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A knock at the door drew Ashleigh’s attention away from Bell’s comment.

“Just a sec, Bell, someone’s at the door.”

Opening the door, she was surprised to see Galen standing on the other side.

“Good morning, Ashleigh,” he smiled.

“Galen,” she returned the smile, “nice to see you too.”

“Galen?” Bell called through the phone. “Is that my sexy husband at your door?”

“It is your husband, yes,” Ashleigh laughed into the phone.

Galen’s eye lit up, and Ashleigh could swear she saw a tail swishing behind him for a moment.

“Is that Bell?” he asked with a brightness she didn’t know he was capable of.

“Yes, it’s Bell,” Ashleigh laughed.

“Ash… hey Ash!” Bell called.

“What?” Ashleigh asked.

“Tell him I want to sink his battleship,” Bell said with a giggle.

Ashleigh furrowed her brows and looked back at Galen. He lifted his brows and tilted his head slightly as though he knew Bell had said something about him.

But the way Bell had giggled had Ashleigh concerned._.

“No…” Ashleigh replied.

“Come on!” Bell whined.

“Tell him yourself,” Ashleigh groaned. Then, offering the phone to Galen. “Here, your wife wants to say something to you.”

Galen quickly put the phone to his ear.

“Bell?” he said so warmly and lovingly that even Ashleigh felt a twinge in her heart.

Ashleigh smiled as she saw the genuine love this man held for her best friend, that even saying her name created such a joyful smile on his face.

“Ugh…” he said, as his face and ears turned the deepest shade of tomato Ashleigh had ever seen. “I’ll… I’ll call you back a little later… and we can… Uhm… talk about that,” he said quietly.

Ashleigh bit her lip and covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. She was very glad she hadn’t done as Bell asked.

“I love you,” he whispered as he hung up the phone.

He cleared his throat before offering the phone back to Ashleigh.

“She had to go do her rounds.”

Ashleigh nodded, accepting the phone and then clearing her own throat.

“Was there something you came to tell me?” She asked, offering him an escape from the awkward moment.

“Yes!” he said quickly. “Caleb wanted me to let you know that the simulators in the battle arenas are down for maintenance.”

“All of them?” Ashleigh asked, crossing her arms suspiciously.

“Yes,” Galen said with a nod. “All of them.”

“Uh-huh… on the same day?”

“Yep,” Galen replied.

“And does Fiona know that?” she asked.

“I have just informed her, yes.”

“And did she believe that?”

“I have just informed her, yes.”

Ashleigh laughed.

“Alright, well, if the Alpha says that the simulators are down, who am I to argue?” Ashleigh shrugged her shoulders.

Galen nodded and turned to leave.

“Is that all he said?” Ashleigh asked, expecting to be told where he would be.

“My critical task as Beta today was to pass the note to the girl and keep the teacher distracted. That is all,” he grumbled as he continued to walk away.

Ashleigh enjoyed the occasional snark Galen tossed her way, but it was much more fun to poke at him.

“Just be careful not to get your battleship sunk!” she called out loudly.

Galen tripped mid-step and barely corrected himself. Ashleigh shut the door before letting herself laugh.

She pulled out her phone and called Caleb immediately. She couldn’t wait to see him.

***

She stared at the tree before her with hesitation.

The last time she had come here, she had left him so cruelly that she struggled to approach the door now.

“What are you waiting for?” he whispered into her ear.

Ashleigh leaned back against Caleb, feeling his presence around her like a warm blanket.

“No threats this time?” Caleb laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I believe last time I snuck up on you, you wanted to break my ribs?”

She turned in his arms to lay her head against his chest.

“That was a long time ago,” she whispered.

Caleb held her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

“Let’s go up,” he whispered.

Ashleigh pulled away reluctantly and followed him to the entrance of his secret treehouse. She climbed the ladder up into the large open room.

As she stood and moved aside for him to join her, she was surprised to see a large blanket laid out in front of the enormous window overlooking the landscape of Summer. There were two plates, glasses, and an assortment of fruits, vegetables, and desserts spread out over the blanket.

Ashleigh smiled and then noted a few other changes to the room.

The small two-seat sofa and lounge chair were gone, and in their place was an oversized comfortable sofa with a matching ottoman. New to the treehouse was also a large television and a stack of DVDs.

The desk and computer set up were still the same, though she suspected the monitors were more prominent than the last time she had seen them.

Finally, where there had been a basic full-sized bed, she now saw a larger bed. Likely queen size, with privacy curtains hanging around it in a sheer fabric of greens and blues.

Ashleigh smiled as she turned to Caleb.

“Made some changes, I see.”

Caleb smiled back as he closed the hatch below him.

“In life and décor,” he replied. “Do you like it?”

Ashleigh looked around again. Everything felt inviting and comfortable. She felt like she could spend days lounging here if her schedule would allow for it.

“If it had a kitchen, I might move in,” she joked.

Caleb grinned a devilish smile. One side of his mouth hitched higher than the other.

“What?” Ashleigh asked, suspicious of his reaction.

He walked across the room near the desk, he pressed against the wall, and to her surprise, it popped out.

“A secret door?!” she laughed in amusement.

Caleb laughed as he pulled back on the wall. It pulled out and lined up against the wall beside it. He locked it into place. Ashleigh moved closer and saw that the wall had been hiding a small kitchen.

There was a small refrigerator, a stove, and a counter with a sink. There were also two chairs in the middle of the small space. Caleb reached up and pulled down what was apparently a dining table along the wall that had popped out. Caleb grabbed the chairs and placed them on either side of the table.

He turned to her with a satisfied grin.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“Have you got something else hidden up here?” Ashleigh laughed.

Caleb laughed.

“No, that’s all the surprises this place offers,” he said, reaching out and touching her cheek. “I wanted it to feel comfortable for you.”

Ashleigh leaned into his hand.

“It is,” she smiled. “I love it.”

“Good,” he said. “I won’t be able to take you on a real honeymoon out in the world, not until things have settled between the packs. But after we get married, we can at least spend a week or two up here, in our own little world.”

Caleb leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away.

“Wait,” she said. “What do you mean? What’s happening between the packs?”