赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“You and Axel lied to me,” Ashleigh said quietly.

Alice shook her head.

“No,” she said. “He told you I returned to work, as you suggested. And I did, just not in the way you suggested.”

Ashleigh rolled her eyes.

“More half-truths and misdirection,” she sighed.

“Half-truth and misdirection are all you’ve ever expected of me,” Alice smiled. “All you were ever willing to believe.”

Ashleigh looked at Alice and saw the smile, but she also saw the slight disappointment in it. She swallowed and nodded.

“Fair point,” she said softly.

Ashleigh took a deep breath and sat back on the couch. She had learned far more than she expected today.

“Maybe it’s time we start over,” she said softly. “A clean slate.”

“A clean slate doesn’t exist,” Alice replied. “When people say they want a clean slate, they want to be forgiven for their mistakes. They want them forgotten. But it doesn’t mean they have forgiven, forgotten, or even learned.”

Ashleigh wanted to argue that Alice had been given a clean slate by everyone willing to let her into Winter to be at Axel’s side. But she knew that wasn’t true. No one accepted her right away. Axel had given her up for that very reason. They both faced the possibility of never being together because there was no guarantee that Alice would ever be accepted by his family or pack.

She stared up at the wooden beams of the ceiling and sighed.

“You’re right,” she said. “A clean slate is… not a reasonable ask.

She sat up and turned to Alice.

“I won’t tell you that I have completely let go of my preconceptions or that I will never again assume that you don’t have hidden motives.”

“I wouldn’t believe you even if you did,” Alice smiled. “No one can promise that.”

Ashleigh nodded with a smile.

“So, what can we do to help bridge this gap?” Ashleigh asked.

Alice considered her for a long time.

“Do you want that?” she finally asked. “To build a bridge between us?”

Ashleigh nodded.

“Isn’t it time?” she laughed. “You’re my brother’s mate. You\'re the mother of my nephews and my niece. And, even if we never agree on much, I respect you.”

Alice swallowed and looked away.

“Your friend is the mate of an Alpha,” Alice said. “That alone is cause for concern.”

Ashleigh turned to look at Alice. She furrowed her brows in surprise and confusion, both at the change in subject and the knowledge of Liam and Maeve’s connection.

“How did you know that?” she asked.

Alice smiled.

“Never mind,” Ashleigh sighed.

She felt that same irritation she always felt when Alice proved she was a step ahead. But at the same time, she smiled. If Alice knew about Maeve before Ashleigh arrived and still let her ask, that must have meant she was at least willing to consider the idea.

“You are an Alpha’s mate, too,” Ashleigh pointed out.

“I teach. I don’t do field work anymore,” Alice smiled.

“But you’re still in charge of your students. Are you sure your loyalty to Axel doesn’t cause any leaning one way or the other?” Ashleigh asked.

Alice was quiet for a moment and then looked at Ashleigh.

“My heart and soul are loyal to Axel. Other than our children, he is the most important person on this planet to me,” she said. “I would never harm him, but that is the extent of my loyalty when it comes to the mission.”

Ashleigh sat forward.

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” Alice said. “That Axel and I have already found ourselves on opposite sides of a diplomatic debate or two.”

Ashleigh furrowed her brow and gasped when she remembered what Alice had said not long ago.

‘…And occasionally, they are asked to remove a threat that cannot be dealt with diplomatically.’

“I can’t go into details. I have worked quite hard to keep those quiet,” Alice continued. “But let’s just say that there were those that believed humans did not need to be protected and that some of the experiments that Spring ran were not all that bad and, perhaps, worth exploring.”

Ashleigh’s eyes widened.

“Someone wants to restart the human experiments?” she asked in a horrified whisper.

Her memories drifted back to the moment she saw the children in the lab, to the village in Spring… There was nothing about those experiments that held any value. Nothing worth the cost.

“Wanted,” Alice corrected. “There was a vote, and the problem was handled… quietly.”

Ashleigh took a deep breath. She understood what Alice meant now. Axel was a strong and firm leader but had a deep sense of justice. He would have voted to keep the wolves alive and have them judged and sentenced before their pack.

But, bringing up the horrors of Spring was not as simple as speaking of past events as though they were done and over. Those children were real people that still lived among the wolves. Alice herself was a victim of Spring.

There was also the risk of spreading the information to others with similar mindsets… of inspiring them.

Handling the problem quietly was the right choice, even if it put Alice and Axel on opposite ends of the decision.

Ashleigh took a deep breath and focused on the original topic.

“Maeve hasn’t accepted Liam yet,” she said. “She’s not sure she will.”

Alice smiled.

“If she didn’t want him, she would have rejected him already,” she said. “I know the reasons she doubts him. Her hesitation is about disappointment and self-doubt rather than any actual dislike or disinterest in the man himself.”

Ashleigh sighed. Alice had an answer for everything.

Alice licked her lips and looked at Ashleigh carefully.

“If you genuinely wish to move forward,” she began, “I will be frank with you.”

Ashleigh sat up, swallowed, and nodded.

“My greatest concerns about Maeve are not with Liam,” Alice said. “I can work around that issue in my way.”

“Okay,” Ashleigh said, leaning forward. “So, what is the greatest concern?”

“You,” Alice replied.

She wasn’t surprised. Alice had already hinted at it pretty strongly. The problem was Ashleigh didn’t know how to ease Alice’s mind.

“You have a natural charm,” Alice continued. “And you do see potential in others. You help them to feel like they could be more. In that way, you become special to them. A friend, a savior. Someone that they owe everything to.”

“I see where you are coming from,” Ashleigh said. “But, I—”

“Please,” Alice interrupted, raising her hand to silence Ashleigh, “do not tell me that you would never take advantage of that or ask anything of Maeve that might put her at odds with the mission.”

Ashleigh swallowed.

“It’s never an intention,” Alice said. “Not with you or anyone else who wields that loyalty and power.”

Ashleigh sighed and turned away. There was nothing she could do. Alice had a very valid point, and no matter how much Ashleigh wanted to believe that there was no risk, she also knew better than most that the threat was always there.

“I understand,” she said softly, standing from the couch. “Thank you for considering it. I will find another way to help Maeve.”

Ashleigh headed toward the door. As she reached for the handle, Alice called out.

“A bridge cannot be built on lies and deceptions,” Alice continued. “From now on, if you ask me a direct question, I will answer honestly. If I can’t tell you, I will openly say so.”

Ashleigh turned with a questioning glance. Alice wasn’t looking at her but down toward her hands. She was massaging her palms, almost as if she were nervous, something Ashleigh had never witnessed before.

“Okay…”

“A bridge goes both ways, Ashleigh,” Alice said quietly, “for this to work, we both need to be honest. No secrets, no half-truths, no misdirection.”

“I understand,” Ashleigh nodded.

Alice looked up, their eyes met, and Ashleigh saw a strange vulnerability in Alice that seemed wrong.

“I am trusting you, Ashleigh… you understand how significant that is, don’t you?”