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It had been two days since the infamous Summer wolves returned to their pack.

Corrine ensured that Wyatt and Axel had kept Granger busy for one reason or another in those two days, allowing Ashleigh time alone.

When she heard about Renee, Ashleigh had wanted to go to the hospital right away. Still, Renee was on restricted access due to the nature of her stay. And Bell was unavailable, having thrown herself into Renee’s treatment.

She was thankful to avoid Granger, but she knew it wouldn’t last forever.

“Long time no see, wife,” Granger called behind her as she made her way home.

“I’m not your wife,” Ashleigh snarled. Neither looking back nor stopping to talk to him.

“Soon enough.”

Ashleigh clenched her jaw in both anger and disgust at his words.

“Not now, nor ever,” she replied through gritted teeth.

“Well, that’s not very nice,” he smiled after her.

Granger sped up his pace, quickly moving in front of her.

“Ash,” he began.

But she merely pushed past him.

“Ash! Come on,” he called after her. Once again, he ran in front of her and blocked her path.

When she tried to go past him again, he blocked her and grabbed her arm as she moved again. Finally, Ashleigh turned on him with a low and threatening growl.

“Hey, hey!” he shouted. He raised his hands as a sign of truce. “Just calm down. Look, I won’t touch you, ok?”

“Leave me alone, Granger,” she growled.

“Hey, listen,” he said, “I know you’re still mad. But we need to find a way to get past this and rebuild our relationship.”

Ashleigh scoffed.

“You’re insane,” she said, “there is no relationship to rebuild.”_.

Granger clenched his jaw.

“Now, Ashleigh, we already talked about this,” he said with agitation. “You and I are mates; you already confirmed that to everyone.”

Ashleigh let out a bitter laugh.

“The only reason, and I do mean ONLY reason, that I said that was to avoid the possibility of war,” Ashleigh stated firmly. “You are nothing more to me than an irritating fly buzzing in my face.”

Ashleigh took a step towards him; her eyes had a glow he had never seen before. Granger found himself moving away from her instinctively.

He gritted his teeth.

“How can you say that…We can be happy again, Ashleigh. Just like we used to be,” he insisted.

“No, we can’t.”

“You can forget everything we had together just like that? Just because some other wolf comes along, you just throw everything we had away.”

“I threw everything away?” Ashleigh asked. “You tried to **** me.”

Granger felt the cold sting of reality.

“I never meant–” he began.

“But you did,” Ashleigh stated. “I begged you to stop.”

“No, Ashleigh I–”

“If Caleb hadn’t come when he did, you would have done it.”

“No! I stopped before he arrived!” Granger shouted back angrily.

Ashleigh laughed.

“And what about the next time?” she asked, taking a step closer.

Granger swallowed.

“That wasn’t the first time you assaulted me, Granger. It was just the first time I realized it.”

In a strange and twisted way, Granger’s assault had been what Ashleigh needed to understand the truth.

The mate bond does not give love. It gives you ownership.

It was Caleb himself that offered her love, and she wanted nothing more in this world than to receive his love and give it in return.

“Don’t be cruel, Ash,” Granger growled. “Everything will be back to how it was once you forget about that bastard.”

Ashleigh felt the anger and resentment inside of her flaring up. Then, remembering Caleb’s face when he heard her ‘choice’, she snarled, baring her teeth.

She took a step closer to him, and he noticed the glow in her eyes once more. She leaned in as she spoke quietly.

“Caleb is my one and only mate, and no matter how long it takes, we will find a way to be together.”

Granger bit his lip in anger. He wanted to shout at her. She could see it building, and honestly, she looked forward to it. Ashleigh was no longer the girl he thought she was.

“Ashleigh,” Corrine called out from the front door.

Ashleigh smiled at Granger and then stepped around him to smile at her mother.

“Yes, Mother?” she answered sweetly.

“I just got a call,” Corrine began, returning Ashleigh’s smile. “Renee has been approved for visitors.”

Ashleigh genuinely perked up.

“I’m on my way!” she shouted with excitement, turning around and leaving Granger without another word.

He was left irritated and angry. He began to go, but once again, Corrine stopped him.

“Granger, there is something we need to talk about,” she said pleasantly.

Granger turned around with his usual kind smile.

“Of course, I’m always here for anything you need,” he asked.

Corrine made her way to him.

“I’m glad to hear it, Granger,” Corrine said, “because there is something that I need.”

