Dark Moon

27

Sage's POV:

Three weeks have passed since I got to go back to my mate and learned my father died.

Three weeks since I was held in the claws of unforgiving, evil Alphas.

Three weeks since I felt the worst pain in my life, watching my mate blame himself for my father's death.

After my complete breakdown, my mom sent Ashton and I home with a small group, instructing us to stay there. She promised she'd take over the hunt with Aspen's assistance, as he has more resources from the city and can bring them to whatever jail is.

Dayton was taken away, as was Reid.

I feel bad for Sofia, who is now without her mate, but she's staying with Bay's pack for now.

Ashton and I have been keeping to ourselves, seldom seeing anyone except for the doctor, Evelyn, who comes in to check on Ashton and I and make sure we're both doing okay.

She's also been taking care of Charlie, who's doing a bit better but he's really traumatized and has only been able to tolerate myself, Nolan, and Evelyn. He's been shying away from everyone else, including Ashton, which is surprising because he was so comfortable around my mate before we were taken.

It's not like he's had the chance to be around Ashton much, as we haven't really left our room for the past three weeks. We've been doing a lot of scenting and having a lot of sex to make up for lost time.

Right now, Ashton is sleeping because he wore himself out with the amount of sex we had last night. For me, it wasn't as hard because I can hold on a bit longer than Ashton and he was craving to claim me.

I'm sore as hell, but I couldn't care less. My mate caused this delicious soreness and I love everything he does to me.

Ashton growls in his sleep and pulls me closer to him. His wrists find my neck and he starts to scent me in his sleep, letting out possessive rumbles as he does so.

I turn in his arms and kiss his lips, slipping my tongue into his mouth. For a second, I'm the only one putting in effort, but then Ashton starts to kiss me back. His eyes flutter open and he groans against my lips, his hands on my ass.

"That's a nice way to wake up," he says, a smile on his lips. "Good morning, angel."

"Good morning," I reply. "I'm pretty sore, so I'm going to lightly demand that you go run me a bath."

Ashton raises an eyebrow. "Lightly demand?"

"Yes. As in, do it or you can practice abstinence for a few weeks."

He's immediately out of bed and I hear the bath starting to run. It's cute how eager my mate is to please me because I know he'd do what I want no matter what. Not that I'd ever abuse his desire to please me, but it's still really nice to know how dedicated he is.

I start to get up in order to get to the bath, but Ashton rushes back into our bedroom and scoops me up. Ever since I was brought back by Aspen, Ashton has been touchy and always wants his hands on me. I don't complain about it because I love the attention, but I feel bad that he's struggling so hard and feels like he needs to redeem himself in some way by being extra attentive.

The water is hot and Ashton puts in some yummy smelling bath salts. Once I slide in, I give him pleading eyes and Ashton is quick to strip and climb into the tub behind me.

We're facing each other and what starts as slow kisses gets more and more frantic. Ashton's hands are on my hips and mine are running along his neck, my thumb running over his mating mark. Our plan is definitely to go all the way, but before we can go further, a scream echoes through the hallway.