Chapter 54: The Invitation

Asher

Even though it’s been days since then, I still feel the glow of making love for the first time radiating from my skin. It’s a feeling I have to hide for obvious reasons, but it fills me with a joy I can’t describe. I wish I could share this feeling with those I love, of course not in graphic detail, but at least share the smile the memory brings me.

I look forward to the day Rose meets my family. Once all this turmoil is over and done, we can finally live in peace and focus on prioritizing Rose by finding her family and her people. I hope she can find solace in mine, though. I know my parents and siblings will accept her with open arms, even if they give me a hard time for not telling them about her for so long, which is torturous. I’ve never been one to keep good news from my family.

Especially now that I know Rose is fertile. What an excellent revelation! I refrained from fantasizing about our future together, knowing the complications our species difference creates. Her fertility doesn’t solve the problem of her being immortal and I being mortal, but at least I know I can leave a legacy.

Besides, I could let her bite me. Cato would become a bat rather than a wolf, and I’m not sure I could keep my Alpha title after that, but who cares? As long as my pack is safe from Gen and I can pass it on to a worthy successor who will keep them safe, all that matters is living the rest of my life out with my family.

Would our children be born vampires? Or would they be born hybrids? Would it vary like the gender of a child? If I were bitten, considering she is fertile, would I stay fertile, or would I lose that and be a typical vampire? Would I be a daylighter, too? What about our kids?

So many questions, so few answers. We’ll figure that out in time, though.

For now, I can’t let my mind go there. I can’t let myself get my hopes up for a life almost within my reach, my fingertips brushing against it. One false move, though, and it’ll dissipate in a cloud of smoke.

This is why it is so important to stay focused. I can’t count my chickens before they hatch.

But my time with Rose has made me impatient. We’ve spent a few more stolen days and nights together, only a couple hours at a time since that’s all we can spare, but they’ve been tantalizing and motivating.

On the opposite side of the coin, though, Gen has only gotten worse. More erratic, increasingly unpredictable. It’s hard to know what she might do next; it’s like walking through a clear field, knowing mines are hidden underneath the soil.

Could this be the set that blows me up? Is it possible to cross the whole field without triggering an explosion? Could any one man be so lucky?

“Hey, Asher,” Margaery greets as she emerges from the basement, joining me in the kitchen.

I arch my eyebrow, noticing that she’s clad in a velvet powder blue dress, cinched at the sides and hugging her body.

“You look snazzy.”

“You sound like a grandpa,” Margaery teases, rolling her eyes as she sits at the table, pulling a tube of lipgloss from her purse and applying the light pink shine on her lips.

“Well, where’re you going? Got a hot date or something? How’re you going to get around Gen?”

“That’s the thing,” she says, her tone grouchy. “She called me half an hour ago and told me we’re going out.” She uses air quotes for the following sentence. “For sisterly bonding.”

“Sisterly bonding?” I repeat, confused. “Where is she?”

“She’s getting ready at her office, I guess,” she replies. “But, she said she wants to go clubbing with me tonight to make amends.”

“Do you buy that?”

“Not for a second,” she answers succinctly. “I think she knows her reputation is in the shit, so she wants to make a public appearance. Seem like a fun, doting sister who couldn’t be as cruel as everyone says if she’s going out with family.”

“Do you know where you’re going?” I ask. “Want me to stick around the area in case something happens?”

“No, don’t do that,” Margaery replies. “This would be a good time to see Rose, so I want you to do that. I’ll keep her out as late as I can.”

“You don’t have to do that if it’s going to cost you something,” I remind her. “But, as I asked, do you know where you’re going?”

“Well, that’s the kicker,” she scoffs. “We’re going to a club right on the edge of River Run’s territory. It’s basically where all of them go.”

“That seems like a horrible idea.”

“Tell me about it,” Margaery answers. “Could be good for us, though. It’ll make things more tense between us and River Run. As much as she might be trying to make this seem diplomatic, she won’t be able to hold her temper if someone questions her, which I’m sure they will.”

“What’s your plan if that happens?”

“Keep my mouth shut,” she answers, motioning as if zipping her lips. “I can’t go against her, or else I’ll face her wrath, which I don’t really want to experience, given that she has superpowers now. However, I also don’t want to jump in to defend her because that might bolster a false narrative that I’m on her side. I don’t want people to equate the two of us.”

“Good idea,” I reply. “Best to keep a low profile, try to avoid a conflict. Even if it would be useful, we shouldn’t try to throw fuel on the fire. Ideally, we can get rid of her before a war breaks out. And, even better, River Run won’t hate us once we take power.”

“Yeah, it’d be pretty awful if they held a grudge even when Gen is out of power,” Margaery replies, pinching her lip. “I guess we’ll have to find a way to keep them on our side or clue them in on what’s going on.”

