Chapter #6

A\N: Hey!! Sorry the update is late, but yesterday it was my step dad's birthday and when it was finished, I was too tired to do anything. So, one day late, but better late than never, right? Vote, comment. :)

-Paigey

*edited*

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*Asher's POV*

Waking up, I realized I held something in my arms, and there was something laying on my bare chest. Who was it last night? I thought to  myself. Opening my eyes, I saw the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on, snuggled in my arms. All memories rushed back to me at that moment- Finding her in the woods, saving her, 20 Questions, telling her about my kind, the kiss- The kiss. Oh God, that was fucking amazing.

I tightened my grip on my tiny angel, causing a small whimper to leave her slightly parted mouth. She had her small arms wrapped around my torso, holding me as if I was going to leave.

This morning, I decided I wanted to wake her with breakfast in bed, maybe. I would normally never do anything of the sort for anybody, but my tiny mate made me want to love and cherish anything she does.

I started to attempt to pry her arms off of me, and let's just say my earlier assumption was right. She was scared I would leave.

I watched as a pout formed on her sleeping features, and she tightened her hold on my torso. Her legs came up and wrapped themselves around my waist, too. I sighed, gently peeling her off of me. A loud whimper left her mouth, and I quickly handed her one of my pillows. Astrid gripped my pillow tightly, her arms and legs wrapping around it.

I smirked. Even in her sleep the bond is strong. Now that I was finally free of the loving grip of my mate, I jogged down the stairs and to the kitchen. I grabbed four eggs- no, I'd like three of my own. So, I grabbed five eggs, bacon, and three sausages. I quickly got to work- scrambling the eggs, making the bacon and sausages, and when all of that was finished, I got out two glasses of orange juice.

I smiled down at my work, all wonderfully set up on the table. Grinning happily, I walked back upstairs to where my baby was sleeping.

Pushing the door open, I smiled. There she was, still clutching her pillow, sleeping blissfully. I marched over until I was right in front of her, gently shaking her shoulders. She didn't wake up.

"Astrid," I whispered, scooping her into my arms where I sat on the edge of the bed. "Astrid, baby, it's time to wake up," Finding that this wasn't working, I leaned down and pressed my lips against the tip of her nose, and then her cheekbones, and then her forehead. I could feel her drifting back into conciousness, so I finally pressed my lips against her's. Her eyes fluttered open, and I pulled away slightly, so our lips were still touching, but not enough to be considered kissing.

"Time to wake up, Kitten," I murmured against her lips. She smiled sleepily, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Morning, handsome," She mumbled. I smiled softly, standing and carrying her downstairs. Once she saw the big display of breakfast, her eyes lit up and she looked back up at me, a big grin on her beautiful face.

"Thank you so much!!" She cried happily, all sleepiness gone. I chuckled, gently setting her down. She walked over to the table, still smiling happily, and took a seat in front of her plate.

I took one across from her, digging into my food. I tried not to look at her that much- it actually turned me on a lot to see her eat. Her warm, pink lips enclosing around the fork....

I felt myself get hard, and I quickly tried to think of something else. Yeah, I wanted to 'complete the mating bond', sure,  but I didn't want to pressure her until she was ready. So I just tried not looking at her, and it didn't help much.

Once we were done, she stood and before I could do anything, grabbed both of our plates and cups and walked into the kitchen.

Frowning, I trailed in behind her. "Kitten, what do you think you're doing?" I asked, watching as she started  to wash the dishes. Walking up behind her, I slipped my arms around her and gently took the dishes from her hands, washing them myself.

"Ash, I'm trying to wash the dishes. It's okay, Love, I can do it," I stopped once she called me Love, my heart swelling with pride.

"Kitten-"

"No." I sighed, backing away and letting her continue. Once she finished, I knew right then that I had to have the talk about The Heat with her.

Gently taking her small hand in mine, I pulled her into the living room and onto my lap. "Kitten, there's something we need to discuss," She watched me wearily, and honestly she looked scared. Not going far enough to invade all of her privacy, I peeked into her thoughts.

What if he finally realizes he doesn't want me? What if he's going to tell me to leave and never come back? What if he rejects me? What if- I cut off her train of thought, angry that she believed I'd ever do that.

"Kitten, I'm not doing any of those things." She stopped, her mind going quiet. She watched me carefully.

"Then what are you telling me?" She asked quietly.

"Okay. Kitten, remember how I told you about the mating process?" She bit her lip, nodding. "Well, there's something called The Heat. The female mate will go through a one week stage of this, but if she's the mate of the Alpha, like you, it will last for two weeks instead. During The Heat, the female will burn and ache for her mate's touch, and it will physically pain her to not be with her mate. So, the male will stay by her side the entire time, and will be about ten times more protective than normal. The Heat happens once a year, and if it hasn't already happened, the two will complete the mating process- making love, and having the male mark the female." She stared at me silently, chewing on her bottom lip harshly.

I brought my hand up, cupping her cheek and gently pulling her bottom lip away from her teeth.

"When does The Heat start?" She murmured.

"Tomorrow," I said quietly.

"So, sometime between tomorrow and two weeks after, we'll have completed the mating process?" She confirmed.

Frowning, I tightened my grip on her. "Most likely, but I won't force you if you're not ready." She shook her head, looking up at me.

"I know I'll be ready. I promise." A grin broke out onto my face, and I leant down and pressed my lips to hers, but stopped when a disturbing thought popped into my head.

Frowning once again, I felt jealousy course through me. "Are you a virgin?" I asked bluntly. Her eyes widened, and she looked down at her lap. I became filled with anger, even just thinking about someone else touching my ma-

"Yes," She said quietly, her cheeks bright red. I stopped, my anger quickly draining.

"Really?" I asked her, my eyes wide.

"Well, yes and no..." Tears filled her eyes, and she buried her face into my hard chest. My eyebrows connected, furrowing confusedly.

"What do you mean, Kitten?" I asked gently, keeping my calm.

"I'm ready to tell you everything now," She admit, still looking down at her lap. I was silent, waiting for her to continue. "Matt is my adopted father- my parents died in a car crash when I was five years old. I was put into foster care, moving from house to house, until Matt adopted me when I was six. At first, he seemed to be a great dad, but after a month or two, he showed how he really is. He got angry at every single thing, and I mean everything. After a while of verbal abuse, he started to h-h-h-" She stopped, the tears in her eyes breaking loose. They slipped down her rosy cheeks, "He started to h-hit me. He would push me down the stairs and beat me quite a bit, and if I didn't have his meals made at the same time every day, he would beat me to a pulp. He never let me have any friends, and to keep me from my previous ones, we moved to Fredericton. When I turned fifteen, he started to sexually abuse me.." She shut her eyes tight, pressing her face into my chest. I felt the anger and rage course through me, and I could hear my wolf Caspian screaming at me to let him take over and kill the bastard who dared hurt his mate. I tried to calm him down, telling him we needed to stay here and comfort our scared mate for the time being, and that we'd deal with 'Matt' later. He reasoned with me, realizing he needed to in fact comfort his small mate. "It continued on like that for two years, but I never let him take my virtue. I never did anything back, I wasn't really able to. He'd drug me so I couldn't do anything, and just do things to my body. Two more years that happened, until I finally got away and into the woods. Before you'd found me, I had been running for days until I finally passed out in the woods." She finished, her tears coming to a stop.

"Please don't leave me," She whispered, looking up at me with her dark blue eyes. I fiercely shook my head.

"I will never leave you, Kitten.." I took a deep breath, watching her closely. "I love you,"