赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“Hiding?” she whispered against his chest. “Why do you think—"

“Don’t,” Caleb interrupted, nuzzling against the top of her head. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Ashleigh swallowed.

Caleb pulled away and gently hooked his finger beneath her chin, lifting her to look up at him. His silvery gaze fell on her, and Ashleigh took a deep breath.

“It’s clear that you’re trying hard to protect me from something you think is going to hurt me,” he whispered, smiling. “I know you called my mother, so she’s alive. You’ve mentioned Galen without looking away, and I don’t think you could do that if he were gone.”

Ashleigh lowered her gaze. She had wanted to stay inside this room just a little bit longer. In the joy of their reunion, the only ones in the world. But even she knew it was too late for that.

“They are both alive,” she said softly.

Caleb smiled, though he had been pretty sure confirmation was still a relief.

“See?” he said. “Whatever it is you’re holding back… it can’t be that bad.”

Ashleigh chewed her bottom lip and nodded.

Caleb smiled and rubbed his thumb along her jaw.

“Ash… I’ve missed five years of our life together,” He lifted her chin to look into her eyes, his regret worn openly for anyone to see. “There is nothing you could tell me that would be worse than that.”

Ashleigh let out a heavy sigh and licked her lips.

“It’s not death…” she said softly. “It’s not… betrayal exactly. It’s just… time.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“It means… outside of this room, right now… there is no Alpha Caleb of Summer…” Ashleigh sighed. “He died five years ago, and the world moved on without him.”

She looked away from him.

“Summer, your mother, Galen… they moved on,” she continued. “The world isn’t the same place you left behind when you went into the portal that day. Our packs are not restricted to the territories we grew up in. We are all over the world now.”

Ashleigh pulled away from him, needing to create space between them to say what she needed.

“The monsters that the Dark Queen brought back, they never left. They can spring up anywhere across the world. That is why I have spent so much time in Liam’s pack. Training his wolves, fighting alongside them to keep the numbers down.”

Ashleigh had been one of the first to volunteer when news came in worldwide.

“What happened?” Caleb asked. “Is there another Queen? How are they being controlled?”

“They aren’t,” Ashleigh replied. “About a year after the war, we started getting reports from all over. Monsters had begun to appear in different countries, near packs, near humans, everywhere. They didn’t seem to have a goal outside of claiming territory.

“They behaved just like the ones that had remained after the war. But they were everywhere, and the other packs didn’t know how to handle them. They needed help.”

“You volunteered?” Caleb asked, moving closer to her.

Ashleigh nodded.

“I was one of the first,” she said, then let out a soft chuckle. “Axel and Galen tried to stop me, but neither could think of a good enough reason to keep me behind.”

Caleb smiled, standing just behind her. He could imagine that Galen and her brother had been worried about letting her go so far from home.

“I knew they were afraid,” she continued. “They had no idea what I would do. I couldn’t really blame them, but I couldn’t stay either. I had no place among the wolves of Summer or Winter anymore. Everywhere I went…”

Ashleigh paused and closed her eyes.

Caleb put his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed.

“Everywhere you went…” he whispered. “You thought of me.”

Ashleigh closed her eyes and nodded.

“So, you left the territories to see the world and kill its monsters,” he smiled, moving his arms down around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “How was it?”

Ashleigh chuckled. Leaning back against him, she took a deep breath, inhaling his scent and allowing it to settle her.

“It was big,” she whispered. “Huge.”

When she had first left the territories, her mind was filled with pain and regret. All she wanted was to get away and do what she did best. Eliminate the threats.

For the first few months she was gone, she hardly had time to think about anything except the hunt. She didn’t make friends, and she didn’t look back.

“Easy to run from my ghost in this huge world,” Caleb said softly.

“Not as easy as you might think,” she sighed.

After the initial threats were taken care of, keeping Ashleigh in one place became more convenient. That place being Liam’s pack.

“This huge planet, all the wolves on all the continents… but I was stationed with the one that knew you best outside of Summer.”

Caleb chuckled.

“I’m sure Liam had much to say about me,” he smiled.

Ashleigh smiled and nodded.

“He told me about your favorite non-cocoa drinks,” she said.

Caleb grinned and hugged her closely. They were silent momentarily, and then he took a deep breath.

“Ash…” he whispered.

“Yea?”

“How long have you been away from home?” he asked.

Ashleigh swallowed.

“I went back many times… usually only staying for a little while, a few days or a couple of weeks.”

“Do you enjoy traveling that much?” he smiled.

“I do, actually,” she sighed. “But, going home was hard.”

Caleb nuzzled against her.

“I still missed you too much to stay for long. And seeing everyone else… I still had a hard time seeing them moving on.”

Caleb turned, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. Ashleigh smiled.

“Besides,” she continued, turning around in his arms to look up at him. “Traveling gave me more opportunities to read about the fae and stories about the ley lines.”

Ashleigh reached her hand up to his cheek.

“I never gave up on finding you,” she smiled. “I just tried to find a healthier way to do it.”

Caleb leaned forward, kissing her tenderly, but Ashleigh reached up and tangled her fingers in his hair, turning the kiss passionate.

He didn’t fight her or push her away. Allowing her to try and shift their focus, to distract him with the affection she knew he craved from her.

When the need for air pulled them apart, Caleb leaned his forehead against hers as they tried to catch their breath.

“Ashleigh,” he whispered.

Ashleigh swallowed, feeling nervous about what he might say next.

“You were still with Liam’s pack a few months ago,” he said.

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Then…” he paused, licking his lips and swallowing before continuing, “does that mean… in all these years... you never actually stepped into your role of Luna for Summer?”