赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Ashleigh got up from the bed and stepped away from her mother.

“Ashleigh?” Corrine called.

Fiddling with something at her desk, Ashleigh did not respond.

“Honey, what is it?” Corrine asked, concern pouring into her words.

Ashleigh took a deep breath.

‘I can’t tell her,’ she thought to herself, ‘I don’t want her to know how weak I was.’

Corrine stood up from the bed, watching her daughter’s reaction closely.

“Did he do something to you?” she asked carefully.

Ashleigh felt her eyes widen and her heart speed up. Quickly she focused on calming her heart before her mother noticed.

“Things have changed,” Ashleigh said. “For me.”

“Tell me,” Corrine said.

Ashleigh still did not turn around. Instead, she looked at the picture that sat on her desk. The photograph of her and Granger on his nineteenth birthday. They had only known each other for a few months at that point. But she had never been so happy._.

“You’re right,” Ashleigh began. “Granger and I have never changed our plans. The wedding kept being pushed back for different reasons, and Granger went along because he didn’t really have a choice. He hated it. He was upset, angry.”

Corrine listened. Ashleigh turned the picture over.

“But,” she said, her voice shaking, tears returning to her eyes. “If I am being honest. After a while, I think I felt relieved each time it was pushed back.”

Her shoulders sagged forward. She hugged herself as the guilt of saying the words aloud ate away at her. Corrine stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ashleigh.

“It’s ok,” she whispered.

“No, it’s not,” Ashleigh replied sadly.

“Why not? If it’s how you feel, why is it not ok?”

“Granger is my mate. We have all known that for two years. There have been plans made, his place in our pack, in our family. I can’t just… change my mind. Especially not for Alpha Caleb of all people.”

“Ashleigh, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have concerns about Alpha Caleb. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have feelings for him. Especially if he truly is your mate,” Corrine replied.

“How could we ever… I don’t see how,” Ashleigh sighed.

Corrine pulled away from Ashleigh and turned her by the shoulders gently. Brushing the tears away from her daughter’s cheeks, she smiled softly.

“Do you?” she asked, “Have feelings for Alpha Caleb.”

Ashleigh looked away, but Corrine turned her back.

“It’s time to be honest, my girl. It’s just you and me.”

Ashleigh closed her eyes and took in a shuddering breath. She closed her eyes as another wave of guilt flooded her heart.

“Yes…” she whispered out in anguish, “… I’m sorry.”

Corrine felt her own heart squeeze with pain. She wrapped her arms tightly around Ashleigh.

“Oh, no, no, baby. There is nothing to be sorry about.”

How could she not have seen it, her daughter had been struggling for so long, and Corrine had never noticed.

“I didn’t mean to….” Ashleigh sobbed, “I tried to fight it. Tried to focus my heart only on Granger.”

“I know, honey, I know you did.”

Corrine thought back over the time that had passed since the Blood Moon. All the times that she had seen Granger and Ashleigh working extra hard on their relationship. Spending so much more time together than they ever did before.

She had assumed that it was all just their excitement to be married. Granger had practically begged for the wedding to happen every month since then. He was insistent; it always made Corrine happy to know how much Ashleigh’s mate loved her.

“I have always been true to Granger, and Caleb has respected that. Even when we first met, he felt the pull just as intensely as I did, but he saw my hesitation. He resisted his urges so that he could know why I was hesitating.”

Ashleigh paused, thinking back to the night of the Blood Moon. As she saw it now, Caleb had always sacrificed for her.

“I made it clear to him that I would not leave Granger, that I would still only marry him. Caleb was hurt, and though he knew it meant he would remain unmated, he respected my decision.”

Ashleigh thought back to the full moon in Summer, holding him in her arms and speaking to him from her heart.

“I don’t mean to sound critical, Ashleigh,” Corrine said softly, “but what I saw was hardly respectful towards Granger.”

“I know,” Ashleigh said, quickly adding, “and this has never happened before! I swear!”

“Are you sure your feelings for Alpha Caleb are real? What about Granger?” Corrine asked. “He is a good man, and he loves you so much.”

Ashleigh reflexively shielded her body with her arms, hugging herself tightly as she remembered how Granger had grabbed at her. The pain she had felt, the bruising… Ashleigh gasped and quickly pulled up on her shirt, pinning the collar just under her jaw and resting her chin on top of her hand to hold it in place.

The action was not missed by Corrine. She eyed her daughter carefully, trying to catch a glimpse into the eyes that were now actively avoiding her. She looked down at Ashleigh’s hand holding the collar of her shirt so tightly. It was bothering her.

‘She doesn’t have to be awake for the blessing of the Goddess or the marking.’

Granger’s words at the hospital called out to her and sent a chill down her spine. At the time, Corrine had found his idea unacceptable, but she understood why he suggested it. He was scared. He was trying to do what was best for Ashleigh.

But he already knew she had another mate. He knew Ashleigh wasn’t ready to get married.

‘The Goddess blessed us with our mate, but she also gave us a choice to accept or reject them. One mate deciding for both is not honoring that bond.’

Caleb knew better. He had stepped in when it looked like Granger was trying to take away her choice.

‘I made it clear to him that I would not leave Granger…. he respected my decision.’

Ashleigh’s word echoed in Corrine’s mind like a warning.

‘He stepped in when he knew Granger would take away her choice….’ Corrine thought to herself.

Corrine’s eyes shot up to Ashleigh as an overwhelming sense of dread washed over her, followed very closely by a building storm of anger.

“Why now?” she demanded.

“What?” Ashleigh asked, confused but nervous as well.

“If Alpha Caleb has respected your boundaries and relationship with Granger this entire time, why did he say he will pursue you openly and honestly now? What changed, Ashleigh?”

Ashleigh looked away.

Corrine took a deep breath; the storm reached its peak within her.

“Show me what you are hiding, Ashleigh.” Corrine’s voice shook with anger. “Let go of your collar.”

Ashleigh closed her eyes, feeling defeated and tired. A tear rolled down her cheek as she lifted her chin and let go of her shirt.

Corrine hesitated at first but then took a deep breath. She straightened her daughter’s shirt.

At first glance, she saw nothing, and for the tiniest moment, she was relieved. But then her eyes fell on the patch of deep red and purple poking out from just below the collar. With her hand shaking, she pulled at the fabric ever so slightly, revealing several more just as ugly bruises along Ashleigh’s chest.

“Granger?” Corrine managed to get his name out through gritted teeth.

Ashleigh pulled at the shirt, covering her shameful marking, before quietly nodding.

***

Two men sat in an office, each at their own desk. One was on the phone while the other reviewed various requests and orders submitted from wolves across Winter. The first man hung up the phone with a confused expression.

“Hey, have you heard of anything happening at the Alpha’s house?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” the other replied.

“Just got a requisition and repair order. New dresser, new desk, and a level two patch job on one of the walls.”

“Whoa, really? And this is all for Alpha Wyatt?”

“No, Luna Corrine, but all the work is in Ashleigh’s room.”