You Smell Like... Mine (Book 1 in the 'You Smell' series)

Chapter 36 - Safe and Sound

Ivy's POV

Once I get us back home, I crouch down allowing Asher to get off of my back. When he's off I wait until he regains his equilibrium before leading him to the house and up to my room. I walk over to my closet before grabbing a t-shirt and shorts between my teeth. Once I have clothes, I reluctantly leave Asher by my bed as I head into the bathroom, closing the door with a bump of my head. I hate letting him out of my sight. I just got him back, but I want to take a real shower and wash my hair with familiar scents. I hate smelling like those dreadful people.

As I stand under the spray, I think back on what happened back at that house. I almost feel a bit of remorse for what I did, but then I remember that they did it to themselves. They should have known better. You don't take a werewolf's mate, especially having also injured them, and expect to live. You just don't.

I quickly dry myself off before pulling on my clothes. When I step out of the bathroom, I am unreasonably relieved to see Asher there sitting on the edge of my bed. I notice that somehow his bag ended up here from his car. I guess someone had the forethought of collecting his car from the side of the road. I'm glad his things are in here because I really want to sleep beside him tonight. I don't think I could handle having him away from me.

"Did you want to clean up really quick?" I ask him. He nods as he stands before walking straight to me. He pulls me into a hug and buries his face in my damp hair. We just stand like this for several minutes, and when he pulls away he gives me a sweet kiss. "I'm sorry if I scared you earlier."

He smiles at me before saying," No, baby. I could never be scared of you. I knew what was coming as soon as I woke up to find myself in that place. You've made it abundantly clear that you won't tolerate someone hurting me, and when I found out that they were wolves I knew that they wouldn't be allowed to live. You were just protecting your mate."

Asher gifts me with one more kiss before getting his bag and carrying it with him into the bathroom and softly closing the door behind him. I leave him to get clean and head down to the kitchen to get an ice pack for Asher's eye. I hate that they hurt him and it was because of me. I know technically it isn't my fault but I still feel responsible. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I find Brandon and Brock waiting for me.

"Is Asher ok?" They ask at the same time.

"He's fine," I assure them, "but he is going to have one doozy of a shiner. It would be hot if I didn't know that it was painful."

"Good. Good. Brock and I wanted to come with the others, but Keegan said that we can't join in any battles until we finish our warrior training." Brandon tells me with a scowl.

Brock wraps his arm around him and gives him a squeeze. "Don't pout, love muffin. He just didn't want us to go into something that we weren't prepared for. As new members of the pack, we don't have the experience of the seasoned wolves and we could have gotten either ourselves or one of them killed if we made a mistake."

"I know, but Asher has become like a brother to me. I wanted to be a part of the rescue party." He says still looking petulant.

"Well, from what I've heard, we weren't needed. Apparently, Ivy slaughtered an entire pack of wolves by herself." Brock says, facing me with a cocked eyebrow.

I clear my throat as I blush. " Uh... well... you see... what happened was... " I trail off, not really wanting to relive it. "Um anyway... I need to get to the kitchen. See you guys later." I quickly walk away before they could question me further. I grab the cold pack from the freezer and a few snacks in case Asher is hungry before turning to retrace my steps. When I once again reach the stairs I see that Brandon and Brock are still there, but now they are locked in an embrace that would be considered indecent by anyone's standards. "Guys! Come on! You have your own room. Use it."

Brandon tries to pull away, but Brock, as usual, isn't having it so he grips Brandon's hips and pulls him closer for a final deep kiss before releasing him and turning to me with a sly grin. "Brandon likes the thrill of getting caught, so I, as his mate, of course oblige his kinks."

Brandon slaps the back of his head. "Don't even try to pin this on me. You were the one that said..." He is cut off as Brock slaps a hand over his mouth.

"I don't really care who the freak is out of the two of you, just keep it clean down here. Geez. I didn't need to see that. Hey, where is Emily?" I ask, suddenly remembering that I had left her here.

"She left not long after you guys did. She said something about having some things to take care of." Brandon answers.

I nod and wish them a goodnight before heading up the stairs. Keegan won't like that she left. I hope he doesn't scare Emily when he hunts her down, because he will, no matter what I say. I don't blame him, I would hunt my wandering mate to the ends of the earth.

When I make it upstairs Asher is just walking out of the bathroom. I've never seen him like this before, all damp from the steamy shower and in his pajamas. I just stand there for a moment taking him in until he raises one eyebrow. I look away blushing.

"Don't be embarrassed, love. I happen to like it when you look at me." He confesses. I meet his gaze again with a smile and a shrug of my shoulders. 

I huff before slapping the icepack onto his t-shirt covered chest. "Here, put this on your eye. It will help with the swelling. It looks better than I thought, though. So that's good, at least you won't have any trouble seeing out of it. Does it hurt?" I ask.

"Not so much anymore. The shower definitely helped." He says as he follows my instruction.

I walk Asher over to sit at my desk before spreading all of the snacks out in front of him. "Are you hungry?" I ask him and laugh when he immediately digs in with a vigorous nod. We stay quiet as we eat, but when we finish all of the goodies, Asher looks at me with a sad smile.

"As much as I don't want to leave you right now, I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to head to bed." He says sounding as though he is devastated as he lays the ice pack down on my desk.

" Please don't go. I really want to sleep with you tonight." I plead. His eyebrows go up. "Wait... no. That's not what I meant. I mean I want to sleep next to you. Sleep. Just sleep" I rush out.

He smiles teasingly. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. Gah, you know what I meant. Get your mind out of the gutter, mate." I say with a roll of my eyes.

"Yes, Ivy, I would love to sleep next to you. Am I allowed to cuddle you? Emersyn let me." He says cheekily.

I smile at him with a nod and take his hand. "I guess I can allow that since it's your birthday. Happy Birthday, by the way. I kind of forgot to say it earlier, what with all of the screaming and death." I say before leading him to the bed after I turn off the lights. I wait until he climbs up and scoots over before following him in. As I pull the covers over both of us, Asher pulls me to him. I roll towards him and lay my head on his chest. He wraps one arm around me before bringing up his other hand to stroke my hair.

He chuckles. "Thanks babe. Better late than never, I guess."

"I love you so much, Asher." I whisper to him as we lay there in the dark.

"I love you, too. More than anything. Goodnight, Ivy." He says back just as softly.

"Goodnight my mate. Sweet Dreams." I reply before allowing sleep to take me.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please Vote and Comment!