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Caleb’s meeting with Sofia had made him a little late getting on the road home. But Caleb still made it back, just as most of Summer sat down to eat dinner.

He had requested that the guards at the gate not announce him. He wanted to go home without a big ceremony made of it. He wanted to see his family and hold his wife in his arms.

The six-hour journey had felt like a lifetime.

His conversation with Sofia had left him feeling a heaviness in his heart that he couldn’t quite explain. He had defended Alice because of his own interactions with her. He wasn’t sure of her motivations, but the fact that her warning had allowed him and his wolves to help save so many lives in Winter was worth something to him.

But he had never expected what he learned today.

He had heard rumors of something like this, of the possibility of repeatedly abusing the Bitter Night and recreating a person. But everything he had heard had said it wasn’t possible. A wolf could only take so much of the drug before it drove them crazy or killed them.

But according to Sofia, this was something Alice had been doing for at least ten years.

It suddenly dawned on him that Alice had given him a phrase to contact her. He had assumed it was meant to be a way for her to ensure they had a secure connection. Still, it was possibly this phrase was a trigger for awakening a part of her mind usually suppressed by the Bitter Night.

Caleb sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The truth was, he had no idea what was true or not with Alice.

Everything that Sofia had said could be true. Alice could have been a victim of this torture and manipulation since she was a child.

But it was just as likely that Alice was simply really good at manipulating people into trusting her._.

Ashleigh didn’t trust her. Sofia did.

He couldn’t ignore this.

Sofia was a new ally, a good one at that. Burning Ember was willing to provide soldiers and reinforced obsidian blades.

The old stories about the war with the fae were hardly fountains of knowledge for tactics or weapons. But one thing Caleb did know was that images of the battles depicted obsidian blades in the hands of the wolves.

Even if it wasn’t true, if the blades were nothing special against them, they were still potent weapons that only Burning Ember knew how to make.

But Ashleigh would likely not accept the alliance with Burning Ember if she knew it was introduced and encouraged by Alice.

Caleb took a deep breath. He didn’t want to waste any more time thinking about this problem tonight.

All he wanted was the comfort of her arms.

As he got out of the car and approached the main hall, he closed his eyes and thought of her. He took a deep breath as he thought of her scent, the softness of her honey blonde hair. The brightness of her hazel eyes.

The warmth of her smile.

In the main mess hall, Ashleigh sat with Fiona and Corrine. First, she laughed as they joked about one thing or another. Then, she let out a soft gasp as she felt his presence.

It rolled over her like a gentle breeze and sent a jolt through her body.

‘I missed you,’ he whispered in her mind. ‘Come to me.’

Ashleigh smiled as his presence gradually pulled away from her.

“Excuse me,” she said as she stood from the table.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” Corrine asked.

“Is something wrong with your food?” Fiona asked.

“I’m alright,” Ashleigh smiled. “I just remembered that I promised to give Bell a call tonight, and she tends to go to bed early these days. So I don’t want to wake her later.”

“Oh, really?” Fiona asked with a smile.

“But I think Galen is on the phone with her now, dear,” Corrine smiled. “You might as well wait until he is done.”

Ashleigh looked at them both and licked her lips.

“Well, she is going to see him tomorrow anyway, so she’d probably be ok with letting me take this timeslot,” Ashleigh laughed.

“But, Ashleigh, your mother goes home tomorrow. So this is our last meal together,” Fiona said, leaning her chin on her hand and giving Ashleigh a bright smile.

“That’s true,” Corrine nodded with feigned hurt. “I really would prefer to enjoy the last bit of time we have together, dear.”

Ashleigh looked between the two women and sighed.

“You both know he’s here, don’t you?” she asked.

Corrine gave a gentle smile as her only response.

“What?” Fiona asked with a gasp. “Whoever could you be talking about?”

Ashleigh rolled her eyes.

“Your entire spirit changes when you sense him,” Corrine smiled. “It’s very noticeable and quite wonderful.”

Fiona chuckled.

“Go,” she said. “Give your husband the greeting of a lifetime.”

Ashleigh smiled brightly and thanked them both before hurrying away.

“Were we ever like that?” Fiona asked.

“Me? Never,” Corrine replied.

“Really?” Fiona asked with a cocked brow. “Never?”

“Never,” Corrine insisted, then added with a sly smile. “I always made Wyatt come running to me.”

Ashleigh could hear Fiona’s laughter as she left the hall.

She hurried down the various corridors as though it had been years since they had seen each other, following his scent, energy, and connection between them. Her heart was beating faster and faster as she got closer.

Ashleigh turned the final corner. She saw him in the distance, and time stood still.

Caleb turned. His smile grew as his eyes fell on her.

Like every romantic movie she had seen, they ran toward each other. She jumped at him, and he caught her, spinning her in his arms as their lips found each other in a desperate need for the other.

After they each felt properly greeted, they pulled away and smiled at each other.

Ashleigh giggled softly.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

Caleb smiled and gave her a gentle kiss.

“I’m glad to be home,” he said.

Ashleigh licked her lips and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

“Should we head up to our room?” she asked.

Caleb let out a low and hungry growl. He pressed his lips where her shoulder and throat met.

“I want you all to myself,” he said. “With no chance of interruption.”

Ashleigh smiled and gently pushed against his shoulders so that he let her down.

“The treehouse?” she suggested.

Caleb smiled and nodded.

“Catch me if you can!” Ashleigh giggled as she took off running.

Caleb laughed and let out another hungry growl before running off to catch her.