“What is it?” Granger asked.

‘This is good,’ he thought to himself, ‘if I get Corrine back on my side, Ashleigh will come back much quicker.’

“I’ll need you to return home for a while.”

Granger stared at Corrine, unsure that he had heard her words correctly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “what do you mean?”

“I mean,” Corrine said, still smiling, “you need to return to the southern territories and aid your father for a while.”

Granger was stunned. How could this be happening?

“I don’t understand,” he began, “I… you want me to go back?”

Corrine nodded her head, still smiling brightly.

“But… I’m training to be Axel’s Beta….”

“Oh, but that is years away,” Corrine chuckled, “And besides, who better to teach you than your father? He is Wyatt’s Beta, after all.”

“That’s true….” Granger said with a forced smile, “but, Ashleigh and I, we’re getting married.”

“That,” Corrine sighed, with a troubled expression on her face, “well, that’s something else we need to talk about.”

“What do you mean?” Granger asked, feeling a sense of dread creeping over him.

“It’s just,” Corrine began, “Well, Wyatt and I talked. We both feel that the way Ashleigh handled this situation with Alpha Caleb shows a certain lack of maturity that we find concerning.”

Corrine began to walk back and forth as though she were speaking to herself.

“And she’s so young anyway. So, of course, you were lucky to find each other so early. But we are afraid it simply didn’t allow her the time she needed to grow and mature as an individual.”

Granger didn’t like what she was saying.

“I don’t understand, Corrine. Our wedding has been pushed back several times already,” he said. “You agreed with me that we should be married as soon as possible.”

Corrine’s expression changed into sympathy as she shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly.

“Well, now I think it is in your best interests if you take some time apart. You can go home and spend time with your family. Your father can keep teaching you the proper role of a Beta, and perhaps he can help you in other ways.”

Her smile shifted, and Granger couldn’t help but notice.

“What other ways?” he asked.

She held his gaze and took a step closer to him. Her mouth curved in a slight grin, but her eyes had a coolness that was not altogether kind.

“Perhaps,” she began, “he can teach you what it means to be a good mate.”

Granger felt a lump in his throat. She took another step closer.

“How to treat the woman you claim to love.”

He swallowed as she took yet another step closer.

“About respect, understanding, and trust. All the things that are required in a marriage.”

Her smile was gone now, and her emerald eyes held an eerie and dangerous glow.

“The truth is, Granger, this marriage will not proceed without my approval, and I do not approve.”

Granger clenched his jaw and shoved down the lump in his throat.

“Is this about Alpha Caleb?” he asked, wondering if Corrine had been tempted by the possibility of the power she would gain by marriage between the packs.

“No, Granger, this is entirely about you,” she hissed.

“I don’t understand what I could have done to upset–”

“You hurt my daughter,” Corrine interrupted, a low growl emphasizing her words.

Granger took a step back.

“I don’t know why Ashleigh is willing to look past it and choose to forgive you. But I am her mother, and I will do whatever necessary to protect my child.”

Corrine stepped closer, Granger stepped back once again, but he tripped over a root this time. He fell back into the snow, quickly trying to right himself.

“You will be gone no less than a month. You will not contact Ashleigh. If she wishes, she may reach out to you. If I learn you have come back or contacted her before I say you can,” Corrine leaned down close to his face, causing him to back up. “I will make you wish you had never laid eyes on my daughter.”

‘She can’t do this!’ he shouted in his mind.

A defiant thought that showed on his pathetic face as Corrine’s expression darkened. Suddenly the air around him felt thick and crushing. He could neither breathe in nor out. A weight like that of a person on his chest made him panic.

Corrine leaned forward once again.

“Do not test my patience, Granger,” her voice was lower than usual. A growl seemed to shadow every word. “I would rather let my child mourn you than be destroyed by you.”

***

Corrine left him lying in the snow. Granger was too angry to move, too frustrated to let his anger out.

His phone rang.

“It’s not a good time!” he shouted into the receiver.

“No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!” Laughed Holden on the other side.

Granger gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes.

“Leave me alone, Holden,” Granger answered angrily.

“I have treated you very kindly for such a rude greeting,” Holden said in a warning tone. “My message won’t take long.”

Granger sighed.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I just want to make sure you have tied up all the loose ends you left dangling.”

“What are you talking about?” Granger asked.

“I heard a rumor about a wolf of Winter that has been teetering at the edge of madness.”