Page 32 of Trick Me
“Don’t,” he snaps. But it’s not cruel. It’s cracked glass. “Don’t forgive me. Not yet.”
His head finally turns. His eyes lock on mine. They’re piercing, amber, haunted, as if he’s trying to brand this moment into both of us. And maybe he is. Maybe he’s trying to make me find the monster he believes he is.
But all I see is a man unraveling, holding too much pain in too little space.
I move closer, sliding behind him and wrapping my arms around his body. “I’ve only known you for a night,” I murmur against his shoulder, “but I’ve seen enough to know you don’t need punishment. You need someone to stay.”
He breathes deeply. Then he exhales, and his whole body shudders.
“Mikael thinks I’m an idiot for blaming myself,” he states finally. “Says saving the kids was worth it. Says he would’ve made the same call. Then he makes it weird and says that you have a nice ass.”
I blink. “Wait, what?”
“He’s still here,” Ash says dryly. “Still annoying. Still has no boundaries.”
“I—well—tell him thank you, but if he tries to float at me suggestively, I’m calling a priest.”
“He says that you blush easily, and I have to agree.”
I shove at his shoulder. “Your dead best friend is hitting on me?”
“Vigorously.” He chuckles and turns to face me, both of us standing so close that his breath washes over my cheek.
“Never tried kicking a ghost in the balls. But I’m willing to find out what happens if I do.”
That earns me a low laugh. It slips through his teeth like he forgot how to make the sound.
“Otherwise, how are you dealing with… my power?” I ask, softer now. “And not having your wolf?”
His gaze meets mine like he’s weighing how much to give me.
“It’s like I’m an empty vessel,” he admits. “Like he’s just behind a wall I can’t break through.”
I watch his throat bob as he swallows hard.
“Your wolf misses you,” I whisper.
Ash goes still. His gaze darkens.
His voice is low. “You feel his emotions too?”
I nod.
He glances away for a moment. “The first time I changed, I was thirteen. Got lost in the ravine during a storm, soaked through, scared shitless. Thought I was going to die. But then… it happened. The shift. Bones snapped, skin tore—and it should’ve been agony, but it was right.”
He pauses.
“I remember the first breath I took in wolf form. How sharp everything was. The scents. The sounds. The freedom. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I wasn’t alone.”
My chest tightens.
“That was the night I knew,” he continues. “I’d kill for my pack. Protect them. Lead them, if I had to. Not because I wanted power. But because they mattered.”
His words scream loyalty, pride, and violence just under the surface, held in check by the love he has for the wolves that follow him.
“I admire that,” I admit. “You lead like it’s a sacred duty.”
He studies me again, this time with something raw flickering behind his gaze. “You don’t scare easily, do you?”
