going to be ok as I nod and close my eyes over to calm my breathing, trusting him.

This will all be over soon… Ashton has it under control… I’m going to be ok..

“I’m an impatient man Tarrick! My fingers are itching to kill your mate because you are currently threatening what is mine! So what will it be? Let her go and keep your wife or keep her for another minute and hold yours dead?!” Ashton speaks out again, as I whimper silently under the intensity of this

moment,

It was overwhelming and suffocating, knowing that even with Ashton being here; Tarrick was still holding the sharp blade only inches from me.

But with that, to my great surprise, the blade comes crashing down by my side with the metal clanging against the stage flooring–causing me to flinch and sob out loudly from relief.

Ashton moves swiftly, kicking it off the stage as I watch Sawyer rush to retrieve it–putting it in to a bag with great care,

“YOU FOOL! YOU SHOULD HAVE ENDED HER WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCEI Seraphins hisses, as Ashton stands to his full height and shields me

from them.

still tied and unable to move, with my heart racing and the sweat and tears continuing to flood out from me.

“B–But… you my love! He was going to kill you!” Tarrick bubbles back humorously, which if I wasn’t in this current situation I would have probably laughed at pathetic he looks now.

For such a scary leader he was nothing beneath Seraphina… she was the true root of the poison in all of this and that was clear now!

“He wouldn’t! He knows the truth… about Vanessa… don’t you young Ashton? Seraphina speaks the one name that I hadn’t expected her to, as my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach from her words.

How dare she bring up Ashton’s dead mate! How low is she willing to go with all of this?!

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“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK HER NAME!” Ashton thunders, his yell sending a jolt of fear through not only me, but every single person standing within proximity to hear it.

He’s pissed…

*SAWYER GET HER AWAY FROM HERE!” He booms, as Sawyer makes a move towards me instantly – my eyes widening from both relief and panic.

Ashton shields me from the pair, right until Sawyer cuts me free and scoops me up in to his arms – carrying me down and on to the grass area to some distance between myself and them.

As Sawyer carries me away from them, a rush of conflicting emotions swirl within me as I clutch on to Sawyer desperately scared that I could somehow end up back in their clutches.

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“Shh… it’s ok… you’re safe now…” Sawyer hushes me, holding my quivering frame in his arms as I turn to look back at Ashton who was still immersed in the battle with Seraphina and Tarrick.

Relief washed over me at being freed from their restraint but my anxiety gnawed away at me watching Ashton handle the conflict as best he could…. which pretty much looked as though it was leading to him completely losing all of the self control he had left and rightfully so.

“Come on now Ashton… you know that she loved this organisation… you just won’t admit it, will you?” Seraphina circles around him, as Tarrick moves to the edge of the stage to give them both space–seeming flustered.

Tarrick doesn’t go unnoticed though, with our guards moving in on him quickly getting close enough before they pull him in to their tight grasp.

They restrain Tarrick on stage, as he yells and fights them back – before I watch them inject something in to his arm to stop him from squirming

as Sawyer hushes me to calm me back down.

“What… did they just do?!” I gasp, as

“Wolfsbane to weaken him and stop him from shifting… makes their job easier to hold him.” Sawyer explains, as I nod and chew my lip–eyes returning back to Ashton.

I felt relief seeing that it was a one on one fight now between Ashton and Seraphina, however I knew that she would no doubt play dirty with this which made me nervous for him….

“YOU FUCKING LIEF He fumes back, allowing Seraphina to crawl under his skin like a scorned rash with her statements.

She’s getting in his head, and she has pushed the right button by bringing up Vanessa – it was a low blow, even from her.

But I did wonder, how did she even know Vaness…

Was there truth behind her words or was it all totally made up?

“You know that she supported us Ashton because she even brought you along to one of our meetings! Admit it!” Seraphina growls at him frustratedly as my jaw almost drops to hit the floor.

Did he?!

Why would he ever attend anything like this? It can’t be true! I don’t believe her!

“We came along before we knew what you were tuming this in to! We declined your invite to join find before I know it, Vanessa was attacked and killed! I don’t think that was a fucking coincidence either Seraphina, do you?!” Ashton roars, furious and ready to kill as I cling on to Sawyer for dear life.

This was all way worse than I thought! They had a history! They knew one another prior to this…

“Nonsense! Vanessa was a loyal member of ours – behind your back or not, it is truel” Seraphina retaliates, as I can practically see Ashton shaking with rage from my current spot on the grass.

*YOU HAD HER KILLED! I’ve been hunting you two down ever since her death! Things only got worse when the children began to disappear and we couldn’t even trace them! How could you? Take Innocent children from their homes to help you run this sham of a pack? On our holy grounds too?! You make me fucking sick!” Ashton thunders back, as Seraphina laughs out loudly–mocking him.

“Vanessa always did say that you were a weak man… now I can see why!” Her words cut him like a blade to the gut, as in that moment he loses full control, shifting in to his large wolf Zen – releasing a hellish howl which causes the hairs on my arms to stand alert.

Seraphina widens her eyes, but quickly shifts in to her own beige wolf, large but nowhere near the size of Ashton’s as she too growls and prepares for a

Chapter 71

fight.

Seraphina snaps her teeth at him first, as I gasp loudly, fearful for his life before Ashton wastes no time in kicking her off of the stage as she lands with a heavy thud beneath him.

I

nse up, still in Sawyers arms, watching Ashton approach her slowly as Seraphina darts back up to stand on all fours unharmed.

As we watch on, her next move shocks us, as she turns and makes a dash straight for me growling loudly as she jumps up in to the air and knocks both myself and Sawyer backwards on to the ground as 1 scream loudly without much time to react…

She lands above me, opening her jaw to strike, but within seconds Ashton is by my side: knocking her off of me as I scream and cry in terror.

Even if I wanted to; I couldn’t even shift in to my own wolf right now. The pain that my body was in was far too much and the drugs they had given me had gotten rid of Aurora hours ago which I had prayed wouldn’t be permanent damage….

Sawyer returns to my side, shifting in to his wolf form and standing in front of me, as some of Ashtons other guards move to my side and follow suit – creating a protective circle around me as I push myself up to find where Ashton had gone.

Just as my head poked out of the circle, I witnessed the final moments between the battling pair seeing Ashton cage Seraphina against a wall.

He lunged forward, dodging her bite, before his jaw successfully opened and revealed his sharp teeth which he wasted no time on sinking down in to Seraphinas neck – earning a pitched yelp and a whine before a final crunching snap is heard.

He drops her, leaving her to fall down limp on to the gravel beneath him, as time seems to still.

She’s gone….

Ashton

just killed her…

I allow myself to fall back down on to my butt in relief, unable to stand for much longer with the severing pain containing to shoot throughout my leg

“Rose… Rose look at me! I have to get you back to the car… it’s over now, you’re safe! 1 hear Sawyers words but struggle to process what exactly he is saying

I was in complete shock, feeling as though the whole ordeal had played out in just a blink of an eye. I almost lost my life, twice, and little does Ashton know that he just killed my birth Mother too…

With so much to process, my head began to swirl as I grew airy and light headed before in that split second, everyone around me blurred and the world went dark.

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