Page 32 of A Luna's Dynasty
“You can’t carry me! The pack will think I’m weak.” Lita tapped on his shoulder to put her down. He moved the shirt so that it covered her bottom as he began walking down the path.
“Naw, they’ll think their possessive alpha doesn’t want anyone else to see his mate that’s only wearing a shirt.” Caden cleared his throat, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “You know, for never having fought before, your wolf was very skilled. And you’re right, she is massive. Bigger than my wolf but not quite as large as Asher’s. We’ve got ourselves one hell of a luna.”
“I’ve got myself one hell of a luna.” Asher corrected him, rubbing his nose in her hair. His heart was still pounding with worry. He could have lost her today. In a blink of an eye, his world would have disappeared. It had happened to him before. He’d lost his parents and best friend all in a fraction of a second. One moment they were winning the fight, and the next they were overtaken by demon wolves. They’d won, but they had lost so much. He had to take over as the alpha at sixteen and had lived with the guilt of not being strong enough. It was that guilt that led him to take Felicia as his fiancée. Brody was her older brother—the only family she had. He felt responsible, like he had to take care of her. In hindsight, it was a mistake. He knew it then but didn’t know what to do.
Finding Lita saved him from making a mistake. She saved him and his pack from having a terrible luna. But how would he explain this to Lita? How would he tell her that he didn’t love Felicia and was only taking her as his luna out of obligation, simply because he’d promised Brody he would take care of her?He was afraid she would question the genuineness of his feelings for her and claim it was only because of the mate bond. But it was so much more than that.
He was connected to Lita. His heart beat with hers, and he hadn’t even marked her yet. Already, he was terrified knowing how differently today could have turned out. If something had happened to Lita, he would never have recovered. How do you live without your heart? You don’t.
He knew he would need to work on himself, to keep from smothering her. He wanted to lock her up where she would be safe. It was something he would have to battle within himself, but the fear of losing her was growing. He had to become stronger so he could protect her.
“Asher, let me go,” Lita whined, making his silver eyes flash down at her.
“Never.” He grinned. “I’m never letting you go.”
Chapter 18
As they approached the packhouse, a blur of golden hair caught Lita's attention. Caspian bounded toward them, his azure eyes wide with concern.
“Lita! Shit, she’s hurt. How bad is it?”
“I’m going to go assess that now.” Asher stepped around Caspian, who continued to follow by his side. “What are you doing?”
“I just want to make sure she’s alright.”
Asher stopped walking to glare at him. “You think I’m going to let you come into the room while I examine my mate?” The threat in his voice made Caden quickly place his hand on Caspian’s shoulder.
“Asher has her.” Caden’s voice was stern but gentle. He was doing this for Caspian’s safety. No one would be okay with someone being too pushy with their mate.
“Caspian, I’m fine. I don’t need to be looked over. I can do it myself.” Lita listened as Asher clicked his tongue.
“Not with those wounds on your back, wounds you can’t see.” He then hastily walked past Caspian and through the main doors, carrying her swiftly through the house and up to her room.
Asher's silver eyes met hers as he eased her to the floor. “I need to look at your wounds better … may I?”
“It really isn’t that bad. They’ll be healed within the hour—”
“Please. I just need to see for myself.”
Lita could see the nervousness and fear in his eyes. She hesitated, then nodded her head.
With careful movements, Asher grasped the fabric of her shirt. "This might hurt less if I tear it," he explained. "Is that alright?"
“It isn’t my shirt.” She laughed, receiving a small smile in return from Asher. The sound of tearing fabric filled the room as Asher carefully ripped her shirt, exposing her injured side.
She felt his fingers ghosting over the makeshift bandage. "I'm going to remove this now." As he peeled away the bandage, she glanced at his face. His eyes were focused completely on her wound.
“I wish it was healing faster, but you’re right, it already looks better than it did a few moments ago.” Even though he wanted to ask her more about her healing, he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable and decided not to push the issue.
“I’ll get a shower and clean the wounds better. It will be as good as new.”
His arms enveloped her, pulling her against his chest with such intensity that she gasped.
"Asher?" she whispered, feeling her breasts smash up against his chest. His grip tightened, and she felt a tremor run through his body.
“I can’t lose you, Lita. I’ve suffered enough loss … I won’t be able to bear it if I lose you, too.” He pressed a rough kiss against her forehead before he swiftly turned and walked away, not giving her a chance to say anything. She saw the darkness in his eyes, though, which meant he was fighting with his wolf.
Lita had lost her mother, but Asher had lost both of his parents. He had his pack, unlike Lita, but losing both parents had to be traumatic. Then he was forced to instantly be the alpha before he was ready. He had been through a lot.