“I don’t know if we can trust them with that,” I caution. “They have no reason to trust us. They could think it’s a scheme and let the word out, which then would get back to Gen, and we’d be in serious trouble.”

“True.”

“Best case scenario is you have a drink or two, don’t let her get wasted, and get out of there as soon as possible. Don’t prolong your stay for my sake because the longer you’re there, the more opportunity there is for shit to go wrong.”

“Alright, alright,” she says with a longing sigh. “Sorry that I’m a hopeless romantic and am trying to be the anti-cockblock to you. The cock facilitator, if you will.”

“Dear Goddess, never say that phrase again,” I groan, making a show of pinching my nose.

She giggles, her cheeks red as she pokes me in the ribs.

“You will need to conceal your phone somehow so you can bring it,” I tell her, returning to the serious tone of the conversation. “That way, you can text me when you’re on your way back. If something happens that upsets her or she’s intoxicated, I don’t want to be missing when she gets home. That could be a recipe for disaster.”

“I’ll do that,” she promises with a smile. “Just don’t worry about me while you’re with her. I want you to enjoy your time together since you don’t get much of it.”

“We’re in the final stretch now, though. I can feel it,” I say. “That’s why we can’t afford to make mistakes. Rose and I won’t have to wait much longer as long as everything goes according to plan. Which they rarely do.”

“I know it is delicate, but you deserve to have moments of respite,” she reminds me. “You don’t deserve what’s happening. Neither of us do. So take the chance to be with the woman you love. I’ll let you know when we’re returning, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize our plan.”

“I know, I know… I just worry.”

She smiles, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. “I know, it’s your nature.”

“Please be careful, Margarita,” I urge with a half smile.

“I will, Ash-Man.”

Rose

Asher and I decided to meet at my office again. It is deep into fall, so the weather is less forgiving than when we first met in summer. It’s strange to think of how, with the seasons, our love has changed, but in an inverse way.

While the environment around us dies, darkens, and falls, we are blossoming.

My favorite season is winter, though. I wish I could feel more excited about the incoming snowfall that’ll blanket the ground and welcome ski season, which is popular in our region. Sledding, hot cocoa, and the humans celebrating Christmas, so those songs will be playing on every speak in every human-owned shop. Even though I don’t celebrate the holiday, there is something charming and whimsical about it.

The lights they put up are incredible, too. I try to see them each year since I’ve been free. I only saw videos and photos growing up, which made the first time I saw them in person much more magical. So many things were from a storybook when I first got to experience them rather than imagining and fantasizing. Watching other people do it.

Experiencing love for the first time feels like that, too. I’ve had sex before with a man I thought I loved, one that I met at nineteen who promptly screwed me over, but I know now that that was not love. It was lust. It came from a place of desperation on my part to be held by someone and feel like I was loved.

And, for him, it was an opportunity to take advantage of a young, naive vampire.

But I don’t make the same mistake twice, which is why I stayed celibate for so long—focusing on myself and my career, which led to my skyrocketing success—an underdog story for the ages.

And my prize?

My Clan, yes. My friendship with Victor, of course.

And Asher. A genuine love and a mate bond.

What more could I ask for? How lucky can one woman be? A one-eighty from the life I lived for the majority of my life. The closest I ever thought I’d get to love was reading about great loves or watching them on a screen.

Yet, here I am, curled in the arms of the man I love and who I know loves me. A man who wouldn’t sell me for parts. A man who would lay down his life for me without a second thought.

I snuggle closer to him, savoring his scent, filing it into the wrinkles of my brain so I can remember it while he’s gone. I can sense that he’s stressed, his posture not quite as relaxed as usual.

He told me about Margaery going out with Gen, which is the source of his worry. Another reason to admire him is that he cares deeply and worries deeply.

“She’ll be okay,” I say, hoping to ease his mind.

He sighs, leaning his cheek on the top of my head. “I’m sorry that you can tell how stressed I am. I’m trying to be in the moment, but… You know how much she means to me.”

“I know,” I acknowledge. “You’ve been through a lot of trauma together. Partners in it. You’re protective of her.”

“Yes, but it is out of my control now. Out of my hands.”

“Which infuriates you to no end.”

“Exactly!” He admits with a grunt, sliding his hands down his face as he leans forward.

I wrap my arms around his neck, draped over his back as I kiss his cheek.

“You’re so sweet,” he whispers, brushing his fingers up and down my forearm.

“Do you want something to drink?” I ask. “Could take the edge off.”

“That’d be nice,” he says with a smile. “We just can’t get too carried away.”

I wink with a smirk. “Us? When have we ever gotten carried away?”